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Shaw Direct HDPVR 630 Owners Discussion Thread

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#1 ·
This discussion thread is for owners to discuss the new Shaw Direct HDPVR 630 when it becomes available on September 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 New 630 In Pre Order


Edit by 57: Here's a thread summarizing problems, issues, resolutions, workarounds:

Shaw Direct 630 Official Problems / Issues / Resolutions Thread. Read posts 1, 2 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums
 
#2 ·
Owners, please post your review of the new HDPVR giving us your thoughts on what you like, what you dislike and any bugs you may have encountered.

Please avoid any discussion of the sales process, the marketing of the product etc and stick to discussing the hardware.

Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
JUST- received the new 630- came by purolator! Will be plugging it in and activating shortly- I will post comments as I go! :)

Edit- First impressions- the box is small! and light. I like the finish and styling. On a down side the power brick is external, as many of us thought it would be- hence the small footprint I guess. In the box, all the usual cables and an HDMI. The remote has a redesign- nice feel with a rubberised non-slip back- nice touch- even though I use a harmony.

Activation here we go- let's see how long it takes! :)

edit- phone number in the install manual is incorrect ! the recorded message tells you to dial another number which is also incorrect!

I called the website number and got the callback option

edit- am now on hold- csr says it is first 630 activation-- has to look it up. are you confident?

20 mins later... activated easily. HDMI seems to be working through my Yamaha receiver okay- time will tell. Factory firmware is 00.10, CSR said it will upgrade to 00.13 tonight.

Im happy so far, although in my conversation he said that he knew nothing about the 'free-rental' deal some of you are getting, or the option the return the 530. He even spoke with a supervisor who said 299 is the best deal. For 'loyal' customers. Hmmmm.

Still I did talk him into 8 ppv. Whoopee (sarcasm).

Im keeping my 530 for a while, the I will pass it on to my father-in-law. Brownie points there are worth more than $$$! If this works out I may consider changing the 530 at the cottage.

Have fun folks- I will return with more info as it becomes pertinent.

Dan
 
#4 ·
This is too funny. I read Ouser's post and thought it odd that they were actually shipping before Sept (and was wondering if Ouser was for real or pulling our legs). Not a minute after reading his post my doorbell rang. Standing on my doorstep was a Purolator guy with my new 630 and multi-switch! Guess I should never have doubted Ouser!

Now I have to call and arrange for an install. Even though I already have a 530 I apparently need an install. Part of my "deal" included a free 4x8 multiswitch (which I don't currently have) so I guess I need to get that installed and might as well get my wires cleaned up at the same time.

Edit: Called and arranged for install tomorrow.
 
#6 ·
guide is screwy- Bug no.1

maybe im doing something wrong...but...I doubt that ;)

I did a search in the guide...loving that feature...but now the guide is all screwy, the numbers are all out of whack. Maybe that will be fixed with 00.13 tonight- hope so!

My wife loves the fact that the non-subscribed channels are greyed out! If only on the 505.
 
#7 ·
Set up my remote control... noticed the TV button wouldn't light up but the other 2 buttons do. The TV button does work but just won't light up. Is it just mine? It's a miner problem. Thought I had a bum remote but it works.
 
#8 ·
Got mine about 1 hour ago (Ontario)

It works.
Guide is loading in stages. non-subscribed channels are gray. You can hide them, which I did, and there gone - easy as pie. There was actually a channel I get that I thought was not part of package. Interface is familiar. There is no program info yet other than show name. I do see some shows 10 days plus out, but still lots of blank spots. Guide also shows length of shows not tied to 30min blocks. You can tell if it ends 5mis before the hour.

1st CR could not activate, passed me to level2 who was able to activate, then transferred to Cust Realtions to get my account sorted out which looks like it was. All 3 reps are surprised the 630 is in people homes already.

It's small, and light. Uses a 2.5" HD. Uses a laptop style power supply. At least there is a chord between power brick and wall outlet. I asked about the other ports. The level2 rep said that external HD is definitely on the way. So I asked about extHD for 605, and she had no idea. She was not sure what ethernet will be used for just yet.

cables include, A/V rca, component, and telephone extension. No HDMI for me. (edit - yes there is HDMI) Remote is RF and there is an RF antenna. I use Harmony, I haven't even unpacked the remote yet. I was told I do not need to return old remote or cables.

ff and rew seem smoother, 4 levels of each, skip-fwd/back seem snappier.


I wonder what the new firmware will do.

I have noticed more guide data as I been writing this.

More to come.
 
#12 ·
Bug #2 ?

Isnt the recording option supposed to give you the option to record in HD, DS, just new etc...

I only see - record this episode, all new-, all.

