I have a 2 week old 6412 phase 3.
So whats with this blank screen with audio only?, and if you press channel up its sort of quirky where it won't maybe change up immediately and then jump 2 channels, no picture anyway. You can see the 4:3 outline on my Sony crt HDTV, so its giving me a dark grey 4:3 or some color to indicate its not the TV at fault. Theres audio.
I have to unplug the 6412 and plug it in and then it works, but of course no guide for a while:(
This sucks if it happens after work, get in and have to unplug to get the picture back and then no guide for a while:eek:
Its done it twice in two weeks now. First time I called Shaw who tried to reset it for me and didn't help cos it wouldn't talk back to Shaw. So whilst I had him on the phone I swapped out cables and no help. I decided on my own to unplug it for a minute and bingo that solved it, he could communicate with it again, so he reset it anyhow that time. Now I just unplug it and no resets needed.
Its a real pain.
THX.

I sometimes get that. I just hit "live" on the remote and the display pops up.

For what it's worth, I've never seen that with my PIII box.

Hi, I'm back.
Pressing Live didn't do anything, I recall pressing everything. Its not recording anything at that time anyhow.

But I am back today with a similar problem, possibly related, Shaw is no help, I mention I unplugged it before and they say to try that again and see if it fixes it. Their reset to default and that didn't fix it permenantly, and waiting for the guide and functions to slowly come back aftera reset is a nuisance, especially since I have just come in, sat down to watch TV and then have to start faffing about with it!
The unplugging does get it going, but doesn't fix it. Maybe its a firmware issue??? I have seen issues come and go with other DCT models over the years....just sit patiently for weeks....

....anyhow now twice this week when we have the TV on we end up not being able to get the Guide or Info or List or other stuff to do anything, the LED flickers on the 6412s display to indicate I am pressing remote buttons, but nothing happens. Right now I am recording something so I can't unplug it, its so annoying, I think I need to swap boxes for another, this one is a month old. If its firmware then you'd all see this issue I guess.
So playing with it I can't watch what I am recording cos I can't get "List" to work. I can press REC for the channel that I am viewing, then Swap and can bring up the other recording (so I can be sure its recording the earlier program still), I can swap back. I can pause the live show I am watching and play again. It will change channels up and down or type the channel number and it changes....thats all ok, but no guide or List or info, maybe more I haven't tried to use too.

And "yes" there's brand new batteries in the remote. (It changes channel and volume and that anyhow)

This is similar to the no picture but only audio problem....it seems to stick or something and thats that, have to unplug it to reset it.:mad:

If anyone has seen this come and go I'll wait, but otherwise I guess I'll have to demand a new box and wait all day for Shaw to come again. Oh joy!

Something else Shaw mentions is they can't communicate with the box during these problem periods, until I unplug it and then its immediatly fine for them. Thats odd, like not a hardware problem, just somethings getting corrupted or crossed. Thats why I think firmware. I can look up the firmware version later after I unplug it so I can get the menus, as I said right now its recording something so I am leaving it alone. Anyhow they downloaded the firmware, etc, twice when I got it and since. So it must be the latest.

I would suggest getting a new DCT. Those problems are atypical.

Its been a couple weeks more now, and it still does odd things. It still will have the blank screen and only audio when ever it feels like, once per week, or just freeze so it won't do anything. Its drove me mad, Shaw phone help is no help!
I bought it at the Shaw outlet downtown, so my best bet now will be to put it in the box and go back then, exchange it.
From what I have been advised to exchange it ....it sounds like I have an isolated problem that most people don't have then????
I was waiting for firmware to update or something but its maddening when its froze or blank screen....as soon as I unplug it and plug it in again its ok.
But have to wait for the guide to reload.
Thankfully it remembers schedule recordings. At first I thought it'd forget those.
Also today my son said it was blank at noon and all afternoon, I was at work. But when I got home it was still blank screen, although it did record a scheduled recording mid afternoon succesfully, which I could only watch after unplugging/repplugging the unit!
I will exchange it I guess.:(

Why put up with the hassle of all those problems. I am currently having no problems at all with my 6412 and haven't in several months. Take it back and get another. Shaw is very good about exchanging units.

I couldn't exchange it at the outlet! Buggers said I had to go and get a tech to look at it first, I said that it will work ok most times, and won't be buggy for the tech when he's there...blah, blah, blah.
So I called Shaw yet again and just said I want it exchanged. Its funny...don't they keep records of my complaints. When I get a guy I have to start from the beginning. I was hoping that he'd say that he can see all the trouble I have had and send someone, I had to convince them that troubleshooting don't help. I told him I have tried new cables twice and so on. So a techs coming tomorrow to "have a look."

