Comcast Cable in the US has virtually the same 6412 configuration as Shaw and they have issued a manual for their users which also applies well to our DVRs.

You can download it here:
Comcast 6412 DVR Manual (http://www.comcast.com/MediaLibraryRoot/CM/VanityURL/documents/A23_MO_Dual_DVR_Guide_4469a.pdf) (PDF, 3.8 MB)

Pages 11 & 12 have the best explanation I've seen yet of how the 6412 handles scheduled recording conflicts.

I too had to refer to the Comcast litterature the other day while looking up something about the 6412.

I guess we all don't give Shaw enough money for them to even come up with decent instructions when WE BUY the darn box. We have to go to a US provider to find that.

How pathetic is that?

I just picked up a new 6412 on the weekend and it has a shaw version of that manual in the package.

its also online
http://www.shaw.ca/NR/rdonlyres/638880EC-E802-4870-B94A-362190AAD220/0/Final_PVRUserGuide.pdf


I too had to refer to the Comcast litterature the other day while looking up something about the 6412.

I guess we all don't give Shaw enough money for them to even come up with decent instructions when WE BUY the darn box. We have to go to a US provider to find that.

How pathetic is that?

Is there anywhat to moddify the channel lists in the guide to display only the channels that you want? Would like to get rid of the non english channels, the religious channels, and any channels that you dont subscribe to. I was able to do this with old sat boxes, I just have not been able to find a way to do it with the 6412. Im sure many other users would find this feature usefull as well if it is possible.

ctown, thanks for that link.

The only thing you can do with the channel listing is mark your preferred channels as Favourites and then use the "My Favourite Channels" list (or the Heart in the Quick Access Menu) to view them. It's a hassle but it works.

I'm curious about the fact that the 6412 actively records the channel that each tuner is set too.

This means that while the box is turned on that the hard drive is constantly writing data. What is the consensus concerning leaving the 6412 turned on? Should I be turning it off when I'm not using it to reduce the wear and tear on the hard drive or should I be leaving it on in order not to cause issues with the drive when the machine is first turned on or off?

Here's another question.

I've noticed that when I set a recording in advance, I'm able to turn the 6412 off. It is quite capable of turning itself on to record a show and then turning itself off aftewards. However, as far as I can tell, if I start recording a show while I'm watching it, I have no way of making the 6412 turn itself off when the show is done.

The reason I mention this is because I often start watching a show later at night. If I decide that I want to record it and go to bed, I'd like the ability to have the 6412 turn off when the show is done.

Am I just missing something or is this not possible?

Enjoyed finding and reading all of this thread. When I first bought the 6412 I also noticed the poor analog performance compared to my vcr (which is routed thru my reciever using composite!!!). And to make sure I connected every possible outputs to my tv for comparsion. Complained to shaw, they recommended getting a dvi cable and requested I get a service appointment. I did both, the cable from Ncix arrived a day and a half later. Saw absolutely no difference in PQ on HD over component. But I did see a jump in PQ on analog, not earth shattering but noticable. So I for me the DVI purchase was worth it. But with a different TV your mileage may vary.

I kept the service call and complained about the dropouts and no picture/audio when turned on. He replaced some cables, upgraded a splitter, pulled the plug power plug and gave me a 30ft length of coax to complete my connections to my PC. (Which I appreciated)
But really didn't solve any of the problems. Definitely waiting for the firmware upgrade here.

After 8 weeks of ownership I have some firmware/gui desires.
A PVR status bar that is more customizable to be less intrusive. Have a choice of positions and a wireframe look. Even in hd content the far right and left of the screen are rarely used. Seems like when I freeze the frame that thing is alway where I wana be lookin'.

A 5-7 min. jump button. Essentially a chapter button. My LD player had one for disc's that had no chapters. This would make accessing midpoints on long recorded event easier. I had watched part of the masters (4hr recording) and wanted to return quickly to this endpoint with out fastforwarding thru 1-1/2 hours of program.

Generally I am pleased with my 6412. I knew that the 120gig drive would be too small. But a consumer top box is what I wanted and can live with it's shortcoming versus a homebuilt PC based PVR.

I'm curious about the fact that the 6412 actively records the channel that each tuner is set too.

This means that while the box is turned on that the hard drive is constantly writing data. What is the consensus concerning leaving the 6412 turned on? Should I be turning it off when I'm not using it to reduce the wear and tear on the hard drive or should I be leaving it on in order not to cause issues with the drive when the machine is first turned on or off?

