Yeah, a CSR tried to tell me that I need a high quality power bar or I should try to connect it direct to the wall so I humoured them and bought a decent emi/rfi filtering power bar and now I'm two units and 8 resets later. Plus, who in the right mind would connect their expensive equipment directly to the wall without some sort of surge supression?

I currently only have a CD processor (Mark Levinson No.39) out to my amp and then to the speakers. No TV or DVD yet. The CD processor has 2 digital inputs. I'm told these can accept 2 channel PCM digital audio.

I need to know if any of the current or past Shaw boxes can output 2 channel PCM through the digital auido output.

I phoned Shaw and made my way up to a Senior Tech and even he didn't know. He suggested I phone Motorola, which I did and of course they didn't know either!

What the Motorala guy did say is that he saw in the manual of the DCT 6208 that it supported PCM.

So, does anyone have experience routing digital PCM audio from any Shaw box?

Any feedback appreciated.

Wraith
webwraith at hotmail dot com

I think it will do PCM, but I'm only 80% sure. If I get a chance I'll check tonight.

Re PCM digital audio output.

The DCT2000 with digital audio output can be selected to be PCM or DD output with the latest release of the I-Guide software in mid-summer. Before that the only digital audio out from this box was PCM digital stereo.

I don't know what the DCT 2500 allows.

The DCT6200 doesn't seem to have a way to change between PCM and DD digital audio out and seems to only output DD 2.0 or 5.1 as delivered on digital channels and as converted to DD 2.0 from the analog audio signal on analog channels.. Certainly the Audio section under setup does not have the option of changing the digital output stream between PCM and DD as the DCT2000 now allows.

Edited to add

I just checked my Motorola DCT6200/DCT6208 User's Guide which says the SPDIF (digital coaxial audio out) and the Optical SPDIF out provides DD 5.1 audio or PCM audio. This is a little ambiguous as I think it should read "provide DD in 2.0 or 5.1 or PCM in 2.0. However, on the DCT2000, the specific way this worked was controlled by software that the cable provider adds.

Edited to say that the analog channels on the 6208 are converted to DD 2.0 sound and not PCM 2.0 as I originally wrote.

I am an EXVU user but I was at a friends house this evening and was amazed that his 6208 SHAW box takes from 5 to 20 minutes to change HD channels. My friend says he has contacted SHAW and they tell him that they are working on a fix. This has been going on since mid September and seems to have started with the new guide. When he changes channel the screen goes black and after a long delay the HD feed comes on and all is well untill he changes channel again.
I am suprised he has not delivered the box back to SHAW and told them what to do with it. With over $8000 in HD equipment I am shocked that he has the patients to put up with it. Has anyone had a problem with this kind of delay, I see posts about PB channel and 30 second delays but nothing in a quick search about exesive delay problems.

Another friend of mine is considering a 6208 HD box as he has all the HD home theater equipment but no STB for HD. I have told him that due to the lack of HD content on SHAW he should think before he drops 600-700$. This delay probem might just be the nail in the coffin as far as friend #2 is concerned.

Both friends live on Vancouver Island.

Edit / Just found the post for the October 17th fix for the above problem so I have emaild my friend. Now we wait and see!!!

To wait 5 to 20 minutes for HD channels seems really excessive. It varies on my 6208 but its usually no more than 15-20 seconds and usually averages less than 5 seconds.

It takes on average 3 to a max of 5 seconds to change channels on my box.
If he is waiting 20 min. he is probably switching to a regional blackout on 302. He won't see anything until an unblacked out program comes up.

I have had delays between 20 seconds and upwards of 6-10 minutes. These delays are for both tuning to an HDTV channel, or tuning to recorded HD material.

For now, I understand the problem is "being fixed", so I simply use PIP to switch to my TV's tuner while waiting. When the HD feed kicks in, I switch back and rewind to the beginning. This is acceptable for now, but I have some serious concerns if this is not fixed very soon.

I have had delays between 20 seconds and upwards of 6-10 minutes. These delays are for both tuning to an HDTV channel, or tuning to recorded HD material.


In case you don't know there is a way to work around the HD delay.

Press MENU go to Setup go to Audio Options and change the language from English to another language and back again, the HDTV picture will display immediately.

This seems to work without fail when tuning in live a HD braodcast but unfortunately it has no effect on recorded HD programs.

This workaround becomes tiring real fast I hope that Oct 17 fix date is real!

