stevelogin
@rr.com
| reply to Vchat20
Re: hdtv
I just purchased a new TV and also paid the extra money to get the HDTV receiver. We have several HDTV channels in this area and anyone who has seen HDTV knows, the picture quality is outstanding. Anyway, the problem I have come across is that when I select anything in HDTV for viewing, the picture is reduced to a much smaller screen. I purchased a Sony 32" TV and when I view HDTV it is very clear, but now I'm viewing a 19" screen. My question is, am I missing a step in the HDTV conversion process? Is this normal? The reduction in the viewing screen is very obvious and I was wondering if everyone else had experienced the same problem? Please provide any help or comment on this matter. Thank you. |
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davedo2
@ctc.com
| reply to maartena
Re: Extra info
You can grab the video output to whatever you want post box. It comes out as straight data. It's only encrypted on the way in, and stored on the box. The fact taht you can watch the digital video on a regular tv means that you can rip it to whatever you want off the coax out. get a video converter and rip it to DivX -- fit an entire season of the simpsons on a single cdrom. Just think of it this way: you can also rip any audio files you want no matter what kind of DRM or encryption that have -- just plug the line in of another computer into the line out or headphone jack on the player. Not rocket science. That's why it's a joke that companies are going to all this trouble with DRM. The fact that you can hear or see the output means that you can capture it somewhere. Last time I checked people can't process encryypted signals. |
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ej1007
@rr.com
|  reply to Howdy05
Firewire possiblilty.
I Just thought i'd add something to this forum.
I recently pulled apart my explorer 8000 out of curiosity and found something kinda interesting.
(btw, if you cant get the security torx off, a pocket knife works well to break off the security pin :P, and an allen wrench will fit)
but anyway, once i got the box opened... i noticed there was an added jumper wire and a definately aftermarket resistor.
i could not find the info on the chip the resistor was on, though the jumper wire went from a resistor near what looks like the main tsop to the firewire controller chip... (34ANJCt)
maybe a lock?... i desoldered them both and taped them off... hoping this may have been an afterthough added by time warner to try to avoid dvd-r piracy. (cause it was that ghetto looking)
upon reboot, everything seems to work fine..., though no dice on the firewire.... at least not from what i could tell.
i do not have a big->big firewire cable though, so i was unable to test it in premiere or other capture programs as of yet, but on the dv camera nothing came up.
hopefully ill try another cable soon, and see if i have results, but someone feel free to beat me to it.
also, im too poor to care about new developments in home theater technology, but i did read something about them using firewire to xfer video in the future instead of vga, dvi, rgb, etc... so that one cable can do the work of 5 or 6... might be worth looking into how this works to see if it can be adapted to a computer.
anyway, good luck, let me know if you find anything. |
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Howdy05
@adelphia.net
| reply to MapleGuy
Re: Adelphia's DVR (Digital Video Recorder) Statio
Hi all thanks alot for the info.
Have a qustion: It seems I have some bad sectors on my dvr's disk, and I was wondering if the thing goes into any sort of auto-diagnostic that might quarantine them, or if perhaps there was something I could do about it.
Thanks!
-Howdy05 |
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MapleGuy
join:2004-02-06
Maple Heights, OH | reply to JeffWilson
I have a theory.
The F1 and F2 buttons are for the Firewire ports. That might trigger something. I dont know anything though.
There are 2 Firewires and there are F1 and F2. |
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rich_is_bored
@rr.com
| reply to wetwillys
Re: Transfer to computer
It's currently not possible to copy the files saved to the DVR to your computer. It may be possible in the future though.
When you push and hold select and info on the face of the box a statistics screen will appear. One clue you can pull from this screen is the hard drive has two partitions. The larger one is in a file system called AVFS and it's most likely that this is where the movies are stored.
If you do a little research on the net you can pull up this page, which is a list of partition identifiers. There appears to be a match...
quote:
e0 Reserved by STMicroelectronics for a filesystem called ST AVFS.
I'm not sure if the AVFS project on sourceforge is related to the file system in question. Hopefully it is but in any case it's a matter of determining the structure of this file system and creating a program or driver that would allow you to mount a partition of this type before copying the files would be possible.
