Incoming 1080i signals will be displayed in 1080i. Perhaps you need to do a better setup of your TV?

Also, smaller TVs like the one you mentioned will always look "better", because larger TVs like yours are like putting a magnifying glass to a newspaper, unless you view the two TVs from distances that make them both look the same size...

I had the TV professionally calibrated a couple of months ago. The smaller LCD screen I saw I went real close (3 ft) and still looked great, while I normally sit about 10' away from my Toshiba.

Maybe lack of DVI on my TV makes a difference.

DVI should not make a significant difference on a CRT-based (analogue) HDTV like yours. See the FAQ on DVI Information.

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30

It may either be the newer TV technology, or perhaps the signal from Shaw... The programme is also important. Some "HD" programmes don't have the best PQ. You really need to compare an identical programme. A good one would be "Smart Travels" on PBS, since the PQ has been consistently excellent.

We should really stop this discussion in this thread. If you would like to continue, please start a new thread.

Okay, had a tech come to the house last night and he checked the signal levels and they are all fine. +4dBmV at channel 3 with a high frequency slope upwards.

He ended up replacing my 6208 because of the spontaneous reset issue I've had twice. There are some things that I found interesting. I had the 30 second lockup on the Playboy channel like others and haven't been able to get it to go away.

Initially when the new 6208 was first authorized I didn't experience the lockup on PB. But, after it was on for awhile it had the 30 second lockup on PB again.

The slow picture appearing on HD channels is still there but I noticed something interesting today and it may be nothing but I was recording tonights NFL game and flipped back to the pre-game I had recorded and came back to the live feed. It lost picture for a bit just like when I change between HD channels. So, I figured it would be that way on the recording but it wasn't. So does that mean its the interaction of the HDCP on my TV's DVI input that's causing the delay or is it the 6208?

Icemann, what is displayed on your TV is not necessarily what is recording. The decoder may have a hiccup occasionally. I have seen similar happen. I was recording an HDTV channel a few days ago and when they changed feeds it caused the picture to screw up for a bit and went blocky. I rewinded and that point where it had the problem played back fine. I think it gives priority to the recording. FYI, I am using component video, not DVI.

A contact at Shaw told me he got a memo/email on the 6208 reset issue from the head-guys at shaw and they are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. I have only had it happen twice that I noticed since I first got it.

Since the fall TV season is starting, I have had chance to test out the 6208 and record some new shows in HDTV. Over the last week I recorded a few episodes of Hawaii and tonight was Joey and Medical Investigation. The only problem was Joey ran over 30 minutes and it missed the ending. Fortunately I had recorded The Apprentice on same channel right after and caught it. The downside is that The Apprentice is not HDTV source and is SD upconvert :(

It is very good feeling to be able to record HDTV on a PVR finally (I have had PVR for Exvu last 3 years). I thank Shaw for making this available. When they come out with the dual tuner model (I hope they do) I will get that for sure.

I think I will be able to live with 10-11 hours of HDTV (It is 10-11 hours more than any of the competition has to offer here). I use it for timeshifting and not for archival purposes. Typically, a show will be kept on my PVR for a few hours and we watch later that night... or a couple days later at the most.

I think I will be able to live with 10-11 hours of HDTV (It is 10-11 hours more than any of the competition has to offer here). I use it for timeshifting and not for archival purposes. Typically, a show will be kept on my PVR for a few hours and we watch later that night... or a couple days later at the most.

My feeling exactly. I can now watch when I want. I am not stuck to the TV's schedule. I watch and then delete.

Woody, after playing some more I noticed it was the TV sync up issue rather than anything to do with content protection.

As for only getting 10-11 hours of HDTV on the hard drive, I too can live with it but I would really like to have dual tuner and wouldn't mind better PQ on the non-HD digital and analog channels.

What causes the really annoying :

"This channel will be available shortly" message that seems to pop up every time I switch to a specialty or HD channel. Sometimes it is there for 10-20 seconds, and really makes "channel surfing" a pain. Is this the new 5C implementation?

Dave

Dave, that's what we are talking about and from other posts I've seen, the speculation is that's what's causing it since it didn't happen when we first got our 6208's.

My 6208 just turned itself off tonight for about 10 seconds then turned itself back on. The remote was on the coffee table untouched and I was watching HDPBS. Guess I'll wait and see if it's going to do it again before I call Shaw, but from what I've read it sounds like I'll be on hold for a CSR sooner than later. Wee !!

I've always been an early adopter and understand the risks one takes but I've got to say that so far Shaw HD and the Motorola equipment they use has been about the worst tech stuff I've tried to enjoy. I just hope and pray that my machine doesn't decide to turn itself off again tomorrow while the hockey game is on.

Joel

just looked at my 6208 menu tonight and noticed the DVR option had DISAPPEARED...

a quick look at power-off/setup menu revealed, under d11-Interface
Hard Drive Status: Error

however, all progs seem intact, and the d13-PVR/HD Status menu items/values look just fine/as usual (and the usage is about right as per the % given in the HD prog LIST screen on the regular menu)

so I disconnect the power and reconnect
guide starts a reload, and...
lo and behold, DVR menu returns
(even though d11 still reports Error condition)

I'll have to keep my eye on this one, but it looks not good - what utter krap!

