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ExpressVu 6141 plus External HDD = Instant PVR

93K views 232 replies 83 participants last post by  hugh 
#1 · (Edited)
The ExpressVu 6141 is being introduced tomorrow by Bell.

For details about it, see the dedicated thread.

In this thread, I wanted to highlight that the ExpressVu 6141 will have USB 2.0 capability so you can add a hard drive and it becomes an HD PVR. Expected time frame for this capability is this year

The $299 unit comes with a PVR remote and has a nine day electronic program guide.
 
#176 ·
9am this morning when i checked i still had v164 of the firmware. Seems kind of odd that they'd push it thru during the day instead of the standard 3am push but who knows.

Been pushing off buying a HDD to make sure that it actually does get pushed thru so if it does then i'll go tomorrow and get one. Depending on the functionality of this then i may buy one of the 6131's when my rental comes due very soon.
 
#179 ·
My call not 5 mins ago with a Bell Tech online Chat

Thank you for your patience.
You are now chatting with Johanne.
Johanne: Hi John, welcome to Bell TV Chat! It will be a pleasure to help you out with your request today concerning the 6141 upgrade.
Johanne: And, yes, the 6141 is available effective today to add an external hard drive.
john : do i just plug in my external HD and it will be enabled right away
john : is that all i need to do then
Johanne: Yes you will. They are upgrading all receivers starting today. So, once yours updated, you only plug your EHD and it will work.
john : this is awesome i can't wait to be able to start recording HD content with my new HD, thanks for your help today
Johanne: I understand you! It was a pleasure to assist you today and thank you for choosing Bell.ca. Have a great day!
john : you too


This is gonna be great and they are not charging for the upgrade feature for a Hard drive addon.
 
#184 ·
All you have to do to get the upgrade (or at least try to see if it will upgrade) is to press and hold the power button on the 6141 until the green light goes out. The 6141 will reset and I think it may also download the latest firmware if available to you. Give that a try. It won't do any harm. If that doesn't work does anyone else have suggestions?
 
#187 ·
no worries, turned off the unit and now have V165!

question, does anyone know if I can use a Memorex Ultra Travel Drive? I have a 160gb version and have attached it with the optional power source. I have connected it to the 6141, but no luck, it is not asking me to format it. Do I need to call Bell first to have the software activated?
 
#193 ·
Waiting game now

Got home noticed V165, plugged Western Digital 500GB drive, gave me error message about drive needing to be between 60GB and 1TB.

Had NTFS partition on Disk! Blew that away, plugged in with no partition on disk.

It passed the initial check, then I got message to call to activate the TV PVR.

That's done, the tech told me it should take 30 minutes max....


I will report back!

My initial and only post goes back to november 2007, when I got this receiver and bell told me USB-PVR will be enabled in a month or so :)
 
#195 ·
activation

You may need a representative to send an authorization "Hit" to the account if you plan to try the feature out in the next few days. You could also send yourself a "Hit" or re-synchronization on bell.ca or the phone systems self-care systems.

After next week, this step won't be needed for anybody connecting a drive

Drewsat
 
#198 ·
Mine did the same thing, everything is good, even tells you LIVE TV in right corner of screen when you change channels so you know you are not recording. Rewind during live tv,pause to go to the bathroom works GREAT. This is the best thing since sliced bread, THANKS Bell TV, you finally came thru with what you promised.... Another happy customer.
 
#199 ·
Just made two calls to BellTV and two very different responses. I called the french line first, thinking there would be less of a wait time. Waited about two minutes. The tech insisted that the option was unavailable. I insisted he was mistaken. He put me on hold for a couple of minutes and said that it was be activated in the future but not available at this time. I told him about the firmware and new menu options but he still maintained that it was not possible at this time. I left it at that and called the English line. I had zero wait time, the tech told me it was available, told me that the recommended drive was a Lacie 750GB and read a bunch of stuff off a memo. He said that there will be a $25 activation charge in the future but it is being waived for the moment. He said all I have to do is plug in a drive and follow the on-screen instructions and that he did not have to activate anything from his end. Right now, I do not have a drive to test out. I have been waiting forever and didn't want to shoot myself in the foot so to speak. Has anyone been able to just plug and play?

BTW: I will be heading to FS soon to get a drive with my gift certificates. Lacie or Western Digital?
 
#202 ·
Getting setup with PVR function

I noticed the 165 and plugged in a drive. It told me to call BEV to get teh PVR enabled on my unit. So I did..... Tech told me I needed v182 not v165. TRied to get it to update to 182 but it wouldn't. Tried to get latest firmware, but it didn't. Will try again after work. Apparently the 182 is supposed to allow auto connect without reset "hit" from BEV.

What options in the menu have people been using when they call BEV. The guy I got didn't seem to know what was going on.

On another track, I have a logitech harmony remote, has the settings for that been set to allow PVR functions in a Bell 6141 ?

Please advise.
 
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