Cable DVR's

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

As they are talking only about channels 2-99 my guess is that they are
migrating those analog channels to digital (BTW: at a loss in quality on
non-recorded programs). Many cities have done this - but I've not heard
that reprogramming future recordings was needed. I don't think that
they can upgrade any of the existing SA boxes to MPEG-4 simply by
software downloads.

Jordan Meschkow wrote:
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> After the VOOM fiasco, we started getting our programming from Cox Cable,
> the Metro Phoenix cable supplier. We have a few SA Explorer 8000's and one
> 8300 DVRs (the latter one doing the HD work, while the others convert HD
> channels to SD for the NTSC-only TV's in the house).
>
> We received a large scale postcard that says this:
>
> ACTION REQUIRED for DVRs AFTER 6am on JUNE 13, 2006
>
> June 2, 2006
>
> Dear Valued Cox Customer:
>
> We will be performing technical upgrades on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, that
> will provide you with improved video picture, sound and increased storage
> capacity on your DVR. This upgrade will also affect scheduled recordings on
> your Cox Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Programs you have already recorded
> and stored on the DVR should not be affected.
>
> After 6am on June 13, 2006, please delete any pending scheduled recordings
> for channels 2-99 and then reprogram the shows you wish to record in the
> future. To delete a scheduled recording using your Cox remote control:
>
> press the green LIST button
> press the yellow A button
> choose the program and press the blue SELECT button to edit
> the top left of the screen will identify the program title, network name and
> channel number press the blue B button to cancel the recording
> press the yellow A button to confirm canceling the recording of the program
>
> Choose the program s you wish to record using the Interactive Program Guide
> via the GUIDE button on your Cox remote
> control, press SELECT for the desired program(s) and follow the prompts.
> If you need assistance with any of these steps, please visit our Customer
> Support services online at www.cox.com or contact Customer Service at
> 623-594-1000. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the
> improved digital signal and increased capacity on your DVR. Thank you for
> your continued business and support!
> Sincerely,
> Cox Communications, Inc.
>
> Anyone knows what's up here? Is this a firmware upgrade to take them to
> Mpeg 4 maybe? Between the "improved picture" and "increased storage"
> claims, it seems a compression scheme change would be needed.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>

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----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

Thanks. Not sure that switching analog to digital though would translate to
the claim "increased storage capacity on your DVR" since recording analog
doesn't take that much recording space (unless the digital is using a MPEG
compression, i.e., MP2, MP3, or MP4, to record)

Jordan Meschkow
[email protected]


-----Original Message-----
From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
Dave Hancock
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 7:13 PM
To: HDTV Magazine
Subject: Re: Cable DVR's

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

As they are talking only about channels 2-99 my guess is that they are
migrating those analog channels to digital (BTW: at a loss in quality on
non-recorded programs). Many cities have done this - but I've not heard
that reprogramming future recordings was needed. I don't think that
they can upgrade any of the existing SA boxes to MPEG-4 simply by
software downloads.

Jordan Meschkow wrote:
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> After the VOOM fiasco, we started getting our programming from Cox Cable,
> the Metro Phoenix cable supplier. We have a few SA Explorer 8000's and
one
> 8300 DVRs (the latter one doing the HD work, while the others convert HD
> channels to SD for the NTSC-only TV's in the house).
>
> We received a large scale postcard that says this:
>
> ACTION REQUIRED for DVRs AFTER 6am on JUNE 13, 2006
>
> June 2, 2006
>
> Dear Valued Cox Customer:
>
> We will be performing technical upgrades on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, that
> will provide you with improved video picture, sound and increased storage
> capacity on your DVR. This upgrade will also affect scheduled recordings
on
> your Cox Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Programs you have already recorded
> and stored on the DVR should not be affected.
>
> After 6am on June 13, 2006, please delete any pending scheduled recordings
> for channels 2-99 and then reprogram the shows you wish to record in the
> future. To delete a scheduled recording using your Cox remote control:
>
> press the green LIST button
> press the yellow A button
> choose the program and press the blue SELECT button to edit
> the top left of the screen will identify the program title, network name
and
> channel number press the blue B button to cancel the recording
> press the yellow A button to confirm canceling the recording of the
program
>
> Choose the program s you wish to record using the Interactive Program
Guide
> via the GUIDE button on your Cox remote
> control, press SELECT for the desired program(s) and follow the prompts.
> If you need assistance with any of these steps, please visit our Customer
> Support services online at www.cox.com or contact Customer Service at
> 623-594-1000. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the
> improved digital signal and increased capacity on your DVR. Thank you for
> your continued business and support!
> Sincerely,
> Cox Communications, Inc.
>
> Anyone knows what's up here? Is this a firmware upgrade to take them to
> Mpeg 4 maybe? Between the "improved picture" and "increased storage"
> claims, it seems a compression scheme change would be needed.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>

