They need to fix it so the wrong show doesn't keep popping up.. it's seems that it has gotten worse with A8 IMO. Maybe once I get all the shows that I recorded before the update out of my system then maybe it might improve. Got a couple more shows to watch and then the drive will be bare... will do a hard reset at that time and see what happens.

The wrong show pops up for deletion for me too quite often now. When it happens, the red satellite symbol comes on and I lose audio too. Usually the channel display on the 530 reads " 0". I've learned not to press ENTER until I verify the show that's being deleted. One time even though I double-checked, I still deleted a show that I didn't want to delete. Why? I had 2 versions of "Six Feet Under", and when the first version ended, it brought up version 2 to be deleted. I figured it was the same version as it said, "Six Feet Under" on the screen. So I deleted it. When I played the remaining S.F.U. it started playing the episode I just watched over again. I guess double-checking is not fool proof either.

The fan noise seems to be fixed, but the DVI output issue seems to be the same. *C told me it wasn't a fix in A8 but it was recognised and would be attended to in a later update..

Haha, at this point it would probably be a good idea, but I cannot because StarChoice would demand the $200 penalty, plus I've invested $804 into this machine. Next May (which is not that long away), I may decide to switch. Unless StarChoice truly fixes this machine I am pretty sure that I'll switch providers if I can find someone to buy the 530. In the meantime, potential customers should beware that the DSR530 product does not live up to what it's supposed to do.


They wanted $200 from me as well...I esculated it to a manager and after a review of all the problems I had...they cancelled my account - no early termination fee!

I was under the 30 day return policy from Futureshop so I was able to return the product.

L8r

Well guys, I gotta tell ya, I have a 5100 from Bell and a 530 from *C, and I am quite happy with both.

I have had an issue with losing sound, but a soft boot fixes that.

I really enjoy it, and I don't seem to be having the issues that everyone else is having here.

I just thought that some of the happy 530 owners should pipe up.

P.S. I used to be a PC technician, so I understand that software never "always" works right, and maybe I am more forgiving than other people. In any case, I think of my HD PVR and my eyes start to water from the pure joy of it.

I don't know about you guys, but with the last 2 or 3 years with a PVR, I find commercials very, very annoying.

I really enjoy it, and I don't seem to be having the issues that everyone else is having here.

I just thought that some of the happy 530 owners should pipe up.
I'm a tad confused. What do you mean by "pipe up"? When I went to school it meant to "shut up". Yet you tell us that you're enjoying your 530. Do you mean you want happy 530 owners to speak up??

I'm a tad confused. What do you mean by "pipe up"? When I went to school it meant to "shut up". Yet you tell us that you're enjoying your 530. Do you mean you want happy 530 owners to speak up??

In this neck of the country, "pipe up" means the same as "speak up" (let your voice be heard). If we want someone to "shut up", we say "pipe down".

I'll "pipe up". I'm very happy with my 530. A few minor problems along the way, nothing to get my shorts in a twist over. A8 has been rock solid on my 530. Hope they continue with this trend, and get some new features out before Christmas :)

Sorry about that... guess it was "pipe down" I was thinking of... Never really heard the expression "pipe up" before.

I'm originally from Nova Scotia, and yes "pipe up" means "speak up" in the Maritimes. I guess they got it from church organ pipes or maybe bag pipes - how loud they are. "Shut up" is what we say when we want to tell people to be quiet in a rude sort of way. My Grandfather who was born in 1891 used to say, "Hark!" when he wanted people to be quiet. I guess that was an old-fashioned word for be quiet.

There is a good mix of people raving about the 530 and others (not just me) who are not so thrilled. There are some good things about the 530. I think we need to stay concerned with getting the 530 fixed though. If nobody complains about it, StarChoice may think we are satisfied with what we currently have and that will be it. I mean, you cannot say negative things about a product that is performing properly. If it was fixed there would be no issues to complain about.

I am also delighted with my 530 and have found A8 to be very solid.

Yesterday I was moving some equipment and sat the 530 and DVD player on top of the big screen with cables attached (please do NOT try this at home) when I inadvertantly moved the rack and Bang! Before I could say shucks, not funny, and other explicitives I was unaware I knew, the 530 fell to the floor and the DVD crashed down ontop!

To make a potentially sad story short, after pushing the top lid back in place and crossing my fingers, it powered up and still works a charm.....whew!

If you should choose to experiment on your hardwood floor be aware "your milage may vary...lol".

I have to say that I am happy with the 530 and have no regrets buying it. I watch recorded material every night and I could never go back to that thing called a vcr. The trick modes are working better and lockups seem to be gone. There are still bugs to be dealt with but this machine is heading in a more stable direction with all the updates we are getting and hopefully by Christmas morning there will be new features to play with.

I'm a tad confused. What do you mean by "pipe up"? When I went to school it meant to "shut up". Yet you tell us that you're enjoying your 530. Do you mean you want happy 530 owners to speak up??