Maybe this and the other will be in 00.13- the CSR said 00.10 was the factory setting- I remember that with the 530 a few years back!
 
#13 ·
Ouser re guide all screwy. Do you have the advanced channel lineup with channels starting at 002 for Vancouver stations versus the classic guide where the channels start at 300 for the CBC channels etc. I suspect you are seeing the advanced lineup which I kind of prefer now anyways.
 
#15 ·
Hey guys, new to this site but I did rent the 630 and will be renting it forever most likely.

I haven't got it activated yet, because I never had an HD PVR before so I have to pay the $100 installation of the new line to my 630. I may actually just install it myself and then call them back to cancel the install.

Seems like a sleek receiver, and I cannot wait for NFL ST :)!

I will post more after I get it activated tonight or tomorrow when the tech guy comes.
 
#16 ·
Got one of my 2 receivers activated tonight.
Current version is 0.10 and target is 0.13.

So far:
- Guide and menus are very snappy
- Skip back actually works now (instead of going back 45 seconds the first time you use it, it skips back 15)
- Made it crash once by deleting the only recording on the box. Hopefully the software upgrade fixes this
- Remote feels nice, but new layout will take some getting used to
- Guide takes forever to download (20 minutes and still only partial data for this evening - nevermind the extended guide data)
 
#17 ·
I too have my 630 up and running. Yes it is much faster using the guide functions. Still haunt played with it much but I do like the new guide and all the new information it has. Ie. Showing when programs aired originally etc.
I love the small footprint and the new UHF remote does have better range!
 
#20 ·
I got the new firmware last night 00.13.

A quick run through of the various menus and I don't see any changes.

I did record 2 things at the same time last night. OK - it was by mistake - my wife and I each recorded the same show on 2 different stations.:rolleyes:

Music stations do not appear in guide anymore. You need to access via a special music icon on the new browser bar. Music is now arranged by genre. Not bad - 3 clicks and you are there. You can still simply type in the station # if you know what it is.

In addition to the $99 upgrade deal, they still gave me $50 in PPV credits when I called to activate. Must be standard fare for new HD activations.

I need to do a few tweaks on my Harmony now. The new remote has 4 new coloured buttons.
 
#21 ·
Well, I went and bought RG6 and installed the second line myself. I called and the CSR set it up perfectly and it works great.

Only problem is that I was recording and watching my Packers game when the firware update came through lol. It didn't record part of the game which sucks.

The recording schedule is a bit broken, for example:

I wanted to record Dexter, and I only wanted NEW episodes, only problem is that the episodes aren't dated for recording. It has the recording listed, but there is no date or time (it just says N/A).

I had to set it to Record ALL then the dates showed up for recording, I then had to delete the recordings manually that were duplicate.

Same exact thing happened for Trailer Park Boys, but those shows are named which is weird. It also happened to Rob & Big and Fantasy Factory.

The "New Recording" feature worked for NFL network and Entourage. I am also able to record 2 shows at the same time (as long as I'm watching one of them) or just both while the receivers turned off.
 
#22 ·
Just got my 630 activated. Now to explore the different features.

One thing I miss is the three outputs the 530 had....one component and two composite or is it the other way around. So now I have to reconfigure my set-up instead of just pulling out cords from the 530 and plugging in to the 630. I hate re-doing set-ups as I am not good at it. Oh well. I guess they had to give up something for the reduced size.

I did find it a bit cramped installing all the cords and I have small fingers.

Had my first soft reset during activation as the receiver was not picking up the channels.

Looking forward to learning all the new functions and now I have to memorize the new remote as I often wake up at night and can work the 530 remote by touch, but this is all new.
 
#25 ·
Just got my 630

Got my 630 and first impressions are favorable. Activation was quick. One concern which I hope is fixed with the download tonight is that it reboots itself every once in a while and then the guide has to start to reload. Picture seems crisper on the SD and HD channels and is great through HDMI
 
#26 ·
I'm in the same boat as canron. Had my 630 installed today and have a pretty favourable impression. Only concern is with the frequent loss of guide data. Being able to run HDMI from the box to the TV seems to have improved the PQ. I was able to use the "install" to actually move my 530 to my downstairs family room and have a second line run there (I didn't really need an install for the 630 since I was just swapping it out for the 530 but SD gave it to me for free as part of my deal so I figured I should get some use out of it). Did have to have the LNBF replaced to allow 4 lines to be run from the sat (something that probably should have been done by the installer who set up my 530).

I discovered something I didn't realize when I hooked up my old 530 to my "old" Sony RPTV (50" XBR that is not HD - best video input it has is s-video). I can watch HD channels on a non-HDTV. The picture is obviously not HD, but the quality is still pretty good.
 
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