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Shaw Direct HDPVR 630 Owners Discussion Thread

1M views 3K replies 468 participants last post by  tvmaster 
#1 ·
This discussion thread is for owners to discuss the new Shaw Direct HDPVR 630 when it becomes available on September 1st.

Please post your thoughts and your feedback on this unit once you have it up and running.


For non-owners, you can ask questions about the unit in our New 630 In Pre Order


Edit by 57: Here's a thread summarizing problems, issues, resolutions, workarounds:

Shaw Direct 630 Official Problems / Issues / Resolutions Thread. Read posts 1, 2 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums
 
#85 ·
A note of warning to all of those who are returning a 530. Make sure you keep a copy of the Purolator receipt and any other pertinent info. I had occasion to return a receiver several months ago and when I called about the 630 the CSR could not find anything on my account to indicate that I had actually returned the unit. Thankfully I had kept a copy of the Purolator receipt and when I gave her the tracking number she quickly found the unit in SD's records and corrected my account info.

Note to mod: if you feel this post is more appropriate in the other 630 thread please feel free to move it there. I just thought it would be more useful here since this is where most of the "return" type discussion seems to be taking place.
 
#86 ·
Audio over HDMI

I have not been able to get the audio working properly over HDMI. I do not know if this an HDMI handshake issue or if it is a common problem. At first, no audio over HDMI at all. Had to go into my Marantz AV8003 processor menu and set audio in to auto instead of HDMI. Then I got sound. The problem is, no dolby digital over the HDMI input, inspite of trying all the available settings in the system settings for the 630 (pass through, pcm, auto). All I am able to get via HDMI is "stereo". Hooked up an optical cable and that allowed DD with the Marantz with either Auto or Dig (optical or coxial spdif) selected, but the signal is coming via the optical cable and not the HDMI cable.
 
#88 ·
I activated my 630 last Friday night. On Saturday I was adjusting some of the settings and noticed that I could not successfully adjust the skip ahead time from the default value to anything other 100+ seconds. Same with the skip back. An apporipriate setting for me would be 60 seconds, but couldn't get there. I know that you can select 1 (for 1 minute) and press the skip back and it will take you back 1 minute, 5 for five minues, and so on, as long as you have been watching for a period of time, but you should be able to revise the setting from the current default.

Also, I had hi Def channels coming in and out - I phoned support and the rep indicated that a ver 14 of the firmware would be out in 72 hours. Anyone received this update or know anything about it?
 
#90 ·
...I could not successfully adjust the skip ahead time from the default value to anything other 100+ seconds. Same with the skip back....
Hi walker1,

Not sure why this would be - adjustments are made in the same way as on the 530. In OPTIONS 4-8-1, arrow over to the field you want to change (e.g. "Skip Forward Duration"), hit the LEFT ARROW 2 or 3 times to "backspace" the current value, and enter the new duration in seconds. Arrow over to "SAVE", press ENTER, and then EXIT.

Let me know if you're still having issues and we'll investigate further.

... the rep indicated that a ver 14 of the firmware would be out in 72 hours. Anyone received this update or know anything about it?
There is no version 14. 00.13 (as indicated on Line H "Current Version" in System Status) is the latest version for the HDPVR 630!
 
#97 ·
Lost Tuner 2

Hello first post but have been reading posts for awhile.

I have the 530 and replaced it with the 630 last night. Right out of the box everything worked great, I was able to record two shows at the same time everything was working perfect.

Then it just started the firmware download, it just took over rebooted and came back on with the download screen. So I watched it for 38 minutes as it did the download, then it rebooted, turned back on and I thought everything was fine. But every time I changed a channel I would get a message that it had lost signal and was reaquiring signal, 6 sec later it changes channels. Then I also noticed I could not record two channels at the same time.

