The IR port on the first generation Portal is a 'Blaster' or 'output' port. An IR input takes a completely different chipset so that means the current version of Portal will never have an 'IR Extender' option. (or an 'exterder';))
Not sure what to say. This issue of not having an IR extender capability is the single biggest disappointment with the 5 portals we installed 3 or 4 months . Prior to having committed to the new Shaw gateway system, I spent 10's of 1000's of dollars wiring my home and media room to have "no wires showing" and everything is in cabinets; EXCEPT FOR THE 5 PORTAL BOXES!! lying beside each display. Every other technology I know of (in today's age) has the ability to be hidden if it requires a remote.

I believe Shaw was more than a little disappointed about this at the time of initial dealings too but without solid 'proof' that it would be a selling point, they didn't push for a redesign at the time(I am making a lot of presumptions here).

From what I hear, the second generation Portal will have the Remote IR Eye capability and should be out soon so let's hope it's sooner than later. Just as an aside; don't you have an IR repeater system for the other components?

What portal TV setting should I use if I am running a Samsung 6 series 1080p Plasma TV via HDMI?

I've tried both 1080p settings but it makes the voice/picture out of sync. Right now I have it at 720p.

I believe Shaw was more than a little disappointed about this at the time of initial dealings too but without solid 'proof' that it would be a selling point, they didn't push for a redesign at the time(I am making a lot of presumptions here).

From what I hear, the second generation Portal will have the Remote IR Eye capability and should be out soon so let's hope it's sooner than later. Just as an aside; don't you have an IR repeater system for the other components?
Jetranger I didn't realize there was a new portal coming out. Are you aware of what other changes/improvements there will be with it? I'm starting to question picking up the extra portals on the weekend. Thanks Pete

sixpac, if that setting works best for you then that is where you should leave it.

pjpete, I just bought two more Portals at the sale so I wouldn't be too concerned about the new one when, and if, they do come out. We might get lucky and have Shaw offer some kind of 'trade-up' or 'trade-in' since they retroactively gave the early adopters an automatic rebate on their purchase. This is just speculation but stranger things have happened from Shaw recently.

It's like they are 'turning over a new leaf' or something.

Edit: I did mention the possibility of a Second Gen Portal about a month or so ago so there's a good reason to keep up with the threads here.;)

@darranmartin,

While the IR input is preferable, if you have an RF/IP control system that outputs to an IR input you can use an IR flasher mounted to the front of the portal. There is no barrier to hidden installation. Two of my portals run using IR blasters mounted to the front of the portal (one controlled by RF, the other by IP). Your post doesn't mention what control system you're using, but there's no reason you can't have your portals in cabinets.

Thanks Jetranger. Other than a hardware design change such as the ir port you would think most of what the portal could accomplish would be software driven anyways.

That and a more readable display for those who want the clock visible. There are some other possibilities but I think those two are the most obvious ones to begin with. Hopefully there will be some further hardware improvements internally that will provide better and future abilities.

I heard a tidbit from a Shaw tech that the new portal would add coax output for legacy TVs. A tv would have to be pretty old to only have coax input so I'm not sure why they felt that was necessary.

Good to know the 'rumour' about a second gen Portal I heard has been heard elsewhere too.

If you think about it, CRTs where still being sold just a few years ago and my old Sony is still working fine at 20 years so I wouldn't think many people who have a set that is only maybe 5 years old would want to buy a new set if they really don't have to. There are always going to be some people who are on the extreme trailing edge and if Shaw wants the best market penetration then they really need to be offering equipment with the broadest capabilities.

I asked when ordering gateway if they knew of anything new coming soon in case I should wait. Maybe he wasn't supposed to mention anything but a tech mentined they are testing a new portal but it wasn't all that different with the coax out being one extra feature. Perhaps there was more that he couldn't talk about but my impression was that if and when it comes out, it wouldn't be different enough to make me wish I had waited.

