... all of a sudden I get a blank screen and cannot get any channels. I have to do a cold reboot and everything goes back to normal. Has anyone else come accross this problem? Thanks.

When that happens, IF you can see the OSD graphics come up, check in Options 6-4-7 Next to AUTHORIZATION STATUS

If you see a couple of "??" then call *C.
It that's the cause, then it's a known problem.
A reboot seems to cure it.

I have a DVI Monster Cable hooked up to our DSR505.....patiently waiting for the DVI fix.

I am curious, and don't know if this the right place to post, but I was told by a Tech at *C that it really is not a bug and that Digital HD Connections, like DVI, are not fully regulated and therefore are not fully universal. He said that they are trying to make it 'more' compatible with other connections, and explained that there is DVI-A, DVI-D, which can both be either Single or Dual Link and HDMI and Sony HDMI.

Anyone know how much truth there is to this?

BTW......I have a DVI Monster Cable hooked up to our DSR505.....patiently waiting for the DVI fix.
I too, have a monster DVI cable 1 metre. I'm anxiously waiting for a permant fix.

If you see a couple of "??" then call *C.
It that's the cause, then it's a known problem.
A reboot seems to cure it.
That's exactly what has happened in the menu. Thank you. I'll give *C a call when, and if it happens again.

I have a new problem (component cables) in that for the second time in as many weeks, all of a sudden I get a blank screen and cannot get any channels. I have to do a cold reboot and everything goes back to normal.
Does this happen while you're watching TV? Have you left the receiver alone for awhile and when you come back, this is what it does? Does it appear to let you change channels? (Does the channel banner come up?) What happens on the front panel when you press buttons on the remote control?

Satellite:
Many thanks for the ritual to get tomorrow's program guide :p
(Just skip forward 6 hours, a few times. Now why didn't I think o' that?)

As I larn stuff, I stick it here (http://www.gummy-stuff.org/TV-stuff.htm).
Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, corrections etc. will be much appreciated.

Does this happen while you're watching TV? Yes.
Have you left the receiver alone for awhile and when you come back, this is what it does? Actually I will be watching a program, then change the channel, it changes and a black screen appears.
Does it appear to let you change channels? Only the first time, then it will not change again.
(Does the channel banner come up?) No.
What happens on the front panel when you press buttons on the remote control? The LED will flash as though its getting a command but nothing happens.. Then I have to do a cold reboot..
It seems like it freezes or locks up.

... to get tomorrow's program guide :p
(Just skip forward 6 hours, a few times. Now why didn't I think o' that?)

For those with BC and later codes, you will find that the FF/REW keys navigate 24 hours around in the guide as well.
Add that with the JUMP 6 hour's and we're all set.
Wence they get 7-14 days of data, this will be a very nice feature.

I hooked up the DVI cable that I got from Monoprice.com, for next to nothing, and my 505 has worked ever since, perfectly. I unplugged the 505 from the wall, let it sit for 15 minutes, then hooked the DVI to the 505, and then to my Infocus projector, plugged the 505 to the wall, and powered it up, then turned on the projector, and the system has been working every since, no rebooting, no nothing..i turn off the power to the 505 every night, and so far, everything is great.

on the last post, i meant that i turned the 505 off every night, not unplug it, like all the equipment

Good luck, let the group know what you decide on and how you like it.

I've got my hands on a Benq PB6210 that I'll try tonight. I've got the VGA to component cable too so I should be set.

Any suggestions on what shows or stations I should watch to check the quality of the HD? I'm basically trying to figure out if 1024x576 is good enough or if I should check out a 720p projector. The price difference seems fairly big.

Thanks

...Any suggestions on what shows or stations I should watch to check the quality of the HD? ...
I'd have a look at either 282/283 TMNHD/MCHD if you have one of them.
They are typically encoded at a higher bit rate than network programming.
Next choice would be 288 PBSEHD.

I'd have a look at either 282/283 TMNHD/MCHD if you have one of them.
They are typically encoded at a higher bit rate than network programming.
Next choice would be 288 PBSEHD.

I set up the projector last night and was impressed with the HD. I tried 1080i and 720p and they both looked the same. I'm assuming that's normal since the native resolution is less than both. So now I need to see if I can find a projector that will do 720p or 1080i natively. If I didn't know there was different resolutions I would be quite happy with what I have.

I've got a few questions though.

When you press the button to cycle through the HD modes what's 0000 for?

When I was running the projector in HD there was black bars on the top and botton which I expected. What I didn't expect was the size of them. I thought about 25% of a 4:3 screen would be black with a widescreen picture but mine seemed more like 43%. Am I calculating wrong?

Thanks again for the info.

When you press the button to cycle through the HD modes what's 0000 for?

0000 is a bypass mode which allows the native resolution of the program (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) to be sent to your TV. This is the setting that I personally use at all times.

0000 is a bypass mode which allows the native resolution of the program (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) to be sent to your TV. This is the setting that I personally use at all times.

I'll have to try it out tonight. I think I have to manually set the mode on the projector so I'm not sure if that will work.

Also aren't all channels from starchoice either 480i or 1080i? Doesn't the box just convert the output to the other two?

Also aren't all channels from starchoice either 480i or 1080i?

That is correct. Back in the day, the DSR500 had problems converting some things so it was recommended that it be left on 0000. The 505 doesn't seem to have that problem, so 1080i is what most people leave it on. Some have had more luck using the strech/zoom modes on their TV when SD is broadcast as 480i, however, so you may want to try both settings.

0000 is a bypass mode which allows the native resolution of the program (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) to be sent to your TV. This is the setting that I personally use at all times.

I use 0000 at all time as well. It works out better for me. I tried forcing 1080i but I didn't like the side bars on SD material. When set to 0000 it allows my TV to revert back to edge stretch when I go to an SD channel.

That is correct. Back in the day, the DSR500 had problems converting some things so it was recommended that it be left on 0000. The 505 doesn't seem to have that problem, so 1080i is what most people leave it on. Some have had more luck using the strech/zoom modes on their TV when SD is broadcast as 480i, however, so you may want to try both settings.

I tried a bunch of things last night and here's what I found. 0000 didn't work for me because the projector that I had doesn't auto detect the feed. You have to set it manually. So when I had the projector set to 1080i the HD channels worked fine but the SD channels were blank. So I had to stick with the 1080i setting. I'm guessing newer projectors can probably auto switch to the right setting. So 576p looks pretty good on a projector. Now I need to figure out if it's worth the extra money for a native 720p projector.

I also figured out my 43% black bar issue. I needed to set the receiver to 16x9 in the options menu (6-4-5 I think). The black was then back to the regular 25% which looked right. I didn't seem to affect my regular tv when I changed this setting. Can someone explain what settings on that page apply to what output?

I tried a 800x600 projector last night. Maybe I should have tried it before the 1024x768 projector because it wasn't very good. Now I just need to test a 720p.

I've got a question with the video settings in the receiver. I had to switch the setting back to 4x3 to get the black bars (16x9) on the 800x600 projector. Any reason why the two projectors are different even though they're both 4:3? Also 0000 worked for this projector since it could auto detect the input.

Fired off a message to the dialog zone about the 'not subscribed' problem and if there are any plans to fix the issue. Their answer 'they are not aware of any firmware updates for the foreseeable future'.

I know the dialog zone is not the best avenue to get this kind of info, but I also know the techs don't get update info until literally days before release so there's no point asking them.

Watch your target version over the next few days.
Quite possibly a late Christmas present.