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NextBox 3.0 (Cisco 9865) Discussions - Read Post 1

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#1 ·
Edit by 57: A summary of items discussed in this thread is in the link below:

Cisco 9865 (NextBox 3.0) Summary List - The Good, The Bad and The Huh? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


Other useful Links in the following Post:

New 8 tuner PVR... NextBox 3.0 Discussions (Cisco 9865) - Read Post 1 - Page 12 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


If your 9865 is part of a WHPVR setup, please use the following thread since many issues are caused by WHPVR and are distinct from stand-alone 9865s:

Whole Home PVR in Ontario Discussions (NextBox 2.0/3.0) - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


Purchasing or Renting a 9865 Discussions:

Rogers HDPVR Shopping Discussions Thread - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


Upgrading the iHDD:

Upgrade iHDD on 9865 (NextBox 3.0)? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums



I've started a thread specifically for the switching to PCM issue. Please use that thread for any switching to PCM discussions. Thanks. This issue appears to have been resolved with the latest firmware.

NextBox 3.0 (Cisco 9865) Switching to PCM Issue - Resolved. - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


Looks like there will be a new 8 tuner rogers PVR available in the next couple of months.

I was at a BBQ over the weekend and someone who works for Rogers let this info slip.

Hopefully this next version will have an updated GUI with some additional features... NextBox 3.0???
 
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#1,449 ·
Bad news / good news

Since my 9865 rebooted itself around 8:30pm Wed Aug 13 the response time has been slower than my 8642. Just now it took 32 seconds for the STOP menu (Resume Play/Play/Lock/Delete...) to appear when I pressed Stop while playing back a recording. Pathetic !

On a good note, I haven't had the PCM Audio/16kHz tone issue in almost a month (last occurrence July 19).
(No doubt I'll now have that problem within a day !).

Also the issues (mostly, but not only, on my 8642) where it wouldn't record some early morning programs correctly, starting either late or ending late, or not recording at all (usually those scheduled between 2-5am Tuesday & Wednesday) seems almost completely cured (maybe Rogers just stopped the Tuesday/Friday morning updates).
 
#1,450 ·
Not specific to the box, but have people been noticing issues with shows starting at 1 minutes past the hour? I don't just mean the broadcast is a little late or early, but the guide actually lists some shows as beginning at (for example) 8:01?

The problem of course, is that almost all of my shows are scheduled "This time slot" and 8:01 is not the correct time slot, 8:00 is, so the show doesn't record.

It's actually only happened once to me on one of my regular shows, and it didn't happen again afterwards. But my parents, who tend to watch different shows than me have said it's something they've noticed with increased frequency.

Very annoying.
 
#1,451 ·
I've noticed that shows ending at 1 or 2 minutes after the hour often do not record properly on the 9865. I end up with the last 1 or 2 minutes of the show instead of the whole show. The next show, starts at 1 or 2 minutes past the hour, of course. The scheduled start or end time is actually 1 or 2 minutes past the hour, as set by the broadcaster. Some networks do this to get some perceived edge against competing shows on other networks. (This is more effective in the US since they do not have out-of-market network stations on cable or satellite.) It does mess up PVR scheduling and is a PITA, especially with 1 or 2 tuner PVRs. Since the 9865 has 8 tuners, it should be almost a non-issue and the unit should handle it correctly.
 
#1,452 ·
I've hadn't noticed any program's beginning at one minute past the hour, but have noticed that some programs e.g. the Amazing Race Canada, end at one minute past the hour, which would seem to indicate that the following show would necessarily need to start at one minute past the hour. I just checked the program guide for this week and The Amazing Race Canada this week ends at 10:01 PM and the following show begins at, you guessed it, 10:01 PM.

I haven't had any issues with program's not recording properly, except in those instances when the program guide does not show the program as "new".
 
#1,453 ·
The networks extend popular shows to lead into their next show and kill the intro of competing shows. It's a practice I despise. It's ineffective with modern, multi-tuner PVRs. It's also just as likely to cut off the end of their show as kill the intro to other shows, especially in Canada with simsubs.
 
#1,454 ·
Yeah, shows that run over by a bit and end up getting cut off by the PVR are also an annoyance.

