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Bell TV 9241 HD PVR discussion thread

1M views 3K replies 596 participants last post by  dshag 
#1 ·
This discussion thread is for owners to discuss the new ExpressVu 9241 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.
 
#35 ·
Tanner,

I have also noticed the same issue on my new 9241. I experienced it trying to replay something during the Superbowl so you can imagine the reaction I had from all of the guests when the game froze. I had a 9242 that broke and was replaced with this 9241. I never had that issue come up with the 9242 so I'm hoping this is just a software issue.
 
#36 ·
Dual Recording - live tv

Is anyone able to record an existing program after it's already started, then tune into a second program while the first is recording? For some reason, my receiver isn't allowing me to do this. I get error 324 - recording in progress. I can however successfully record 2 future events simoultaneously.
 
#38 ·
I've been using my 9241 for a week now, and I have some observations:

1) Like Tanner and others have reported, the 9241 will occasionally freeze for anywhere from several seconds to a minute or more. Once or twice my 9241 froze long enough that I had to power it off then on to bring it back to life. Hopefully a software update will fix this.

2) One of my scheduled recordings on a HD channel did not work. The scheduled timer reported "signal loss detected", which is strange since the sky was clear and cloudless at the time. :confused:

3) This may be a cabling issue, but I've noticed that the 9241's "up converting" of SD programming to HD output leaves something to be desired. There is a slight but noticeable degradation of picture quality from the HD component output verses the same programming on S-video. I have new cables on order, so we'll see if that makes a difference.

4) The HD video from HD channels is very impressive. No complaints there! :)

Paul
 
#39 ·
These 9241's are certainly a little odd to say the least.

Just played with and activated 7 of them this morning, all acted the same;

Signal level was in low 60%, straight from the Box.
All showed DP equipment in Check Switch Screen.
All showed 119 Sat in Point Dish Screen, with Bell 91 showing wrong Sat.
All of them had Remotes that would NOT work the receivers, all needed new address's.

All were pretty slow to respond to any Remote functions.
After downloading firmware, Signal level jumped to low 90's.
Most took 3 or more Check Switch to show the actual switch's installed.

Only 1 worked as I would expect as soon as it was downloaded.

I hope this was just an odd batch, this would be so frustrating for an installer, day after day.
 
#40 ·
UHF remote Control of 9241 with 5900's remote

I have a brand new 9241 PVR - - the old style outputs (Video-Left-Right) of which I have modulated in our family room where the PVR is located onto a Channel 3 RF carrier for delivery to our bedroom TV upstairs via cable.

To my surprise and disappointment, the silver remote we have been using with our now retired Model 5900 WILL control the Model 9241 via infrared but can't be used in our bedroom because the UHF RF side is not communicating with the new PVR.

I figure it must be an RF channelization issue - i.e. the 9241 is "listening" on a UHF channel other than the one used by the 5900.

Is there any way to positively diagnose if my hunch is right and more importantly does anyone now a hack or whatever that would enable me to get the 5900's remote talking via UHF to the new PVR ?
 
#41 ·
Is there any way to positively diagnose if my hunch is right and more importantly does anyone now a hack or whatever that would enable me to get the 5900's remote talking via UHF to the new PVR ?
Have you made sure that the remote is at the same UHF remote address as the receiver?

From the info window on the receiver (menu-6-1-3 IIRC) check the address and band for the UHF remote and set your remote to use the same. Alternately while on the info screen, you can press the "record" button on the UHF remote to change the configuration of the receiver but be careful with that because if you have another receiver that this remote controls they will now both be listening to the same band/channel.
 
#42 ·
5900's remote not UHF frequency adjustable

Helpful suggestion and I will try this once more.


However,......While more recent Bell/Dish Network remotes seem to have "A/B" switches to change UHF transmit frequencies, the older style silver remote supplied originally to us with the 5900 PVR does not seem UHF ch adjustable.

