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Bell TV 6131 Discussion thread

781K views 2K replies 412 participants last post by  Battscrew 
#1 ·
This discussion thread is for owners to discuss the new ExpressVu 6131 HD Receiver when it becomes available.

Any posts discussing when it will be available or from NON-owners will be deleted and the poster will receive an infraction.

Once again, this thread is for OWNERS only.

For non-owners who would like to learn more and discuss the new ExpressVu 6131 or 9241 receivers you can discuss it here.

Edit by 57 - 6131 User Manual:

http://support.bell.ca/_web/guides/tv/userguide/receiver/6131/6131_12_ch10_eng(en).pdf
 
#149 ·
SimpleTech 640 GB Drive

I just connected a SimpleTech 640 GB Drive (7200 rpm, external AC power, USB 2.0, 3.5" Drive) to my 6131 receiver. The installation went smoothly. After having used a 4100 for a year, I really appreciate the 6131's additional functionality, especially the zoom function. I have my 6131 connected to a Sharp Aquos 32" TV.
 
#150 ·
Bell sent me 2 of these over rated pieces of poo. Both of them (6131) black out and reset at will. I am using componet output to the HDTV, and composit outputs to drive modulators so the signal goes to other TVs and recorders ect.

Bells tells me to turn them off when not watching. That doesn't help me, as I have no cable, so I generally leave my 6 receivers tuned to favorite channels when not in use, that way, on any TV in the house, there are 6 of the favorite channels we generally watch available for viewing anywhere in the house.

The 6000 had their own problems, not being able to output HD and SD at the same time, but at least in the 10 years I had them, I never had to reset them almost every day, or had to turn them off. (or have them turn off on their own when recording a show onto a DVD, due to the inactivity timer activating)
Now I have turned off the inactivity timer, or the forced update to keep the receivers powered up, I have the help desk telling me that I need to turn them off.
Another frustrating thing I have found is if I leave it on the weather channel for any length of time, the receiver will free up and not allow channel change unless the power cord unplugged for 15 seconds. Bell say this is the interactive feature and I shouldn't leave the receiver tuned to the weather channel for extended periods.
It appears that these receivers have been released that have not been fullt tested, and some more tweaking is needed to the software.
 
#151 ·
I bought the 6131 today with a simpletech 500 gb drive. It meets all the specs that are needed for the 6131.

When I plugged the drive in the 6131 it recognized the drive and went through the formatting process, when it finished the process, it went directly back to the page where it says it the device has been detected and needs to be formatted, it has done this 5 times now. It doesn't seem to be recognizing the drive after it goes through the formatting process.
Anyone had this happen or any suggestions, I tried rebooting and it still does it.
I can watch TV fine but have no PVR capabilities right now.
 
#152 ·
Aspect ratio for 6131 when connected to 16x9

I have my 6131 receiver connected directly to my Samsung 32 inch LCD via HDMI. The TV type is set correctly within the 6131 as 720p and 16x9. The problem I am having is that SD shows display in 4x3 and not 16x9. The HD channels display correctly in 19x9. I was expecting that SD would show in 16x9 just as it does with by 9141 which is connected to a Samsung 40 inch LCD. am I doing something wrong? Thx!
 
#153 ·
Default SD signals are always 4:3 You've likely set up your 40 inch set to stretch or zoom mode.
 
#155 ·
Bell rep told me to use 2 - 6131's and switch the hard drive between them
You may get hit with the "three strikes" issue. The third time a hard dive is moved between receivers, it is reformatted. (At least that's true with the 9241/2. Not sure about the 6131.)
 
#157 ·
I ordered 2 of these recievers @ 149.99, plus I got a 15% employee discount on that so I feel I got them at a pretty good price. One for me one for my father.

I also picked up a verbatim 500gb hard drive and it seems to be working great, recording some movies from the HD movie channels for viewing at a later date is an amazing feature.

I do got a question though is there any way to turn off that annoying blue HDTV light on the reciever its self? Kind of annoying in a dark room.
 