So what are the odds if I phone Shaw and tell them my Diagnostics menu d11-Interface Hard Drive Status is "Error", that they will have the slightest clue as to what I'm talking about???????? (I'm sure even some peeps in this forum haven't checked out the power-off/setup menu yet...)

Is there any more diag. info I can use to find out just what this "error" might be (the error which seems not to be affecting recording/playback yet...!!!)

magic, I'm at work right now but I think I remember that mine also says error even though its operating fine. I'll check tonight.

cheers Icemann

I'll be very keen to know what you and others have displayed in their Diagnostics screens...

I don't know if it ever said INST instead of ERROR (wish I had recorded it somewhere)

I've sent an email to Motorola support directly, but who knows what that will turn up...

just looked at my 6208 menu tonight and noticed the DVR option had DISAPPEARED...

So what are the odds if I phone Shaw and tell them my Diagnostics menu d11-Interface Hard Drive Status is "Error", that they will have the slightest clue as to what I'm talking about???????? (I'm sure even some peeps in this forum haven't checked out the power-off/setup menu yet...)


Yup, same thing happened to me last night. I did call SHAW about it and the CSR said that they were working on some fixes for the DCT6208 and temporarily disabled the menu (although you can still get to the recordings through the LIST button). However, that doesn't explain why when you reset your DCT it came back (if they had it disabled, that should not have worked).

well that's just grand of them!

Roger - can you also add to the straw poll and report what your power-off/setup Diagnostics "User Interface" screen lists for the status of your Hard Drive...

Did Shaw give any indication of when this "temporary" disablement might expire... I had to blink about 50 times - I couldn't believe the menu option had just "vanished"! They could AT THE LEAST sent a digital message to say what they were doing, instead of just pulling the functionality rug from under the poor mugs who've bought they're high-priced $800 box (I believe we're supposed to be "valued" customers, no??? - seems like we're always the guinea pigs at the cutting edge - with the least consideration of any subscribers, when it should be the other way around - and another case in point, you get lots of lovely discounts on new hardware if you're a NEW subscriber, but you just get ignored if you've been a LOYAL customer over the years!!!)

rant over!

let me know what they said and what your setup Diagnostics say
I agree, cycling the power supply shouldn't reenable the menu, but who knows what they've done... (do they fully understand it??? - impish grin)

cheers,

m

Long-time reader, first-time poster. I've learned so much on these forums that I would like to identify another 6208 problem. Last night while watching MNF my box spontaneously decided to split the screen in two with a large vertical black stripe. Not surprisingly my analog TV was not affected.

I phoned Shaw and they did not seem too surprised by my problem. They did a reboot and the picture cleared. Unfortunately this wiped out my favourites. I'm moving the box within the next month and would prefer to not be on the receiving end of too many more problems. The lag time on shifting HD channells is getting worse and I'm frustrated by the poor pixellation that infrequently occurs.

I love the picture on most HD channels but I've found the sound very intermittent. I'm connected by optical to my Yamaha receiver and I'm wondering if it is poor network source or something with the Shaw feed.

Regarding the pixelation and sound drop-outs I think that's Shaw's network and not the 6208. I just have the 5100 and I get pixelation in high-motion scenes as a result of the compression of the feed. I'm not sure where the sound dropouts are occuring but weve established that it seems to be network-wide. The MNF game last night had a lot of drop-outs...

Can anyone clarify the diagnostic menu mentioned earlier that shows "Hard drive failure". Is this the Power off, MENU button screen?

LD500

You have to press power off and then immediately press Select
ON THE DCT itself

I think the HD ERROR condition is on the User Interface page (d11?)
scroll down and enter the menu with the remote

it'll be good to get other people's input on this

m

Was it due to bugs with the 6208 or was the feed (especially near the start) for the hockey game cutting in and out quite a bit? At the end of the game when they interviewed Gretzky the picture totally went blank for 1 or 2 seconds.

Unlike other times when the picture seemed to cut out, this time I noticed the pixels rebuilding the screen afterwards. This was as if the signal level was too low or something.

Hey Magic_1994, my 6208 has shown the Hard Drive Status: Error since I got the box a few weeks back. I think maybe it refers to the ext. hard status? I really don't know, but am still waiting like everyone else to find out. Also as anyone found out how to get a Ext. Hdd to work with these 6208 boxes. The one guy on the AVS forum that said he a ext hdd. hooked up that was givin to him by shaw as disappeared. It happen we started asking question about the file format & other need info. He really left more question then answer, maybe it was all a scam. Also has anyone noticed that the jay leno in Hd is sometimes in DD2.0 & sometime in DD5.1 . Anyone else notice this or know what's causing this , cause I find it really annoying.

Later Mach3