I wonder if these huge delays are regional. I live in Winnipeg and have never experienced delays of that nature. I would say 90% of the time I wait less than 3 seconds. 10 seconds would be extreme and very rare. I have had this box from the first week it was offered. I watch about 2 to 3 hours of TV a day on average.

Sorry lego but I need clarification. When I go to setup and audio options, I certainly cannot change languages because there ARE NO OPTIONS FOR THAT in the audio menu.

The only place that exists is when i go to setupo, then text language setup and if i switch there, it makes no difference on the HD delay.

Maybe you can clarify this?

Hairball

90% of the time I wait 3 to 4 seconds in changing to a HD channel. another 9% of the time it is between 4 and 10 seconds. I can wait for 20 to 30 seonds on occasion. I can't recall waiting more than 30 seconds for the channel to change but I don't measure every change and it is too later to start timing after I have waited for 10 to 20 seconds.

Noticed last night that the 30 second freeze after changing to the Hustler channel was no longer there. Hope they have fixed it permanently.

Playboy no longer has the 30 second freeze but, as I no longer subscribe, I don't know whether it goes on to tune in immediately.

No change in behaviour on the HD channels. Still the random 0 to 30 seonds additional delay after the standard 3 to 4 second delay first encountered with the 6208 on HD channels.

I'm on a free trial period from Shaw on all their digital channels.
While I probably wouldn't watch them anyway, since day 1 Lonestar and
Extreme Sports channels don't show up. They're just blank screens.

Does anyone else have this problem? I can't remember the channel numbers on Shaw (Vancouver) but do remember that they are side by side. I believe one or two other adjacent channels also come up blank.

Instead of calling Customer Service (AGAIN!!!!), I thought I would check here to see if it is still a problem.

I'm on a free trial period from Shaw on all their digital channels.
While I probably wouldn't watch them anyway, since day 1 Lonestar and
Extreme Sports channels don't show up. They're just blank screens.

Does anyone else have this problem? I can't remember the channel numbers on Shaw (Vancouver) but do remember that they are side by side. I believe one or two other adjacent channels also come up blank.

Instead of calling Customer Service (AGAIN!!!!), I thought I would check here to see if it is still a problem.

This has always been a problem for me on Lonestar and Mystery. I stumbled upon an odd way to work around the problem (for viewing - it's doesn't help for recording on the 6208) - go in to the Setup menu, select Audio, then on the first item there, select 'English', then back to Default. For me the picture then immediately pops in. (Pcouture - it just shows up as the first option under the Audio setup. If it isn't there for you, well... you have a problem alright!)


Has anyone had the following problem with the Hustler channel recently? - It no longer lets me record anything on it, it says I must purchase before I can record. Never had this problem before. (Obviously I subscribe to the channel.)

Noticed last night that the 30 second freeze after changing to the Hustler channel was no longer there. Hope they have fixed it permanently.

Playboy no longer has the 30 second freeze but, as I no longer subscribe, I don't know whether it goes on to tune in immediately.

No change in behaviour on the HD channels. Still the random 0 to 30 seonds additional delay after the standard 3 to 4 second delay first encountered with the 6208 on HD channels.
Alan, PB is still having the 30 second freeze.

Icemann

That is strange that there is still the 30 second freeze on going to Playboy. I don't subscribe to Playboy but I was getting the 30 second freeze if I tuned to Playboy as I was with Hustler. On the Playboy channel I just didn't get a picture when it came out of the 30 sec. freeze. The last I checked there was no freeze on tuning to either channel. The picture and sound would come in in 3 to 4 seconds on Hustler but the subscription message would come up in the same time on Playboy. No freeze of any length. Strange behaviour. I'll have to check again the next time I have the TV on.

Alan, its an odd situation. I've posted before that if you try to go to PB right after one of those spontaneous resets or a headend initiated reset, there is no 30 second delay. Only after the box has downloaded whatever instructions it does upon reset does the 30 second delay occur again. So, it has to do with how they setup the tier or subscription base on that channel or something at least that's software/firmware related.

I don't know if we are still keeping track of this, but my 6208 reset last night at about 12:45.

Sorry lego but I need clarification. When I go to setup and audio options, I certainly cannot change languages because there ARE NO OPTIONS FOR THAT in the audio menu.

The only place that exists is when i go to setupo, then text language setup and if i switch there, it makes no difference on the HD delay.

Maybe you can clarify this?

Press the Menu button twice then select Setup, from the Setup menu choose Audio options. In the Audio options menu use the right and left arrows to change current language from English and back again, the picture should appear immediately.

Hope this helps