dks,

Are you even a Starchoice subscriber?

Crispy

dks,

Let's get back to the topic of this thread. If I offended you, I apologize. That was not my intention. There is not need to continue this discussion any further. Someone was talking about people getting jumped on in the other thread and I was simply stating why that happened.

Another small feature.

In the DVR list, it would be beneficial for cleaning up to show the usage for a recorded show. It would probably be easiest to represent the usage as a percentage.

i.e.

Name Date Duration %Usage
Show1 Thu 6/16 2:00 67
Show2 Wed 6/15 1:00 23
Show3 Thu 6/14 1:00 10

This allows the user to be more informed when cleaning up.

I don't quite understand what you are saying osmosis.
Percentage to what? Space used on the disk, remaining time on the recorded show?

A good addition to the Dvr list would be to put on the left side of the show name the logos for DD or/and HD if it applies. :)

% of space used. If you sum up the numbers then you will see that they add up to 100. The reason I suggest a % is that most non technical users do not relate to a physical value. i.e. My parents.

My problem is that I have HD recordings and SD recordings but there is no indicator as to which is which. Possibly a HD/SD indicator would be enough??? The problem is that when I clean up, I would like to know what recordings to delete to make space for upcoming timed recordings.

It's just a small thing but this type of feature adds polish to an already (potentially --- after the bugs are fixed) fine product.

My problem is that I have HD recordings and SD recordings but there is no indicator as to which is which. Possibly a HD/SD indicator would be enough??? The problem is that when I clean up, I would like to know what recordings to delete to make space for upcoming timed recordings.

I agree with you on this one, As I said in my previous post, they could add on the left side of the show name, the logo for HD, DD to identify the show.

Not sure if this has been brought up in the thread or not, but something I would like to see is this:

You are watching TV and you get a phone call and have to head out for something.

You decide to record the rest of the show you are currently watching.

When you hit record and then choose Edit, on this screen, I would like to see a check box option that allows you to tell the receiver to turn off after the recording is done.

I hate leaving devices on when I am not home. I always wanted this feature on my BEV 5100 and it never had it either. This would be a welcome feature IMO.

BSmithern,

You can set the 530 to record the rest of a program and then turn it off immediately after starting the recording.....it will continue to record even in standby mode.

gbarr14,

That is interesting. I did not know that. One would think if you turn the unit off, it is off and could not record. OK. Good to know. Guess I need to read the manual.

Edit: Well, the manual does not state stuff like this. Pretty basic manual actually. I just gave it a try though. Very cool feature. My 5100 never did that!

I'm not sure if it is in the manual or not.....I only discovered it because I turn off everything whenever I'm not watching TV.

Another thing that you may know already (but is kind of related to the first post) is that you can set a timer to record and then turn the 530 off....it will 'wake up' at the scheduled time and record the program....and then turn itself off again after the recording is finished.

you can set a timer to record and then turn the 530 off....it will 'wake up' at the scheduled time and record the program....and then turn itself off again after the recording is finished.

I assumed it would do that, simply because timers would be kind of useless without this feature... :D

How about instead of going to clock mode on the front panel during playback, you would have the option of showing time remaining for that show.

107 votes and the top 3 are:

1. Dual Recording
2. Searchable Guide
3. Name Based Recording

Wouldn't it be great if all 3 of these showed up in the late Summer software update? ;)

Yes, especially items number 2 and 3. With time shifting, dual recording is not so important, but it is nice to have as there are some channels that do not time shift. Especially if it is something local to your city.

With time shifting, dual recording is not so important

Well, I still think it is. For one, with dual recording, you can watch something you have already recorded and record two things at the same time at the start of the night. Then you have two things ready to be watched while it may be recording something else. Allows you to always have something recorded to be watched and saves time waiting for the time shift. There are occasions as well, where during primetime, there have been 3 things on that I want to watch so dual recording comes in handy as well.

I have dual recording now and used to use it in the winter time on Wednesday nights when both Lost and Smallville were on. That's the only time I used it. With time shifting I could get Lost at a later time. It is a nice to have feature, but it's not as important as a better guide that allows you to search for all occurances of a specific show, or name based recording.

I would like to be able to contact my 530 via the internet and tell it to record something.
How many times have you gone out for the wknd or night and forgot to set the vcr?
would this be possible using existing hardware ie-usb port hooked to your computer?
Or is this what was meant by networkable in the poll?

I want the 90 minute buffer to continue recording even if I change channels. It should always contain the most recent 90 minutes of TV that I have watched. If I watch one show, then switch channels at the next time slot, I may want to go back to repeat something from the last show - but I've lost it since I changed the channel.

Now, name based recording and a 7 day program guide are still higher on my list, but I'd say the 90 minutes of straight recording regardless of channel changing is my #3.

One feature I've always found glaringly missing, on any StarChoice receiver, is an auto-tune feature. With every TV and VCR, the first thing you do when you first turn it on is have it auto-detect all of the available channels. Why can't the satellite receivers do the same? I'm now up to 4 receivers and have to program each one manually with a favorite list of just the channels I'm subscribed to. Clearly the way satellite works, this could be accurately auto-detected. There would also be the ability to auto-correct as channels/packages change.

You still had to go back and manually remove the channels you didn't want when your tv or vcr went through the auto-tune feature. (ie. remove all the french channels in my case.) The non 500 series receivers allowed you to use the Parental Lock out feature to remove all the channels you didn't want showing up in the guide and when scanning up and down the "dial". However, the parental lock on the 500/530 will only remove the channels from the guide but not remove them when scanning up and down the dial... you get a screen asking for a password when you hit a channel that is locked out.

It would be nice if it worked the same way as the 300/400 receivers.