Went into system status page and tuner 1 showed aurthorized S and signal 85, tuner 2 showed NA and signal of 0. I swapped sat cables thinking the signal would switch to tuner 2, but it didnt it stayed with signal only on tuner 1. It is like tuner 2 is deactived.

I called customer support last night and the first person told me that the download had not finished and it would overnight so to leave it till morning. Same problem this morning, called again 1 hour on hold to get to speak to someone. After an hour of trouble shooting he told me he was going to try to reprogram the 630 so to leave it on 299 for an hour and see if that fixes it. I had to leave for work, so I am not sure if it fixed it, I will call home in a couple of hours and see.

Has anyone else seen this? Can a factory reset be done and if so how?

Thank you

Mike
 
#102 ·
No sound via HDMI

I earlier reported only stereo via HDMI, but I was mistaken. I am getting no sound via HDMI from the 630 to my Marantz AV8003. The stereo signal I thought I was getting was actually the analog feed that I use so that I can feed sound to another zone for outdoor listening (music).

So, no sound for me via HDMI. To get Dolby Digital sound I had to feed an optical cable to the Marantz. How many others are having difficulty getting sound via HDMI? I suspect this an HDMI handshake issue and don't know if I should blame the 630 or the Marantz. I tried all manner of settings on both the 630 an the Marantz to no avail

On another note, the 630 froze this morning and I had to do a hard reset. Hope this isn't an on going issue.
 
#104 ·
Well I activated it today (sort of).
Out of the box I was disappointed to see they got rid of the 'tv out' line - I was using that feed to another room.
Activation took seconds once talking to the Rep - unfortunately I was on hold for about 15-20 minutes prior, but no big deal.
Once activated I had no sound and missing 3/4 of my channels (they're not even appearing on the guide - not even in grey and I can't type them in), so I forced an update.
Once the update was completed I still had all the same issues, so I did a soft reset, a refresh & a hard reset and nothing worked.
Unfortunately I have to go to work and will work on this later and let you know.
 
#108 ·
anyone notice more pixelation during playback of recorded shows? Certainly more than the 530. I am currently noticing this on composite, have not tested other outputs. Live tv seems ok. When I skip back the pixelation occurs at the same spot so it is in the way it was saved to disk. My tuners have signals over 80. This has occurred on many shows over many nights.

I did notice that pausing live TV is much better than the 530. It still jumps back, but only about 10secs and it is much snappier.
 
#110 · (Edited)
Activated my receiver tonight. Picture via HDMI seems better some how...I was thinking it was all in my head...but it seems brighter/crisper. Anyhow....I played around with the guide for about 20 minutes and then the box rebooted and I got the screen with the numbers scrolling around (update?). It's still updating now.

I wanted to mention that I did not receive a spare box to send back my 530 either. The 630 came in just the lime green hipster type advert box. Hopefully they send me an empty box at some point.
 
#111 ·
Success! Got frustrated so the download button appeared again. I downloaded, factory reset, refreshed receivers, waited awhile and .13 appeared!
This got rid of invalid sort sequences and other buggy stuff. Faster response, options are what they should be, lists sorted correctly. Looks like another of us good to go.
Have to get used to the displays. Why have text menus for the main settings etc then option 8 displays graphics which then take you to text menus? Oh well it works. Programmed the Harmony 880 so that up arrow is "8" and down arrow is "goback" and easy button navigating now.
 
#112 ·
The guide is still only displaying 6 HD channels for me (I should have all from about channel 258 to 300). For example it's only displaying Sportsnet channel 260 for me where I should be getting them all (261, 262, 263). When I try to type in one of those channels nothing happens. If you read my previous post I tried all the resets etc. Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks!
 
#117 ·
Same thing for me at first. They activated you with a non-elliptical dish so you get one bird only. You need to call and get a knowledgeable CSR like I did who said "The lady didn't know what she is doing".
BTW the 2nd call ended in the female rep hanging up on me(I wasn't entitled to any more HD as far as she was concerned :) ). So it took 3 calls to activate correctly.
 
