I have just discovered this wonderful forum on all things shaw. I have been considering a hd box purchase and was going to go the most economical route with the 6200. But I have read a few posts where the poster states the 6200 inferior to new offerings from motorola and that these problems cannot be corrected with firmware upgrades.

Any validity to this complaint about the reception on the 6200? Any other problems that wouldl not make my purchase of a dct 6200 a pleasurable experience?

Motorola improved the analogue tuner in the 6412 P3 and the 6416 series boxes. If you do not have an HDTV, I doubt that the lesser quality of SD analogue channels with the 6200 will be an issue. Also be aware that not all analogue stations are bad, some of worse than others. Another consideration for you is that at some point Shaw will be moving to an all digital format. They are in their early days of all digital right now. In that case, it shouldn't matter how 'good' your analogue tuner is.

If I did not have a hdtv I would not be purchasing an overpriced hd decoder box from shaw! Your second point about the transition to all digital is moot as someday is a long way off and I need to know what the picture quality is like now, on initial purchase on the sd channels not what it will be like when they no longer exist.

I am wondering if you could answer the original question?

My, my for a newbie you sure are testy! To be specific, no I would not purchase a 6200 if the majority of my viewing was SD analogue. You'll just have to pony up the dollars with Shaw to get the most recent box or to some other service provider. There. Clear enough for ya?

I think you need to consider what your viewing habits are. If the majority of your viewing is CBC/CTV/abc/NBC/FOX/CBS/PBS/Discovery/A&E and TSN then you will do most of your watching on the HD channels and SD performance, which isn't all that great on the 6200 will be a mild irritant.

If, however, you watch a lot of Global, City, Regional Sportsnet, etc., then you might not be making the best choice.

OK, I got a 6200 last year for about 8 months until I got the 6412 this summer. Before that I had a 2500 for a few years, and the 2000 before that. I had the 2500 for a long time, no problems at all, ever.
So I eventually a year and half ago I bought a HD tv (Sony 34" CRT widescreen HD tv, not LCD, so it was quite close to what I was used to) it was great with analog with the 2500....and then I went out and got that HD 6200 soon after, immediatly I was shocked....the same analog channels with the 6200 were cr*p!....after having very good analog on the 2500 for years. The HD was brilliant though...all I did was change DCTs! Why would the analog be worse on a newer DCT?!! I had that 6200 for almost a year from that point, then decided I needed a PVR model. (I blame this website for that:D ) I watched analog channels most of the time and was so unhappy. The only digital I got was not worth putting up with the garbaage analog channels, but I hung on, back then there was so much "not knowing".
Next I got the PVR version 6212 and it immediatly had better analog. From reading here I knew that would be the case. I enjoyed that receiver thoughroughly except for the umpteen problems with teh 6412......I now have the 6416 (replaced the 6412 by Shaw because of the many problems I whined to them about!).
I do not know if the current 6200 models have the same inferior analog receiver in them now, I want another for the bedroom, I do not need a 6416 PVR and its high cost for the bedroom just to have decent analog pictures.

Just as an afterthought, I am in Chilliwack and we do not get the "All digital" here yet. I have an older 2500 in the bedroom that gets exceptional picture quality.....tough to get rid of it:D

kiwi2000

I assume you are aware that splitting the cable to both the TV and the 6200 often allows you to switch to the TV's tuner for better analog channel viewing. The analog channels are never going to be that great on a TV that you view at a distance that optimizes HD viewing but I found it to be acceptable. I have a HD ready 65" RPTV viewed at about 10 feet. The problem here is that it is a bit of a pain to have to switch TV inputs when switching between analog and digital channels. I got by for several years doing this but continually complained about it until I got a 6412 Phase III to replace a failed 6412. I guess it depends on how badly you want to have access to HD content.

My opinion in your situation is to call Shaw and ask when digital versions of analog channels will be available to you so that you won't have to suffer the degraded analog channels through a 6200. If Shaw were smart they would treat you as they seem to be doing with the purchasers of the new all digital boxes and give you a priority on getting the all digital service when it was available to you. In any case, if you don't want to go the cable splitter-TV analog tuner route, I would wait until you know that an all digital service is available. With Shaw you never know when they will deliver on upgrades to your particular area until it actually occurs.

