Rogers SA 4250HD Owners Discussion thread

[sannathan]

Thanks a bunch 57. It worked. One another question, may be minor, why does the volume control increase one number at a time even we keep pressing the volume control?

[57]

I assume you're talking about on your TV, not the STB. Try another code for the TV - some work quantized, some do not.

[sannathan]

Got the code for my Samsung LN-T375H as 0812 from the website you had provided and the remote now works as it should.
Thanks again 57.

[likwidsix]

just picked up a new 4250HD.

one thing thats bothering me: its considerably SLOWER than my 8300HD.
changing channels, entering channel numbers into the remote, bringing up the guide, scrolling through the guide, its got this annoying delay which my 8300HD does not have. has anyone else noticed this? maybe its a bad box? i set up the box for 480i/1080i only and it did make a tiny difference.

[57]

Due to the processor speed, etc, the STBs are somewhat slower than the SA8300HD. You really notice it when you have to "go back" from the faster unit - I have an SA8300HD and the SA3250HD and it is a pain going to the slower STB, especially the guide.

[TrustEnabler]

I have an SD4250HD connected via HDMI to a Denon AVR-988 upconverting AV receiver. The receiver is in turn connected to my Samsung LCD 1080i HDTV via HDMI cable.

I have been playing with the Picture Format settings on the SD4250HD (Fixed, Upconvert-1, Upconvert-2, Auto DVI) to optimize the quality of my picture. However, I can't see any difference between these settings. When I check the display status of the TV for each of the settings, regardless of the television program (SD or HD), it always reads 1080i resolution.

Do the Picture Format settings only have effect when the digital box is connected directly to the TV, but not when connected to an upconverting AV receiver via HDMI. Is it possible that the receiver takes over all upoconverting in this configuration?

[57]

You need to enable the various formats in the advanced setup wizard. See the following thread for instructions on this and other tips.

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

Sometimes you then need to back into the "set picture format" and change the settings once to have it take effect. Most AVRs don't convert HDMI signals, with the upconversion limited to say SD signals via component video, or S-video inputs, etc. Check the AVR's operating manual for what input types and formats are affected.

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

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

[Leathal]

WoW it seems like a lot of work to get the Rogers HD terminals working with sounds systems that I may end up having to terminate my service with Rogers and go back to Bell because on my 5900 PVR (non-HD) in the setup all I have to tell is my screen is 16:9 wide and it makes everything fit without over stretching, my Pioneer Elite 94TXH then up converts it nicely from my Pioneer PVR-HDD which 5900 is plugged into!

My question for this forum about the 4520HD, is this unit carried by Rogers themselves? I got my HD (3250HD) yesterday from Rogers and wasn't too happy they didn't give me the HDMI unit.

Also far all I can say is that the HD channels which are not easy to find are decent except for HDTSN which had Poker on yesterday and it was in 4:3 format which is very odd. So I am going to give it a couple more days and it the quality doesn't improve I switching back to Bell which I have had for non-HD over the past 2 years and can honestly say so far the difference is night and day.

Also I want to bring another point about referring to Toms Hardware on the differences between HDMI and composite video, don't believe everything you read from Tom he is just out there to give his option on something that's all, he's not a god so there is no need to warship him.

Do I see a difference when I use a $50 HDMI cable vs a $150 HDMI cable? Yes I do. With the years I spent doing video work with capture cards from Matrox and Pinnacle I notice the suddle differences in the picture quality.

I forgot to add that one of the key differences between HDMI and Composite is that comp only supports up to 1080i, HDMI supports up to 1080p. My TV which has be listed by Consumer Reports as being one of the best if not the best Plasma sets you can buy at 42".. Panasonic Versa... is one of many TVs that will not do 1080p with componsite.

Leathal

[57]

HDTSN which had Poker on yesterday and it was in 4:3 format which is very odd.

There is a difference between a 4:3 upconvert (SD) on an HD channel and true HD. See:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76068 What's on in HD.

Do I see a difference when I use a $50 HDMI cable vs a $150 HDMI cable? Yes I do.