Gpouliot, if you're worried about wear on the hard drive, just leave both tuners on the 6412 on digital music channels. The pvr does not cache these channels. I leave mine on all the time, but tune to music channels when I'm going to be away/asleep. PITA, but it works.

Seems like when I freeze the frame that thing is alway where I wana be lookin'.

Try pressing the "Exit" button on the remote while you have the picture frozen.

meshmellow

Gpouliot, if you're worried about wear on the hard drive, just leave both tuners on the 6412 on digital music channels. The pvr does not cache these channels. I leave mine on all the time, but tune to music channels when I'm going to be away/asleep. PITA, but it works.

Thanks for the tip. It sounds like good plan to me.

Geoff

This is a new problem for me and I couldn't find any mention of it when I searched this thread.

Last night I recorded Silent Witness on BBC Canada. It comes in two 1 hour parts and each has to be recorded separately. When I went to play the recorded program Silent Witness was on the "List" and each episode (on the list) showed 60 minutes of recording. When I started the program however the green recording bar showed only 45 minutes of program for the first hour and 35 minutes of recording for the second hour. Sure enough that was all that existed. It was a bit disappointing.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

When I started the program however the green recording bar showed only 45 minutes of program for the first hour and 35 minutes of recording for the second hour. Sure enough that was all that existed. It was a bit disappointing.
Has anyone else experienced this problem?

I don't think you can trust the i-Guide for the start and end times for programs on BBC Canada - and the recordings are determined by the Guide. I've been screwed on that several times. You might be wise to go into the options and have the recording start earlier and end later, or do a custom timed recording for that channel.

meshmellow

if you're worried about wear on the hard drive, just leave both tuners on the 6412 on digital music channels. The pvr does not cache these channels.

An excellent piece of information! Thanks for posting that, Roreman!

meshmellow

..6412 I also noticed the poor analog performance.See the Digital Home FAQ on Poor SD PQ. You may wish to consider a splitter upstream of the STB.

An excellent piece of information! Thanks for posting that, Roreman!

meshmellow

Yes, I was happy to figure that one out. I cringe at the sound of the hard drive clicking in a quiet room! I've seen enough hard drives fail in PCs to worry about it. It'll be interesting to see how much life we get out of these...and how we'll fix them once they go.

Yes, I was happy to figure that one out. I cringe at the sound of the hard drive clicking in a quiet room! I've seen enough hard drives fail in PCs to worry about it. It'll be interesting to see how much life we get out of these...and how we'll fix them once they go.
Within 5 years, it's Shaws problem, not ours.

Within 5 years, it's Shaws problem, not ours.

If current trends are any indication, Shaw's problem might involve you being without a PVR for a month or more when they send it away to be fixed. Sure, that won't likely be a problem in the near future (while they've got lots of 6412's in stock). However, when they've moved on to the lastest and greatest new technology, getting your 6412 repaired might take a while.

I think the best course of action is to try and prevent your unit from breaking down in the first place.

Geoff

Gpouliot, if you're worried about wear on the hard drive, just leave both tuners on the 6412 on digital music channels. The pvr does not cache these channels. I leave mine on all the time, but tune to music channels when I'm going to be away/asleep. PITA, but it works.

Roreman, thats a great idea to prolong the life of the unit! I think I will take this one step further and set my harmony remote up to do this for me automatically with a single button.

I will try this out this weekend. Program a button to switch both tuners to music channels upon power off. Heck might even be able to just add the macro to the poweroff function for the 6412 in the remote so I would never have to remeber to do the channel change, jsut power off as normal and let the remote do the rest. Im not sure if I will have time over the weekend but I will try and post some results.

Thanks again Roreman for the inspiration.

Within 5 years, it's Shaws problem, not ours.

Yep, and I've seen a few pc hard drives fail before the five-year mark. But like Geoff says, I wonder what the turnover time will be? Will they actually replace the hard drive, or will they keep a stack of 6412s to swap out? Seems like a long time to keep spare hardware lying around. I think that Seagate started giving 5-year warranties again, so maybe the responsibility will effectively be passed onto the hard drive manufacturer?

ctown, good idea about programming it into the remote. Let us know how it turns out.

Can you transfer recorded programs from the 6412 to a computer?