To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]

To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
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[email protected]

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----


Doesn't the DVR have an MPEG encoder to record the analog channels? That
would be less efficient than the cable company encoding it. Then the box
would only have to decode like DirecTv which only has digital channels.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jordan Meschkow" <[email protected]>
To: "HDTV Magazine" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 11:13 PM
Subject: Cable DVR's


> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> Thanks. Not sure that switching analog to digital though would translate
> to
> the claim "increased storage capacity on your DVR" since recording analog
> doesn't take that much recording space (unless the digital is using a MPEG
> compression, i.e., MP2, MP3, or MP4, to record)
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
> Dave Hancock
> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 7:13 PM
> To: HDTV Magazine
> Subject: Re: Cable DVR's
>
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> As they are talking only about channels 2-99 my guess is that they are
> migrating those analog channels to digital (BTW: at a loss in quality on
> non-recorded programs). Many cities have done this - but I've not heard
> that reprogramming future recordings was needed. I don't think that
> they can upgrade any of the existing SA boxes to MPEG-4 simply by
> software downloads.
>
> Jordan Meschkow wrote:
>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>
>> After the VOOM fiasco, we started getting our programming from Cox Cable,
>> the Metro Phoenix cable supplier. We have a few SA Explorer 8000's and
> one
>> 8300 DVRs (the latter one doing the HD work, while the others convert HD
>> channels to SD for the NTSC-only TV's in the house).
>>
>> We received a large scale postcard that says this:
>>
>> ACTION REQUIRED for DVRs AFTER 6am on JUNE 13, 2006
>>
>> June 2, 2006
>>
>> Dear Valued Cox Customer:
>>
>> We will be performing technical upgrades on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, that
>> will provide you with improved video picture, sound and increased storage
>> capacity on your DVR. This upgrade will also affect scheduled recordings
> on
>> your Cox Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Programs you have already recorded
>> and stored on the DVR should not be affected.
>>
>> After 6am on June 13, 2006, please delete any pending scheduled
>> recordings
>> for channels 2-99 and then reprogram the shows you wish to record in the
>> future. To delete a scheduled recording using your Cox remote control:
>>
>> press the green LIST button
>> press the yellow A button
>> choose the program and press the blue SELECT button to edit
>> the top left of the screen will identify the program title, network name
> and
>> channel number press the blue B button to cancel the recording
>> press the yellow A button to confirm canceling the recording of the
> program
>>
>> Choose the program s you wish to record using the Interactive Program
> Guide
>> via the GUIDE button on your Cox remote
>> control, press SELECT for the desired program(s) and follow the prompts.
>> If you need assistance with any of these steps, please visit our Customer
>> Support services online at www.cox.com or contact Customer Service at
>> 623-594-1000. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the
>> improved digital signal and increased capacity on your DVR. Thank you for
>> your continued business and support!
>> Sincerely,
>> Cox Communications, Inc.
>>
>> Anyone knows what's up here? Is this a firmware upgrade to take them to
>> Mpeg 4 maybe? Between the "improved picture" and "increased storage"
>> claims, it seems a compression scheme change would be needed.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Jordan Meschkow
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>>
>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>> same
> day) send an email to:
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
> day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
> day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>


To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]

To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected]

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

Why MPEG compress SD and not HD or DTV? I don't believe it uses any MPEG
for recording. Besides, "improved video quality" should not be "a loss in
quality on non-recorded programs" - that makes no sense.

Jordan Meschkow
[email protected]


-----Original Message-----
From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
Aaron W. Thompson
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 8:38 PM
To: HDTV Magazine
Subject: Re: Cable DVR's

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----


Doesn't the DVR have an MPEG encoder to record the analog channels? That
would be less efficient than the cable company encoding it. Then the box
would only have to decode like DirecTv which only has digital channels.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jordan Meschkow" <[email protected]>
To: "HDTV Magazine" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 11:13 PM
Subject: Cable DVR's


> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> Thanks. Not sure that switching analog to digital though would translate
> to
> the claim "increased storage capacity on your DVR" since recording analog
> doesn't take that much recording space (unless the digital is using a MPEG
> compression, i.e., MP2, MP3, or MP4, to record)
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
> Dave Hancock
> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 7:13 PM
> To: HDTV Magazine
> Subject: Re: Cable DVR's
>
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> As they are talking only about channels 2-99 my guess is that they are
> migrating those analog channels to digital (BTW: at a loss in quality on
> non-recorded programs). Many cities have done this - but I've not heard
> that reprogramming future recordings was needed. I don't think that
> they can upgrade any of the existing SA boxes to MPEG-4 simply by
> software downloads.
>
> Jordan Meschkow wrote:
>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>
>> After the VOOM fiasco, we started getting our programming from Cox Cable,
>> the Metro Phoenix cable supplier. We have a few SA Explorer 8000's and
> one
>> 8300 DVRs (the latter one doing the HD work, while the others convert HD
>> channels to SD for the NTSC-only TV's in the house).
>>
>> We received a large scale postcard that says this:
>>
>> ACTION REQUIRED for DVRs AFTER 6am on JUNE 13, 2006
>>
>> June 2, 2006
>>
>> Dear Valued Cox Customer:
>>
>> We will be performing technical upgrades on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, that
>> will provide you with improved video picture, sound and increased storage
>> capacity on your DVR. This upgrade will also affect scheduled recordings
> on
>> your Cox Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Programs you have already recorded
>> and stored on the DVR should not be affected.
>>
>> After 6am on June 13, 2006, please delete any pending scheduled
>> recordings
>> for channels 2-99 and then reprogram the shows you wish to record in the
>> future. To delete a scheduled recording using your Cox remote control:
>>
>> press the green LIST button
>> press the yellow A button
>> choose the program and press the blue SELECT button to edit
>> the top left of the screen will identify the program title, network name
> and
>> channel number press the blue B button to cancel the recording
>> press the yellow A button to confirm canceling the recording of the
> program
>>
>> Choose the program s you wish to record using the Interactive Program
> Guide
>> via the GUIDE button on your Cox remote
>> control, press SELECT for the desired program(s) and follow the prompts.
>> If you need assistance with any of these steps, please visit our Customer
>> Support services online at www.cox.com or contact Customer Service at
>> 623-594-1000. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the
>> improved digital signal and increased capacity on your DVR. Thank you for
>> your continued business and support!
>> Sincerely,
>> Cox Communications, Inc.
>>
>> Anyone knows what's up here? Is this a firmware upgrade to take them to
>> Mpeg 4 maybe? Between the "improved picture" and "increased storage"
>> claims, it seems a compression scheme change would be needed.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Jordan Meschkow
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>>
>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>> same
> day) send an email to:
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
> day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same

> day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>


To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]

To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
day) send an email to:
[email protected]


To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]

To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected]

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

This is from my User Guide for the Motorola DCT6412 120 GB Drive DVR:

Estimated Recording Hours For...

Analog channels - 24-32
Standard Digital channels - 38-73
HDTV channels - 10-15

That seems to prove that the analog storage takes up more space on the drive
than standard digital.

Bobby C



-----Original Message-----
From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
Jordan Meschkow
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 8:05 PM
To: HDTV Magazine
Subject: Re: Cable DVR's


----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

Why MPEG compress SD and not HD or DTV? I don't believe it uses any MPEG
for recording. Besides, "improved video quality" should not be "a loss in
quality on non-recorded programs" - that makes no sense.

Jordan Meschkow
[email protected]


-----Original Message-----
From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
Aaron W. Thompson
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 8:38 PM
To: HDTV Magazine
Subject: Re: Cable DVR's

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----


Doesn't the DVR have an MPEG encoder to record the analog channels? That
would be less efficient than the cable company encoding it. Then the box
would only have to decode like DirecTv which only has digital channels.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jordan Meschkow" <[email protected]>
To: "HDTV Magazine" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 11:13 PM
Subject: Cable DVR's


> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> Thanks. Not sure that switching analog to digital though would translate
> to
> the claim "increased storage capacity on your DVR" since recording analog
> doesn't take that much recording space (unless the digital is using a MPEG
> compression, i.e., MP2, MP3, or MP4, to record)
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>


To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]

To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected]

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

Jordan,

MPEG compresses everything (SD, HD, DVDs, etc.) that's what makes
digital anything practical. But there are quite a few parameters that
can be manipulated during the MPEG encoding process that impact image
quality and file size. Further, the better encoding techniques require
quite a bit of computing power. As a result the "on board" 8300 encoder
is limited in what it can do compared to the encoder at the cable head
end. Thus, an analog signal that is digitized and encoded in the 8300
will result in a larger file size than the same analog signal will when
encoded with a more powerful processor - such as used in the head end.
Also, the head end digitizer/encoder is much better quality than the one
in the 8300 - so recordings made of a SD digital signal will be better
than a SD analog signal.