Very interesting. You may wish to read post 1 and links at the bottom of post 1 of the following thread. Tests have shown no difference.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=30452

...Composite is that comp only supports up to 1080i

Not true. Composite only supports 480i, but assuming you meant component video, you are incorrect - component video can support 1080P just fine, however, often the devices limit the output or input to 1080i, or sometimes even 480P on DVD players when upconverting SD DVDs and outputting on component video. This is not a cable limitation, it's a device limitation. See the following post on Cables/Connections:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76085

WoW it seems like a lot of work to get the Rogers HD terminals working

The same is true of the HD STBs on BEV. SD STBs are far simpler. The SA4250HD works OOTB, however, to optimize it for your particular application, does take some work - same for TVs, DVD players, etc.

None of the above really relates to the topic of this thread (the SA4250HD), so if you wish to comment on any of these issues, please do so in the appropriate threads and do not hijack this one.

[Leathal]

There is an appropriate thread for this? where?

Leathal

[57]

For TSN - see the Sports Programming Forum. If you search for "poker" in that forum, there are several (older) previous threads on poker:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=160

For $150 vs $50 (or $10) HDMI cables, I've already provided a link to an active thread.

If there aren't previous threads for the other topics of interest, or the last post in an existing thread is very old, please feel free to start a new thread, but please do not hijack threads with off-topic posts.

FYI: Here's a list of Rogers HD Offering:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76073

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by Leathal

Also far all I can say is that the HD channels which are not easy to find

I find the HD channels very easy to find - they are all in a contiguous black from 500 to about 545 - start at 500 and go up!

Originally Posted by Leathal

Do I see a difference when I use a $50 HDMI cable vs a $150 HDMI cable? Yes I do. With the years I spent doing video work with capture cards from Matrox and Pinnacle I notice the suddle differences in the picture quality.

There shouldn't be subtle differences with HDMI cables since it is digital - only 0s and 1s. Nothing subtle about that. And even $50 is about 5-10x more than you should be paying for an HDMI cable. You can get them for $5-$10 depending on length.

I have Rogers HD boxes - working with several different receivers without any problems at all.

[slicecom]

Due to the processor speed, etc, the STBs are somewhat slower than the SA8300HD. You really notice it when you have to "go back" from the faster unit - I have an SA8300HD and the SA3250HD and it is a pain going to the slower STB, especially the guide.

My dad has an SA8300HD and I have a SA3250HD, I do notice the difference in speed you talk about. I know the SA4250 is faster than the SA3250, but is it as fast as the SA8300?

[Scorp14]

I previously had two HD stb in my home, one 4250HD and a Pace551. Recently, I decided to return these two rentals and purchased two brand new SA 4250HD from Futureshop, ever since then I have two strange audio problems.

1. One STB is connected via HDMI to a Sony KDL46W3000. I have the turn on channel set to 501 preview channel. Every now and then, when I turn on the STB there is no audio from the TV. Once I change to SD channel and back to HD sound is fine.

2. Second STB is connected to home theatre, Harmon Kardon AVR230 receiver and Sony 60" Grand Wega etc. This STB doesn't have the same issue as above but when watching HD shows (mostly CBS), the audio cuts out when the show goes to SD commercials and stays out until either HD commerical or return to the show. Now this issue is only through the surround sound as the TV volume works 100%.

I did call Rogers and of course they have never heard of this and tested my signal and said I am fine. I asked if there is a frimware difference from my old rental STBs to the new purchased ones and they said no. Of course they could send out a technician but I already had that done last year and the guy changed every cable connector from the STB right to the street so it's not that and my previous rentals worked perfectly.

Any advice or recommendations are appreciated. If I can not resolve within next few days, I am still within 30 days to exchange these boxes for another set.

[57]

1. There are lots of HDMI issues - as discussed in the following thread. There's also a list of things to check:

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

These STB sometimes work best when set to start on an SD channel. Set it to start on say CP24 and this issue should then go away since you'll need to change channels to get to an HD one.

2. Make sure that the audio settings in the STB are set to Dolby Digital (for the second application) if you're using a digital audio connection (you didn't say what connections you're using - audio and video).

If the problem doesn't go away, you may need to use component video cables for the video - this usually resolves any issues that result from HDMI use.