Something I was going to ask you guys, you have no troubles with yours, but do you have a splitter before the cable box? I have tried two different splitters (Which I used for years on other DCTs with this TV) on the cable behind the 6412 since there is no ANT out on this 6412. I need a couple of cables to the HDD/DVD Recorder and the TV for basic channels, like I had for years with the 2500 and 6200 so I can watch and record at the same time. I went mad and have at this time gone and purchased a Monster 2Ghz 2-Way splitter just to see if that helps! Anyhow I think that a couple weeks back it froze with direct cable to receiver. Too many instances now I have lost track of my combinations of hookups to fix this. I was thinking along the lines of this receiver not being able to talk back to Shaw, and would that cause this freezing and black screen? ....since one early call to Shaw he couldn't get the receiver to talk back to them, but had no idea if that was the problem, I replugged it and fixed it for him that time. (still on the splitter I know then) and he could communicate with it then again. Never had trouble with old 6200, etc.

Anyway I hope that the Shaw tech brings a new 6412 and just swap it out.

I had yet again a black screen with audio first thing this morning when I turned it on....unplugged it and that fixed it.:eek:

6412 is three days old and I woke up this morning to the same issue. Box is on but doesn't output video from any output (HMDI, S-video). Tried pushing live but didn't work.

Once I unplugged it and plugged it back in, the box came back to life.

Mentioned many times before:

1. Never turn off the 6412

2. Go to a previous recording and hit play... this will bring your box back to life.

3. If the audio mutes after using the skip button too many times, hit the last button twice and your sound will come back.

Again!
Another day and its a blank black screen again!
Yesterday it was bright green, today blank like the 1st unit I had last week.
This has got to be a hardware problem in the 6412 or firm/software. It is not my TV, as soon as I unplug the 6412 and replug it in a second it reboots and I have picture!
This drives me nuts as I can't use the guide all night now, same thing as every day, I get in from work and blank screen almost every day. Seems to happen on any 6412, why not for everyone though?

And to cgyclaytonmagnet, Its not possible to go to a previous recording since I can't see the screen. Theres audio and I can change channles up and down, but no picture....all I see on my widescreen TV is a 4:3 dark blank picture, no fuzz, just blank/black and nothing else on sceen.

And if this problem is only resolved by leaving the 6412 on all the time then why doesn't Shaw say the 6412 has to be left on. It gets so hot when its on. But a lot of the time this thing is blank first thing in the morning cold, and after work cold, and like last night and tonight it happens after its been used for a few hours too.....turned off for supper and we come back a couple hours later and its done it again when we turn it on.

I am sorry if this seems like whining!:( but it drives me mad....I paid $800 for this! Its the sort of thing I expect from a $29 DVD player!!!:D

Shaw have no idea what I am talking about, never mind a solution. The day the tech came to look at my 1st 6412 last week, it was ok that time, of course if he'd stayed all day to watch TV with me he'd not have to wait long to see what I mean! And like I said the 2nd unit had no audio at all, and that got swapped immediately at the Shaw outlet.
This is the 3rd unit I have had in a month now. I got the 1st one a month ago, replaced my 6200 that was flawless for 10 months.

The STB should never be cold. These units are never "off" they only enter "standby" and draw a major portion of the "on" power, with the HDD always spinning. The "off" only reduces power a couple of Watts, if that, so these STBs are always warm.

Do you have good ventillation around the STB. Heat is a killer and the STB should always be "on top". Also, do you perhaps have "poor power" for the unit, that could cause it to shut down? Also have you ever measured the S/N ratio as I recommended in another thread?

Sorry, I guess I used the word "off" and "hot" and "cold" loosly.
I knew it doesn't turn completely off. When I say "off" I meant I just use the remote and power down so the theres no display. In that mode it won't go clap cold of course. But it cools down noticably compared to being on. If its powered on all night with the channel displayed, then I feel it is hot, stays hot, understandably normal, when its powered on all the time. Its not extreemly hot, and yes its well ventilated and is on top of other stuff, like CD player thats never on (clap cold underneath). But it'll do this even first thing in the morning when its cool all night and has been in standby.
So I just turn it off with the remote at night or when I am going out, as I expect is intended. Its still powered, no problem there. Its not even plugged ina power bar, its direct to wall for now.
I do think it is a good idea to just leave it on with the channel displayed all the time as suggested, but won't the heat and HDD spinning continually over time just wear things down?

