830 PVR Discussions

41385 Views 253 Replies 41 Participants Last post by P2B, 15 h ago

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · Sep 11, 2020

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.

Reactions: 1

141 - 160 of 254 Posts

jcwrmm

· #141 · 3 mo ago

I recently received two new 830's to replace my 630's. Other than the usual complaint about no front displays (I bought a small clock to sit on top of the 830), I recorded two shows at the same time yesterday. Both shows stopped recording for 2 minutes at 5:30 eastern and then started recording again. Is there a reason for this? Also, when I stop watching an in progress recorded show, I'm asked whether I want to stop recording this show. Is there a way to turn this notification off?

Reactions: 1

ExDilbert

· #142 · 3 mo ago

jcwrmm said:
Both shows stopped recording for 2 minutes at 5:30 eastern and then started recording again.

The satellite signal may have temporarily been lost.

NovaMan

· #143 · 3 mo ago

ExDilbert said:
The satellite signal may have temporarily been lost.

Yes, @[B]jcwrmm[/B] look at the discussions on page 7 in this thread.

Keith Brannen

· #144 · 3 mo ago

jcwrmm said:
Also, when I stop watching an in progress recorded show, I'm asked whether I want to stop recording this show. Is there a way to turn this notification off?

Can't find any way to stop this annoyance in any settings, didn't have that problem with the 630. The only work-arounds are to fast forward to the end, or change the channel, both probably more time consuming than just hitting OK at the notification.

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · #145 · 3 mo ago

I appreciate the notice and the option to stop or continue recording. I might be recording and watching a show and then determine part-way-in that the show is not worth watching and so not worth recording. Just options...

Reactions: 2

RickBH

· #146 · 2 mo ago

My new 830 has been rebooting with a 'please be patient' on the screen. Initially I thought it was because I was using fast forward a lot but now it did it in the middle of a recording while I was just watching. Missing the display of course there is no other indication of what is going on. The drive shows as good when I checked afterwards. Any one else seing this or is this a sign of unit failure.
It has happened 4 or 5 times in the past week.

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · #147 · 2 mo ago

RickBH said:
Any one else seing this or is this a sign of unit failure.

Your "New" (refurb?) 830 is defective. I suggest you call Shaw Direct and request a replacement.

RickBH

· #148 · 2 mo ago

The refurb is new to me but appeared to be new when I got it.
Thanks,

ExDilbert

· #149 · 2 mo ago

They often do appear to be new. That's part of the refurb process. What eventually happens is that the refurb pool increasingly consists of receivers that are difficult to diagnose or repair and show up as fully functional in the testing process. That's compounded by the contracting out of repairs to third parties that may make more money by using quick and questionable repairs. The end result is that defective receivers start being sent out at a high rate. They get away with it, in part, because not all customers use all the features so a defective or damaged receiver may eventually be received by customers who don't use the defective features, such as certain output ports. I suspect that refurbishing and repairing receivers may be more costly in the long run than selling or renting new receivers to new customers. That's especially true with companies that incur a bad reputation by selling refurbished receivers at full price.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

jcwrmm

· #150 · 2 mo ago

RickBH said:
My new 830 has been rebooting with a 'please be patient' on the screen. Initially I thought it was because I was using fast forward a lot but now it did it in the middle of a recording while I was just watching. Missing the display of course there is no other indication of what is going on. The drive shows as good when I checked afterwards. Any one else seing this or is this a sign of unit failure.
It has happened 4 or 5 times in the past week.

Yes, I had the same thing happen 2 or 3 times over the weekend and the way the units were packaged and shipped, they also appeared to be "new".

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · #151 · 2 mo ago

jcwrmm said:
...they also appeared to be "new".

