[57]

57; I am talking about #2, bars at the sides of a 4:3 picture.

In the 8300HD, you can change the bars from "Light" to "Medium" or "Dark" under settings - Set TV Borders. If you cannot change them from grey to black, that would be a major distraction for me, but since I haven't heard of it being an issue, I suggest it's either possible, or a reboot may correct the problem.

Also, I assume you're connected via HDMI or component video, and not an SD connection like RF-coax to the TV.

 

[Rhstats]

5.1 Digital Audio from 9865

Frubsen, I've had similar problems getting 5.1 from the 9865. Even though Dolby Digital was set in the audio settings for the 9865 I wasn't getting 5.1 consistently. For example, I'd get 5.1 on he CBC channel (514) but only 2.0 on CTV (518)when i know that CTV broadcasts in 5.1.

I finally solved the problem by going in to the audio settings. The audio settings to get 5.- sound should be as follows:

Audio Output Dolby Digital
Audio Range. Wide
Volume Control. Variable

If either the Audio Range or Volume Control are different you won't get consistent 5.1 sound. Hope this helps.

 

[Rhstats]

Just came across another strange glitch. I had been watching some recorded programs, deleting them as I finished watching. Went to watch another recorded program, selected play and just got a black screen with audio from the current program to which the PVR was tuned. Pressed exit to get back to the list menu with no change. Was only able to get out of it by changing to another channel. Tried to watch the recorded program again and the same thing happened.

Decided to reboot the NB3 and then went back to my recorded programs list to watch my program but it was gone!! Thank goodness it's a program that just recorded tonight and I can record it again by time shifting. Rather an annoying glitch.

 

[robinwood]

sound 9865

Had the 9865 about 2 weeks now - yesterday watching show streamed from 8642 -recorded this week - and played through 9865 had digital sound until I paused and fast forwarded about 1/2 way through - sound went to 2 channel and louder as mentioned by others - will the try the wide and variable settings tonight - although cannot think why that would work - receiver connected by optical in AFD mode so the change was apparent on the receiver display

I have to say though that even with the 8642s the sound have been very inconsistant over the last 6 months

 

[zforgetaboutit]

LG TV (55LE8500) & 1080/60p & Netbox 3

I have a long-term rental SA8300HD, and recently got an additional rental Netbox 3 for auditioning.

Using an HDMI cable I set the NB3 to output at both 1080i & 1080p on a paused clear channel. For the latter target, the subject of this post, the TV acknowledged an input signal of "1080/60p".

The test scene's subject was a portrait-sized view of a yellowish-blonde long-haired guest on a talk show. Individual hairs easily contrasted against the talk show studio's "dark purplish" background.

I concentrated on a particular part of the scene where several well-lit individual hair strands could be seen against this background.

Switching back-and-forth between 1080i & 1080p, my current subjective perception is the 1080p output had a distinct resolution advantage when viewing these fine hair strand details. I didn't see any other compromised scene components relative to the 1080i output.

Although time will tell, for now, I'll use the 1080p setting.

---------------------------

On a different note I simultaneously recorded 8 x 1-hour programs. Afterwards I watched the leading 5-15 seconds of each and these samples seemed nominal inasmuch as nothing seemed to visually suffer from the workload.

 

[TL_Gator]

I will try those audio settings tonight and see if I can replicate your success long term.

As for the 1080p comment, I'm a bit surprised by this. I wonder how big the display that was used is..

 

[zforgetaboutit]

In case you mean my post, the TV is 55 inches.

 

[viper359]

This needs more information. Seating distance, room light, other equipment in your chain, original feed delivery, 720p or 1080i.

For example, 1080P is best viewed at a distance of 7-12 feet away on your 55", where on my 65 inch, its 8-16 feet. How far away were you seated?

You results are in stark contrast to mine. On my Kuro, at 9 feet, there is a major PQ difference between 1080i and 1080p. Not in a positive way either. These boxes are just not designed to be video processors. There is no way they do a "good job" messing around with a signal. This is on a fully calibrated system, from the TV, to the AVR. The Rogers box is garbage, on my setup. I wouldn't expect a $300.00 cable box to be anything other than that.