What I can't say with any certainty is if the shows are ACTUALLY starting a bit later, or if it's just the guide info that's changing. I think the show genuinely is starting at 1 minute past the hour. That would be fine though... if a show isn't going to always start at that time, it's the consistency that matters. It appears that it is not the same week after week which is the real issue. True Blood and Big Brother are two that I know have been affected off the top of my head.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
#1,455 ·
^^^^
What's really annoying is when you set the PVR to add 5 minutes to the end of each show, to handle overruns, if you're recording the next show, on the same channel, it will stop the first recording right at the time the 2nd starts, so you may find a minute or 2 of the first show at the beginning of the 2nd, with a gap of a few seconds missing. Since there are 8 tuners, why not just let the 1st recording finish? For that matter does it even require 2 tuners to have overlapping recordings of the same channel?
 
#1,457 ·
Search by category, title, etc

So I've checked this thread and think I know the answer. On the 8300 at say 10pm, I would hit guide, then 'A' for search by - category,channel, name, etc. I would choose comedy and see where I could catch Seinfeld, Family Guy - for that time period. Boom, done.

I cannot seem to do that now. Am I missing something?

Sorry, not a reply but couldn't find the new post part.
 
#1,459 ·
The other option is to use the * button and search for the show name. I've found it much better though to use the "Anyplace" Web Scheduling via an app or via your browser online to search for a programme directly, or an actor, etc..

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=127977 Check out the last few pages of the thread. If you have any questions regarding the apps or remote recording via a browser, please use that thread.
 
#1,460 ·
Since there are 8 tuners, why not just let the 1st recording finish?
As already mentioned, it's probably due to legacy code left over from 2 tuner PVRs. Depending on how it was originally coded, this can be easy or difficult to correct. That doesn't excuse Cisco or Rogers from the responsibility to fix the issue though. It should have been fixed before the 9865 was released to market.
 
#1,462 ·
Being able to pad recordings by one, two or three minutes is definitely a desirable feature. I usually like to start the recording 1 minute early and end 2 minutes late. It's all that is usually required. Seeing as the 9865 has a 3 minute skip, starting early and ending late in multiples of 3 minutes would also make a lot of sense.

Just add that to the long list of features missing on the 9865 that are present on earlier Cisco models and other makes of PVRs. Skipping ahead in 30 or 60 second increments is a big one for me. Skipping a variable number of minutes by entering a number on the keypad and then pressing skip is another. Whoever designed the 9865 user interface must have had very little experience with PVRs and even less imagination. It's more like a VCR than any PVR I have ever used and I've used a lot of different PVRs and PVR software.
 
#1,464 ·
Have you done a reboot to see if the skip comes back? Many times after a firmware update, a reboot is required for everything to function "normally" again.

Thanks for the info. I'll summarize any differences in point form in the following thread. Long form discussions are best kept to this general thread.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=202473
 
#1,470 ·
Missing 3 minute skip - resolved

I believe I have solved the problem of the missing 3 minute skip under the new firmware. It is very subtle, but in case anyone else hits the same issue, here is the cause.

I rarely watch live TV and my startup channel is set to CBC Radio - channel 941 - so whenever I finish watching a recording, I fall back to CBC rather than dropping into the middle of some TV show. Channel 941 does not support the so-called "trick play" features like fast forward. By chance, today I was watching the end of the race at Sonoma on Sportsnet, and left it on that channel. While watching the evening news which I had recorded, I found that the 3-minute skip was working.

I stopped playback of the recording and switched the live TV back to CBC - 941 and resumed playing the recorded news. The 3-minute skip was not working. I stopped playback, switched live TV to channel 3, resumed playing the recording and 3-minute skip was back.

This is new behaviour for the 5.0.0.123 release, because I have not changed my setup this year. It is surprising that the behaviour of the PVR when playing back a recording is affected by the live TV channel that was chosen before playing the recording.

Could someone do me a favour and verify this with their own 9865, just to set my mind at ease that it is not just my issue? Thanks.
 
#1,471 ·
I've yet to see skip, FF and REW work correctly for radio stations on any PVR. Recording radio often does not work either. This might be intentional due to restrictions placed on music services by the music industry. It's possible that restrictions placed on the radio station are affecting recorded program playback. If so, it would be a bug in the PVR. I use channel 950 as the default and have not seen any issues.
 
#1,472 ·
I received the 5.0.0.0123 firmware yesterday. I have noticed that when you go to set a recording, it takes an extra second or so and the guide seems to "refresh" after you confirm the recording (Guide information goes away and comes back). I don't believe this happened before.

The 3-minute skip works fine for me.

I haven't noticed any other differences.

I have yet to test to see if the "switching to PCM" issue is still present for me. I'll know in a day or so and report back.
 
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