MacGyvr
@161.231.x.x
| reply to MarkJaquith
Re: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000
That's silly. I have one of these, and YES you CAN program it and be gone for three weeks. As soon as more guide data comes down, it is evaluated against the "season passes" you have chosen and your programs are marked to record. It works just fine....calm down. |
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dannod
@rr.com
| I have TiVo and got the 8000 from Oceanic here in Hawaii and I am torn. On one hand, I love being able to record more than one thing, but has anyone noticed that if you go to watch something that has started recording but hasn't finished and you get forwarded to the current live view? Do you really have to rewind ALL THE WAY back to the beginning? I can't seem to figure out jumping back to the beginning like TiVo does....
At any rate, TiVo definitely wins the usability contest! |
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Simflyer
join:2003-05-13
Oak Island, NC
| Here are a couple of interesting features available on my Explorer 8000 and TW Cable. Tune the Explorer 8000 to channel 611 and scroll down to DVR AVFS page to see free space on hard drive. To activate digital audio on channels not normally providing digital audio press the instant replay then live key. Digital audio continues until channel is changed. |
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ZG
@rr.com | reply to Chizep
I live in Durham, NC.. I have had the 8000 for 2 weeks.. It does tune slow, and the record qual is not top notch, but it works like they say, I'm happy with it. |
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tj703
@verizon.net
| reply to dannod
I just got my SA 8000 and I am torn as well... The 2 tuner functionality ROCKS, but the interface STINKS.  And I really wish there was a "secret shortcut" to go to a specific spot in a program. Or as it has already been suggested, save a "bookmark" for each program. It seems as if it only saves a bookmark for the last program saved, whereas in Tivo I and other household members are watching several programs at once. When watching a 3 hour sporting event, it's a drag to have to FF my way to the place where I left off.
Grrr... If only Tivo had a 2 tuner solution for digital cable!! |
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shogun77
@rr.com | You mean a Resume Playback feature? Mine has it. True you can't set a mark at ANY place you want but stopping and starting does give me the Resume Playback option which is nice. |
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tj703
@blackboard.com
| reply to tj703
Mine has "Resume Playback" only for the last watched program. And it only appears after I hit stop while watching it. If I select the program from the list, it only gives me the option to "play", which starts it from the beginning.
Are you saying you can watch several recorded programs and have it saving your place? How exactly are you getting to the "resume playback" function. I may be missing the right way to do this. Or at the very least, it gives me hope that comcast will someday update my box with newer software. |
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shogun77
@rr.com
| Yeah, I figured that's what you meant so I checked it out. I started then stopped 2 saved shows (when asked after stopping each one I of course selected "Stop and Save") and when back to both of them and after pressing play it gave me the option to "Resume Playback" on both shows. |
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itmajor
join:2003-05-28
Cincinnati, OH
| reply to dannod
Hi,
I hope this helps. To jump in 15 minute intervals of the recorded video. Begin to fast forward or rewind and hit the right and left arrows at the top, this will jump forward 15 minutes or rewind 15 mintues at a time. Does for me anyway.
Glenn |
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shogun77
@rr.com | Thanks, that's cool although mine only let's me jump ahead and not back. |
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tvbarn
@kcstar.com
| Are you rewinding at the time you press the left arrow key? That skips back one notch at a time on my 8000. It's non-intuitive -- you should be able to skip forward or backward regardless of whether you're in FF or REW.
TWC Kansas City just rolled these out but I've been beta testing two boxes since March. There was a major software upgrade along the way which made it a lot more stable and added functionality, especially to the recording options. The 8000 feels much more sophisticated than the Tivo Series 2, and it's not just the dual-track recording.
I have been told that networking will be added in '04 so don't stick chewing gum in those FireWire ports quite yet.
»www.tvbarn.com |
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shogun77
@rr.com | No I wasn't LOL. I figured it out right after I posted my message. |
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dib22
join:2002-01-27
Kansas City, MO
| im loving this box. haven't had it reboot yet. so far works as advertised... yes i have seen the slowdowns from time to time in the menu (reminds me of the old pioneer branded boxes) but have never seen it cause the recordings to stutter etc.
my only complaints are that the bitrate for the analog channel recordings is set too low... causes some blocking during high action sequences or when there is too much going on on the screen. the digital channel recordings are flawless.
does anyone have a link to the specs that works? the link on the first page of this thread doesn't seem to answer. specifically what i am seeking are the specs that it records in on the analog and digital channels... res, bitrate, etc.
--
my provider: time warner cable kansas city |
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KevinG79
@rr.com
| reply to Konaguy
Wow I've been away from this board for too long.
I tried connecting my PC to the USB port. I haven't tried firewire, but according to SA's website, the firewire ports are currently disabled and won't work until the next "software update." Also, the AUX input is disabled until a software update. That sucks!
