Rogers SA 4250HD Owners Discussion thread

[57]

Please read the following and see the "things to check" at the bottom.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71112


Also, see the following post, useful for newbies to the forum:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

[wonky]

Thanks. I'm an idiot...I forgot to change the input on my TV from cable to HDMI. That solved that problem.

Now I have another question.... How do I select "Passthrough" in the Picture Format setting? All I see are: Fixed, Auto DVI, Upconvert-1,2. According to the Scientific Atlanta user guide, the Auto DVI option will appear instead of Passthrough if my HDTV is connected through the DVI port. However, my HDTV is connected to the cable box through the HDMI port.

[57]

Please take the time to read the links in the second link of post 76.

Auto-DVI is Passthrough - guess they haven't upgraded the firmware to include HDMI.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719

[swim_ny]

On our Sony TV we just bought, the High Def channels show up great, they always take up the entire screen and very sharp.

However if we pick a NON High-Def channel then we only get about 2/3 of the screen.

On our Sony TV there is a button that if we hit it, puts that channel to full screen and it looks good again.

But the problem is if you switch back to a High Def channel then that setting makes the channel look lousy... is there a way on the Rogers box to control how each channel gets displayed - so that we don't have to try and control every channel from the Sony remote?

[57]

Please read the link in post 78 on how to set up the STB. By sending 480i for SD and 720P/1080i for HD, the TV can be set to stretch SD channels, while the HD channels will be properly displayed. Upconverted SD programming on an HD channel will not be automaticially configured, but I recommend you leave those "as is" (4:3).

What is the model number of your Sony. IF it's not a CRT or Plasma, then no stretching is required at all.

[swim_ny]

excellent, read the post and now the screen fills in on the non-high def channels - thanks.
(I have Sony XBR4 tv)

One thing was not totally clear on was the note:

"Summary, for most HDTVs, enable 480i Standard, 720P and 1080i and "passthrough/auto-DVI/HDMI"

There is 480i and 480p Standard - should both be enabled or only 480i Standard necessary? I got the point that in either case should not enable the 480 Widescreens - it will not fill the screens in properly then on most of the non High-Def channels.

I do notice when going thru the HighDef channels it does take a second longer to change channels - I have HDMI cable on the box and changed Picture Format to Auto DVI.

[57]

I feel I keep repeating myself. If you take the time to read the link in post 78, it tells you which formats to enable and 480P is not one of them unless you wish to use upconvert (not typically necessary). The thread also discusses the delays and ways to circumvent under the "advanced setup wizard" section - for example, if you enable 1080i only, there will be no delay when switching channels of different formats, because only 1080i format will be used. This may have a minor impact on the PQ.

Also, since you have an LCD TV, there is no reason to stretch 4:3 at all, as mentioned in my previous post. This will provide you with the best picture quality and no distortion.

Please also read the second link of post 76.

[swim_ny]

I guess the part that was confusing just above that point it said:

You should "enable" 480i/P STANDARD, NOT widescreen in the wizard. Why? See post below:
http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/for...36&postcount=6


Also there was a tip that stated:

TIPS - You can get "fancy" by deleting several of the formats in the original wizard. If you only enable 480i and 1080i, then 720P will be converted to 1080i and make surfing the HD channels much faster because the TV doesn't need to reformat each time you get to a station of a different format.

I will try this - but I need to clear up one part still:

Originally the box only had 1080i enabled, and I turned on 480i and 720p.
By doing this when I watch SD channels and it fills in the picture - do I risk LCD Picture burnout after a few months of watching ?? (mentioned in one post)

In the Explorer HD setup guide on pg. 13 it says in pass-thru mode you press the # button it will go thru SD Normal and HD Zoom - its HD Zoom I would like to get on the Rogers Remote - because under Fixed mode, the Stretch and Zoom buttons look bad, only the Normal mode is really viewable.

***

I have tried carefully to read all the posts, there are a lot and some of them appear to be conflicting - so appreciate the patience!

[57]

do I risk LCD Picture burnout after a few months of watching ?? (mentioned in one post)

LCDs are not susceptible to burn in, that is why I say you can watch 4:3 as 4:3.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21270 Burn in.

