[hugh]

This discussion thread is for owners to discuss the new Shaw Direct HDDSR 605 when it becomes available on November 1st.

Please post your thoughts and your feedback on this unit once you have it up and running.

For non-owners, you can ask questions about the unit in our DSR 605 now available thread.

Please note posts from NON-owners will be deleted and the poster will receive an infraction.

 

[hiljoball]

First day experience

Just got my DSR605 last night and installed this it morning to replace a DSR505 which is now in the bedroom as the second Rx.

No problems with set up or getting it to work.

The good.

Connected it with hdmi (finally). Replaced 5 cables with just one.

The Guide with two weeks programming and 6 hour and 24 hour skip ahead.

So far, the major complaints are

1. Loss of the function to set recurring timers for Daily/ Weekly/ Mon through Fri. etc.

The programming guide seems to use search for everything and has changed the way we set timers. You can set a timer to switch to a specific event. But if you want a recurring timer, it gets weird. You cannot set a switch to, only a reminder of. And it may not be the same channel/time, but the next occurrence of a new episode. Not clear yet if it drops the timer after the event. That would be a pain too.

2. Changing between ‘favourites’ is more complex on the 605 than the 505. Under the 505, select Guide, and pressing Favourites would scroll through your favourite groupings. Not so on the 605. Now you have to select the menu and select the favourite group first, then exit from that panel, and now select Guide. Want to change to another Favourites group, then repeat above procedure.

3. The View Subscribed would be nice, except that it also lists all the PPV offerings.

4. Now to play music. Oops! The music channels have disappeared from the Guide. Now you have to choose the Menu and scroll to Music. Now you can select by genre, BUT it looses your selection for the next time, so you have to start over.

John

 

[Kartan]

Loss of the function to set recurring timers for Daily/ Weekly/ Mon through Fri. etc

Function hasn't been lost, just modified. If you select a program from the guide it'll give you the option to set a reminder for all episodes of said program, new episodes or just for that program. As for auto-tunes I believe it's just for the spefic program but I may be wrong.

Now to play music. Oops! The music channels have disappeared from the Guide

Even though they have been removed from the guide you can still direct tune to them. Personally the search function seems quicker to me than scrolling through the guide.

 

[TJ77]

Actually, you can set manual timers for Mon-Fri via the menu bar. Here is a link to the 605/530 user manual.

http://www.shawdirect.ca/english/store/download/DVR630hd_manual_e.pdf

 

[hiljoball]

That would be great, but I cannot find it in the manual, only confirmation of my own observations. The option for manual timers (page 6) applies only to the PVR630. Have I missed a section? Can you give me the page number please.

Thanks

John

 

[hiljoball]

We don't have the PVR, just the DSR (the subject of this topic). So we want to watch a given program at the same time slot each week, when we know we are available and that it does not compete with a program on another channel that we also want to watch.

The problem with the 6o5 software is that
a) it finds the first occurence of a new episode (may not be convenient) not the time slot we want
b) is not recurring

As a result, we have to spend a lot more time managing the timers than before.

So Yes! the function to set recurring timers on specific time slots has been dropped.

John

 

[Kartan]

But the point is, if you set recurring reminders (which yes you can do on the DSR 605) then there's really no need to set a manual timer for a specific time slot. What happens when you set the reminder but the channel is moved to a "special time" that week? Now you don't get a proper reminder for the show. With setting the recurring reminders for a particular show it'll remind you regardless of whether the channel got moved or not.

 

[Kartan]

sorry meant to say whether the program got moved or not...not the channel

 

[COMMISH]

my 605 experience

Received a new 605 yesterday;replacing a DSR 315 as we now have a new HD TV;contacted a CSR for authorization and initiated the process; after four hours of several resets and a factory reset no joy; able to receive some channels,namely 3 out of the entire slate of HD channels and a few of the SD channels; no joy with 299,300,400,700,276,277,279,350, and several others that the CSR was asking me to tune;assuming he was checking the polarization of the signals;finally as we approached mid-night I had enough and terminated the call;re-installing my DSR 315 this evening as it worked perfectly prior to the switch-over; calling Shaw tonight to come and pick up their gear.

used the HDMI for hook-up and confirmed all connections;ch 293,258,259 had good signal and video as did ch 363(fox) and several other SD channels.

Will welcome any suggestions with thanks.

commish

 

[TJ77]

Hook it back up and try one more time. If you still have no luck, call for a replacement.

 

[jbdb]

Actually, you can set manual timers for Mon-Fri via the menu bar. Here is a link to the 605/530 user manual.

http://www.shawdirect.ca/english/store/download/DVR630hd_manual_e.pdf

I don't see where manual timers can be set for the 605 either. What I have read is that recurring auto-timers are not available for the 605. That is really a downer because I used this feature a lot on my old series 400 receiver to tune to specific programs every week and another every MTWTF at a specific time so I can time shift my viewing by recording it on my PVR. Why would Shaw go and remove such a usefull feature? Recurring reminders are useless if you are not at home (i.e. at work) to tune to the channel when reminded. Now I have to set a timer for each instance for the program that is available on the 14 day guide. Not very convenient.