57, you say the HDD is on all thetime, even in standby or does the HDD go off when the 6412 is powered down? or does it run all night anyway? I know the fan is on 24/7 when the 6412 is powered down. Thats fine.

57, I finally checked that S/N. It says SNR 15.4 db FAIR.
Now that doesn't sound good. How do I decipher that and what should I tell Shaw so they take me seriously if that should be fixed?
Thanks.:D

1. I believe the HDD is on 24/7. I'm not a Motorola expert and it also depends on the firmware, however, I've read a fair bit about them and know that leaving them "on" is a good idea.

2. The "fair" S/N ratio could be a source of issues. In the diagnostics example in the FAQ it shows 20 - good. Being 5 dB lower in S/N is quite a bit, I believe.

Thanks 57.
I'll call Shaw tomorrow, if the phone tech plays dumb I'll ask for another or escalate it. This is definately an issue, I have read others with the same thing.
If it was my cables or TV then I'd have figured that out by now.

What effects that S/N then?....Shaw installed splitters outside?
I have the big cable comes in from the street to that big toaster size grey box outside. It then used to run direct to the living room only for TV, 10 years back when we first got cable on our road.
Then I added high-speed internet a few years back and he came and put a splitter in that grey box, so one goes to living room and one to computer. All on their cables in excelelnt condition.
Also after getting the high-speed internet, years ago I put a good quality splitter on that broadband cable by the computer and connected a TV, years ago and trouble free for years and years.
Then one day I started with slow high-speed, went on for weeks and weeks. Shaw came and said that I can't have that old TV on a splitter with my modem. So they ran another seperate cable for the second TV next to the computer. So he put yet another splitter in that grey box.
By the way high-speed was still slow. Turned out to be their fault doing upgrades and it resolved itself afetr many weeks!

So inside that grey box I do believe the main cable is split twice to start with now, one to living room that goes to the back of the 6412 (no more splits on that line), one to computer room, then they split the computer room one again in that box to add the TV in the computer room.

It all looks ok, until I bought the 6412.

They'll have to come check it. Take out the splits for a minute and connect direct and look at the S/N again......well thats what I'd like to do.:eek:

Well whilst I'm here, and getting great help.....you all say you leave your 6412 on 24/7, some say they reboot by unplugging once a month.
So since I use the 6412 remote all the time, hardly touch the TV remote, then of course the CBL button is always pressed. Its programmed right now for the Master Power to turn the TV and 6412 on and off together.

Question is, without having to press TV button to just turn the TV on and off and leave the 6412 power on 24/7, can I remove the 6412 "On/off" from the master power? If I have to turn it on or off ever, just use the button on the front of the 6412.

You could program a "power-off macro" into another key using the information on this page regarding macros:

http://cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/remoteprogram.htm

Or alternatively, you could program individual power-off keys using the learn functionality of the remote and the remotes from your various components. I currently have my westinghouse LCD power mapped to the triangle key using this method.

There is also a bunch of info on this page regarding remapping the remote: (once again haven't tried this)

http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showpost.php?p=321039&postcount=5

There should be a code to return the remote to "default" settings. That should get rid of the master power. If you've got the remote doing other things, you may have to reprogramme those other things.

You may wish to check the operating manual for the remote to see if it's possible to simply change the master power.

Well I finally called Shaw again today about this blank screen issue, and other stuff. Mentioned the SNR being 15dB FAIR and that didn't mean anything to her. She was just brushing that off as normal, and I want to know more about it, I want it to say GOOD. I asked to speak to a technician so one has to come to my house tomorrow so I can grill them about all this stuff.
Anyway she tells me that each of my problems I mention to her are known problems! She is emailing me the list. I'll see if I can copy and paste it when I get it. (Is it on these boards already?).
I told her about the blank screen when power on, its a known issue for one and a half years! and out of their hands because it needs new software to correct it.
I mentioned the no audio sometimes, and its known too.
I mentioned theres a picture and can change channels but theres no Guide or Info or Menu, she says its a known issue too.

This is crazy, I said a $29 DVD player or $49 VCR has less troubles.

Since I posted last it has had the blank screen twice, no sound once and the no Guide or Info issue once.
Also I noticed that two recordings I did a few days ago are blank, with audio! and twice I have recorded a program and its split it in two....one part will be about 3 minutes and the other will be 27 minutes. Its crazy. Mind of its own.

