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Bell TV 9400 Discussion Thread

542K views 990 replies 168 participants last post by  noah12 
#1 ·
The last few days with every install of a 9241 I've had Bell in their infinite (lack of) wisdom has started labeling the job info as a 9400 install. I've never seen nor even heard of a 9400 till then.

Anyone?
 
#145 ·
@ Monkeyhunk, I am not sure but I believe he said smaller.

The images were cropped by me and saved on my drive as a cropped image, so that is most likely why it says cropped. I cropped them so there was nothing in the background that could identify where they were taken...... One had a Manager in the picture, pretty sure that would not be appreciated.....lol

Rest assured as soon as I get hold, I will try to do a series of pics, just like I did with the 6400.
 
#146 ·
If they're smaller and just as reliable I'm all for it.....from an installer standpoint of course. They throw in HDMIs instead of all that colour stream garbage even better. Revenue from HDMI cables obviously would suffer slightly but life would be easier in general.
 
#147 ·
Revenue.? If you work for a National Installation Co, you CANNOT sell the customer anything.....lol Which is why one large Co, follows the rules and gives them away, same as Tripods.
 
#149 ·
At first looking at 75 hours of HD could mean they've readjusted their figures because on my 9242 I have 6 hours recorded but with compression, it still leaves me with 27.5 hours left. So in real life I have around 60 hours on my hard drive but looking at the 500 SD hours listed on the 9400, it must be a 1TB hard drive.

Still it doesn't look like it will feed two TVs, so no PIP or swap features. Just maybe a smaller 9241, nothing special and I'm glad I found a second 9242.

If it has a recently available 1TB drive maybe it will be a good choice as a replacement drive on a 9241 or 9242.
 
#150 ·
You are correct, from connections on the rear it is nothing but a smaller 9241, with as you say, no PiP or 2nd TV out.

I wonder when the full MPEG4 switch will come, as that is when you should see all new software for the PVR's that will show more accurately the recording time available.
 
#153 ·
We can start selling them now. They were announced on OneSource Oct 25th, but due to limited supply until January we are to advise that they will record at least 30 hours HD, due to the fact that there is not guarantee which model the customer will recieve 9241 or 9400. My staff called me today to tell me they came in today but I was out of town, so I had them put one aside on my desk to take home tomorrow.
 
#154 ·
Hmmmm, interesting. I know that the ones in Warehouses across Canada that belong to National Installers cannot release them yet. Typical Bell.
 
#156 ·
Frazah, where did you hear that? The only way I could see them putting it back up to $20/month is if they put the purchase price up to $720 ($20/month x 36 months). The whole point of the Rental Choice Plan is that it's 36 equal payments, totaling the purchase price of the receiver.

Also, we're not allowed to install them until Nov 11th, and even then it's only on purchased receivers, until the 9241 stock is gone.
 
#157 ·
I know that right now they show 75 hours free, but I'm willing to bet that the first time they're hooked up there will be a firmware update to change that back to 30 hours, and once the MPEG4 transition is complete in January there will be another firmware update and it will go back up to 75 hours. I'm sure that Bell had originally planned on having the MPEG swap done long before the 9400 was released, so the 75 hours free would have been correct, but as we all know, the MPEG swap took forever.

Do I have any takers on that bet? :p

I imagine that we'll be getting them at our warehouse soon.
 
#161 ·
9400 Hands on first impressions and Details.

Well, I finally got hold of one of these new 9400's.

First thing that struck me was the size, smaller than the 9241, by quite a margin.

9241 373mm Wide - 350mm Deep - 85mm Top to Bottom, inc feet.
9400 360mm Wide - 230mm Deep - 36mm Top to Bottom, inc feet.

Next, the Power cord is a separate item, just a simple 2 pin 110v Cord. The 9400 ships with a 5.4 IR Remote an HDMI Cable, Composite Cables and Phone Cord, along with a “9400 Getting Started Guide” a “Receiver Safety Information” booklet and a copy of the Bell TV, Residential Customer Agreement (Updated Dec 11th, 2011).

The rear has an Antenna Input for the UHF Remote, which is Odd, as the Remote is a 5.4 IR model, same one as ships with the 6400 receiver.

The two front Doors on the Receiver are no longer held closed with a cheap plastic catch but with magnetic latch's.

Connected to my DPP Twin LNBF, then Power On. First thing is, ZERO noise and I mean ZERO. I was concerned I had chosen a DOA Receiver but no it really is that quite. No whirring Fan noise, just a very distant hum of a Hard Drive. I must stress it is very, very quiet.

From running the first "Check Switch" to a functioning 9400 took just a shade under 9 minutes.

Remote response was poor, very slow to react and I was only 6” from the Receivers IR Detector, maybe I was too close…..

As seen in a previous image I posted, Recording time shows 75 Hours HD or 500 Hours SD.
 
#162 ·
Bell TV 9400

This is the initial screen visible on Power Up. Shows that the Receiver was tested on 119W.



Initial Check Switch Screen, showing last test was done on 119 with a DP LNBF.



Start of Check Switch on my DPP Twin LNBF.

 
#172 ·
Did I say how quiet this Receiver is.?

Well I had it set for a 3am Update. I set the 9400 within 3 feet of my head in the Bedroom.

I saw the green light come on and a very distant whirring sound, that was it.

Remote seems more responsive this morning, maybe it just does not like Tuesdays......

Also, this unit runs Coooool. It recorded 5 hours of the "Free Preview" Channel yesterday evening, run the 3 am Update and the case is still the same temp as it was coming out of the box, no heat at all, nothing.

In going through the Menu have you found any new features buried in those familiar choices?
Well it looks like the CC (Closed Captioning) Menu is quite extensive. Not that I have ever even looked at this on a 9200/9241/9242.

I will get some screen shots later today and share them.
 
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