[nanccinut]

Buying my first HD TV. Last week Cogeco gave us Motorola DCT1800/AFL box . At first was told need to by a HDMI cable which I didn't buy with luck. Next by another tv store was told no I need a componet cable which has red/green /blue jack . The back of the box has red/white /yellow jacks and nothing green/red blue. How do I get this brand new box from Cogeco to give me a true HD picture. Can someone give me a link to a picture I can print ? Hear also should only be looking for TV with 120 HZ and not 60 to get true HD picture . Does anyone make a good HD tv for about $600.00 -$650.00 that will wire proper to this Motorola digital box which I assume it is and not just a converter.Hope someone can give me a wiring diagram to go through vcr and dvd if possible and stereo system with regular jacks and get a digital HD PICTURE.
Huge thanks -Rob

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

First off i dont beleive that box supports HD. Well not 1080 anyway thats only a digital cable box. You need to get the model with the 3 color or hdmi on the back if you want hd. I have a samsung led and its only 60 htz and I get true hd. I dont know where you heard that only 120hz gives hd and not 60hz. If you get the proper cable box with the rbg jacks on it they give you a set of cables with it. Here is a link to the motorola site with all the different boxes. http://developer.motorola.com/products/settops/ You can see which ones are HD and the ones that arent. Good luck.

 

[57]

I believe you may be confusing digital and HD. Here's a post that's useful for those new to this forum and HD - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

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

 

[DavidT]

Thumper is correct, the DCT1800 is only a Standard Definition set-top box, not HD.

You need either the Motorola DCX700 or Motorola DCT6200 to receive HD.

 

[nanccinut]

Thanks

Thank you so much for helping me confirm what I thought. Phoned Cogeco and for another $9.99 a month ( always a charge ) they are sending us the 6200 Motorola . She is giving us a few more HD channels for free for one year then a $2.00 charge kicks in. Should be here by Wed/Thursday and will have to phone to activate again. We are just getting the one box for the new main tv. I assUme like you said the new HD cable should come with the new TV so Ishould be all set wiring wise.
One little glitch we seem to have if somone knows the fix is both new remotes they gave us for both TVs do this which is a bit of a pain. When we hit power off button on the new remotes on both Tvs they kill the picture but the screen does not go black only gray untill we pick up the TVs old remote and push the power button on them. This does not sound right so what is wrong? Rob

 

[57]

You can programme the remotes to also turn the TV on/off with the same button that turns off the STB. You can typically also programme the remotes to control the volume of the TV by "assigning" the volume button to the TV instead of to the STB, if desired. The instructions for this are in the operating manual (usually a small white booklet) that comes with the remote. Usually called something like master/global power/volume. You often need to programme in the appropriate code for your TV first.

If you don't have the booklet, the following link should help.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21274 Post 3, link 3. URC.


Check out the link I already provided in post 3 above too, when you have time. There's lots of useful information and FAQs there.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

All 3 of our cable boxes came with the 3 color cable included yes. I dont use them though. I use my hdmi cable which you have to purchase seperatly. I dont know where you are located but if your in Oakville, Burlington or Hamilton you can come to Sayal in Burlington and get the hdmi cables for a fraction of the cost you would pay at a box store. They have other stores too. Here is a link to them. http://www.sayal.com/

 

[nanccinut]

Thanks

Thanks again gang, looks like we are on the right track and will play with the remotes to see if we can get them to kill the tvs to a black screen once the new box is in place and with luck have a new cable with the new unit.-Rob
Peterborough

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Ah nice area to live. If you want a real nice remote try a harmony. Not much else out there like it. When its programed it will turn what you want and to the correct input. Beats the remotes that come with each product handsdown IMO.

 

[CamDAB]

Keep in mind the Cogeco / Motorola DCT-1800's (SD) and DCT-6200's (HD) boxes do NOT turn off, only mute the picture & sound. That's one of the reasons your TV went "dark grey". The DCT-6200's only support component cable for HD (which it includes in the box). If your TV has optical audio imput(s), the DCT-6200 does support that too. Others who have the PVR boxes can help with those.

And yes, the Harmony is the way to go. We'll never look back.

Cameron

 

[nanccinut]

Thanks Cameron for that lesson 101 on remotes as this is a brand new world to this almost retired veteran!
Since I am trying to pick a few experts brains what (in beginners HD ) is the ADVANTAGE IN BUYING A flat screen that has 120 HZ as opposed to 60 HZ. Right off the bat to me, looks like this tv salesman was trying to sell me a more expensive tv I may not need to get true HD for my hockey games. All the tvs with 120 HZ seem to be another $120.00. My proper HD box with red/green/blue jacks is on its way and should be here mid week. - Rob

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

120 hz just refreshes faster. Supose to be great for gaming. We play all kinds of PS3 on our 60 hz and see no blur. Apparantly it helps with scrolling words too. From what I understand though it reverts back to 60hz when in tv mode anyway. I was going to buy the 120 hz one until the sales guy told me that so I went 60hz. It wasnt worth the extra few hundred dollars for gaming.

