I have a Shaw phase I 6412, which has begun acting up. On playback or watching live, the screen occasionally freezes and pixelates for a second, and then the sound drops out for several seconds.
I tried turning the unit off for a few minutes, and discovered something. Upon restart, a different channel than the one I'd been watching came up. I hit "swap" and the last channel watched was on the second tuner. The glitches came twice a minute or so. I swapped back to tuner #1, and could watch for an hour without noticing any drops. This leads me to believe that tuner #2 alone is affected.
Is this possible or likely?
Anything I can do short of taking it in?
Thanks.

Try to get them to reset it at the head end. See if that makes a difference. Also when you call they will make a note on your account and record all the problems you've had. If reloading it doesnt help keep bugging them and see if they will swap it for you.

Sorry I posted this in the 6208 forum by accident so I am moving it over here:

My DCT6412 Phase I bit the big one tonight. For the last few days it has been resetting like 15-20 times/day. I called them and they reset it but it didn't help at all. Then I came home today and it was just displaying "Dl" and downloading the software. I thought it may resurrect itself but it just kept going through the download cycle over and over. Shaw told me to bring the box in for a new one which is fine by me, as long as I don't have to do this every 8 months. Very annoying and unpredicable. (I had a DCT6208 that was replaced too - all of this within about 15 months!) I suppose that is the true question - what is the expected longevity of these DCTs anyway?

My other question is with regards to DVI->HDMI connections. I have a Sony WEGA HDTV with DVI input. It has been working perfectly with the DVI out on the Phase I. Has anyone had success with the Phase III and a DVI->HDMI cable? I would prefer the Phase III for its superior analog picture quality but need to use the HDMI->DVI connection as my DVD player and PS2 are using the component connections. What should I expect?

My TV only has DVI input as well. When I changed to a Phase 3 box I bought a DVI to HDMI cable and it works fine.


Try to get them to reset it at the head end. See if that makes a difference. Also when you call they will make a note on your account and record all the problems you've had. If reloading it doesnt help keep bugging them and see if they will swap it for you.

Sorry I posted this in the 6208 forum by accident so I am moving it over here:

My DCT6412 Phase I bit the big one tonight. For the last few days it has been resetting like 15-20 times/day. I called them and they reset it but it didn't help at all. Then I came home today and it was just displaying "Dl" and downloading the software. I thought it may resurrect itself but it just kept going through the download cycle over and over. Shaw told me to bring the box in for a new one which is fine by me, as long as I don't have to do this every 8 months. Very annoying and unpredicable. (I had a DCT6208 that was replaced too - all of this within about 15 months!) I suppose that is the true question - what is the expected longevity of these DCTs anyway?

My other question is with regards to DVI->HDMI connections. I have a Sony WEGA HDTV with DVI input. It has been working perfectly with the DVI out on the Phase I. Has anyone had success with the Phase III and a DVI->HDMI cable? I would prefer the Phase III for its superior analog picture quality but need to use the HDMI->DVI connection as my DVD player and PS2 are using the component connections. What should I expect?

Great! Thanks for the info. My DVI to HDMI cable is supposed to arrive this week!

Cheers!

why not just by a DVI to HDMI adaptor from WallMart for $15?

Great info here.
Does anybody know how to take recorded shows off of the DCT6412 via an external HD or hooking it up to a computer via USB or Firewire?

I had called Shaw and they said that they don't 'really' support it, but the guy told me it's possible. Just wondering if anybody has more info about it.

Thanks.

You might want to read through these threads

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27089

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34604

[/url]http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=403695[/url]

why not just by a DVI to HDMI adaptor from WallMart for $15?

no space behind my dct for doubling up two beefy connectors and i've also heard of some people having problems with the adaptors.

I have a Shaw phase I 6412, which has begun acting up. On playback or watching live, the screen occasionally freezes and pixelates for a second, and then the sound drops out for several seconds.
I tried turning the unit off for a few minutes, and discovered something. Upon restart, a different channel than the one I'd been watching came up. I hit "swap" and the last channel watched was on the second tuner. The glitches came twice a minute or so. I swapped back to tuner #1, and could watch for an hour without noticing any drops. This leads me to believe that tuner #2 alone is affected.
Is this possible or likely?
Anything I can do short of taking it in?
Thanks.