A paused picture is also not a fair comparison. Since the actual legwork is being done when the signal is being processed, continually. The debate rages on about which is more taxing to a video pro, 720p to 1080p, or 1080I to 1080p.

At the end of the day, there is no content delivered by Rogers in 1080p. Forcing the boxes to convert to that could cause issues. Just saying, and just playing devils advocate. The best PQ, will always be the one natively delivered to the box, unless you have one hell of a post video processor, or a darbee apparently.

**EDIT** I should note, having one of the best TV's ever produced for colour and black level, a bad image stands out even more. My 65" inch tv in the bedroom, for example, doesn't show picture reproduction problems nearly as noticeable, on the same feed, from the same pvr.

 

[robinwood]

sound reboot 1080p

checked sound last night and already was set to wide, digital, but not variable -changed that but still had to reboot to take effect -sending 5.1 -but it did that before as well ,so may take a few days to see if it reverts - changed 1080 i to 1080p -just because !-no noticeable difference on 58" samsung plasma

time will tell!

 

[BillBob]

Settings for NB3

57: Yes, I have a plasma tv and connected with component cables. The borders on SD stations are black by default. I would like to change them to gray to prevent burn in. Bill

 

[zforgetaboutit]

This needs more information. Seating distance, room light, other equipment in your chain, original feed delivery, 720p or 1080i.

Eyes about 8.5 feet from screen.Dimly lit room. The TV's screen is glossy so I compromise room lighting to minimize reflections. There's nothing between the NB3 and TV. Trumotion is set to high - I prefer it for all source material including film. I don't know the original feed's 720/1080 attributes. I don't remember what channel or program it was but it sure looked nice.

I initially calibrated my now-gone RPTV with software and was able to considerably improve greyscale and colors from the factory settings, and feel I'm at least vaguely aware of how TV images can be better or worse. My current TV mostly uses borrowed calibration settings from a web page - that review site used modern professional equipment to calibrate their sample set and I liked their settings a little better than the factory defaults.

Some stations can sometimes have a relatively excellent broadcast due to how the program was recorded, subject matter, studio lighting, etc. I was lucky to to find such a program when I channel surfed for a test subject. When I later viewed the non-paused result it still looked attractive to me so I left it as it at 1080p.

This tweaking is in the same vein as galleries displaying antique paintings with modern lighting. Some viewers obviously like the results in their current institutional settings, but there's no way that's what the artist "saw" when the work was created, especially for work created centuries ago with rustic lighting.

I wrote "my current subjective perception" which allows me to make reasonable personal comments about the pleasure I'm getting overall from this setup when enough contributing factors seem to align in an overall positive way.

Just as some DVD/BR players are claimed to sometimes achieve pleasant results with upscaling, I'm also enjoying my particular NB3's 1080p upscaling on my particular equipment in my non-ideal environment, and encourage others to give it a try. Like I've done here, they might convince themselves they enjoy it a little more.

 

[57]

57: Yes, I have a plasma tv and connected with component cables. The borders on SD stations are black by default. I would like to change them to gray to prevent burn in. Bill

Not sure if this is possible with the new firmware. I thought you were trying to go from grey to black.

Since most people watch very little SD any more, don't worry about the occasional black bars on SD channels. You can't change them on the HD channels anyway.

 

[ExDilbert]

It still needs further observation but the loss of DD may be tied to the Tue & Fri reboots. It's been happening regularly, twice a week since the last firmware update and I took a note of when it happened the this week. It was on Tue & Fri. My A/V receiver has 7 LEDs, one for each DD channel so it's quite obvious just what is going on with the audio. Anyone who doesn't use an A/V receiver or who doesn't have such a clear indicator may not notice the loss of DD.

 

[BaadDawg01]

I got the 9685 about 10 days ago. I had the 8642 before that but had never upgraded to the new IPG.