#159 ·
Arg, I was hoping that wasn't going to be the answer I heard. My beutiful setup destroyed by thiat ugly blue light. I guess im going to have to grab some electrical tape :[.

I love this reciever, watching the playoffs in HD is amazing even if the flames are 5 mins to elimination.
 
#163 ·
I have a hard drive that meets all the requirements. It works when plugged into my laptop, however, when plugged into the 6131, nothing happens at all. The receiver doesn't even recognize that something was plugged in. Any ideas? I have rebooted the receiver many times and the firmware is up to date v166.
 
#165 ·
I recently got the 6131 receiver. Today I tried to hook up my EHD and I got the message to format the EHD. So I click on "yes" then the screen goes blank. In less than one minute, the screen comes to back where I was before I hook up the EHD. So I click on PVR but its seems like it didn't work.
I've also try it with a different EHD and same results. Both EHD are functional because they used to be for my backup so I know for a fact they work.
Does anyone have any idea what could I've done wrong?
Thanks
 
#166 · (Edited)
6131 EHD not being seen by receiver.

Bought new 6131 last week. Hooked up working fine. Bought brand new comstar Platinum USB 2.0 1T EHD, hooked up, followed the prompts (formatted drive, restarted receiver, etc...). At the end of this cycle, the receiver restarts, finds a signal and starts showing TV no problem. Unfortunately, no PVR functions are recognized. When I push PVR or My Programs, it prompts me to go to the Bell website.

When I turn off the receiver and EHD, restart the receiver, turn back on the hard drive, the receiver sees the hard drive, does not need to re-format but claims that the receiver needs to be restarted. I select yes, it goes through the motions but takes me back to the same spot - satellite working fine but doesn't seem to see the EHD.

Any help? or should I call Bell?
 
#170 ·
Update - Bell had me try two days worth of unplug, plug, download, reset, wait, etc... with my new comstar 1TB EHD and then claimed they would 'send me an authorization signal' within 15 minutes to 2 hours and everything would be good to go but nothing happened.

I called again the next day, was taken through the same exercise as the 'tech' guy put me on hold to talk to their internal 'senior tech guy' for upwards of 45 minutes whom I was eventually put through to directly. In the end the 'senior tech' guy was no help and couldn't offer much in the way of a solution other than them telling me to buy a Lacie brand EHD from their Bell store as this is the one they recommend.

For what it was worth, I explained that the 6131 product is very misleading when it says PVR ready by attaching an external harddrive. I cannot find any literature under the spec's that says 'compatible only with brand X, Y, or Z.

Anyway, instead of being snookered into buying a $200 Lacie from the Bell store, I bought the 1TB Lacie for $40 less at Future Shop, plugged it in and it works perfectly.

Lessons learned:
1. Bell is in the wrong until they explicitly list 'compatible only with' on their 6131 receiver box and in their ad literature. If they want to be less direct, at least a 'may not be compatable with all EHD' or Bell recommends Lacie EHD., etc...

2. If you, as the buyer, buy anything other than a Lacie, you're flipping a coin on compatability. If you want to improve your chances, read the forum to see what works best other than Lacie.

3. Consider buying the $499 Dual Tuner Bell PVR. Yes, it's $150 - $200 more than 6131 with an EHD but it should work right out of the box.

Anyway, 3 trips to future shop and 3 hours or tech support later, I am enjoying the luxuries of PVR. Meh.

All the Bell employees were all very nice but not very helpful. I suspected the end result - go buy a Lacie - and should have figured it out from the start.
 
#174 ·
no power supply
I would be worried in the long run that the USB bus in the receiver is not designed to handle the load of an external hard drive ... thus the requirement for an external power supply. May be worth investing in a power supply for the EHD. As for the speed, I would think you may run into issues when you task the hard drive with a heavy load (recording a program and watching another on that is already recorded). Just a theory on my part. The size of the buffer in the hard drive may help ... WD is a good hard drive, so you may not have an issue.
 
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