DVR 530 Discussion Thread for Those looking to buy

[ship_ahoy]

Yes I have (For the MAC). Its just I use it for normal usage - I don't try to look for bugs. Sure the FF button is a little sticky, the fan sounds like there maybe a hardrive inside :-) and the credits of a film may get cut off periodically but it never locks up. It simply works.

Windows users are use to downloading Service Packs and updates weekly. There are updates looming for this product too - give it a break.

I've been reading your complaints for weeks. If I had all those issues, I would have had my returned ages ago and spent more time looking for another alternative. My point is that there are a ton of users out there who find it great. I know 6 or 7 in my neck of the woods who share the same opinion.
They just don't have the time to post their excellent experience with the unit.

Cheers

[rob1]

Ship_ahoy,

I'm glad it's working out for you.....and just for the record I was not looking for Bugs...and either was my wife.

But when you get home and the first thing out of your lovings wife mouth is "The TV has been freezing all day" it's time to return the unit or I will have bigger problems

Like I said, I hope the fix fixes the issues.

Cheers

PS.

I would consider it more creative criticism then complaints.

[dks]

Originally Posted by ship_ahoy

(snip)...I cannot replicate (even if I try) most of the issues discussed here and I consider myself a videophile. Two thumbs up to SC for finally bringing this product to market!

I consider myself high up on the scale when it comes to technology. I've spent my life buying technical contraptions, building electronic gadgets, and enjoying the luxuries of owning these things. I have owned a PVR for 3 years made by a different company than Motorola. I also own a DVD player and 2 DVD recorders (one in my PC and one stand alone). None of my DVD players or recorders or the PVR skip over video content when I press FF or Rewind. All of these machines speed the motion up, making it extremely easy to find a spot in the recording that you are trying to locate. With the DSR530, the FF was giving me a very fast slide show of what was recorded, skipping over content every 15 seconds or so. That may be good sometimes, but if you are trying to find something specific in your recording, there is a great risk that you will skip over it.

I know that this problem has been mentioned by many people before, and maybe some people can live with the machine working as such. It certainly is not working like the demo portrays it to work. That demo fits my 3-year old PVR better. Most videophiles would not consider this a smooth, high quality operational machine. Maybe after the bug fixes are implemented it will be, but we can only hope. Canadians are known to be passive and very forgiving. Could this be a reason why we end up getting merchandise like this from Canadian companies? Some food for thought.

[jose]

DKS, I believe you once said you had owned your 530 for 4 days. You really don't have anything left to contribute to the forum.

May I suggest you write a book, title it "My 4 Days in Starchoice Gitmo," and scratch your writing itch that way? You know it would be a big seller, as you seem to know that everyone is just really fascinated by your life, times, and feelings; and it would allow a bit more time and bandwidth for more...useful discourse here.

[NoCarrier]

Originally Posted by jose

DKS, I believe you once said you had owned your 530 for 4 days. You really don't have anything left to contribute to the forum.

May I suggest you write a book, title it "My 4 Days in Starchoice Gitmo," and scratch your writing itch that way? You know it would be a big seller, as you seem to know that everyone is just really fascinated by your life, times, and feelings; and it would allow a bit more time and bandwidth for more...useful discourse here.

I had it for 2 days and wanted to throw it out the window. He was more patient than me.

[dks]

I'd say I'm a pretty smart customer to have a machine for only 4 days and had pinpointed all of the problems with the DSR530. Too bad the test panel at Motorola wasn't even a fraction as swift as me.

Why keep a machine that may not be fixed? Who knows if any of these fixes will ever materialize? We were originally told mid-June the fixes would be ready. Now it is the end of June and who knows if they will be ready in July.

What's more, when the fixes are uploaded to your machine, how many things will actually be fixed? How many more things will be wrong? If it took Motorola a year to create this machine, why would it take them only 4 weeks to fix all of the bugs? If you guys know what's good for you, you should return the machine and re-purchase it again when it is truly fixed. There are loads of people complaining on this forum about the problems with it. I work with a guy who bought one and every week so far he has failed recordings and is now ready to take it back. I read something that someone wrote in regards to failed recordings being rare. What a joke that is. Several people on here are reporting failed recordings. I tried to record 3 programs in the 4 days that I had it. Two of them were viewers choice and I had to call *C to get credited for those movies because I only captured 20 minutes of each one due to the failed recording issue. My signal strength was around 80. That's quite strong. So it is not the signal strength. Will the fix repair this issue? "It appears to be fixed" we are told. That does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. That statement really leaves the door open on things.

It's too bad if you don't like people complaining. Maybe Motorola should have held off on releasing this machine. Then there wouldn't be these complaints. Blame them as I'm just the messenger. Your barking up the wrong tree buddy.

I think this plan

[osmosis]

Originally Posted by dks

I'd say I'm a pretty smart customer to have a machine for only 4 days and had pinpointed all of the problems with the DSR530. Too bad the test panel at Motorola wasn't even a fraction as swift as me.