Since this older silver remote already talks fine to the 9241 via infrared, I would assume it's address is the same as that at which the 9241 is watching for BOTH UHF and infrared signals.

I still suspect the remote's UHF TX channel is different and am still looking for a hack to change it.........gotta be a way ???? No ? Yes ????
 
#44 ·
However,......While more recent Bell/Dish Network remotes seem to have "A/B" switches to change UHF transmit frequencies, the older style silver remote supplied originally to us with the 5900 PVR does not seem UHF ch adjustable.
That "A/B" setting is what I (and Bell) referred to as the band. Even if you can't change the band setting on the remote you still have to make sure the receiver is programmed to use the proper band using the procedure I posted previously.

Since this older silver remote already talks fine to the 9241 via infrared, I would assume it's address is the same as that at which the 9241 is watching for BOTH UHF and infrared signals.
The remote addresses between IR and UHF can and usually are different.
 
#43 ·
There is no need to "hack" anything. Just simply change the Remote Address, an easy procedure that allows for 16 different codes.

Whilst on the System Info screen, as described above, MENU, 6, 1, 3.
Press and hold the SAT button, all lights will flash. Let go of SAT button.
Then enter the code you want, from 01 to 16.
Press the # Button.
If the code you entered is valid the SAT button will flash 3 times.
 
#46 ·
I received my 9241 today. As a convert from rogers I don't love the menus and guide. I don't find it quite as intuitive to use.

I was disappointed that the 9241 didn't come with an HDMI cable. As the 9242 did. That being said, has anyone compared the image using component vs HDMI? I'm trying to decide if it is worth the upgrade.
 
#48 ·
hdcp issue

I hooked up my new 9241 receiver via HDMI cable to my Sony W4100 TV and HD channels are working fine. However, when I tried to order a Pay Per View event, I got an error message saying my TV is not HDCP enabled. I've verfied the Sony W4100 TV is suppose to be HDCP compatible and the Sony support site says to power off the set top box for 30 seconds and retry. If this does not resolve the issuse, contact your STB manufacturer. I know that I can use component cables to get around this but this would defeat the purpose of buying an HD receiver and HDTV. My receiver firmware version is 2.30 if this helps. Anyone else experience this issue or know how to resolve it? Thanks!
 
#51 ·
I just got my 9241 installed last weekend and I noticed a couple difference between this unit and the 9242 which I also have:

1. No PiP on the 9241.
2. 9241 hardrive fan is very NOISY comparing to the 9242 even at idle temperatures.
3. The remote on the 9241 acts like an IR instead of UHF cause it needs line of sight in order to work. I tried flipping the thingy under the bell logo on the remote from black (UHF) to silver (UHF PRO) and the remote didn't even work on the silver side.

Anyone having the same issues?
 
#53 ·
Because due to the lack of training of CSR's at Bell, many people would get to 6 Tuners and be told they cannot add another receiver as the limit is 6 tuners. Well that was wrong but because Bell then compounded this by a misprint on a programming guide, many CSR's again gave out this incorrect answer.

The correct answer in 99% of cases it that there is a 6 Receiver limit, regardless of them being Single or Dual Tuner machines.

One are where there is still confusion, is on NEW rental installations. The rules there are that a maximum of 4 Tuners (NOT receivers) can be activated on a NEW Rental account. This has not yet changed since the introduction of the 9241, which it should in my opinion.

Just to add a little more background info, you can after actiavting a NEW Rental account of say 4 Tuners (4 x 4100's) add another 2 receivers (NOT Tuners) to that account, either as Rental or ORS (Out Right Sale) although there would be a charge for the Installation and any extra switch's you require. Extra Charges also for the lines to each additional Tuner. So to add 2 more 4100's it would caost around $250 ($50 each for the 2 lines plus $150 for an 8 way multiswitch).

