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Post by OldMatador on Sept 21, 2004 11:09:20 GMT -5
Also, what does "multi-room" mean? My guess with Multi-Room capability: If you have two boxes, and you want to watch something you recorded in one room in another room, you can access the box from the first room and view it in the second room. Just a guess. |
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 21, 2004 11:23:43 GMT -5
Hankster:
Is there any additional cost for the 8300HD box?
Will they let you switch from the 8000HD to the 8300HD "just because you want to"?
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Post by Hankster on Sept 21, 2004 11:32:31 GMT -5
Yes. I called this morning and spoke to a rep. She asked what office I'd be going to. I told her Highbridge Rd, she than checked with someone and said they'll have it put aside for me. I simply exchanged it at the counter for the new one. The guy at thecounter said as of now the 8300HD is the same as the 8000HD.
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Post by OldMatador on Sept 21, 2004 11:47:45 GMT -5
Yes. I called this morning and spoke to a rep. She asked what office I'd be going to. I told her Highbridge Rd, she than checked with someone and said they'll have it put aside for me. I simply exchanged it at the counter for the new one. The guy at thecounter said as of now the 8300HD is the same as the 8000HD. Seems like the only advantage is the HDMI hookup. If the picture wasn't cropped, I could see it as a real improvement. Is there a different remote, or is it the same as the 8000HD? |
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Post by Hankster on Sept 21, 2004 12:19:40 GMT -5
The remote is slightly different but the command codes are the same. I use a Home Theater Master MX-500 to control my home theater and it works with the new 8300HD. Eventually TWC is going to discontinue the 8000HD, that is what I've been reading over at the AVS Forum. The 8300Hd does look nicer than the 8000HD IMO.
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Post by Sregnar35 on Sept 21, 2004 15:10:03 GMT -5
Yeah ,and that feature that sets the aspect stretch for you is awesome, it sucks having to press # everytime i switch hd/non hd, that's new on the 8300 right?
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Post by Hankster on Sept 21, 2004 16:26:11 GMT -5
Yes it is. The 8300HD also offers two zoom modes now, you have normal, stretch, zoom 1, zoom 2. Zoom 1 is a slight zoom where as zoom 2 is more blown up. I'm kinda getting used to zoom 1.
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 21, 2004 20:13:07 GMT -5
As reported by cdp1276 at RochesterHDTV.com:
I had my meeting with TWC today concerning the 8300 DVR. I will try and log a summary of the current issues here for everyone's knowledge.
1) There is a guide issue that causes programs scheduled to record to NOT record and be missed as well as future days guide data not present. For that matter some scheduled all episodes of new episodes on this channel programs just disappear without you deleting them from the queue. Corporate TWC has raised this issue for resolution above SA and has the highest priority.
2) Box crashes are being looked into and they have my logs and information of what I was doing to cause it (same issue as mark r reported as well). In fact all box crashes are reported on a monthly basis to SA and if they fall below a certain level SA pays TWC a rebate. This forces these types of issues to also get high attention.
3.) My box blacking out on HD channels (rarely) might be a cable issue TWC says. I'm not accepting that but if it happens again, I will try a TWC approved cable. If it then happens with their cable they will further investigate with SA, but she also told me it could be my brand new Sony Plasma DVI connection. They recently had one with the non DVR box where a customer had one DVI Pin on a Panasonic plasma that wasn't soldered to the board.
4.) The Maxter DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA-150 160GB drive is the main one being looked at to be the first approved. The SATA port on the back is active and is 100% SATA compliant she says. She will get me more information on the roll-out of external drives soon.
5.) I had bookmark issues (stopping a recorded show to resume watching from that point later) not resuming where you stopped but rather at the beginning. I was told this is working and you have only one bookmark currently. So if you have multiple people in the house that stop two playbacks of shows it will only keep that point of the most recent. This is suppose to be improved soon as they deploy the multi-room version. Also as note if your box reboots, it loses the bookmarked location.
6.) I raised the volume issue and it was reported that this is the programming channel, not the box or TWC. If someone has specific data on this I would be happy to let them know for you.
I think that is about all for now...
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 21, 2004 20:25:27 GMT -5
This article is located here and explains how the 8300 will send a recorded program to another digital STB (yes- a non-DVR STB) anywhere in the home! -- Skaggs
This set-top box acts as an HDTV DVR but doubles as a mini cable head-end and video server. It can serve up to four video streams simultaneously – one to a locally connected HDTV and three to additional client boxes connected via coax anywhere in the home. This lets a single unit serve video to four different TVs. This is a godsend for homes with multiple PVRs, because it always seems like the show you want to watch is stored on the "other" unit. It's also cost-effective, since those client units (I was sharply rebuked when I called them "satellite" units, for obvious reasons) are actually older Scientific Atlanta 3100 cable set-top boxes that many cable operators have in excess. The unit will encrypt video as it travels from the 8300 to the 3100, which should mollify content providers. And with two tuners, the 8300 has some brawny specs – it will record two programs and play back four streams at a time. Although the hard drive is not field-upgradeable by consumers, Scientific Atlanta plans on adding external Serial ATA capability just as soon as the SATA 2 specifications are ready to go. I wasn't impressed with either the software or the remote. Both were rudimentary at best, providing basic DVR functionality that lacked TiVo's sophistication and ease-of-use. The remote puts the Pause, FF and Rewind buttons at the bottom, making for a very poor user experience. Unlike a VCR or DVD player, where you press play and sit back, DVR users interact with those buttons almost constantly. Putting them at the bottom of the remote makes it harder to use them. The 8300 will go into field trials in February, and should be available before summer. As with other Scientific Atlanta set-top boxes, it will not be available for sale to consumers. Instead, customers will rent it from their cable operator. Although Scientific Atlanta wouldn't provide any price information, a basic unit will probably rent for about $10 a month and $2-$3 more for each client unit.
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 22, 2004 13:00:57 GMT -5
Hankster:
I don't suppose TWC supplied a HDMI to DVI cable did they?
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Post by Sregnar35 on Sept 22, 2004 13:04:32 GMT -5
I thought the dvi hookup still didn't work?
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 22, 2004 13:07:43 GMT -5
I thought the dvi hookup still didn't work? This for the 8 300 DVR not the 8000DVR. The 8300 does not have a DVI output, but it does have a HDMI output. My HDTV only has a DVI input so I need a HDMI (from the 8300) to DVI (my TV's input) cable. The 8000 DVR has a DVI output but it is not activated at least according to TWC. |
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Post by Sregnar35 on Sept 22, 2004 13:10:42 GMT -5
Yeah I knew that, I just meant is the HDMI output to my DVI input gonna work on the 8300HD, or is it inactive like the 8000HD?
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Post by Skaggs on Sept 22, 2004 13:16:30 GMT -5
Yeah I knew that, I just meant is the HDMI output to my DVI input gonna work on the 8300HD, or is it inactive like the 8000HD? The HDMI output is reported as working in Rochester and Syracuse. I have not confirmed with Albany TWC. |
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Post by Sregnar35 on Sept 22, 2004 13:19:20 GMT -5
Can you buy a cable that has HDMI on one end and DVI on the other, or do you need a converter for the one end. I already have a DVI cable.
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