You are obvioulsly smarter then anyone at Motorola. Maybe you should be developing the software???

Lets wait the next 2-3 weeks and see the results. I am sure it will NOT be perfect, but I am sure it will be better!!!

Lets see who's swifter, Motorola or dks!

[Arthur]

If they fix it dks can go out and buy a new one, if they fix it to the same condition as the 500 it may not be good enough for some. Those that let the return date run out waiting for a fix are out of options.

Makes a lot of sense to let them keep it until it's fixed then give your money and support.

[rob1]

I have to agree with DKS...

I had the DSR530 for almost 30 days....but returned it within the 30 days Futureshop return window.

I experenced all the issues talked about in the DSR530 owners forum.

I have had other PVR's from other providers and NEVER had any of the issues the DSR530 presented. It WAS released to early...but I guess *C wanted to use us all as a "guinea pig" before the FALL season as well as beat Bell in the race for Canada's first HD DVR...a decision that may come back to haunt them.

These unit's are suppost to be designed to help with your TV viewing pleasure....and in the past my other units have been....but the 530 caused no enjoyment.

I found in the last few days being AFRAID of Pausing/FF/REW'ing programs in fear of loosing what I'm watching...all this at a price tag of almost $800.00.

Alot of money people....

My wife HATED the unit but I tried to explain a FIX was coming....she didn't care and wondered how this product was even released with such problems.

Anyway, those that are happy with the unit - great! Enjoy it....those that are not either wait for the fix as DKS mentioned or return it IF you still can and wait for the others to report when the problems are fixed.

Have a great day!

[Pornstar Choice]

Rob,

A few questions please, Just wondering why if you had PVR's with other providers that were bug free, why did you switch to SC......which at the time didn't even have a DVR?

What provider were they and will you be going back to them? Did you sell your old equipment or old PVR? What did you pay for them originally?

Not trying to stir the pot, just curious as to why and how you switched.

[Twilight Cowboy]

I have also just come back from returning my DSR530 for the same reasons that others have outlined.

We'll have a look at where SC is in September to determine whether we send our 2 205's back in order not to have to pay the $200 early disconnect fee.

Motorola should be ashamed - a pathetic offering. If your cell phone new releases were like this; you would be out of business in 12 to 18 months.

[rob1]

Originally Posted by Pornstar Choice

Rob,

A few questions please, Just wondering why if you had PVR's with other providers that were bug free, why did you switch to SC......which at the time didn't even have a DVR?

What provider were they and will you be going back to them? Did you sell your old equipment or old PVR? What did you pay for them originally?

Not trying to stir the pot, just curious as to why and how you switched.

Had Bell in the past 5800,5900 - sold.

Had Directv UltimateTV - paid service..not hacked. This ended and didn't go back to BELL based on the "coming soon" ad's for a HDDRV from *C.

Using my TIVO Series 2 right now with *C.....see tivocanada.com - Only issue with Tivo is PQ and sound (no 5.1) and of course no HD. But it blows everything else out of the water for user features. Of course it's require manual guide updates etc...but gives me 13 days in advance.

Cheers
Rob.

[rob1]

Originally Posted by Twilight Cowboy

I have also just come back from returning my DSR530 for the same reasons that others have outlined.

We'll have a look at where SC is in September to determine whether we send our 2 205's back in order not to have to pay the $200 early disconnect fee.

Motorola should be ashamed - a pathetic offering. If your cell phone new releases were like this; you would be out of business in 12 to 18 months.

I have a Moto V600 GSM phone....it does sometimes "Lock up" ....

[dks]

Haha, I take it that the 530 almost cost you your marriage rob1.

I have had a PVR for 3 years too, and am still using it with no problems. The reason I went with *C? My current PVR is not high def. I was in the market for a high def receiver and was a bit disappointed in the $6.00 rate hike that Videotron applied to my cable bill since January 2005. As well, some of the channels with Videotron were not very good quality. I started investigating alternatives and came across this forum and read raving reports about how wonderful and wild the DSR530 was. I even questioned if it had any problems and was told no, it does not. I'm never one to buy something brand spanking new. I took a chance this time and it taught me a big lesson. Not to ever do it again. The thing that scares me and should most is that there are no guarantees that the problems will be fixed. On the plus side, when I switched to *C by buying the DSR530, I noticed an improvement in PQ on the same channels that looked horrible through Videotron. However, the 530 was a disappointment due to the over abundance of problems. Now I'm back to a SD receiver waiting to see if these problems will be rectified. If not, then I will have no other choice but to buy the Videotron HD 8300 unit. My new TV will be here in the fall, which is my deadline. I was hoping to have the receiver end of things finished and settled long before the fall. We'll see...

[uwt]

Hello,

With the DSR500 dropping to $199 (if you can find it) I was hoping to see the DSR530 price match up with the ExpressVu 9200 at $599. If you can believe some of the posts in the ExpressVu forum someone purchased one for $569 at A&B Sound.

It would be nice to get one before the start of the new TV season in Sep. does anyone think there will be a price drop before Sep.

Thanks.