To get around this charge, for the extra 2 receivers, you just change one to a 6131 (HD), this then makes you elligible for a Free HD Upgrade, where you will get not only the 2 extra receivers installed for free but the existing 4 Tuners will also be Upgraded to receive the HD signals as well. (Yes I know the 4100's are SD but they will receive the 82 degree signals)

I know your question was only 3 words and I seem to have written War & Peace but I hope it helps to clear up why people have this fascination of Tuners Vs Receivers.
 
#54 ·
I just had a 9241 installed on Saturday. I too have the problem of my recorded program freezing while trying to skip through the commertials. It's pretty annoying to say the least. I haven't run into any other problems yet, but I have not used it much. I do have a question though. I just bought a used DVD recorder. Can anyone tell me how do I hook it up with the 9241? :)
 
#55 ·
Just wanted to let everyone know......

....that Bell TV tech support tells me a day or two ago that their software people are working on a patch or two for the 9241 because this receiver was shipped to customers in Canada with a Bell-made bug causing it to occasionally totally freeze when you try to play a recorded event.

Here's how it happens: Typically you'll get a few seconds into the event and then experience a total freeze of the screen and your PVR will be non-controllable by any button on the remote until you do a forced reboot by pressing the reset button on the front panel of the receiver for about 7 seconds.

This of course worked for me but we continue to experience occasional short freezes and other minor anomalies in playback from time to time but the total freeze-up of the entire receiver has happened so far only once.

When are these cost and corner cutting monkeys at Bell going to release a bug-free version of software for ANY of their hardware devices - let alone the 9241 ? What a poor show - like having all your previously recorded material on the 5900 made inaccessible by a Bell software update for that ill-starred model ! What bozos these Bell higher managers are !

Such deja vu !!!
 
#1,721 ·
....that Bell TV tech support tells me a day or two ago that their software people are working on a patch or two for the 9241 because this receiver was shipped to customers in Canada with a Bell-made bug causing it to occasionally totally freeze when you try to play a recorded event.

Here's how it happens: Typically you'll get a few seconds into the event and then experience a total freeze of the screen and your PVR will be non-controllable by any button on the remote until you do a forced reboot by pressing the reset button on the front panel of the receiver for about 7 seconds.

This of course worked for me but we continue to experience occasional short freezes and other minor anomalies in playback from time to time but the total freeze-up of the entire receiver has happened so far only once.

When are these cost and corner cutting monkeys at Bell going to release a bug-free version of software for ANY of their hardware devices - let alone the 9241 ? What a poor show - like having all your previously recorded material on the 5900 made inaccessible by a Bell software update for that ill-starred model ! What bozos these Bell higher managers are !

Such deja vu !!!
I'm having the same problem it started happening about 2 weeks ago and its still happening,in time will it just fix it self or is my receiver shot,is there anything a guy can do to fix it.
 
#56 ·
HDCP status

Could someone with a direct HDMI connection between their 9241 and TV check what their HDCP status is displaying in the diagostic screen? Just press MENU 6-1-3 and go to the second page. My HDCP status is NO and preventing me from ordering HD PPV events. I'd also be interested what make and model of TV you are using. Thanks.
 
#57 ·
Hey Mike Bryan, thanks for the update. The freeze is annoying. I notice that when I first watch a program, and try and fast forward or whatever, it'll freeze but typically doesn't after that, and it typically comes back to life after 15-30 seconds.

Did leave a message with Bell about this and never got a reply, hopefully this bug gets resolved soon. Seriously, how did such a simple thing to test get into a final firmware update anyways???
 
#60 ·
In what way are you disappointed with the outputs.?

If you had a 6000, it had Component out.
If you had a 6100, it had Component & DVi.

The 9241 has HDMI & Component.
 
#63 ·
RJ-45 Network Jack is for...?

Just what is the purpose of the RJ-45 jack on the back of the 9241? Is this on some hidden page of the manual? I'm daydreaming that it'd be for NAS (ha ha ha, man, what a pipedream that'd be) but I just can't seem to find where it says "the RJ-45 jack on the back of the receiver is for..."

Mind you I did just have Lasik eye surgery.... maybe I just keep missing the obvious...
 
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