My understanding is that you can move an EHD from one 6131 to another on the same account. If this is true, you should be able to see your recorded shows on your second unit.

I don't have two of these, only one, so I can't try this myself. I have two 9242's and once you move these more than 3 times between units, it asks you to format the hard drive. This apparently will NOT happen with the 6131/6141 units.

My apologies if this has been answered already (I scanned the earlier posts and didnt see reference to it)...

I have a 9242 and am just about to pick up a 6131 for the bedroom. Do you (or anyone) know if you can move an EHD between the 9242 and 6131? Or if it works in one direction, and not the other, or vice versa? And if the 3-transition limit is in effect?

Thanks in advance.

No only one or the other and no 3 strike rule for the 6131.

The programming is recoverable on a Bell EHD. Just copy the files over to a second freshly formatted EHD using Linux. I've done this a couple of times with corrupted EHDs. The files are in a folder on the largest partition(s). Don't bother with the small partition, since this is what appears to get corrupted.

Also, do not fill up the EHD. This appears to be what often corrupts the it.

ive got a strange prob with my 6131. when coming out of standby mode(bell messages on screen) the audio hums very loudly, and gradually fades away after 15-30 seconds.
the receiver is hooked into my 32" lcd tv via hdmi. i've already swapped the cable twice, and the hum is still there.
any thoughts or suggestions?

So you have eliminated the cable, all that is left is the TV or the receiver.

Do you get the same hum via Composite Audio output.?

by composite i think you mean the left/right rca cables, i havent tried that, but if it doesnt, im guessing the jack on the receiver is defective. i'll try that

I have just started getting the same sound. It is definately the receiver since I can change the imput on the TV and it disappears but returns when I switch back.
Any suggestions?

Well we hooked up our 6131 yesterday along with our new TV with a DVD Recorder in the middle.

We're having trouble with the TV thinking its a 4:3 format and i'm just curious if i could make it so that both the receiver and DVD Recorder output a 16:9 picture through these cables?

If not, we'll live with it for now since we use S. Stretch and we'll probably use HDMI as a seperate cable from the HD Receiver to the TV itself for times when we aren't recording i guess.

BTW DVD Recorder is connected to the TV via Component

Going through the DVD will only give you an SD image anyway, so I would suggest getting the HDMI cables soon, so you can enjoy what you are paying for, HD.

I have a DVD recorder in my system too, but even if I am recording, I watch the show in HD, via HDMI.

I know but just wanted to know if i could get a 16:9 image both ways =P

Just curious since you have both in your setup, what resolution do you set it at [the receiver]? 1080i or 720p?

As Bell only send out a 720p signal, I never set up any HD Receiver at 1080i.

From what I have found, the 6131 can output 1080i. However it looks terrible by the time it gets to the TV.

So, I set it to 720p and used my audio receiver to upscale it to 1080p (I had to use component cables instead of HDMI to do this because the reciever will not upscale an HDMI input). It looks much better than when it was set to 1080i.

The best answer is:

Use whichever device gives you the best scaling.

The (Bell) STB outputs 720p. (it can" output" higher, but only if upconverted as the 720p is the native format)

Try using the STB scaling, try using your AVR/AMP/Video scaler if you have one, try using your TV. Choose whichever works best for you.

When it comes to inserting other devices (such as a DVR-R) best to setup alternative paths so that you are downgrading the picture unless absolutely necessary.

The Bell 6131 STB outputs 1080i.

The Bell 6131 outputs 480i, 720p or 1080i.

The 6131 can output 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i on the HDMI and component ports. I believe the factory default is 480p. Aspect ratios available are 16:9 and 2 different settings for 4:3 TVs. For the DVD recorder or 6131 to recorder to TV feed through, I would use component or HDMI at 480p (if the recorder accepts it) and a 4:3 mode that stretches the picture vertically so that the TV could stretch the picture horizontally (the same as anamorphic DVDs.) That would provide the best DVD picture, however, that would not provide the best picture on the TV. (It would be a widescreen SD picture.)

The best solution might be to send SD to the DVD recorder with S-video and HD (1080i or 720p) to the TV with HDMI or component. This would sacrifice some quality on the DVD recorder while preserving HD quality for the TV. It would also allow separate scaling for the recorder and the TV (though SD scaling modes are limited.)

The best solution would be to add a hard drive to the 6131 for recording. That entails no sacrifice in picture or sound quality. A 1TB external drive will hold 130 hours of HD and 1000 hours of SD (just don't fill it until totally full.) Shows could still be archived to the DVD recorder.

Whether 1080i or 720p provides the best picture depends on the TV. For a DVD recorder, 480p might be best since that is the native DVD format. It all depends on the quality of the scaler in each device.

Thanks, very informative :)

Anyways another problem,

the remote isn't responsive for the first minute or so after i start up our TV, we don't know why -_-"

Just a guess but you might want to read through this thread.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=64463

-Mike

I knew I've seen that thread somewhere

Changed the remote address and i think the waiting period has been reduced

Well got my new 6131 and what a ordeal. First my remote is dead out of the box. Best Buy replaced it after some serious negiotiations wanted me to bring the whole unit in when only the remote is defunct. Now my ehd (Simpletech 750Gb usb 2.0 3.5") is only detected by the 6131 which tells me to call Bell. Tried numerous times connecting it unformatted, then formatted by a PC and then formatted by the ehd itself but same message from the receiver. I'm ready to toss this POS receiver\ehd into the garbage bin but I guess I'll take it back tomorrow and try a WD or Lacie ehd. Unplugged, plugged, unplugged, plugged... F'IT!!!