#116 ·
Parental Locks

I wanted to turn on Parental locks to screen out the Info and Titles for adult PPV movies. I set the Movie Locks to "Adult" and Enable the locks. But when I do it also sets up locks for the music galaxie stations. As soon as I disable locks the music stations are available again.

It seems that any kind of locks, no matter how they are set, also lock the music.


Has anyone else noticed this?
 
#123 ·
Hi smp01,

I've tried to reproduce this and can't. Music channels are still available via the Music search and direct entry with no password required.

The only time you should see stuff locked that "shouldn't" be is while the Guide is still loading. The system will always err on the side of caution, so if all program information hasn't been received yet, it may keep content locked that you don't expect. Once all program information has been received, locks behaviour will return to normal.

If you're still having this issue after the Guide is fully loaded (give it at least 3 hours), let me know and we'll investigate further.
 
#118 ·
My comments regarding recording. It is dangerous!

The programming is not "real-time". Things need to be saved before they are updated.

Recordings are in priority and no warning is given if you set up 3 at the same date and time. This may not be a problem you think, but what if the schedule is changed by a network/channel? You could have a low priority program no longer record because it got moved on the schedule and being the low priority it is ignored. The only warning I could see is a record button and a "pause" on it in the Guide. I don't see how you can surf the whole guide looking for a reord superimposed with a pause to tell you a program won't be recording. I could set a movie to record and wipe out one or two recurring programs and not realize it.

If anyone has a solution, please let me know.


A lot of features are terrific(new episodes, 14 days, etc.) but not getting an in your face warning that a recording won't occur.....:eek::rolleyes:
 
#125 ·
Tips to avoid Recording Conflicts

Recordings are in priority and no warning is given if you set up 3 at the same date and time....

...If anyone has a solution, please let me know.
Hi gzink,

The "Recording Conflict" symbol will appear in the Guide and Upcoming Air Dates menu for conflicted recordings - the record symbol plus an "!" over it. (I can see how it might look like a pause sign, too!)

If you're concerned about Recording Conflicts, both the PVR Options or PVR Upcoming menus can be used to verify upcoming scheduled recordings. If you see that the next scheduled recording for Entourage is next Sunday when it should be recording this Sunday, you know some adjustment needs to be made.

I should point out that by using the "Channels" selection to customize your Recording Events, conflicts can be greatly minimized. I'll use an example:
- Entourage airs at 10:30pm ET on HBO East HD. If you setup a Recording Event for New Episodes of Entourage on "HBO East HD only", the HDPVR can only ever record on this channel. In the event of a conflict (e.g. two higher priority recording events), Entourage will not be recorded.

- If you setup the Recording Event to record New Episodes of Entourage on "HD only", the HDPVR will automatically reschedule Entourage for 12:30am ET on HBO West HD in the event of a conflict. That way, everything gets recorded!


Priority should also be tweaked to reflect the relative importance of each Recording Event - if you always want Entourage to be recorded, keep it near the top of the list.

Finally, when scheduling one-time recordings, don't forget about the "View upcoming air dates" menu option. If that 8:00pm airing of The Pink Panther 2 is going to interfere with primetime recordings, use "View upcoming air dates" to see when else its on and schedule the recording for a different time.

While the new behaviour is a shift from the way the HDPVR 530 works, give it a try. In my experience, I don't think we've ever had an unresolved recording conflict in my house!
 
#119 ·
Just became a 630 *Renter*

Got off the phone with SD, they are sending me one on a 12month rental/rebate program....

Looking forward to it.... just bought a Zinwell wb68 multiswitch off ebay for $33 shipped.

Will have a bit of time in a couple weeks to hook it up and try it out.....

Makes me feel a bit better getting the 'free' one yr rental, .... been w SD/SC since 1999, bought 2 DSR500's - one for $399 back in the day, only to have it become a stand def receiver within 24 months.....
 
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