My firmware ends in 0123 not 0129 and hasn't changed since I have had the box.

I have had several recuring problems but the main problem is the random loss of 5.1 sound. I still get sound just not 5.1. The only way to get it back once it cuts out is to re-boot. I have had to re-boot it daily, sometimes twice a day due to 5.1 audio loss. My audio settings are the same as the guy who posted a "fix". It's no fix.

The other recurring problem is when watching a recorded program thats still recording that catches up to the live program. On the bar on the bottom it still shows that the recording has room to go so you fast foreward but in reality you have caught up. This causes the box to freeze up and reboot and when even if time has passed when hitting resume recording, causes the box to re-boot again. When it reboots you have to stop the recording and start recording again because the previous recording is now corrupt from the reboot point on even if it resumes recording after the reboot. The other shows that resume recording on re-boot are ok because you were not watching them at the time of the reboot.

So care has to be taken when watching a recorded program thats still recording as it's catching up to the "live program. The problem is that the recording bar still shows that there is room to go in the recording.

I never had any of these problems in the 8642.

What firmware/software does everyone have. Is the 0129 any better? How can I get it if it is better?

 

[JamesK]

The borders on SD stations are black by default. I would like to change them to gray

The problem is that while you may be able to change the sides, the letterbox top & bottom will still be black and most of what's on SD is letterbox.

 

[busy mom]

Remote Control Issues with the 3.0

Is anyone encountering problems with the 3.0 when using their remote control? We got the 3.0 in early Sept and noticed after a week in use that the remote control would stop working – usually after 7pm and for sure everyday almost after 12am. Everything would be up and running again by morning. Halfway through the month I noticed a trend – I would power off my LCD TV and turn it back on and the remote would work for 30 seconds and then suddenly stop working again. If I turned off my TV the remote control would work as well (e.g. I can blindly fast forward thru my PVR recorded show to get through the commercials). I also noticed a few days ago that when the remote control stops working the lighting dims on the PVR menu and is not as bright). I obviously called Rogers to complain and so far they say this issue is unique and have sent two technicians – one which spent a lot of time re-wiring our cable lines in our house where the 3.0 is connected and gave us a new remote. The other visited for 5 minutes, changed the remote and hastly ran out the door. Rogers keeps telling me to exchange the box- which we have done but the same problem is recurring. I am missing all my programming that I record by having to constantly exchange boxes and wasting lots of valuable time and gas driving to the Rogers store to exchange boxes and re-program all my shows I wish to record and then even more time calling 1888Rogers1, going through the menu options and being put on hold or transferred, explaining the problem again and again and finally making appointments and waiting for two-hour periods for technicians to visit. Anyone know why this is happening?

 

[57]

It is highly likely that you have an IR interference issue, likely caused by improper settings on the TV, perhaps exacerbated by CFL lights in your home. See the following thread on the topic: There are several suggestions there as to the causes and the resolution.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=64463


See also the following post, useful for those new to the forum, as well as my signature link on optimization if you cannot get it sorted yourself.

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

 

[kibosh]

I am running into an odd bug.

My WHPVR setup has been working pretty well since I had it installed a few weeks ago. I am having some audio dropout issues so I decided to reboot the PVR. Now none of my remote boxes can play any recordings made prior to the reboot. I get the following message on all 3 remote boxes:

'Sorry "show name" on "pvr name" cannot be viewed right now. The program may have been deleted, or there may not be enough resources available.'

All recordings made after the reboot can be played remotely.

 

[gdkitty]

@busy mom

I sugest following the instructions that 57 linked.

I have helped a number of people with this exact issue, and most of them have been able to resolve it.

Many of the newer TVs often have an eco mode or something that allows them to change the lighting on the TV based on the lighting in the room, etc. There is usually a separate IR sensor for this sometimes, and seems like it can play HAVOC with the Nextboxes remote.
I would try turning that off (or any similar feature) as a first step.

 

[JamesK]

Why would a sensor on a TV interfere with the NB? A sensor receives light, not produce it.