Hmm, well to me pipe up meant speak up.

I just don't want everybody who reads the forum that there is nobody enjoying their unit.

Mostly my caller ID had been good with long distance, with in province showing correctly.

Then I had a bunch of 800 & 888's call, telemarketer crap you know.

Some of the toll-free's put in the 1 and it looked like (180) 0XX-XXXX
while some of the others showed just fine.

No rhyme or reason, must be whatever their local telco does.

10 digits, 11 digits, anybody get any international calls?

How does it look on those?

Not a big deal, I have caller ID on my phone, but if it's a feature, it ought to work.

I had to do the hard reboot last night just to watch a recorded program. Every time I tried to hit play it just switched to the current program on the channel that the recorded show was originally recorded from even though the status gave the name of the recorded show as playing not the current live show that was actually displayed. It also then refused to change channels, the red satellite light came on and it went properly weird. Turning the 530 on and off made no difference so I held down the the power button for 10 seconds and started from scratch. Eventually it came back up and I played the same recorded show without a hitch. I wasn't recording on the other channel at the time so there wasn't any real excuse for the strange behaviour.

Mostly my caller ID had been good with long distance, with in province showing correctly.

Then I had a bunch of 800 & 888's call, telemarketer crap you know.

Some of the toll-free's put in the 1 and it looked like (180) 0XX-XXXX
while some of the others showed just fine.

No rhyme or reason, must be whatever their local telco does.

10 digits, 11 digits, anybody get any international calls?

How does it look on those?

Not a big deal, I have caller ID on my phone, but if it's a feature, it ought to work.


I have not had any 800 calls to test....but on the A4 code it would always show me the name and number (sometimes long distance numbers were messed up) but on the A8 code I only get the name only and an open ended bracket for the number on local calls. The odd call does not appear at all. I also have caller ID on the phone but with my kids finding that phone is a problem....lol. It is a good feature and I sure wish it would work correctly. Maybe next update. On a good note I'm quite happy with the new code.

I've never double checked against my telco caller ID to see how well it matches up, but wonder how much difference there may be depending if the box is on or in standby.

But for the most part, I'm pretty darn happy, finally.
The initial road was just cut down the trees trail and then we got some gravel, now were at old pothole pavement and awaiting the new asphalt to smooth the way. Zoom Zoom

I have never had caller id problems with the DSR530. It always shows the phone number and name exactly as it should. I am, however, connected using my VoIP phone (Vonage). Chances are the 530 was programmed to work with the US phone system since Vonage is a US company.

Glad to hear it's working to your expectations.

I don't have a problem with it as it is, becasue I got it to watch TV, not be a substitute for my called id phone, but I have to admit, I think it's kinda cool to see who's calling on the screen pops even before my phone announces who's calling.
My callid ID phone uses a voice paging system to announce the caller ID and the DSR always beats it to the punch.

Anyway, back on track, what I was wanting to say is I think I've now discovered that any caller ID errors are more related to the originitating telco setup. Not there fault per se, but the box is trying to juggle the 10 digit and 11 digiit and possible more digits from international calls.

Like you said, the US phone system is 1 standard, where in Canada it's all over and since there are very few original Canadians, there is probably a lot of off continent calls to try and deal with as well.

It appears that eastern Canada is pretty much all the same. I moved from Halifax to Ottawa and spent some time in Montreal and Toronto too with no caller id differences between any of these places. Basically, they (Bell/Aliant) chop off the area code when the call originates from your area code and the call is local. If the call is long distance they send 1 + area code + number. The system I have now always sends "area code + number" and never puts a 1 in the caller id when it is long distance. It always supplies the area code even if the call is local. This could be why I have not had a problem with call display. From what I have read here it only acts up when there is no area code, or when 1+ is added to the prefix of the number. I'm also with Primus, and the thing I like about them is that they allow you to alter the name of the caller. You can key a number + name into your personal directly via the internet. When the call comes in, the name is intercepted if the number is found in your personal directly. Then the name from your personal directory comes up on your caller id. This is great for those "unknown name" friends/family members. I may switch to Primus permanently as they have more features. In any case, both Primus and Vonage work great with the DSR530, but Primus offers a solution to the No Name situation.

That's a very cool feature.
IP phones sure offer a lot more neat features.

Now that the caller ID problems seem to be a bit better understood with all the digits and with/without area codes, they should be able to come up with some funky logic to handle it all.

It's pretty close right now for most it seems.

I sure had to chuckle though when I read the 9200 had some similar callerID issues. Bell being a phone company and all.

Starchoice I can excuse the first time around and at least it getting better.

This A8 is getting boring, we know what they didn't fix and it's all been hashed out before, and what they did fix seems to be holding for the most part.

Hope to hear lots of chatter when the next one comes out saying, hey this works now and cool new features. Time will tell how many steps forward and backward it goes I guess.