 

[hiljoball]

I have lived with the 605 for a couple of weeks now.

The loss of the recurring function to auto-tune to a specific program is a major loss.

There is a big difference in usability with auto-remind vs auto switch. You have to be sitting in front of the TV to see the auto-remind pop up and take an action. If you are out of the room, you may miss the reminder and miss the program completely.

The offered alternative of auto-remind for NEW episodes only helps for NEW episodes. It does not help for re-runs and you are left with setting a reminder for every broadcast on multiple channels. Also still suffers from the basic problem of no auto-switch.

There are several other items that have come to light over time.

1. The way overlapping timers is handled has changed. The 505 would allow you to select between the conflicts and edit the start times. The 605 just says 'conflict'. All you can do is back up and then set a reminder on the second item.

2. Poor choice of item sequencing when you press MENU and scroll to the Reminders icon. The default choice is OPTIONS. It would make more sense to have the default be UPCOMING. Also, in OPTIONS, it would make more sense to list the programs chronologically; it appears somewhat random (it may be sequenced by order selected??)

3. there is no way to edit the event timer start or end times to manipulate them yourself.

4. Switching between a sd and an hd channel seems to take a bit longer (like 2 to 3 seconds) than the 505 did. My 505 was connected to the TV with component cables, and the 605 is conected to the same TV using the hdmi interface.

John

 

[Hugedownload]

New To ShawDirect 605HD

Just had it installed yesterday and got the ontario value added programming. I have a question, my question is what is the best setting for video 720p or 1080i, the tv I am using is a samsung 55inch LED 1920*1080, using HDMI. When I have it set to 720p the video is not as sharp but a smooth look when compared to 1080i more detail on the 1080i setting but not as smooth looking. The 720p setup looks like a HD feed from bell. I must say the HD feed from SD seems to jump more at your eye then bell, colors and image are sharper. A note about installer he was on time installed and I have a 94 signal and 7.6DB, went threw the set up and was in and out in 40mins<cable was already there>over all a thumbs up! I love SPEEDHD!!

 

[hugh]

hugedownload, the answer to this question is always the same. Try them both and decide for yourself.

 

[57]

Here's the FAQ on upconversion, 1080i will likely provide better PQ for Shaw Direct, but as stated by hugh and in the FAQ, try both and you decide.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=87543

And here's a post useful for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

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

 

[fatkev78]

Guys, I'm a little confused by your comments.
Is the auto tune option available like it is on the 505? You don't have to press Enter or anything of the like when your program is set to be tuned to do you? The reason this is important to me is the receiver is in the living room, so I'll set the channels up to auto tune to then go to bed.
I'm thinking of upgrading my 505's to 605's.
Thanks!

 

[Pooch15]

You can auto tune single shows only, you can't setup an auto tune that will repeat daily, weekly, Mon-Fri, etc.

If for example you were auto tuning the news at 10:00 PM then a show a 11:00 PM Monday to Friday with a 505/530 you only needed two repeating timers. With the 605 you would have to recreate these timers every week day. This is by far the most disappointing aspect of the 605. I just hope they will correct this with the next update.

 

[hiljoball]

Fatkev wrote

Is the auto tune option available like it is on the 505?
Thinking of switching from 505s to 605s.

No. The useful repeat timer features of the 505 have gone. Instead, you get various options of repeat reminders but reminders don't switch. The 605 requires you to hit the enter button to switch to the new program. The auto switch feature is very limited.

I bought the 605 to replace an old SD receiver and to get the HDMI cabling to simplify my set up.

Until ShawDirect improve this timer issue, I see little reason to switch from a 505 to a 605. The only advantage would be that the 605 had not hung yet with loss of signal message, the way the 505 does.

John

 

[fatkev78]

No. The useful repeat timer features of the 505 have gone. Instead, you get various options of repeat reminders but reminders don't switch. The 605 requires you to hit the enter button to switch to the new program. The auto switch feature is very limited.John

That is my main concern - having to press enter to have the receiver auto tune to the channel. That's too bad (& doesn't make much sense).
I'm not as concerned about the repeat timer as I've never used that option.
Thanks for the input guys!

 

[MSM]

Fatkev,

It sounds to me that you would be happy with the 605. Your response implies that you do not use repeating timers on the 505 - you select a single program from the guide and choose the auto tune option. As I read the responses, this works on the 605 (i.e. individual programs can be auto-tuned).

The other part of the responses is if you want repeating timers (daily, weekly, etc.) there is no auto tune function - only auto reminders. These put a reminder message on the screen, and you have to push the enter key to see the program.

Is this correct??