Can you have multiple audio outputs connected at the same time? Right now I have my two channel 'L and R' audio hooked up directly to my TV. Yesterday I got more adventerous and hooked up the optical audio to my reciever. Do I need to do anything else to get surround sound (when offered) or will is detect the signal automatically? I was playing around with the audio set up in the guide but it didn't seem to do anything. Dispite all my efforts I could get no audio to run through my reciever / speakers, not even the two channel front?

any ideas?

You can have as many inputs/outputs hooked up to a receiver as it will allow, you just need to designate AT YOUR RECEIVER, the appropriate channel the input of choice is on. (digital will usually takes precedence over analog, depending on your receiver) (Your analog outputs into your TV shouldn't cause any problem, just turn the volume on your set down when you want to listen through your Receiver).

Anything going to your Receiver via Optical or Coax SPDIF or analog for that matter, will send audio into the receiver on a given Receiver Input. You then simply need to make sure your receiver is *set to the INPUT you have designated for the 6412 incoming Spdif*.

I would assume the 6412's Spdif Output is active by default - I've never ran across anything where you have to activate a digital port in software.

IOW,

To get your Digitial surround happnin:

1) turn off sound on TV (or down its volume if a sound off function is not available)

2) Hookup Digital cable from 6412 to your receiver - turn on receiver - turn on 6412

3) Tune your Receiver to the Channel that your 6412's digitial input is coming in on.

The receiver is then the brains for your audio (volume, effects, input control etc.), for whatever you have plugged into it. You can switch to the appropriate input/channel and listen to whatever is being sent into the receiver via your receiver's remote.

Easy simple!

I don't get the Sportsnet channels but on Star!TV any REW or FF speeds only work for a second or two at most and then they just jump to the start or end of the buffer/recording. The only exception is Slow Forward, which does appear to work.

Okay, technut. That appears, by your description, to be the same behaviour I experience on my 6208 for Star!TV and the three digital Sportsnet channels. I therefore takeit that the bug in the 6208 software is still there in the 6412's software.

Uwish

I assume that the 6412's behaviour for the audio outputs is the same as for the 6208. I have the two channel audio output, the coax SPDIF digital audio output and the optical digital audio output all connected. The outputs are active without any setup required on the cable box.

However, as DigitalOxCart posted, your receiver probably has to be setup correctly. A/V receivers do differ in their behaviour. All my receivers with digital audio in have have required me to go into the receivers setup menu and assign each digital audio input port to be used to the appropriate A/V receiver A/V source input. The video and analog inputs for sources are hardwired but not the digital audio ones. There were no default assignments for the digital audio inputs on those A/V receivers.

I have heard that at least one A/V receiver assigns default A/V sources for their digital audio inputs that can be re-assigned in one of the setup menus. For that receiver you have to read the manual carefully and either use the default digital audio input port or go into the setup menu and re-assign it to your selected A/V source input.

There may be other ways this is done so you have to read your A/V reciever manual.

Uwish

I have heard that at least one A/V receiver assigns default A/V sources for their digital audio inputs that can be re-assigned in one of the setup menus. For that receiver you have to read the manual carefully and either use the default digital audio input port or go into the setup menu and re-assign it to your selected A/V source input.

There may be other ways this is done so you have to read your A/V reciever manual.

.... Right on Alan :)

Has anyone tried hacking the 6412? What about the firewire, usb & ethernet ports? Are they useful for anything? Through the top of my 6208 i see a memory slot, has anyone put more memory in their box?

I personally have the oldest HD terminal, an original DCT5100 (in great shape) that I will be taking in, so I guess I'll be finding out for myself if they really offer $300 for it.Took it in to Shaw for buyback several weeks ago and got a cheque in the mail for it this week... $300. Thank you Shaw. :)

1) If a Series recording is scheduled and you try to schedule a recording of a single show in the same time period, it forces you to choose between the two. I've done a little more testing and my conclusion now is that you only get the recording conflict message when there are actually two recordings scheduled (so both tuners would be busy already), but sometimes the conflict message only lists one of the two scheduled recordings, making it appear that there should still be an available tuner and no conflict.

I haven't yet figured out exactly what triggers this bug.

Not terribly impresesd with the DVI into my TV. Find component the best option for me. (Still set on HD 1080i; 480p override)

If slow forward isn't slow enough, Pause the playback. Then press Pause again to advance forward one frame with each press.

You must use the VCR-type Pause button (the one above the 2 button). The ^ (up) button doesn't perform the same action in this case.

Not terribly impresesd with the DVI into my TV. Find component the best option for me. (Still set on HD 1080i; 480p override)

I was unimpressed with dvi out on the 6208 as well. Mine was soft and no amount of input calibration corrected this. Component is just increadible for hd detail. What specifically did you find? I was actually hoping it was the mot box and not my sets dvi(hdcp) in as I plan on using it for hd dvd at some point. If the 6208 and 6412 both are soft/washed looking on dvi it's clearly how motorola is implimenting the port.

Had this for 4 days now - some of the things I changed...

Having read the thread a bunch of times, and realizing how long it's getting, here's some key items to remind people of:

-The MUTE comes on if you scheduled a recording and later came in to watch TV. There's a fix for that on page one of this thread.

-You can record on both channels, then hit LIST, and watch a previously recorded channel. Hitting SWAP while watching a recorded program doesn't do a thing...

-The return arrow is a 15 second backup (Not 7 as listed in the guide)

-Go into scheduled times for repeats on series. You need to go into options.

