Official 4100 Owners Thread

[Falcon]

This thread is for 4100 owners only to post observations, questions or notes about the Bell 4100.

The 4100 is the new replacement for the 3100 from ExpressVu which includes a faster guide and Dolby digital audio.

This thread is for owners only who'd like to discuss issues with their new receiver or have practical questions about it. Posts asking about where to get it or what's it like will be deleted in order to keep the thread relevant to owners.

[hugh]

Echo: This thread is for owners ONLY.

Non-Owners posts will be deleted and subject to short term banning!

If you want to ask about the 4100 or have questions then use this thread

[discoboy1]

Just installed mine, I think the box itself looks cheap, all in plastic.
It works good, the only thing not working is VCR codes over 600, the remote takes them but not the receiver.

[Bunkhouse]

I find the text in the guide not looking as sharp as the 3100. Text seems to look out of focus on the guide. Anyone else noticing this Maybe i've got a bad unit or maybe i've been spoiled by the 5200 .

My main complaint is that on the box when you buy the unit, it clearly shows a picture of the newer style guide (3200,5200,9200).

I do like the fact that it's not nearly as wide as the 3100.

[mikexp2003]

I just bought one today. Works excellent, I find the guide is nice, but alittle to white. Also I find that when u switch from a channel that uses Dolby Digital, to a pcm Digital, my suround sound amp loses the signal on auto digital. Is anybody else haviung this problem?

[Bunkhouse]

Well aparently this receiver does not get along with my Sony 27" TV, guide looks good on all my other tv's. I might have to adjust some settings.

I've noticed that occasionally the top info banner freezes for a few seconds. Basically you'll see the top half of the info banner (no text) and pressing any buttons on the remote results in nothing happening. It happens when i enter a channel number to change the channel.

[lianaught]

Yeah having the same problem here.........worked fine out of the box but the next day it started having the problem. My receiver is having a hard time detecting the signal also. Hope this won't be a common complaint.

[hotweiss]

This review is based on my previous experience with the 3100.

Pro's:
-quicker channel changes
-the error windows that I would get when changing channels are now gone
-it's now very easy to block unwanted channels
-hasn't crashed yet
-remote has iTV button

Con's:

-some times when you tune into a channels you'll get no sound for a few seconds and garbled video
-the guide still needs to be downloaded when accessed
-channel changes are still too slow

BTW, it would be nice if you could have text/e-mail messages sent to you like you can with some European digital satellite receivers

[probak118]

Just bought 4 units for my house. Can't find the smart cards yet, the manual sais the units use cards. Will they be shipped to me once I call and choose my packages ??? Are these units cardless ?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by probak118

Are these units cardless ?

Yep.

[davey_fl]

I'm having problems with my new 4100 except I'm not convinced it's related directly to the 4100. I currently have a 3100, single LNB with dual outputs, ran two cables (RG6) to the units. Both cables, when tested on my 3100 show a signal strength of 83 on 91, but niether cable gives me a signal on the 4100, it just says 0 (all red bars). I have tried all transponders but there is nothing. Do I have to use a different satellite on my second receiver?

thx

[hotweiss]

Originally Posted by davey_fl

I'm having problems with my new 4100 except I'm not convinced it's related directly to the 4100. I currently have a 3100, single LNB with dual outputs, ran two cables (RG6) to the units. Both cables, when tested on my 3100 show a signal strength of 83 on 91, but niether cable gives me a signal on the 4100, it just says 0 (all red bars). I have tried all transponders but there is nothing. Do I have to use a different satellite on my second receiver?

thx

Have you activated the 4100?

[probak118]

Unit is activated, using my old 18" dish with dual lnb set up. Signal on both sats are 80-90 %. Haxe already tried the check switch. For some reason the time will not correct itself . Now I can't watch centre ice hockey because the clock at 7:00pm reads 12:00am on the 4100 ! My other unit set up perfectly clock fixed itself automatically after 12 hrs or so from original set up.
I see no mention of setting clock in the manual. Is there some time shift feature I accidentally enabled ? Must I call skydish to re set something on that specific unit ?

[Falcon]

E574 will be coming down the stream in the next couple of weeks. It should correct most of these issues.

[Falcon]

Originally Posted by Bunkhouse

My main complaint is that on the box when you buy the unit, it clearly shows a picture of the newer style guide (3200,5200,9200).

The guide in the 4100 is different from any other model. It looks like the one the dual tuner models use but is more basic (less colours). The menus are the same as the dual tuner models. The system info screen looks like the new system info screen on the 3100.