I hear some people mentioning that they have these "Season pass" features for recording. Mine doesn't. Time Warner Cable in Apppleton, WI started using the SA8000 boxes this past January and it seems as if they aren't loading any software updates for these things. What can I do to change that? Anything?
Kevin, who would STILL LOVE to find out if he can hook the SA8000 up to his PC to transfer the video recorded on it to his PC... |
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sure
@cox.net | Does anybody know what file system the hard drive uses? Or how to find out? |
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Venadium
join:2003-06-09
New York, NY
| said by sure:
Does anybody know what file system the hard drive uses? Or how to find out?
There's only one way to find out... hook it up and see what happens.
I found this thread while doing a search for the Explorer 8000. Time Warner NYC is going to be offering these soon, they're testing them with some employees now. I'm not an employee myself, so I won't have one to play with for at least a month or two, but I do know someone who is getting on on Tuesday.
For those of you who already have them, since I'm assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that Time Warner's pricing plans are similar throughout the country, were there any extra charges for the PVR box? Or do you just trade in your old digital box. I just can't see TW giving them away, so I assume there's some kind of fee, maybe a few more $$ per month on the cable bill?
Also, I'm really interested in the poster who plugged in a USB keyboard and got the dialog that asks for a passcode. Have you made any progress with that? There has got to be some default, there always is, and it's pretty likely the passcode was not changed from the default. Try entering the box's serial number, or any other number written or printed on the box. You could also call SA and try to social engineer the passcode out of them.. just say you're a technician and you don't have your workbook handy, and you need the programming passcode. This might also work on your local TW repair or tech support number. If you play it cool and make it sound like you know what you're talking about, they'll tell you anything.
As for the filesystem or the format of the recordings, who knows. If anyone is willing to do it, you might as well remove the hard drive and plug it into you PC (not as primary master though) and see what happens. If we're lucky, it'll be FAT16 or 32 and will be readable by windows. That's pretty doubtful though. I suppose you could also call TW and ask them about it. The files themselves are probably some form of MPEG, maybe MPEG2. I seem to remember the POV streams being in MPEG format, at least according to the Diagnostics channel on my Explorer 2100.
And one more thing, I'm pretty sure whatever method you use to get the video you recorded on the PVR to your PC and then to any other medium (SVCD, DVD, etc) is perfectly legal. It falls under fair use. At least I would hope so. Anyway it should, since TiVo users have been doing it for years. Has anyone cracked their box open yet to see if there's room for a second hard drive, or if the things even use a standard IDE or SCSI interface?
I'll be watching this thread and hoping for some more info from you guys. |
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blue_kc
join:2003-06-09
Overland Park, KS
|  reply to sure
Explorer 8000 File System
said by sure:
Does anybody know what file system the hard drive uses? Or how to find out?
From the information on channel 611 (diagnostics)the SA 8000 is running two different file systems.
AVFS and ITFS
The AVFS partition is about 76gigs , for the recorded data, and the ITFS partition is only 1 gig, I assume thats where the operating system resides which is Power TV 6.0.7 SP (5) on my box. The AVFS partition is probably using some sort of compression or mabey encryption. Mabey someone can write a program to read from those partitions. The harddrive uses a standard IDE interface. Ive attempted connecting a usb keyboard to the box, they keyboard gets power but after rebooting I wasnt able to get to any screen asking for a passcode.
Also my box does not have a ethernet port, does anyones box have one? |
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dib22
join:2002-01-27
Kansas City, MO
| no ethernet here.
as for the filesystem... even if you could plug it into a computer the files themselves are encrypted... you would never be able to see the recording properly... also wont that break the screw seals and prove to them you opened the box?
also has anyone got the test firmware that feeds the recording back down to your cable to the other normal sa 2100/2200 boxes in your house yet?
[text was edited by author 2003-06-10 04:04:14] |
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laforcem
join:2003-06-10
Mascouche, QC | I am looking for user comments about the Explorer 8000.
What is the best internet sources about this wonderful device that still has some annoying bugs...
Martin |
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doc029
join:2002-11-06
Oviedo, FL
| reply to Venadium
Re: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000
I just got the service from "Brighthouse" (the new name for TW, at least here is it).
I'm very happy with the box, and haven't had any of the problems listed here, OTHER than the slow to tune problem, but that's not too bad.
BH/TW first told me the charge was $7, but after viewing my account revised it down (I guess I'm already paying enough for a discount). Based on Tivo/Replay's aver 9.95 a month, I consider that a HUGE savings.
Thanks everyone for the tips... here's one I happened onto...
SA's page tells you the Out 2 ports are disabled for future use, I found them usable already. They output in full screen whatever you have in PIP on the main display. It's annoying to have the PIP on, but you could use that to output to VCR/PC while watching something else. They also list the 1394 ports as disabled, future... so lets hope. |
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