I haven't looked to see if my problem is limited to a single tuner (how do you know which tuner you're on at any given time?) but I've had a similar problem in the last few weeks. The box seems to be fine for afew days, then it starts acting up -- audio skips accompanied by video "pops," culminating in a frozen channel which requires a channel change to clear. It's been screwing up recordings like crazy. But I've only had problems on the analog channels.

My box is a Phase I, I just discovered -- did I read correctly that Shaw will swap your box for you if you have enough problems with your current equipment?

My box is a Phase I, I just discovered -- did I read correctly that Shaw will swap your box for you if you have enough problems with your current equipment?

Yes, many people have found that if you take your P1 box into a Shaw office that they will swap it for you on the spot. For me, after enough calls to their help line they sent someone out. The techs usually come with a spare P3 box in their van, and my guy swapped my P1 out after hearing my litany of complaints about my box. Complaing about analog channel pq really seemed to help.

Has anyone seen the problem where a recording shows up out of the blue?

My box had reset itself sometime last week (not sure if it was Thurs or Fri, daytime) and a recording of "The Unit" (CBSHD) from ~mid March appeared. I had never seen the episode, and checking on cbs.com, it was in fact an episode from March. The guide info for the program was blank, only stating it was "New". Recording played fine, and deleted fine.

I suspect the program recorded in mid march as designed, but was hidden on the Recordings List, until the box reset. I keep a close eye on the recordings list and I'd like to think I haven't lost my mind, and what I just saw was exactly how it happened. I could be wrong though.

Anyone else?

Well I'm now on my 7th Motorola DVR. I was one of the first 30 in Calgary to get one when the single tuner boxes came out. I had 3 of those because of various issues. In the process of the upgrades I got switched to a dual tuner and have now had 4 of those. The latest iteration being the 6412 III. Every time I get a new one the same problems are there and usually new ones. On the 6412 I have the following issues:

- Sound drops out on HD
- No Audio on unit startup
- Shows not being recorded (only half recorded)
- Show titles not matching the show
- Show start/stop times off
- Audio choppy (only plays audio for a split second, every other second)
- Recorded the last minute only of a 60 minute show
- Audio Sync Issue

Fortunately I now have a direct contact at Shaw, but honestly how long does one have to put up with this. I'm looking at getting a TIVO and just using this box as the tuner. I am wondering however if some of the problems I am having are PVR only issues or if they are receiver issues as well, which means things like audio drop outs would also show up on and be recorded on the TIVO too. I guess they would given it happens both on live shows and recorded ones. Maybe their HD receiver is not so flakey. Anyone else thinking or have gone this route?

Seriously fed up in Calgary.

Well I'm now on my 7th Motorola DVR. I was one of the first 30 in Calgary to get one when the single tuner boxes came out. I had 3 of those because of various issues. In the process of the upgrades I got switched to a dual tuner and have now had 4 of those. The latest iteration being the 6412 III. Every time I get a new one the same problems are there and usually new ones. On the 6412 I have the following issues:

- Sound drops out on HD
- No Audio on unit startup
- Shows not being recorded (only half recorded)
- Show titles not matching the show
- Show start/stop times off
- Audio choppy (only plays audio for a split second, every other second)
- Recorded the last minute only of a 60 minute show
- Audio Sync Issue

Fortunately I now have a direct contact at Shaw, but honestly how long does one have to put up with this. I'm looking at getting a TIVO and just using this box as the tuner. I am wondering however if some of the problems I am having are PVR only issues or if they are receiver issues as well, which means things like audio drop outs would also show up on and be recorded on the TIVO too. I guess they would given it happens both on live shows and recorded ones. Maybe their HD receiver is not so flakey. Anyone else thinking or have gone this route?

Seriously fed up in Calgary.

I'm on my second box, and it seems fine (touch wood).