However, any analog SD signal WILL BE DEGRADED when it is digitized. It
can be no better than the original - period. By digitizing you will
inherently degrade the quality. Now this loss in quality may be slight,
and as a digital signal is more resistant than analog to being degraded
through the cable system - the signal that you see on your set MAY (or
may not) be better in digital. My set (via TW in Rochester, NY) gets a
better picture when tuned directly to the analog SD channels than when
tuned to the digital version via my 8300HD. Others in Rochester report
that the digital is better with less noise.

Frankly, if I want the BEST quality of a SD broadcast I still record it
on one of my (many) S-VHS recorders. I don't do that much anymore, as
most everything we watch is HD anyway.

Dave

Jordan Meschkow wrote:
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
> Why MPEG compress SD and not HD or DTV? I don't believe it uses any MPEG
> for recording. Besides, "improved video quality" should not be "a loss in
> quality on non-recorded programs" - that makes no sense.
>
> Jordan Meschkow
> [email protected]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
> Aaron W. Thompson
> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 8:38 PM
> To: HDTV Magazine
> Subject: Re: Cable DVR's
>
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
>
> Doesn't the DVR have an MPEG encoder to record the analog channels? That
> would be less efficient than the cable company encoding it. Then the box
> would only have to decode like DirecTv which only has digital channels.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jordan Meschkow" <[email protected]>
> To: "HDTV Magazine" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 11:13 PM
> Subject: Cable DVR's
>
>
>
>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>
>> Thanks. Not sure that switching analog to digital though would translate
>> to
>> the claim "increased storage capacity on your DVR" since recording analog
>> doesn't take that much recording space (unless the digital is using a MPEG
>> compression, i.e., MP2, MP3, or MP4, to record)
>>
>> Jordan Meschkow
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: HDTV Magazine On Behalf Of
>> Dave Hancock
>> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2006 7:13 PM
>> To: HDTV Magazine
>> Subject: Re: Cable DVR's
>>
>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>
>> As they are talking only about channels 2-99 my guess is that they are
>> migrating those analog channels to digital (BTW: at a loss in quality on
>> non-recorded programs). Many cities have done this - but I've not heard
>> that reprogramming future recordings was needed. I don't think that
>> they can upgrade any of the existing SA boxes to MPEG-4 simply by
>> software downloads.
>>
>> Jordan Meschkow wrote:
>>
>>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>>
>>> After the VOOM fiasco, we started getting our programming from Cox Cable,
>>> the Metro Phoenix cable supplier. We have a few SA Explorer 8000's and
>>>
>> one
>>
>>> 8300 DVRs (the latter one doing the HD work, while the others convert HD
>>> channels to SD for the NTSC-only TV's in the house).
>>>
>>> We received a large scale postcard that says this:
>>>
>>> ACTION REQUIRED for DVRs AFTER 6am on JUNE 13, 2006
>>>
>>> June 2, 2006
>>>
>>> Dear Valued Cox Customer:
>>>
>>> We will be performing technical upgrades on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, that
>>> will provide you with improved video picture, sound and increased storage
>>> capacity on your DVR. This upgrade will also affect scheduled recordings
>>>
>> on
>>
>>> your Cox Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Programs you have already recorded
>>> and stored on the DVR should not be affected.
>>>
>>> After 6am on June 13, 2006, please delete any pending scheduled
>>> recordings
>>> for channels 2-99 and then reprogram the shows you wish to record in the
>>> future. To delete a scheduled recording using your Cox remote control:
>>>
>>> press the green LIST button
>>> press the yellow A button
>>> choose the program and press the blue SELECT button to edit
>>> the top left of the screen will identify the program title, network name
>>>
>> and
>>
>>> channel number press the blue B button to cancel the recording
>>> press the yellow A button to confirm canceling the recording of the
>>>
>> program
>>
>>> Choose the program s you wish to record using the Interactive Program
>>>
>> Guide
>>
>>> via the GUIDE button on your Cox remote
>>> control, press SELECT for the desired program(s) and follow the prompts.
>>> If you need assistance with any of these steps, please visit our Customer
>>> Support services online at www.cox.com or contact Customer Service at
>>> 623-594-1000. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the
>>> improved digital signal and increased capacity on your DVR. Thank you for
>>> your continued business and support!
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Cox Communications, Inc.
>>>
>>> Anyone knows what's up here? Is this a firmware upgrade to take them to
>>> Mpeg 4 maybe? Between the "improved picture" and "increased storage"
>>> claims, it seems a compression scheme change would be needed.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Jordan Meschkow
>>> [email protected]
>>>
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>>>
>>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>>> same
>>>
>> day) send an email to:
>>
>>> [email protected]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>>
>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
>> day) send an email to:
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>>
>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
>>
>
>
>> day) send an email to:
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
> day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>

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