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830 PVR Discussions

41369 Views 253 Replies 41 Participants Last post by  P2B
This morning I connected my brand-new (not refurbished) 830. I got a 60 Hz slight hum from my TV set after I powered up the 830. I have never had that problem with anything I've connected to the TV. I guessed that it was a ground-loop problem so I plugged the TV into the same power bar as the 830. End of problem. Shaw Direct may wish to consider that if a customer calls in with that problem.

I expected drama, based on my previous refurb 630 problems. Nope, the activation went without drama. :) I really like the new guide that provides show Season# and Episode#.

My only little quibble is the connection instructions that came in the box. It says not to press any buttons until the "blue light" goes off and the 830 restarts. It never happened; all it needed was a refresh.

As a side note, the problem with my now going-to-the-dump 630 was that only WGN acted as if it was not subscribed although I have always been subscribed. My 600 continued to receive WGN. I went thru hoops with Shaw Direct and finally most of the channels on the 630 disappeared. That's it! Warranty or not, I don't want to fool with another 630 refurb so I ordered the 830. Glad I did.

Another side note, the online MY ACCOUNT does not show WGN as being subscribed. My wife told me NOT to call or CHAT Shaw about it. Don't fix what ain't broke.
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Firmware version 70.27 will be rolling out next week - most notably, the ability to transfer HDPVR 830 recordings to another HDPVR 830 authorized on the same account will now be possible via WiFi. This is important for receiver replacements, and was a feature we championed as a result of customer feedback. A WiFi connection will be required, for both units.

There will not be the ability to transfer to/from HDPVR 630 to HDPVR 830, though.

This will be available for HDPVR 830s to download beginning at 10 am (local) on September 15th, and 16th (your receivers will fall into one of these groups). HDDSR 800s will occur the previous two days.

The recurring recording set-up confirmation screen has also been updated, allowing for modifications to be made right there, with a confirmation of how many episodes/recording occurrences will happen in the next 14 days (looking at the Guide data available to the receiver). This allows you to assess if you have the right recording options set up (for example, setting ALL episodes of The Simpsons will show the dozens of upcoming episodes over the next two weeks).

For both HDDSR 800s and HDPVR 830s - the VOD playback bar has been modernized, and various troubleshooting related tweaks have been made (ability to reboot the DSR from System Status, troubleshooting steps have been added to the Lost Signal popup, option to preserve your remote code when doing a Factory Reset, etc.)
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Got the update on my two 830s, but curiously I can't find anything anywhere related to transferring recordings. The feature also isn't mentioned in the release notes. Looks like it didn't make the cut. :-(
OPTIONS-PVRMV (78768) will get you there!

We have someone newer writing the release notes - looks like they kept the HDPVR only stuff off more or less (I used to write a "HDPVR only:" mention so I'll provide that feedback).

I'm checking in on the external hard drive question (@Sat-Dish)

And yes! Networked, sorry. Too used to writing WiFi.
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Ugh, that's a little klunky. I'll have to write a macro for the Harmony remote. Hopefully next update the UI will be moved into the mainstream portions. But I'll play with it for now, thanks.
Also, depending on which remote you have, for me it's Menu->Preferences->78768. I don't have an "Options" button on the remote I pulled out of the "remote graveyard" in the basement. ;-)
Thanks for the feedback! Totally a fair point. Edit: it's a hidden feature for now, as you've said it is a "move" feature, really intended for replacements. Agents should review the feature upon replacement of an HDPVR 830.
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Does this include transferring recordings from a connected external drive ?
I have an answer on this and unfortunately, at this point, to do this would require a second external drive (but is possible). It's a bit clunky, but it sounds like they're working on it. The originating HDPVR would have its external hard drive connected during the transfer, and the HDPVR receiving the transfer would require one as well. If the receiving HDPVR doesn't have one, as many recordings will be moved as possible with the available internal space. Internal recordings are prioritized to the receiving internal drive first.

Hope this helps!
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@Dr.Dave Same topic but do you know if it's possible to view recordings from the internal drive of a 630 that has been decommissioned?
Yes, they will still work!
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@goalsgo Note that you can watch the recordings on the external drive as long as it is connected to the original PVR.
There would be one exception to this - if your account has been disconnected or downgraded (Seasonal Break program or a non-pay situation).
ExDilbert is mostly correct here - they don't get deleted, but the HDPVR will no longer be able to look for an external drive, and therefore play any recordings from it.

The enablement of the external hard drive comes with a special code that we've included in all accounts by default - if the account is no longer active, the code is no longer active and therefore the external drive won't work (it's works like a programming subscription really).
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Hi @RickBH - is the HDPVR 830 giving you issues? It should be at least a bit of an improvement from the HDPVR 630, just in the processing time alone (and the 1 TB hard drive is an upgrade). The overall user interface is 85% the same (the 830 has a few extra features than the 630) so curious to know what's going on with your experience. Happy to help if something particular is off for you!
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Appreciate all of the feedback given, thanks everyone! You can implement a signal status for the front panel, it's just a bit more obvious than the old red light on the front - go into Settings > Preferences > scroll down to Hardware Settings > Change "Signal Status LED" to "Enabled". This will cause the front panel light to blink when there is no signal.

Hope that helps a bit!
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Thanks, I see the weather now. It was there but I didn't notice it. Only hooked up my 830 yesterday.

Do you know if the actual Stingray music is coming from the satellite or internet?
It's still satellite - only the cover art is being delivered via your internet connection.
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Edit: Never mind - I misspoke I think. I would also think maybe it's weather related for the uplink site. I would need some details to investigate such as channel name, the program name, map number in OPTIONS-4-7, time of issue with time zone noted, etc.

I know that if the recording was interrupted, but on at a later time, the PVR will attempt to re-record it at the later time slot.
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Dr.Dave is correct, no 6XX-series equipment needs to be returned, purchased or otherwise. They cannot be sold second hand anymore though (the buyer will be unable to activate the unit).

Internal recordings on any replaced HDPVR 630s will continue indefinitely. Any external hard drive recordings will be unavailable after 30 days from the time of replacement with the agent. Marrying your external hard drive to your HDPVR 830 will format the drive, deleting all recordings in the process (but it can be used as a "fresh" external drive after that point, with the 830).
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Dr.Dave is correct (though think that applied to a full account disconnection) - the 630 needs to be active on your account as it will be looking for the enablement of an external hard drive. If it can't find the enablement code, it will report back an on-screen error.
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@stecle @RuralRouter @RickBH

I brought your comments to the development team, and they have confirmed that there is a defect for recurring manual timers. It appears that upon scheduling, the timers are getting wiped from the schedule, which makes them not exactly usable.

Apologies if I've asked this before to any of you three specifically - we have a hard time understanding the use case for them, rather than using the Smart Recordings feature. Do you mind taking some time to outline why you use manual timers in this case, where smart recordings couldn't cover you?
@dalio70 - which CTV channel are you trying to record daily? I'm going to test all of the mentions here (except the Bill Maher segment, that's a unique case here for Manual Timers), but the specific channel matters, as I've found the Guide information management typically falls on each studio (IE CTV Vancouver is responsible for only Vancouver's airings).

Thank you all for the feedback, I'll update here with suggestions as I find them! I have worked with the networks in the past to have them create unique program IDs for news so that they aren't the "same program" 3 times a day. If there is a network-level issue, I'll see about their options moving forward.
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