Explorer 8000 dvr issues.....

[CANDY76MAN]

I have had mine for about two weeks now....it worked almost flawlessly for the first week (aside from losing all programming untill I rebooted it one time) but starting about 5 days ago a number of the programs I had it record "all episodes" of have been stopping at random points on their own during playback and then starting back up a while later (if I wait) but farther on into the recording...so basicly it seems like portions of the recording are either corrupted during recording or after.

I have had about ten messed up recordings so far and I still have several days I haven't even gotten to yet that likely have more problems...I have rebooted the machine numerous times but it has no effect.

Any ideas?

[millerman101]

candyman, mines been working good, I havent seen many problems with them yet. I would probably get it switched out and see if that fixes your problem first..

[FTBoomerIII]

Mine's been doing the same thing. I called BHN and they told me that they've been doing a lot of software upgrades and maintenance and that they should be done soon.

[CANDY76MAN]

If it does that again millerman I will see about swapping it for another box but if ftboomer had the same problem then maybe it's not broken.

If they are doing firmware updates I hope they add the ability to set it to record a channel at a certain time and on the days I want....or a feature that would not record reruns of the same show would solve that problem as well....40 hours seems like a lot at first but I had it eat up with reruns of shows I had set to record all episodes of within a few days and you have to delete each one manually.

Other cable companies have a lot more recording features on their e8000's (like the one I mentioned above) from what I've been seeing on forums for different cable companies around the country....Does BH have to write their own firmware for these things?

[millerman101]

candyman, not sure if they wright there own, I know they do have a guy that handles that. I will see if I can find out, I see that guy all the time. I think they get alot of them from SA being that software is bought from them in the first place. But to be honest I really dont know.

[CANDY76MAN]

thanks millerman...that would be cool....it deffinantly has VERY limited recording options as it is now.

[CANDY76MAN]

so far no new recordings have had any problems so hopefully it was just a one time thing but it still needs more recording options :? I have to go in and delete the three extra copies of two different shows every nite...3 or 4 days would fill up my harddrive if I didn't delete the reruns it records.

[t0mryan]

Wife wanted a PVR after hearing how easy it is to record on one. So while the Pace box is downstairs (got a great story about trying to get that). The PVR is upstairs. I have had two problems with it,

1. Every few days it will not recieve any digital channels. In effect, anything 2 -99 works fine. But if I go to100 or higher all I get is a blank screen and no sound, the guide works fine, and lists what should be shown, but nothing shows up. I have tried turning off, turing on, reseting the menu, no luck. Only thing I have found that works is to unplug the box wait 2-3 minutes and then plug back in, it then works fine.
(I have also had this happen with my new Pace box 2 times.)

2. Quality of recorded programs. The PQ is noticably lower to the point where my wife notices. But it really gets annoying when trying to "timeshift" premium shows. Set the box to record HBO or Cinemax, it records, but then play back quality os BAD, lots of posterization and problems with continuity, basically it freezes as the box must try to sync back up the video and audio. I do not know if this is a result of trying to record a premium channel, or is it just a standard problem. I will try ot set for other digital and also for an analog to see if this still happens.

Any comments.

Tom

[Harry]

I had my DVR set to record Boston Public last night. It is set to record every episode. Sometime during the week, Fox moved the start time of the show from 9pm to 8pm. Don't know when or why but it was listed as 9 in the TV guide for the week. Well the online cable guide showed the correct start time as 8pm but the DVR recorded it at 9pm instead. It was like it ready the schedule last week, decided the next record time and never checked it again. That does not speak well for the long term usfulness and flexibility of the box.

Harry

[gmclaughlin]

Just to comment on the software issue:

In Tampa, the application running is provided by Scientific Atlanta, and is know as SARA (Scientific Atlanta Resident Application, I think). The same software (dependent on upgrade decisions) is running on numerous companies around the country, each of whom can make inputs into programming options, but who ultimately must share what everyone wants.

In Orlando (and others), BHN is running Pioneer's Passport software (specifically Passport Echo for PVR). The features and options are quite different, even though the purpose is essentially the same.

There is not really any option for local customization.

[CANDY76MAN]

Just to comment on the software issue:

In Tampa, the application running is provided by Scientific Atlanta, and is know as SARA (Scientific Atlanta Resident Application, I think). The same software (dependent on upgrade decisions) is running on numerous companies around the country, each of whom can make inputs into programming options, but who ultimately must share what everyone wants.

In Orlando (and others), BHN is running Pioneer's Passport software (specifically Passport Echo for PVR). The features and options are quite different, even though the purpose is essentially the same.

There is not really any option for local customization.

so your saying they will never upgrade the recording options to where I can record a specific show at a specific time every week without choosing each one manually?....or a option to not record reruns would solve my problem too......they won't do it?...I know it can be done because I've seen people on other cable companies with sa8000's that had the first option I mentioned...why wouldn't they use the better firmware for it if it's available ...is it expensive or incompatible with bh or something like that?

[gmclaughlin]

Nope. I'm not saying that at all.

What I'm saying is that BHN Tampa Bay can't get a specific version just for them. But revisions to the code are done on a regular basis, and if something customers want in Tampa is a good idea, then it's probably a good idea for a Cox customer in Arizona as well. These things will get built in.

Then when new code revisions get completed, BHN sends it down the pipe to your box and, bingo, new features.

The software drives all the "behind the scenes" functions as well, so switching applications is a huge deal, and unlikely to happen.

All that said, lets start a new post to solicit requests for what the Explorer 8000 should do, that it doesn't, and does do that it shouldn't. I'll kick it off.

Keep in mind that these things are completely new this year, and improvements should be expected. That's the beauty of a software-centric, vice hardware-centric, device.

[Harry]

Last night I wandered by the DVR as it was supposed to be recording a show. No red light! It had apparently forgotten that it was supposed to record the show. I think I have figured out what happened. Last week the show was rescheduled sometime during the week. The box never picked up the schedule change and recorded a different show instead. It then decided that since the guide was corrrect that day, that the other show was the one I wanted all episodes of and was happliy recording that one. It forgot the name of the show that I had originally selected. The programing really needs some work on this one.

Harry

[Harry]

This dang thing is so unrelieable I am beginning to think that it is time to go back to the VCR and give this thing back. It was supposed to record NYPD Blue last night. I wandered by and no recording light on! Last week the show was not on becasue the network ran a special in that time slot. I checked the DVR over the weekend and it showed that it was set to record the show on Tuesday night under the all episodes deal. Well, it didn't. The key thing that you want from one of these damn boxes is that it does what you asked it to do and what it said it was going todo. Is there any plan to update the software to fix this thing any time soon? Or should I just cancel it and save myself $7.00 a month?

Harry

[jaymer]

I have to tell you I'd be really bummed if my fav shows we sent to /dev/null by such a device.

I remember in years past, come Sunday night after a 1-hr time change, and I forgot to reset the time on the VCR, and I realized my VCR had just taped some crap instead of what I wanted - man, i used to lose my temper so bad - almost enough to rip the VCR outta the cabinet and throw it outside.

Glad my Tivo has been the ultimate device in terms of reliability.
If you really want to watch a show and some piece of technology screws you over, its VERY frustrating. Hope you get your problem resolved quickly.