There should be no reason to use the # button stretch modes on the STB, these are pretty poor.

[swim_ny]

Thanks 57, turned off 720p and notice channels do change faster - so we only have 480i and 1080i enabled now...

"If you only enable 480i and 1080i, then 720P will be converted to 1080i and make surfing the HD channels much faster because the TV doesn't need to reformat each time you get to a station of a different format."

[A\V Canuck]

Just last weekend I purchased a Rogers 4250HD cable box on sale from "The Source by Circuit City". When I opened the package I noticed that the cable box did not have the peel-away protective plastic film on the front panel LED display that usually is on a new device. Also, the component cables were neatly coiled inside a clear plastic bag but the bag had already been opened, although it was cut neatly and straight through the middle. One of the twist ties for the component cables was loose in the bag and the other was twisted loosely around the cables. I also noticed the twist tie on the AC power cord was twisted rather loosely. Everything else such as the remote control and instructions are in a sealed clear plastic bag.

I went to check the cable boxes at another store and they have the protective film on the display and the component cables are the same but they are loose in the box and not in a plastic bag. I also noticed the centre of the RF coax connectors were black on the box on display but white on mine even though they both have build dates of December 2007.

I have not set up the cable box yet because I am wondering whether someone had already used or tampered with the device before I bought it or if it was simply mishandled at the factory. Has anyone else purchased a new Rogers cable box with these issues and should I be concerned?

[57]

If you do not feel comfortable that it was new, then you may wish to return it for one that is new. These units are pretty rugged though and since it's under warranty, you could always return it after activation.

There are certain "defaults" that the STB usually comes with:

- Output only at 1080i
- Times Square as the colour scheme
- Channel 01 as the startup channel
- Etc.

If these are not in the default, then you could again consider returning it.

[actng]

i just exchanged my Pace 551 for this SA4250 box. What a difference! The 551 was very slow in changing to certain channels after I installed my Samsung HTIB. The 4250 has no problems changing channels whatsoever. The only complaint I have is that the built-in interactive guide response is a tad bit slower than the 551. I also wonder if the actual picture quality is inferior to the 551. Not sure if it's just me but the 4250 seems to be grainier than the 551.

Here's what I did...
I went into the advanced setup as per this URL http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719 and enabled only 1080i and 720p. Then I went into the digital box and set the picture format to Auto DVI. This allows the picture to come through either 1080i or 720p to my TV. I did not enable 480i/p because my TV treats 480i/p signals the same as analogue... instead of 16:9/4:3/Wide Fit/Just Scan, it will show 16:9/Zoom1/Zoom2/4:3 which I don't like.

For audio, I made the digital box output HDMI, even though I have a HTIB. I believe the Digital Dolby setting requires an actual optical audio cable coming out of the STB which I don't have. I just have HDMI out to the HTIB and then HDMI to my TV.

Hope this helps anyone out there having trouble/questions setting this up. Feel free to ask questions if any of the above isn't particularly clear... I'm in a rush to type this up!

[57]

actng, you say you have HDMI audio to the HTiB, however, I don't know of any HTiBs that actually process HDMI audio - they usually pass the audio to the TV. Do you have analogue audio cables connected to the HTiB to get audio? Coaxial audio can also carry DD5.1 audio depending on the inputs on the HTiB. What is the model of the HTiB?

[actng]

I dunno if it "processes" audio via HDMI... I only have HDMI cables from the 4250 to the Samsung HT-TX75 and then HDMI from HT-TX75 to Samsung LNT-4061...

But i had to choose "HDMI" for "Audio: Digital Out" in the 4250's Settings Menu or else I get no sound. No sound even if I choose "Doby Digital" which is what I used to select on Pace 551. (There are three choices: HDMI, Digital Dolby, Other in the 4250 while only "Dolby Digital" and "Other" on the Pace 551.)

I guess you're right that it just passes the audio through... but then that's not entirely true because my TV doesn't output sound anymore, it's all through the speakers connected to the HTIB... so does it still pass thru the audio to the tv?