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Motorola DCX3400 owners' thread

697K views 2K replies 275 participants last post by  ShawViewer 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Thought I would start a resource thread the Motorola DCX3400 PVR from Shaw. So far, the unit runs very cool as compared to the Pace Aspen. The top of the home theater cabinet is no longer warm when the unit is on or off. With the Aspen, it was warm 24 hours a day even with the unit "off". Also, channel changing is much speedier than previous PVR's from Shaw.

The Shaw channel menu does not stretch all the way to the sides, looks like it's SD only?

What other quirks and things do owners need to know about this unit?
 
#2 ·
1) Firewire connection to a PC seems to be established if you add some obvious lines to the INF file (the usual STB driver pack that we all use) search for DCT-3416 and copy/paste matching lines with "DCX-34xx"... not DCX-3400). I had to reboot a few times then Windows did an online driver update for some reason and the box showed up in Device Manager.

Now the catch: during playback/capture the box plays the video fast and the captures are corrupted.

I have some troubleshooting to do regarding what drivers Windows downloaded but this capture problem is consistent with what I read on other forums.

2) I haven't been able to reproduce the warning message that you get on a 3416 for repeatedly pressing SKIP too fast.
 
#4 ·
The firewire port is active. Windows exchanges data with the box to know and receives the device ID string to recognize: "Motorola DCX-34xx" and the usual three IEEE-1394 interfaces (two recognized and one unrecognized). After driver installation, I can copy data from the box to a PC but that data is corrupted.
 
#5 ·
I guess active and supported are 2 different things? Guess Maybe someone in the know can let us know if the firewire is enabled and functioning properly.

Are you using the firewire to network yor PC and PVR or just using it to download / capture video being played on the PVR?
 
#6 ·
Firewire is enabled but Windows 7x64 is unable to find the drivers. I tried to find drivers for this device and failed. Can someone point me in the right direction. This is the first time I have bothered to tinker with my cable box. I just got the DCX3400 and it inspired me. I am a comp sci major / software engineer.
 
#7 ·
There are no 64-bit drivers but if you re-wrote the existing ones you'd be a hero to the community. Otherwise your option is to dual-boot. My HTPC is remaining 32-bit mostly for the cable box.

My programming begins and ends with database solutions so I'm useless here. If you feel like taking a stab at it, 32-bit drivers are here (you have to make the INF file changes I indicated above to get the 3400 to install):

http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/
 
#8 ·
So after some heavy usage, I am noticing a few dropouts where the TV would show the resolution as if you just provided a signal to it. This is happening during TV programs (ie. not during in between programs). DCX3400 is connected directly to the A/V Receiver. Never had this happen with the other 2 PVR's I have had. Even using the old HDMI cable from the previous PVR. Any ideas?
 
#9 ·
I've been using mine for a couple of weeks now and noticed that the video will randomly blank out like as if the TV was re-syncing the HDMI signal. The DCX3400 was a direct swap in for an old Motorola PVR, ie, all the same cables (which worked fine). If I press skip back, the video replays without the dropout, so it's not a signal loss issue. The audio does not disappear when the video blanks out.

Not a major problem, just a little irritating.
 
#11 ·
No problems with the IR reception here. In fact I have to be careful to cover the front of the box well when controlling my 3416 (it's still in the living room as I watch/delete the older PVR content).

I've noticed no more or less dropouts than with the 3416 and those are infrequent for me over the last 6 months.
 
#14 ·
Channel selection question

OK, maybe a stupid question, but how do I set my box to automatically go to for example channel 44 by pressing 4-4 rather than 0-4-4....or to channel 2 by pressing 2 rather than 0-0-2. My 6416 would do that, and I thought there was something in the setup menu in the guide but I can't find it

thanks

Forget it....found it.....it is auto tune
 
#16 ·
How does your signal strength look in the service menu? I have had zero issues with the 3400 during live TV or recording but my first check would be to see if you had borderline signal strength just in case the 3400's tuner isn't as sensitive as the 3416, etc.

