Channel Master 7000PAL, CM TV, CM7400 DVR's

[orion250]

I was unaware that you can record two different programs at the same time while watching a third program on a different station.

[tenstu]

My error as I omitted an important part in my earlier post. I meant to have said that you can record two programs while watching a third RECORDED program.

Sorry for the confusion!

[jurassicjockey]

Another new load - load 207. Haven't seen anything different yet, I will see if it kept the timers tonight.

[El Gran Chico]

F207 is now available on the dtvpal web site.

[99semaj]

Got mine in my hand, but it'll be tomorrow before I am in Canada to try it out

I was surprised to see a smartcard in the unit. What could that be for?

[orion250]

Is that card that is inserted in the front of the Dtvpal dvr a smart card? What is it for? I found a pic of someone that upgraded their Pal dvr with a
1tb drive. Here it is, if I can get it inserted here correctly.
Does anyone know if a 1.5tb drive will work with this dvr?

[tenstu]

It is a smart card - but does nothing (yet). It was put there for future use, in case Echostar wanted to add on demand stuff via ethernet...

There is a list floating around of drives that will work, but it is trial and error. the file system sees to like some drives/sizes and not others.

[99semaj]

Got mine powered up and updated to F207. On the whole, I am impressed, but I was really hoping for better results from the tuner. (I am on the outer fringe from Grand Island...approx 185km)

I've actually found that Fox comes in very clear after I manually added it (autoscan didn't pick it up), but Global CIII-DT is shakier than it was before. I think I will try to reoptimize my antenna aim, as I don't have a rotor. The deflection between CN tower and Grand Island is less than 10 degrees.

TVGOS seems to be recognized, but did not populate overnight. Just PSIP right now, and that's pretty much vacant for 41,44,64, etc.

[99semaj]

Originally Posted by tenstu

FYI - I used 14201 as the ZIP because 14072 went for 2 days with no data at all.

OK, so what's the majority opinion on which zip code to use? I've been on 14201 for three days and I am getting the TVGOS logo but no data. (I'm pretty sure it's just PSIP I'm seeing)

I am going to switch now to 14072 to see if that makes a difference.

[tenstu]

It won't matter. 14201 is the proper choice. On my Sony, I get every single GTA/Buffalo channel with full listings.

This issue is that the DTVPal DVR does not allow us to turn on channels that are by default turned off, and it will not allow us to edit channel numbers in the guide. Other products, such as my Sony, allow this and it is necessary in our markets to achieve full listings.

The other issue, (other than correcting the Default OFF for some channels) is that the TV Guide is expecting our GTA stations to be named something, and the PSIP is calling it something else - thus it does not use TVGOS - but PSIP. HOwever, this issue could be fixed if we were able to edit the guide data as noted above.

Unless Echostar enables this feature, or the GTA channels fix their silly data, this unit will not fulfill its TVGOS potential in our market.

Stu

[El Gran Chico]

I don't think so, digitalforumguy. Up until fairly recently you could only get them from Dish.

There is a retailer that will ship it to Canada - check my posts earlier in this thread.

[Keith.B]

Got my DTV Pal hooked up and working yesterday and it was fast and easy.
Upgrading to the latest version was a snap and the unit will "find" new stations periodically and add them to the list.
Of course, the "TV guide" is a bit off but no biggie.
Compared to the tuner in the TV, the Pal is a bit slower to lock onto channels but the sensitivity does seem a bit better.
The only slight problem I have is that the Sony TV receives the audio from the HDMI input but doesn't seem to want to pass it through it to the optical out.
I have checked all the menu settings I can find.
Anyone have any insight on this?
It's a Sony WEGA KD34XS955.

Otherwise, so far, I'm happy with the DTV Pal and look forward to next seasons shows.

[tenstu]

I assume you are talking about the DTVPal "DVR"? If so, perhaps the Sony will not pass digital audio from the HDMI to the optical out? This would not be a total shock.

You do have a digital output on the DVR though, you could run it to you receiver.

Stu

[El Gran Chico]

Keith, I think just about all tv's work this way (don't pass through hdmi audio back out optical). There's discussions/faq's in the Home Theatre section of the forum that address this.

[Keith.B]

You do have a digital output on the DVR though, you could run it to you receiver.

Of course!...But that would be too easy
Here is the deal...
My receiver has 1 coax and 1 optical digital audio input. It will auto select whichever input has signal on it.
The TV is coming in optically and the cable box and DVD player are "Y'd" to the coax.
The source that is on will pass into the receiver if the other sources are off.
Has been working great for a long time now.
Soooo, if I hook the PVR to the receiver via the optical and set it to record, and then watch cable , it will still "command" the input and I don't get cable box audio.
I have discovered that if I hit the "pass through" on the PVR remote, the audio stream stops and releases the receiver input.
So, you can see whay it would be nice to have the PVR digital audio pass through the TV and I use the optical out of the TV for both OTA and PVR audio.
Whew...looong explanation.
I did search the forum and it seems this HDMI pass through is not an unusual situation.
I don't want to spend yet MORE money to buy a new receiver but maybe I'll check the "for sale " section...