Golly, if not refurbs, do you think Shaw Direct got a bad batch of receivers from the manufacturer?

skifan

· #152 · 2 mo ago

I have been having issues with a new 830 as well. It started freezing on all channels and also on previously recorded ( and watched) shows. I factoried the unit and the freezing stopped but the following day it refused to turn on. I then forced via the front panel a restart and it then finally came on-line. I contacted Tech support about this and (noting that my other receivers are fine and the dish is not the issue) they, after 60+ minutes, reluctantly agreed to ship me a replacement receiver at my expense. ( since it is a 'free rental' I have to pay for shipping apparently.)

Fast forward and now I have been trying to install the replacement unit. Attempting a refresh multiple times via the phone line did not work. I tried the call back line and eventually received a call back that said I was number 1 in the queue. After 25 minutes of waiting I finally gave up. Then tried the on-line chat function......chatted for about 10 minutes explaining the problem, then the Shaw site crashed and the chat session was lost. Am now trying the call back feature again and once again, have received a call-back saying I was number 1......have been on hold now for over 40 minutes this time and still waiting.

Welcome to the new connected ~~Shaw~~....er Rogers.

I am so close to telling SD to pound sand....and switch to Telus.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · #153 · 2 mo ago

That is a terrible experience. What is up with these replacement 830s?

RickBH

· #154 · 2 mo ago

My 830 has not restarted on its own for the past week but now I am noticing signal breakup on more recordings. With the 630 it was only a problem in heavy rain or snow but the 830 seems more sensitive to the signal strength. Maybe something to do with the way it decodes the signal?
When I talked to Shaw on the phone I was told that I would get a call-back but never got it. So far the unit is working but I am unsure about it.

skifan

· #155 · 2 mo ago

RickBH said:
My 830 has not restarted on its own for the past week but now I am noticing signal breakup on more recordings. With the 630 it was only a problem in heavy rain or snow but the 830 seems more sensitive to the signal strength.

My 830 was not suffering from signal loss as my levels were quite good. The issue was a perfectly clear picture freezing, along with the sound, then continuing. There was no 'break up' such as one sees when the signal fades. This freezing also became evident on previously watched, know to be good recorded shows.

bpsmicro

· #156 · 2 mo ago

skifan said:
The issue was a perfectly clear picture freezing, along with the sound, then continuing. There was no 'break up' such as one sees when the signal fades. This freezing also became evident on previously watched, know to be good recorded shows.

I'm seeing this too, and it seems to be getting worse. In some cases it's almost as if the recording is being paused/played. I'm not sure if I'm seeing so much "live", but I am seeing the shorter glitches and audio dropouts, seemingly worse on some channels. But it's sporadic enough that I can't pin down times/channels yet.

skifan

· #157 · 2 mo ago

bpsmicro said:
I'm seeing this too, and it seems to be getting worse. .

@bpsmicro If this continues, you might try resetting your unit to factory specs. You can keep recordings and certain settings while doing so.
For factory reset enter "option 49886"
For a signal level check "option 194".

FYI: My problem was across the board on all channels with very high quality signal levels ( so not a dish problem)...even previously viewed recorded programs were affected.

simplesimon99

· #158 · 1 mo ago

I was just forced to get an 830 to replace my 630. I was told by the phone rep. that the 830 does not have the ability to use an external drive. I have found via the owners manual that it in fact can use a drive.

I have an external drive connected to my 630. Will I lose all of my recordings when I connect it to the 830?

RuralRouter

Discussion Starter · #159 · 1 mo ago

The external drive of your 630 is locked into that receiver. Your 830 will not be able to access the recordings made on the 630 external drive.

tvmaster

· #160 · 1 mo ago

simplesimon99 said:
I was just forced to get an 830 to replace my 630. I was told by the phone rep. that the 830 does not have the ability to use an external drive. I have found via the owners manual that it in fact can use a drive.

I have an external drive connected to my 630. Will I lose all of my recordings when I connect it to the 830?

Can you describe the process of how you were 'forced'? I'm a bit slow here...thanks

141 - 160 of 254 Posts