 

[57]

nanccinut Please post your questions in the appropriate forum here. This is the Cogeco forum. For example, if you wish to discuss LCD refresh rates, post in the LCD section, etc.

Also, please check out the links I already provided (especially post 3 of this thread) since a lot of this has been discussed many times in previous threads (searching will find them), in stickies at the top of forums, in FAQs, etc.

 

[nanccinut]

Thanks -Will take a look.

 

[Thisyearsman]

Motorola 6200 vs Motorola DCX700

nanccinut - get right on the phone to Cogeco and request a Motorola DCX700 instead of the 6200 model.
The 6200 model does not have a HDMI connection and consequently will not give you the best HD picture.
I just went through this with them and they tried to tell me that the component cables are just as good as the HDMI. Without boring you with the details, I got the DCX700 and hooked it up and IMO the HDMI is at least 3x as good as the component cables. Cogeco is phasing out the 6200 and I guess are trying to unload them on unsuspecting customers.
In addition, instead of paying them $9.99 a month ( I got it free for as year. Apparently they have a promotion on.) I know you can buy the DCX700 for about $90.00 on line.
I used to have a lot of respect for Cogeco and currently have the phone/internet/TV package with them but am starting to question their ethics after this episode.

 

[57]

the HDMI is at least 3x as good as the component

This is simply not the case. Although there are minor differences, they are definitely minor. Whenever anyone sees a huge difference it's because of one or more of the following:

- The inputs on the TV are calibrated differently (or not calibrated at all)
- The settings in the STB are different.
- It's a different STB (this one does apply here since the 6200 was never great at SD)

Suggest you check out the following:

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


Useful Post for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

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

 

[jayp_1]

The main reason to use an HDMI cable is less cables. I agree with the last poster that you won't see much of a difference between component and hdmi. What you will gain is going from 5 cables (3 video and 2 audio) to 1 cable and that is well worth it.

If you want cheap prices on hdmi cables then check out monoprice. They ship to Canada and the cables are around $2. I buy in bulk so it makes them cheaper. If you keep your cost below $20 then you won't be hit with any duty.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Or sayal. There is a store in Burlington. HDMI and all other cables real cheap. They even have monster cables too and yes they are cheaper than any other store around that i have found anyway.

 

[martins]

Motorola 6200 vs Motorola DCX700

I don't think the DCX700 is usable in Peterborough. I'm in Cobourg, where we have all the SD and HD channels and can get Ultimate 30 and 50 internet. I assumed that meant I could use the all-digital DCX700. I phoned customer service to enquire if I could trade down from my DCT6412 as I wasn't using the PVR function, and was told they didn't have any in stock, but I might be able to get one at a storefront location.

Now, the nearest storefront to Cobourg is either Oakville or Kingston, so I got in my car on a Friday afternoon (more fool me) and headed for Oakville Place. Three hours later I arrived (thanks to heavy traffic and a truck rollover on the 401 at DVP) to be told they didn't have any either. They tried to phone Burlington for me but couldn't get through. Having come this far, I got back in my car headed for Burlington, which took another hour in creep-and-crawl traffic.

I arrived at Burlington Mall at 7pm, to be told yes, they did have the DCX700. The rep checked into my location, then told me it wouldn't work in Cobourg as the cable wasn't all-digital. She didn't want to send me back with something that wouldn't function, so I took a 6200 non-PVR. All of the reps I spoke to were polite and helpful, but if the first one I spoke to by phone had bothered to check she could have told me it wouldn't work and saved me half a day of frustration and 30 litres of gas.

The trip wasn't a total loss as I bought a Harmony 700 on sale to control my HD TV, STB, audio receiver, Blu Ray player, VCR and D-Link media streamer. It took some time to get it set up properly, but once I did I could put the 6 remotes away and just use one-button access to watch cable TV, stream media from the PC, etc. Occasionally the Harmony gets out of synch, e.g. if I don't keep it pointed at the entertainment centre until it's sent all its commands. Usually I can recover, but sometimes I have to pull out one of the old remotes which I keep handy.

 

[genroo]

martins: FYI, there is a new Storefront in Belleville on the 401 at the QuinteMall.