IIRC, mine is indicated "good" at ~35 dB
 
#17 ·
DCX3400

Hi,bought DCX3400 today at Future Shop $344.99,$390.31 inc taxes.They are$349.99 at London Drugs for next couple of days,got 10% price guarantee at FS,works great seems to be a little quicker and crisper then 3416 when searching menu and changing channels,recording,FF,REV works great!
 
#21 ·
considering the 3400

I have the 3416 and recently have been having problems (i.e. recordings that stop before the end of the movie or, right when I am near the end of a show, the screen freezes, goes blank and the DCT becomes unresponsive).
Anyone experiencing problems like this with the 3400 or do I just have a bad 3416? :(
 
#24 ·
I have the same setup: PVR->receiver->TV. Every once in a while the picture will blink out then come back, say every 1/2 hour or hour. Doesn't matter whether I'm watching a recording or live TV. If I skip back, it will play normally, so it's not in the show. The TV indicates it either lost the HDMI signal or a resolution change occurred. Audio is not affected; DD decoder keeps on playing without losing lock. It's annoying but easier to put up with than 1 minute blank recordings.
 
#25 ·
That sounds like what I am seeing. Do you think this could be our receiver not hand shaking properly with the PVR or something else? Would you mind connecting directly from the PVR to the TV and see if this happens. I will do the same and post back in the next day or so.

Also, the DCX3400 will not stick to 1080i output. It keeps reverting back to 720p. Should I set the output of HDMI to Native instead of 1080i? And is there a SAVE function after I set the 1080i or just power off?
 
#26 ·
So here is a quick update. Upon much research, it seems that many A/V receiver users are also seeing this handshake (blanking) issue with various set top boxes when HDMI is connected to the receiver before the TV. Here is one fix if anyone is interested. Sure pain the butt as this did NOT happen with the crappy Pace boxes, just this new Motorola. Grrrr.


- Connect Moto DCX3400 to TV via HDMI.

The main problem here is most TV's dot not pass through 5.1 digital sound to you receiver, just 2.1. So you you want 5.1 sound from watching cable (shows, news, sports), then you will have to connect an optical (or coaxial) from the PVR to the receiver. This is ok for now as I think only DD5.1 is pushed for cable broadcasts. DTS and/or DD>5.1 is still not being used by broadcasters. Why is this important? Coaxial and optical cannot pass through the newer HD sounds like DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD (only works with HDMI).

So, this is a pain in the butt. Let's hope Shaw fixes this issue with some sort of a firmware upgrade. Like I said, no such issue with the Pace boxes, just this new Moto DCX3400. PITA.
 
#28 ·
My configuration is PVR->HDMI Switch->Receiver->TV. The HDMI switch has a built-in signal conditioner. All other devices (including the old PVR tuner that the DCX3400 replaced) work fine in this configuration. Only the DCX3400 is having a problem.

The reason I have the switch is to solve a signal problem with the XBox360 not syncing HDMI properly with the receiver. It works great through the switch, so I know it's cleaning up signal problems.

The blanking issue isn't bugging me enough to justify re-wiring my system (and reprogram my remote!). I'm just hoping Shaw gets this fixed.
 
#29 ·
Interesting. I've had the same problem with both my boxes when connected via HDMI through my receiver. For a while I thought it was just my Yamaha AVR but good to know it's not. Is this an issue Shaw could correct via firmware update? I'm glad you guys brought it up.
 
#30 ·
Question about the power off after 4 hours

Got this running yesterday, so far ok though I have not really used it for anything other then watching live TV. The channels under 58 seem do look better.

QUESTION:

I know you can turn this off, but before I do does it shut the box totally off? Does it mean that your preset recordings will not record? Or does it wake up for those?


If not its a rather useless feature.
 
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