The question then is would the files be encrypted?
At the moment the only way to "copy" the files to your computer is to capture them using a video capture card which will degrade the quality of the movies quite a bit.
You can use the aux RCA jacks in conjunction with the picture in picture screen to perform the captures and retain use of the cable box to watch other programs. The aux jacks will output full screen video and audio for whatever is displayed in the picture in picture box.
However if the PIP display is left unattended for an hour it will disappear and the aux signal will drop. You will also lose signal if you otherwise remove the PIP display from view. Perhaps you can workaround this issue by moving the PIP box to different corners of the screen every 45 minutes?
At any rate the best method is to use the standard output jacks to capture the video. The only problem with this method is you are forced to watch the video on your computer screen and you must sit through the entire capture. |
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wetwillys
| reply to JeffWilson
Have they cme up with a way to transfer the shows from the dvr to your computer? I tried hooking the firewire from my computer to the dvr....but nothing. Anybody know of any solutions? Thanks in advance! |
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JeffWilson
@ford.com
| reply to Vchat20
Remote reset?
Is there a way to change to remote so that it does not power on my DVD? I know someone posted a sequence a while ago but that one didn't work for me. Maybe there are 2 remotes? Also, my delay on channel changes is getting worse and worse. SOmetimes its' as long as 8-10 seconds! Very frustrating. Any fixes out there? Thanks very much!
Jeff Wilson |
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Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
clubs: 
| reply to Vchat20
no digital workaround
also. im wondering if anyone has some kind of workaround to get the dvr working without any digital serivce. cuz we got our digital shut off tuesday. even though we still get regular analog, the dvr no longer works. i had to reroute the cable from the dvr to the tv to watch anything. major problem is, its not getting turned back on till late saturday. so far the only thing that im worried about is i got a show set to record on early saturday morning that i absolutely CANNOT miss. im sure theres no workaround to this, but its worth a shot to ask. my other cable box is doing the same, but its just plain digital and no dvr. the dvr is what im worried about the most. |
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Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
clubs:
| reply to uncola
Re: Free Space and Used Space on the Hard Drive
said by uncola:
I have this unit connected to my pioneer receiver with coaxial digital audio and only HBO plays with dolby digital.. all the lower channels are analog.. but if I press the Instant Replay button they play as dolby digital.. very annoying I'm gonna call my cable company (Oceanic) tomorrow
i believe if you check back on another page in this thread, this is a common problem. even though it is a bug, its not just you and definitely not something to call the cable company about. |
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uncola
@rr.com
| reply to Sheildbreaker
I have this unit connected to my pioneer receiver with coaxial digital audio and only HBO plays with dolby digital.. all the lower channels are analog.. but if I press the Instant Replay button they play as dolby digital.. very annoying I'm gonna call my cable company (Oceanic) tomorrow |
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Sheildbreaker
@rr.com
| reply to San Diego
I live in Zanesville Ohio, have TW Columbus Passport Echo software, Held + and exit, dIAG showed up on the box, then pushed + and exit again and the summary screen showed up, which is channel 841. Channel up and down navigate menus. ALL of this done ON THE BOX not the remote |
|
San Diego
@rr.com
|  reply to atomicmike5
To get into the Diag Mode on Passport Boxes...
Press the + (Select) and EXIT buttons on the front until the unit chimes (about 3-5 seconds). The front panel display will then show "diag" for a few seconds. You can then tune to channel 611 and access all the diagnostic information. The unit will stay in diag mode until you press the power button, etc., AND you can leave the diagnostic mode on and simply move it to the background by changing back to the channel you were on before pressing 611 (Use the LAST button on the remote to toggle back and forth). Useful if you are trying monitor how much space you are freeing up by deletion, or using up during a recording.