I agree that many crt TVs are still in operation and will be for quite some time. I have a couple myself that will only get replaced if they fail, start to bug me, or a really good sale on a new TV tempts me. However, all my old TVs (some very old) have at least rca composite inputs (usually svideo as well) so the current portals should support most of the old crt TVs. I'm not sure how old a TV has to be to have only coax input. 15-20+ years? I don't think the average gateway purchaser right now will care about coax output but I guess Shaw may be trying to make sure all users can switch to gateway even with really old TVs as they move to more mass penatration of their subscriber base.

It's all about economies of scale. The more units they can order, the lower the price per unit and the easier they will be to sell. I think that is what happened with the initial Gateway release. Once Shaw was able to see just how many people would buy into it and how quickly, they could justify spending millions more on a larger hardware order and subsequently received a significantly better price on it.

I am still shocked that Shaw retroactively lowered the price on the hardware I bought back in May so I really can't complain. Sure, I could complain, but will it change anything? Not likely. I have plenty of other things to complain about other than the fact the price of my hardware deflated faster than a slow leaking tire. Shaw made an automatic, retroactive reparation and that is HUGE and I believe unprecedented in the cable TV industry in Canada. Someone please correct me if I am wrong because my brain isn't as sharp as it once was and I may have forgotten such an occurrence in the past.

For me, to be included in the 'planning' of these sort of things would be a huge step forward in seeing a product delivered that is actually closer to what is desired by the end user; the consumer. I realize there are all kinds of confidentiality issues that come with such 'meetings' but these can be dealt with and a much better product could be had by all if they would just listen to the 'real world' as I like to call it.

As to the RF output on a Portal; I have actually run across some larger CRT sets that are probably only 10 years old that have only an RF input. We had to replace a 32" set for just that reason when we wanted to add a DVD player and I didn't want to buy a modulator. So, I would guess having the RF out added will greatly improve penetration as plenty of people will feel spending the money on the Gateway is bad enough without having to buy a new TV too. For others though, a nice shiny new wide screen HDTV is the perfect excuse to go with a Gateway/Portal system. Each to their own and to how much they are willing or able to spend.

Shaw just wants your business and the easier they can make it for you to add them to your monthly bills, the happier they will be. So, it's up to Shaw to provide us with the most flexible equipment to access their service that they can.

Jetranger: what do you mean Shaw made an automatic, retroactive reparation for the gateway equipment.

could you explain further please... thanks

For all customers who had purchased the Gateway in the first 3 months or so, before they lowered the price this fall, they gave them an automatic 'refund' for the difference, including taxes. If you look back in the threads you will find many posts about it.

Thanks, I didn't see that. Very good for Shaw doing that.

Also, still wondering if I should set my portal at 720p/1080i or 1080p if I am using a 1080p tv... thoughts?

See my reply to your question in Post #685 of this thread. Should be on this same page.

Thanks, my second question is:

Anyone have their portal set to 1080p and seeing signs of it slowing to crawl with the voice/video not synced up? What is the point of being able to select multiple options under this menu item?

edit: 1080i seems to work just fine.

Also in the threads: VOD will be available in 1080p, eventually, as will other channels, just who knows when for the latter.

The recommended setting, as indicated in the on-screen instructions on the resolution page, is 1080i or 720p. I don't have any plasma sets but I have all of my Portals set to 1080i and they look fine to me. Now if we could just get more true 1080 content.

You know what I'd like to see on the next gen portal, a network connection.

This was something I had just found out about but with Telus' box, because their system is all networked together with the DSL modem and all, each of the individual set top boxes have a RJ45 port on the back that you can actually plug devices into and use!

Since the Gateway already has the capability to be a modem, it'd be pretty cool to have the ability to have a network connection on the portals as well.

Of course who knows if Shaw will actually use the modem in the Gateway, but the installers that came by my house back in September felt that it might start heading in that direction once the kinks are worked out making it a true total home gateway, rolling in the voice and data with the digital tv.

Portals we have now do have an RJ45 jack and will be capable of extending your home network once that functionality is enabled, possibly even in the next full code update that could happen in the next month or two.

I also might have some groundbreaking news to post but I'm just trying to figure out if it is a fluke or if it is actually happening as it should. I promise I'll post it as soon as I can positively confirm it. (how's that for a New Year's tease?)