So the techs coming by tomorrow and I'll have him check the dB on this thing and have them attempt to fix that, whether it fixes any freezing is another story. Even if he says that dB is fine, I think its low, and to fix it so its GOOD.;)

About the remote and Master Power....I asked the lady about that too, and like 57 said I can return it to default to get rid of Master Power and use the TV button to turn the TV off and on only. I was just thinking of leaving it powered on 24/7, but its the kids are used to pressing CBL to use the remote, then they'll press master power and turns the receiver off because they had CBL pressed.....I come in from work and turn it all on and its blank:o I will have to teach them not to turn anything on or off with the 6412 remote and use the TV remote to turn just the TV off, its simpler to learn.

DCT KNOWN ISSUES: (Quite long!) And I don't actually see my blank screen at power on problem in there! I don't get any codes either.




DCT Model Issue Description Issue Ticket
6412
6208
Series Recordings limited
to 8 Issue: PVR will only record up to 8 episodes of a series recording.

Action: Video Operations and Digital Services are aware and working with vendor for resolution. May be resolved with future code version update.

Workaround: If customers have "Save Recordings until: Space is Needed " selected as an option for the series, the oldest recording will be replaced with the newest.

Next Update: September 30, 2006 Incident
33,545
6412
HDPVR - Hustler & Playboy Freezing Issue: Customer are having recording issues, customer will only be able to record for 4 hours blocks.

Action: None. Video Operations and Digital Services are aware and still investigating.

Next Update: September 30, 2006
Incident 7,974
2500
5100
6200
6208
6412
501
DCT resetting on
Music Channels Issue: Video Operations have received reports that customers who are tuned to music channels on their DCT’s may notice their DCT’s randomly resetting.

Action: Video Operations, Digital Technicians and the Vendor are aware and continue to work towards a resolution.

Next Update: September 30, 2006 Problem 301

Incident
32,120
6412
HDTV DCT not displaying artist and title of song on Digital Music Channels. Issue: HDTV DCTs are currently not displaying artist and title of songs on Music Channels.

Action: None. Video Operations is aware and working with the vendor to resolve this issue.

Next Update: September 30, 2006. 13:30 MT Incident 20,243
All
Active Screen Saver
during video Issue: Screen Saver may occasionally come on during active video

Workaround: Channel up/down will clear screen saver. Screen saver can be permanently set off in the DCT menu.

Next Update: September 30 2006 Incident
28,151
All
DCT lock-up on menus
and pop-up reminders Issue: DCT lock-up when browsing set-top menus and OK'ing a reminder popup

Workaround: Power Cycle the DCT.

Next Update: September 30 2006 Incident
32,108 /
Problem
253
6208
6412
PVR locking up with
'DVI' code Issue: PVR locking up with 'DVI' code

Workaround: Have customer try turning the TV on first and then the STB.
If the Customer has an HDMI or DVI adapter they may need to have it looked at and/or replaced if this code appears.

Action: Please report back to Video Operations via your local escalation point. We require further reports of this error code with make and model of Television they are using.

Next Update: September 30 2006 Incident
28,153
Confirmed:

6200
6208
6412 pre
Phase 3

Possible:

5100
6412p3
Closed-Captioning text moving off the screen Issue: When the DCT is set to decode the closed captioning, certain CC will move off the screen and no longer be visible. This issue only happens when the CC is in the top part of the screen. It can happen on any channel; analog, digital or HD. When first tuned to a channel with CC in upper part of the screen, the CC will display normally for the first one or two lines, but subsequent lines will be progressively shifted to the right until they are no longer visible

The DCT needs to be set for;

DVI or Component output
720p or 1080i
16:9 TV Type
4:3 Override set to anything other than 480I
In this mode the DCT is decoding the CC not the TV.


Workaround: Channel up/down will restore CC for a short time period. No other workaround known.

Action: TSR/CSR’s need to verify if DCT5100 and DCT6412p3 also exhibit the same problem.

Next Update: September 30 2006
Incident
27,831
6200
6412
Unable to record to a
third party DVD recorder Issue: Using DVI or HDMI or Firewire outputs, if a customer has hooked their DCT6200 up to a device that is not HDCP-compliant, the Motorola box may not allow record request, on any program, to use that path. In these cases, the user will see an on-screen message that says "... HD Content protection of this display has been compromised..." or words to that effect.