Thank you both for your insightful replies. Is there a posting dealing exclusivly with the 6200 on this site, if so can someone direct me? One of the points made that a splitter could be used for the sd channels answers another of my questions in that I have a projector and do not wish to turn it on and off all the time to change digital audio channels or check the weather.

I do have a 27 inch in the room for that so from what you are saying you can run another output but does that second unit have to be hd also?
Or does it automatically downgrade the signal to the other set? As I understand it the 6200 will convert everything to the output signal specified 720 or 1080 correct?

If you connect to the S-video or composite output of the 6200 it will be in regular 480i, even if the component output is set to 720p or 1080i. However, I don't think you'll get the DCT graphics overlays (eg. the guide) on the S-video or composite output in that configuration.

I am now the proud owner of a third party 6200.

It all works except the remote for the unit. The guide works improperly when used with the remote, on the unit itself it is fine. When the guide is selected with the remote, the first five channels are displayed, if you move the up or down or left , right arrows at all the guide will spin out of control.

I have tried to adjust the scroll speed on the setup screen, did not help. As I said it works fine with the menu or guide selected directly from the unit itself. Any ideas?

I have many other questions but this is the major one I need help with pronto. As of now there is no way to see what is what or what is upcoming.

Any suggestions appreciated

I have figured out my problem, it is a faulty remote. If I select the guide from the unit itself and scroll or search for upcoming shows, no problem. But if I do the same with the remote I have a problem. So hopefully a replacement remote will do the trick!

If you connect to the S-video or composite output of the 6200 it will be in regular 480i, even if the component output is set to 720p or 1080i. However, I don't think you'll get the DCT graphics overlays (eg. the guide) on the S-video or composite output in that configuration.

Questions, questions so how do I configure then the 6200 to recieve the guide on both displays the hd display and the sd display? I have the hd display connected via component,(guide visible). The sd tv is connected via the rf cable from the 6200, (no guide). I would like the ablity to view the guide and settings from this tv also. I am assuming there is a way. Can someone elaborate on this?

Question 2 if I want now to record to the vcr do I have to set two timers for this to occur? One on the 6200 and the other for the vcr? That is all I can figure at this point, if that is the case I see why the pvr's are so popular even without the ablity to record hd, two timers is too much. Am I missing something here also?

As an aside it took three techs and about a 6 hour span to add the 6200 to the shaw system. The first tech said he could and he would call when it happened, about 2 hours he stated. The next tech said a couple of days for confirmation etc. The third turned me on in about 20 minutes.

My advice, be patient, it pays off.

1. See the Digital Home FAQ (under help) "Motorola STBs". The first link shows the directions on how to set the 4:3 override, so that you can get the menu - last paragraphe.

2. Yes, you have to set two timers, unless you have a "cable mouse" or similar setup where the DVD recorder can control the STB. Most people record "weekly" programmes, so setting two timers is not that difficult for most of your recordings since you only set them once. The two timer issue is of course there for any "one episode" recordings. I did it for years...and yes, a PVR is certainly better for timeshifting.

1. See the Digital Home FAQ (under help) "Motorola STBs". The first link shows the directions on how to set the 4:3 override, so that you can get the menu - last paragraphe

I believe I have found the link you are referring to below. Thank you for the reference and also the pics of your set up, very interesting.
From what I believe it is saying is that the override must be set to 480i for the guide to be seen on anything other than the component or dvi output. Is this correct? Also if this is true then the box will show non hd material at 480i at the component outputs and dvi when this is selected?

I suppose that selecting this option when I want to view the non hd set but I dont think I can view the set up menus or guide with the overide off. So as I see it this is not possible.

480 Override

480i – Will set the output of the box to 480i format when NOT tuned to an designated HD channel

480p – Will set the output of the box to 480p format when NOT tuned to an designated HD channel*

OFF – Will set the output of the box to whatever format was selected in the Y/Pb/Pr Output section.*



*If you set the 480 override to “480p” or “OFF” & view the output of the box on any of the analog outputs (S-video, Composite, RF) The on-screen functions (Guide, Menu, etc.) will NOT be displayed. These will ONLY be displayed on the component outputs