Thanks for sharing. If you go to the next to last menu item, DVR AVFS, after pressing 611 in diagnostic mode, it will give you Audio Visual USED and FREE SPACE to better manage your hard drive consumption. This is great stuff! Happy monitoring! |
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Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
clubs:
| reply to nurok
Re: hdtv
well, i must say our area has to be technically inclined. weve already got like 5-10 channels of HDTV here. most are local networks like NBC, ABC, and CBS. one is a plain digital version of the local NBC channel which can be seen on a regular analog tv. even it is better quality than just plain analog. much sharper. but yeah, i think that we will be going for an HDTV once the one we have is done for (problem is the picture is unusually fuzzy compared to other tv's. can barely read the menu's on the dvr). just have to shop around though. |
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nurok
@madbbs.com
| reply to skopper
Needs a 7200rpm 8meg cache hardrive
This is the hardrive they used in these boxes. Well at least my box. I think the box could be improved greatly by a faster hardrive, especially one with 8meg cache. Hopefully when they make future boxes they will take the performance of the hardrive into account. The problems with slow channel surfing, as well as pauses in FF and RW could very well be solved if a faster hardrive were used.
DiamondMax 16
ATA Hard Drives
The premier choice for desktop, commercial and consumer electronics high-capacity storage needs is the DiamondMax® 16 5400 RPM hard drive. The features of the DiamondMax 16 include data transfer rates up to 133MB/sec, a 2MB cache buffer, and Maxtor's exclusive Shock Protection and Data Protection Systems. |
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skopper
@vical.com | reply to Vchat20
Re: SA Explorer 8000HD
I have a 50" Toshiba HDTV (using digital cable with the Explorer 8000) and the analog channels are as good as or better than on any of my analog TVs. Obviously, the digital channels are even better. Go HDTV. |
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atomicmike5
join:2003-11-04
Fairfield, OH
| reply to fordboy0
I have TW Cinci as well, and I just had a tech out today to check out my box (he ended up replacing it). I watched him put it into diag mode, though...
He pressed the + (Select) and EXIT buttons on the front until the unit chimes (about 3-5 seconds). The front panel display will then show diag for a few seconds. You can then tune to channel 611 and access all the diagnostic information. The unit will stay in diag mode until you press the power button, etc.
Hope this helps for you... let me know if you have any trouble. |
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golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Premium
join:2002-08-06
On a cliff
clubs:
| reply to Vchat20
said by Vchat20  :
... but, is the picture quality on the analog channels better or worse on an HDTV than a regular TV? I heard watching analog channels on an HDTV produces worse quality than a regular TV, but im not totally sure.
[text was edited by author 2003-11-01 02:47:04]
I'd like to hear some feedback on this also. It seems that all involved, networks, cable systems and satellite, have been slow to adapt to HD even though everyone is supposed to be on board by 2006.
Excerpt of legislation:
May 2002: All commercial TV stations are scheduled to begin digital broadcasting.
April 2003: Commercial stations must simulcast (simultaneously broadcast) at least 50 percent of their NTSC (analog) programming on their DTV channel.
May 2003: All public TV stations are scheduled to begin digital broadcasting.
April 2004: Stations must simulcast at least 75 percent of their NTSC programming on their DTV channel.
April 2005: All stations must simulcast 100 percent of their NTSC programming on their DTV channel.
December 2006: All TV stations must turn off their analog signal. |
|
Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
clubs:
| reply to golden eagle
well, we dont currently have an HDTV, nor do we have n HDTV box, but the tv we have in our living room is about to go since it is over 4 years old and the picture is very fuzzy now compared top the other tv's in our house. and what we have decided is that once this TV does go, we are gonna try to get an HDTV. but, is the picture quality on the analog channels better or worse on an HDTV than a regular TV? I heard watching analog channels on an HDTV produces worse quality than a regular TV, but im not totally sure.
[text was edited by author 2003-11-01 02:47:04] |
|
golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Premium
join:2002-08-06
On a cliff
clubs:
| reply to fordboy0
said by fordboy0 :
...I don't understand why they gave this model to me since I do not have HDTV, but I have learned not to question the ultimate authority that is TW cable. ...
How many of you that have the 8000HD actually have an HDTV? I'm considering purchasing an HDTV but TW in nyc, according to their web site, is broadcasting only 6 channels in HD.
--
Pain is just fear leaving the body. |
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