The store at Bayview Av / Major Mackenzie replaces my 3250HD with Pace 551 today.

A friend of mine just bought a complete Sony system; KFE50A10 with stand and HTIB. With it came 1 year of free Rogers HD digital TV where they phoned in a special code supplied by the store (Bleeker Stereo & TV in Ottawa) and Rogers mailed them an HD box (17 days later). Seeing he had no idea how to hook it up, I went over that same day to hook it up and make the necessary settings. I was surprised to see they got this Pace STB. Got it all up and running without a hitch (surprising seeing I was totally expecting the SA3250HD box). I also wasn't familiar with the Sony set without a tuner. Very nice picture. Too bad I've got the Panny. I'd say HD is comparable on both sets but SD may have been a little better on the Sony. I didn't realize until this evening about the passthrough for the DVD player. I showed them how to change inputs on the Pace remote (which is very very similatr to the SA one down to the # key for strtch, zoom feature and volume and power up options are identical). I was impressed with the Pace quality, features, ease of use and remote.

Just got a new TV (Sony 42" LCD RPTV, HFE42A10) with HDMI connectivity so bought an HDMI cable to try it out on the Pace box. When I first turn the unit it on I get a nasty pink look on all channels. But if I press the display button the box to switch resolutions, or if I cycle my TV inputs, the image then looks fine. Also if I unplug the HDMI cable out of either the TV or Pace unit and reinsert it, the image is fixed. But when I turn the unit off and back on, I get pink. I'm thinking it's some kind of HDCP problem, or maybe it's my TV, who knows... Thinking I'll just settle for component even though black levels looked better on HDMI. It's just that I'm so spoiled by the awesome component passthru capabilities of this unit!

It is the handshake problem. It happens to me on SA3250 some times, but no too often. I just turn the SA off rather than the TV.

the problem doesn't go away when i turn the pace unit off, because when i turn it back on that's when it's pink. It's only if i cycle through the video inputs and return to HDMI that it's fixed. Any idea where I can find more info on this "handshake" thing and how to fix it? I called Rogers and they told me they cannot provide any support for HDMI, only component.

Been lurking for a while now but have decided to join. Great site, very informative. I've got the Pace 551HD STB and a Sony KFE42A10.

On the PAce it allows you to choose the resolutions. 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. There's an option beside each one for yes or noe. I can say yes to all of them as well as know. Wondering who these should be set up. Currently say no to 480i and yes to everything else. How should I have these configured. Mind you, HDTV looks incredible right now.

Thanks

tk416: wow I have the same stb and tv combo :)

What you can do is disable all the formats and only enable one at a time, then check some channels to see which is best to your eyes. For HD broadcasts I really can't tell a dif b/t 720p and 1080i on this tv. I think most will say 720p is best for this tv b/c its native res is 720p, but from my (limited) experience I find 1080i gives a sharper image. Maybe you can see a larger difference on the KFE50A10 but not so much on the 42".

As for SD broadcasts, one option is to only enable 720p or 1080i (whichever looks best to you for HD). That way when surfing b/t SD and HD channels it will be quicker as the tv doesn't have to switch resolutions. The verdict is still out on which mode is best for SD, I haven't experimented enough to decide...

Let me know how your settings turn out! P.S. have you tried HDMI with the pace box yet?

For those people who had posts in this thead regarding remote control problems, please go to the following new thread.

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37980

The Pace 551 has a IR Transmit to communicate with VCR, I have a VCR commander for Explorers DHCTs except 2000 DHCT so I gave it a tried to see it would communicate. Didn't work period, called Rogers tech support in reguards the Pace 511 is not available. I assume they don't have part? Stalling time before someone realize part is needed?

I've noticed the same issue with my Dad's Pace 551. We called Videotron and they said it was disabled. Anyway to re-enable the port through service menus etc. Wouldn't this just be a firmware issue?

Why would they have disabled this when the older unit worked just fine. It's silly. Is it cause they are too lazy to provide support?

Has anyone tried the firewire port? It would be nice to be able to use a dvhs/or virtual dvhs...


Hmmm

BUMP!

Has anyone tried the firewire yet?

Hi everyone, I been using this cable box for a while now and have a few question:

1. About the problem when it does not synch (no sound & image) when you change channel:
- Do we know if it is the provider or the box that cause the problem?
- Is there a fix (firmware) or a work around (aside from switching back and forth until it return)?

2. About the problem when it takes a longer time to synch (3 or more sec) when you change channel:
- Do we know if it is the provider or the box that cause the problem?
- Is there a fix (firmware) or a work around?

3. Using HDMI, I did not find a pass-through mode (which is the preferred method when using a quality HD TV), is it equivalent to enabling all resolution?

4. From time to time I used to see my receiver showing that it was receiving a DD5.1 signal, but know I never see it, it always shows Dolby Surround II now? Did I dream this, or something is not setup properly?