I did have to return the first box I had due to the Audio Dropout problem when using the optical link. It was definitely the box, as you could rewind a scene and hear the audio clearly, it would just cut out at a different point. On that box the audio was unsynchronized when using the RCA connections (which had no dropout).

I have seen a couple of incorrect show titles, but I'm chalking that up to the guide being incorrect and not a problem with the box.

Has anyone seen the problem where a recording shows up out of the blue?

My box had reset itself sometime last week (not sure if it was Thurs or Fri, daytime) and a recording of "The Unit" (CBSHD) from ~mid March appeared. I had never seen the episode, and checking on cbs.com, it was in fact an episode from March. The guide info for the program was blank, only stating it was "New". Recording played fine, and deleted fine.

I suspect the program recorded in mid march as designed, but was hidden on the Recordings List, until the box reset. I keep a close eye on the recordings list and I'd like to think I haven't lost my mind, and what I just saw was exactly how it happened. I could be wrong though.

Anyone else?
Happens to me about once a week. At first I just thought I slipped up and forgot to record the show until I reset the unit and three missing shows suddenly appeared.

I've been having a weird audio problem since I moved last week. The sound just cuts out once in a while. Most often when changing chanels or switching from a recorded show to live, but occasionally when a show goes to commercial??? (Last night it cut out for most of the commercial breaks during Lost, and came back all but one time when the show resumed). Sometimes it will come back on it's own, but most of the time I have to fiddle with it to get it back. Initially I thought it was the mute problem, and I was planning on reprogramming my remote (no internet access at home yet, so I couldn't find the instructions), but I noticed last night that the sound is still there, just very muffled, like you are listening through a thick wall. I've had success going into the Audio Options on the STB and cycling through them to get it to come back on...the "Last/Last" thing works occasionally. Interestingly, the sound works fine if I use the TV speakers, just not through the amp...so it's either the amp or the optical connection...

I've been having a weird audio problem since I moved last week. The sound just cuts out once in a while. Most often when changing chanels or switching from a recorded show to live, but occasionally when a show goes to commercial??? (Last night it cut out for most of the commercial breaks during Lost, and came back all but one time when the show resumed). Sometimes it will come back on it's own, but most of the time I have to fiddle with it to get it back. Initially I thought it was the mute problem, and I was planning on reprogramming my remote (no internet access at home yet, so I couldn't find the instructions), but I noticed last night that the sound is still there, just very muffled, like you are listening through a thick wall. I've had success going into the Audio Options on the STB and cycling through them to get it to come back on...the "Last/Last" thing works occasionally. Interestingly, the sound works fine if I use the TV speakers, just not through the amp...so it's either the amp or the optical connection...

Have you tried to reset the box by unplugging it for a minute? When I have audio problems on occasion this always seems to work.

Have you tried to reset the box by unplugging it for a minute? When I have audio problems on occasion this always seems to work.

Thanks for the response Phil, I think I figured it out...looks like my fault :rolleyes:

I have a minor problem: I change the guide color in the menu but when I turn off the box and turn it on again the next day the guide color I chose isnt remembered it goes back to the default color.

I'm having a small problem with my remote...I was trying to program the "Mute" key based on instructions from this site (which I had printed off at work)...Something went wrong and the whole remote quit working. I had no internet access at home at the time because I had just moved...anyways, when I finally got my internet back up, I found the instructions to reprogram the remote and everything works great except the "Skip" key...I followed the instructions here to get the skip key working, but it simply wont work anymore. I've tried programming it many times and it won't take, I'm sure I'm doing it right because I can map the skip key to another button "B" and I've done that, but it was more comfortable to have it just above the "15 sec rewind" button...any ideas?

I'm trying to connect a DCT 6400 PVR to a Sharp Aquos 37" LCD (LC37G4U) with an outboard tuner/input box. When I use the component input the picture is fine but when I use DVI there is a 2" strip on the right side of the picture that looks like it's being viewed through a prism. I think this might be a scaling problem. A small box on the screen says 480p. Is there a way to change the output to 720p? Anyway I need to free up one of the component inputs. Thanks.