Now that Bell is advertising an HD PVR with expandable recording capabilities, I wonder (but I'm not holding my breath) if Shaw will decide to get new firmware on our Moto PVRs that would allow to use some of this wonderful, albeit useless connectivity (USB and Firewire) which we have bought and paid for but cannot use because they're too lazy or cheap to update firmware.

With the proliferation of HD channels, you'd think the time would be right since people must be recording a lot more HD material than they were a few years ago.

Once again, I guess it will take the "competition" to give them the proverbial kick in the rear end.... sigh....

Shaw can't decide to get new firmware that isn't available. If Motorola won't develop it, Shaw can't implement it. And Shaw doesn't carry the big stick with Motorola, Comcast does.

...and Comcast customers don't have the s/w either

At least Shaw customers have Pace as an option. Here in CogecoLand we're stuck with Moto.

I was under the impression that the firmware for 'activating' the external sata port was around Shaw just didn't or hasn't pushed it??

I could be wrong. But I can't see major carriers of Moto's being to happy now there is an expandable sat. version available.

The limited space is my biggest beef with this unit. Comcast and Shaw should be pushing hard to Moto to get a firmware allowing external HD's.

That being said, I thought Shaw was changing PVR's? what happened to that?

Shaw does have the Pace Tahoe available and it has external HDD capability. This STB is currently in short supply.

james99,

I have purchased 3 Motorola PVRs from Shaw over the past 4 years and I don't need another one. I'm not sure how the Pace is an option. It would be if they would take my Motorola back to swap it, but I doubt I would go very far with that request. Perhaps you know something I don't.

JohnnyCanuck: we (users of this site) have gone over this Motorola-Shaw debate before, and I maintain that Shaw has the easy end of the deal passing the buck to Motorola and blaming them for not updating the firmware. The way Shaw does things, I firmly believe that the slow pace at which F/W updates have been made available suits their purpose just fine.

No matter whom is at fault, there's no valid reason at the end of 2008 why a box sporting all the necessary ports cannot be updated to accomodate an external hard drive. And I'll repeat what I've said before. I am not a Motorola customer, I'm a Shaw customer. They are the ones who sold me the box and support it. Logically, I therefore apply the pressure where my money is going every month. As Udowish sais, Shaw and Comcast are at the very least guilty of not pushing Motorola hard enough to get what their customers want.

I really don't think that the issue of esata drives is that pressing to cable providers. Motorola in general is hard pressed at times to keep up with the demand for the units, so if things are going well why change? The overall state of the firmware on these units is sad, and i'm sure that the units are capable of much more. No one really knows why Motorola doesn't have firmware written to take advantage of larger drives/esata.

IMO the fact the PACE units support esata was just a bonus for Shaw. I don't think that was one of the main reasons they chose the PACE units. I beleive it had much more to do with the price of the units.

if the PACE is available in your area, one can always sell their existing moto boxes and buy the pace unit. Not really that different from anything else technology wise. Something newer and better is always coming out.

Apart from sports games, most HD content can be downloaded off the Internet. So other options exist for saving / retaining HD content.

if PACE isn't available in your area, then complain to Shaw about that. That's something they can control.

Just called Shaw and they said Pace Tahoe is not supported in Vancouver "yet".

There's not definite date when it'll be available here. Trail for Pace Tahoe was done in Victoria, so even if you bring Shaw's Pace Tahoe from Victoria to Vancouver, it won't work.

But the tech support guy I talked to hinted that it'll be coming,.....

I just got the Motorola DCT 3416 6 weeks ago,... if Pace Tahoe comes here,... can I change my DCT to Pace with Shaw? What's their exchange policy?

hohohong;

See this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=91390

I have a 6412-III that I am trying to open up to replace the ailing HD. For anyone who has opened one up before, what is it that holds in place the metal box/shroud on the back where the coax input is? I have removed the screws from it, but it just won't budge in the slightest - I don't want to force it, but it is blocking me from removing the case from the unit since it overlaps the removable top... If anyone can give me a hint here, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

I assume you're talking about the silver box on the back of the unit. Sometimes you can wiggle them off, but if that doesn't work your best bet is a butter knife. You should be able to slowly create some seperation, until you can get it off with your hands.

Yes, I meant the silver box. It just pulls straight outwards? Is it just a splitter to connect the one external coax to the two internal tuners? Is it a pc-board that clips on to two other coax connectors?

Sorry for alll the questions... I just don't want to damage it. Thanks for the help, loracweb.

It just pulls straight out. Use a butter knife like Loracweb suggests. Or you can just grab it firmly with one hand and pull it off.

Hi, I just wanted to thank you folks for all the great info on replacing the hard drive in my STB. I haven't done it yet, but I am looking for some opinions on whether it will do me any good.

I just bought a DCT6412 III on eBay with the understanding that it would not record anything and was functionally a DCT6200. I received it and got it set up on my cable provider (Eastlink) and this is indeed the case. For what I paid for it, a DCT6200 would be fine (that's actually what I was looking for), but the thought of a simple fix to get the recording option is too intriguing to pass up.

The unit works perfectly as a high def cable receiver, and it actually does pause and rewind, but real time recording and scheduled recording don't work. The red circle appears in the guide and the recording light on the front display lights up, but when I go to "My Recordings" there is nothing there.

Has anyone had this issue before? Do you think replacing the hard drive will fix it, or does the fact that it pauses and rewinds point toward a bigger problem?

Thanks for any thoughts...

Hi all. I am wanting to replace the hard drive in my Motorola 6412 Phase III unit.

Some Seagates were recommended of the 160 GB size. Only problem is i can't find those hard drives online anywhere..they don't make them anymore. What specific hard drive that i can still buy do you recommend to get? Thanks.

Any drive that is 160gb or larger. The unit will only recognize it as 160gb, so don't waste your $ on a 500gb drive.

ANY drive? It doesnt have to be a specific brand or have specific specs or something?

It just has to be a sata drive.

Nice..thanks..does a 7200 rpm work better in the Motorola than a 5400 rpm?

I should say that the reason i am thinking its the hard drive acting up is that my screen freezes up a lot when watching, especially a recording,but sometimes even live tv.

Sometimes its ok but other times it freezes up for 3 seconds to a minute at a time. It's very annoying. It makes sense its the hard drive, since the deteriorate over time and slowly conk out.

And if i throw one in there straight from the packaging, will the STB format the drive and recognize it on its own? Do i have to do anything else?

thanks a lot for you help

You might have low signal levels. Be sure to check them before you spend the money on a drive you might not need.