5. I can NOT believe that you can not add/remove channel, there must be a way to do this :confused: it is so annoying when channel surfing to wait that 1-2 sec to realize that this is a channel that you never want to see :mad:

Thanks,

[QUOTE=J-As for SD broadcasts, one option is to only enable 720p or 1080i (whichever looks best to you for HD). That way when surfing b/t SD and HD channels it will be quicker as the tv doesn't have to switch resolutions. The verdict is still out on which mode is best for SD, I haven't experimented enough to decide...[/QUOTE]

Another thing to consider with this TV is to let the 480i go through, and let the Sony DRC circuit do the de-interlacing, which can be adjusted to your liking. But you have to live with the resolution switching delay.

Another step I found, if you do not mind the extra trouble and want to avoid the extra delay it take to switch resolution, is to have a second feed (preferably s-vhs) when watching SD (1-600) and keep the Comp/HDMI for HD (600+). But still no convinced it worth the trouble?

2. It takes a longer time if you change formats for example from an HD station to an SD station.

3. It's not called Passthrough on the SA STBs if you use HDMI, it's called Auto-HDMI or something similar. Does Pace have something similar?

4. See the Digital Home FAQ "What's available in DD5.1". Also you need to use the digital output (Toslink, coaxial?) to get DD5.1 on your AV Receiver.

5. Just the way it is...sorry.

3. What does Auto-HDMI do? What I had to do was to use comp. to enable all resolutions then switch to HDMI (since the only setting is Auto-HDMI)?

4. I am ussing coax, since I was geeting confirmation that I was receiving DD5.1 on the receiver before? Also, could you please give me the link for that FAQ?

Thanks,

3. Auto-HDMI does the same as passthrough.

4. Here's the link. When looking for the other Digital Home FAQs, see the blue bar a couple of inches down from the top of the page. On it are FAQs and a pulldown to the Digital Home FAQs.

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17870

Make sure that any audio settings in the STB are set properly for Dolby Digital out. Sometimes when you insert the HDMI cable, the STB thinks it should send signals out the HDMI to a TV and they won't be DD5.1 on the coaxial cable...

In case it was not already posted, it was confirmed to me by PACE Support that the DC511 will not ouput DD5.1 when connected with HDMI :eek:

"When using the HDMI connection, if the HDTV does not have a DD5.1 decoder built in, it will negotiate via HDMI to set the digital audio out to PCM. This can be overridden by going into the General Settings and changing the Digital Audio Out back to Dolby Digital. This will only stay until the next time the HDMI renegotiates. Depending on the manufacturer of the HDTV, this can happen every time the set is turned off and back on, or only when power is interrupted. There will be a new feature in the next software release that will enable you to ignore the HDMI settings and lock it on Dolby Digital."

I have heard that the HDMI handshakes with the unit on the other end and chooses the appropriate signal. If it is a TV you get Dolby 2.0, if it is a new High End receiver with an HDMI input you would get 5.1. I do not know anyone who has such a receiver to test this out though.

I have the new Yamaha RX-V4600 ... I've been hoping to test the Pace HDMI with it but I need to go out and buy another HDMI cord. It's an expensive cord to buy if it doesn't work. But I’ll let you know of the result when I do it.

Here is a question or anyone to PLEASE answer.
My previous setup was with the Rogers Explorer HD box (the one with DVI). I had the DVI running from the cable box and plugged into the HDMI IN on the receiver. And then I had the HDMI OUT from the receiver to my 42" Samsung plasma HDMI IN. When I turned everything on the TV showed an HDCP error. I called Rogers about this but they were NO HELP. So I called Yamaha and they told me that it's a conflict in versions of HDMI (1.0 and 1.1)..
So I had to switch my setup to run the DVI from the cablebox to the TV and the audio to the receiver. Not a big deal, but the it defeats the purpose of me buying the receiver.

Does anyone know the HDMI version of the PACE BOX?? I would really really love someone to tell me because I have not been able to find out anywhere.

And can someone explain HDCP errors quickly to me?

I cannot help you, but I have a question. I know Yammy has a serial port for ungrading their software. So, can they not upgrade your software to the version in Pacer?

I cannot help you, but I have a question. I know Yammy has a serial port for ungrading their software. So, can they not upgrade your software to the version in Pacer?

I have no idea... but I have some decent news.. I called Samsung to ask then what version of HDMI the TV was and they told me I was an idiot and HDMI has 1 version.. lol... so i'm way out to lunch on this whole thing.

...I need to go out and buy another HDMI cord. It's an expensive cord to buy if it doesn't work. Please see the Digital Home FAQ "DVI/HDMI Information". There are lots of links/suggestions in there where you can buy an HDMI cable for $10-20. People here have been recommending Monoprice.

There have been quite a few issues with A/V Receivers not passing the HDCP signal properly between the TV and the STB, depending on the STB/Firmware. Looks like it's not ready for prime-time yet.

I believe there was some discussion on this subject in a thread on HDMI Receivers. You may wish to search for "HDMI Receiver*". Found it.

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32280