Workaround: The digital outputs of the Motorola terminal are meant to connect to HDCP Display devices, not to PC's or DVD-R's. The connected devices must be HDCP-compliant

Some programming content is also copyright-protect at the producer's request, through either Macrovision or CGMS-A techniques.

To confirm the copy protection is activated by bit-streams injected/updated by the broadcaster, you may ask the customer to try to record a different program on a different channel, and see if that works.

If it does, that indicates the previously tried program was protected, by either either copy-protection flags in the digital outputs to HDCP-compliant devices, or through the activation of Macrovision or CGMS-A analog protection by the broadcaster.

Action: For further information on copyright protection please see:
Path: Oasis > Products & Pricing > Digital TV > Hardware & Specs > Copyright protection
6208
6412
CIU error on display of DCT - 100% full indicator
is showing Issue: CIU error on display of DCT - 100% full indicator is showing
There is a known issue within TVGuide that can cause this issue on any PVR.
It can be duplicated by;

Playback a delayed program.
Go into the guide and attempt to record the next program on the same channel AFTER it has already started (i.e. program started at 09:30, user went to record at 09:35).
The disk full error message will appear and the disk will show 100% full
Workaround: The only way to clear the 100% full indicator is to delete a program from the hard disk.

Action: Have customers delete one program

Next Update: September 30 2006
Problem 305 / Incident
31,580
6200
DCT does not change channels correctly when multiple (3 or more) VCR recordings are set Issue: DCT does not change channels correctly when multiple (3 or more) VCR recordings are set.

Workaround: Set recording for only two shows

Action: Please gather as much information as to how often it is happening and how many programs are set.

Next Update: September 15th Incident
25,249
All
High pitched sound when changing/browsing on DCTs Issue: High pitched sound when changing/browsing on DCTs

WorkAround: High pitched sound when changing/browsing on DCTs

Action: Gather info on When, What action customer is taking IE: Digital to Analog, or vice versa

Next Update: September 30, 2006 Incident
18,773
5100
6208
6412
When tuning to Music channels, the last frame of video remains displayed on screen Issue: When tuning to Music channels, the last frame of video remains displayed on screen

Workaround: Have the customer change to another Music channel and back again. This will remove the last frame of video.

Action: None

Next Update: September 30, 2006 Incident
31,595
6412p3
PVR’s randomly resetting Issue: 6412 phase 3 PVR’s randomly resetting

Workaround: None

Action: Video Operations is aware and working with the vendor to resolve this issue.

Next Update: June 30, 2006 Incident
31,671
6208
6412
PVR navigation errors on some recordings Issue: PVR recordings on certain channels from are having errors in playback navigation (Fast-Foward, Rewind and Skip) resulting in jumping back to the beginning of the recording and loss of time position bar. It has do do with the way certain broadcasters encode the output of their signals. Customers have reported it occurring on Sportsnet digital channels and Star! TV, and only on certain programs.

Workaround: With these recordings customer will need to watch the recording all the way through and not attempt to navigate, but some users have reported the Fast Forward and Rewind speed 1 have been successful.

Action: None. No further examples are required unless new channels are reported having this issue. The broadcasters are aware of this issue, which may be addressed in a future DCT code upgrade.

Next Update: September 30, 2006 Incident
30,936
6412
DCT6412 audio muting itself when pressing navigation keys during recording + playback Issue: Simultaneous PVR playback and recording will cause audio to mute when these conditions occur:


If a timer recording is in progress on Tuner A.
Tuner B is set as the foreground tuner
A previous recording is being played from the PVR hard drive.
A navigation key (eg. FFWD, REW, SKIP) is pressed on the remote control
Workaround: Press STOP and then PLAY again to restore audio and resume playback from PVR.

Action: Video Operations is aware and working with the vendor to resolve this issue.

Next Update: September 30, 2006
Incident
32,126


VOD
Model Issue Description Issue Ticket
6412
VOD working on Tuner A for DCT 6412's Issue: Video Operations have received reports that customers who are tuned into Tuner B on their DCT 6412's will have problems ordering Video On Demand (getting an icF error on their DCT).

Workaround: If customers are calling in regarding this issue, please have them hit the swap key on their remote and try Video On Demand again. Video Operations and their specialists are aware and continue to work towards a permanent resolution.

Next Update: September 30 Incident 26,660

HDTV
Model Issue Description Issue Ticket
There are no known issues at this time