-Give yourself some Leeway. Start your recording at least 2 min early and add 5 min to it.

The first thing I didn't like was the LIVE button next to LIST and above FFD. One slip and you jump to LIVE... that's not great if you have a sports program as an example that you are 15 min behind in.

I programmed the 30 Second Comm Skip into the unit and reprogrammed the button to do that. Kind of works nicely because this is right of the 15 second Inst Replay button.

For those with Harmony Remotes - I set up like this.

Screen On Top

Back 15, Com Skip
Swap, List,
Up, Down (Page up and Down for guide)

Then reprogrammed the bottom buttons -
"+ *" is EXIT
"ENTER" is "INFO" (I seem to use that one a lot)

---

5 *'s for this unit.

Now if I can only figure out if it's possible to save these to a Hard Drive and replay them in full Dolby and HD again this might eliminate the DVD player.

Component is just increadible for hd detail. What specifically did you find?
I found large macroblocking areas on some/most material. I makes poor HD almost unwatchable, and some movies like Kill Bill a waste of time. It didn't matter what channel I was on. Watching Daytona Qualifying right now, it is showing up on the cars, driver uniforms, and any info bars FOX puts on the screen. Last night's Bud Shootout on Component didn't show any of these large boxy areas.
IMO, component is the best output for this STB.

Macroblocking is not related to the use of DVI vs component, it's a result of errors prior to the output stage and would show up no matter which output you use.

Further to the problem of FF and REW on the Star!TV channel. As I posted, I have problems specifically with four of Shaw's digital channels when recording and playing back on the 6208. Last fall when I recognized the problem, I checked by recording 10 minutes of all channels I was getting at the time and found that Star!TV (65), Sportsnet West (71), Sportsnet Ontario (72) and Sportsnet East (73) had the same problems.

When I made a recording from one of these channels and started playback and tried to go to FF2 speed the window came up asking whether to Delete or Keep the recording. This is the same message as when the end of the recording is reached. I could select Keep the recording and then play it or FF at FF1 speed but would go through the same cycle of asking if I wanted to Delete or Keep the recording immediatley I tried to bump the FF speed up beyond FF1. Trying to REW would cause the display to flash the rE1 message then it would immediately return to the PLAY mode. I couldn't get to rewind at all ao these channels.

In your osting you say the 6412 has the same or a similar problem. Can you confirm that for the Star!TV channel? Do you get the digital Sportsnet channels and, if so, do you experience the same problem with them.

I have this same problem with Star, Digital Sportsnets, and all my Timeshifted PBS, FOX. ABC, CBS and NBC (131-135) from Spokane. I have a 6412. I notice that when you switch to any of these channels, including Star and Sportsnets, the initial picture is all blocky then in a second or two becomes fine. None of the other digital channels act like this when you switch to them, and all the other can be rewinded with no problem.

Macroblocking is not related to the use of DVI vs component, it's a result of errors prior to the output stage and would show up no matter which output you use.
So Shaw HD must suck.
But I can see more when using DVI vs. Component.

So Shaw HD must suck.
But I can see more when using DVI vs. Component.
Is it just me or is the quality of HD in general declining? It seems like the bandwidth is just not as high as it once was. Over the past 6 months I've continually caught myself wondering if the PQ is as good as it was over a year ago.

I'm wondering, does Shaw even have the capabilty to reduce the bandwidth for each channel, or do they simply relay the original feed that they get from the US networks?

Is it just me or is the quality of HD in general declining? It seems like the bandwidth is just not as high as it once was. Over the past 6 months I've continually caught myself wondering if the PQ is as good as it was over a year ago.

I'm wondering, does Shaw even have the capabilty to reduce the bandwidth for each channel, or do they simply relay the original feed that they get from the US networks?

I think in general it's a matter of the source. HD on Nascar yesterday and the Superbowl was incredible. CBS football was incredible as well.

I believe this is a marketing item. I was reading that when colour TV first came out, the broadcasting firms punched up the colours induce people to adopt colour TV - must have had shares in the TV sales industry or were trying to convince customers to have their commercials produced in colour...

Is it just me or is the quality of HD in general declining? It seems like the bandwidth is just not as high as it once was. Over the past 6 months I've continually caught myself wondering if the PQ is as good as it was over a year ago.

I'm wondering, does Shaw even have the capabilty to reduce the bandwidth for each channel, or do they simply relay the original feed that they get from the US networks?



Maybe it is just because that you have been watching HD for so long that you have come to not notice the quality of picture anymore, I'm sure this will happen to all viewers after a while as HD becomes the norm.

I'm going on 1.5yrs with hd and don't see the quality going down. I started with the SC dsr500 and now have the shaw 6208. As said there is reference stuff like kill bills, lotrs and cbs/mnf football and there is lesser stuff ...softer transfers, sitcoms, west wing (ugh)...stuff with little wow factor. That's just how it was when I first dove in. Shaw doesn't recompress. With something like daytona flip between the sd feed and hd and you'll quickly get the wow back.

Maybe it is just because that you have been watching HD for so long that you have come to not notice the quality of picture anymore, I'm sure this will happen to all viewers after a while as HD becomes the norm.
Yeah that's usually what I tell myself.... But the doubts still linger.

I was just wondering if other people have the same experiences. Also the Superbowl wasn't as good as it was 2 years ago on CBS... I remember seeing more detail in some shots before. Like you could make out the individual bulbs on the scoreboard better back then than on the Fox feed. The problem is that memory is so fallable, and the location of the game is different, and there's no way to reproduce exactly what it actually looked like back then.