HDTV Forum

My Time Warner SA8000HD two-tuner DVR was delivered yesterday. What a blast!

So I now have three great options for enjoying HD programming, the new HD-DVR, the SA3250/JVC-HD firewire, and the recently installed VOOM. Also, I just added EyeHome, a hardware that allows me to play movies, music, pictures, and some internet on my 52" plasma directly from my G4 computer via my ethernet network--in res up to 1080. All this plus a tall cool one every once in a while.

But it appears that even heaven isn't perfect. The S-video on the 8000 doesn't work, so I can't switch directly to that when I want to watch a non-HD program without sidebars; the firewire is still persnickety once in a while and sometimes needs a little coaxing; the VOOM can't seem to find all my network OTA locals, even though they are only 30 miles away all huddled together on Mount Wilson above Pasadena; the EyeHome doesn't play QuickTime, so much of what I have on the G4 isn't available.

So, I really am trying to count my blessings, but something within me keeps saying "But if only......"

On second thought, maybe this isn't really heaven......but it ain't exactly pergatory either.

Smiles,

Hi guys,

The 8000 (at least mine) does not have a 1394 port. Keep in mind that the 1394 was added locally to the 3250 "by hand." I would think they could add it to the 8000 as well. (I wonder if the April 1 FCC mandate would apply to the 8000 since I already have it on the 3250. On the other hand, I think I'll leave well-enough alone.)

Having the 3250 w/firewire gives me a third HD tuner in the event I'm recording on both of the 8000 HD tuners. Since the 1394 is sometimes tempermental, I will probably do my routine recording on the 8000, particularly since firewire doesn't play an on-screen menu, and also since I usually don't archive what I record. I'm sure there will be exceptions--like a great concert, for example.

The 3250/1394 does have a nice advantage in one respect. It plays certain non-HD programs in full screen--Playboy, for example--instead of with sidebars. On the other hand, it plays some programs with the picture moved to the left with the remains of a previous program flashing a "still" on the right; which makes it fairly unwatchable.

Also, the 3250/1394 has a slightly brighter and crisper picture than the 8000. (Curious, since both eventually get to the plasma via component.) It's not quite as sharp as the VOOM HD picture, however, which is pretty spectacular.

By the way, I requested a different VOOM installer to pay a visit, since the first one was not able to get more than a few OTA channels working. He took one look at the install and said "This guy is an idiot." An hour later I was watching nearly all of the OTA channels available on Mount Wilson. So don't settle for second-rate service, voomers. And don't count VOOM out of the race. It is an awesome service. Even the non-HD picture is brilliant.

To geskel

The S-video on the 8000 doesn't work

The SA8000HD box must be set up in either an HDTV or SDTV mode.

If you select the HDTV mode (as you obviously would) Page 8 of the User's Installation Guide states that The S-Video Out connection is active only if the 8000HD has been set up to be in standard definition only mode

Unfortunately, this loses a feature that the predecessor 3100HD box had, which enabled you to switch back & forth between standard defintion and high definition.

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Cox Communications in Northern Virginia has begun offering the Scientific
Atlanta Explorer 8000HD STB this week. Although the company hasn't
officially announced the availability of this box, it is indeed at customer
service centers. The cost is an additional $9.95 over the cost of the
standard HD STB offered by Cox. That additional cost is the same as you'd
pay for the company's PVR service. There is no extra charge for HD at Cox.

I picked up one of these products yesterday evening. I made it a point to
ask the customer service rep on the phone whether the device supported DVI.
I was assured that it does. When I got to the Cox office to pick up the
STB, I asked again. The agent opened the box, looked at the DVI connector,
and again assured me that it supports DVI. When I got home, I found that
the DVI connector has been disabled. I spoke with representatives of the
company after finding this and was told that the DVI connector has been
intentionally disabled at Cox's request because of what one representative
said were "piracy issues."

When I asked him to explain, he wouldn't (or couldn't - he didn't seem very
technical) and his supervisor couldn't explain either. So you're forced to
use component video with this box. Because I have more than one set of
component video inputs, I was able to rewire things so I didn't need DVI,
but it was a pain, and would be a bigger pain for people with monitors that
have fewer input choices. You can always, as the representative said, "get
a switch."

Still, I got it installed and running, and it works well, although it has a
limited feature set. Selecting future programs can be a significant pain
because there's no search function. You select programs either by the
standard program guide, or through some specialized listings, but you're
still restricted to searching one day at a time, and no more than a week in
advance. You can, however, tell the box to always record a specific
program, and you can select how long to keep it. You also have a few
options for handling disk storage. Using it is easy and intuitive, which is
a good thing, because there is NO users manual at all provided for this
product. You can download a PDF from the SA web site for the non-HD
version, and that's a pretty good fit, as long as you ignore the
disclaimers about not being able to record HD. It does, of course, record HD.

The box will let you record two programs at once, and it supports its own
PIP. Not the best PIP in the world (the image is set at 4:3 so HD images
are squished), and fairly limited in what you can do with it. But it's
there if you need it.

Potentially more important is that this device upconverts whether you want
it to or not. Unlike previous Explorer products that had the option of
passing the image through as it came from the source, the 8000HD lets you
choose 1080i or 720p and then converts anything that doesn't match. I
haven't done extensive testing to see whether this hurts image quality,
since there was nothing worth watching on ABC last night, but will continue
to look at this. So far, the image looks fine, although I think the image
with the previous STB was slightly better due to the DVI connection.
However the difference seems minor. More extensive testing might reveal
something.

Still, considering the compromises that Cox and SA bring to the table with
the 8000HD, some users might want to stick with OTA or Satellite if they
want a PVR.

WR

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The DVI output is not active anywhere in the country as yet, nor is the
ability to tape a program you have recorded. The external inputs are also
not working yet.

SA is supposed to fix the DVI issue this fall - but you will have to get the
download from your cable supplier (sigh).

Craig

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Wayne,

I've had the SA8000HD-DVR since May and have been beta testing it for Time Warner Cable. A week ago
they released it to the general public in this area. There is a lot of "stuff" on the AVS Forum so
read with a grain of salt. Depending on the cable company and the particular division of that cable
company the software varies. Unfortunately Pioneer has stopped making their box, which was better
and we are stuck with SA.

My box has a lower PQ than the Pioneer Voyager box which was equal to OTA. The SD picture quality
is also very poor although if you split the cable and feed one end directly to the TV RF input SD
improves dramatically. I can output to a VCR to archive but to nothing else as was possible with
the Pioneer. My box doesn't seem to have the problem you mentioned as to finding the program you
want to record. I can choose by channel and time, by theme and by name. If you wait for it to
download you can record weeks in advance or at least I can. No DVI or 1394 enabled at this time.

While these are issues, I love the box. It is very much like my Tivo box as respects recording and
play back except that it does it in HD and this is what I wanted. A number of small problems have
been corrected since I got mine originally by download. I would not even consider giving it up for
anything else available. My box came with a couple of manuals which I didn't need, although I had
downloaded the HD version on the SA site. No extra charge from TWC.

Hugh

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FYI: The SA8000HD lets you record 2 while watching one of the 2 but not
a 3rd

Jason Burroughs

I just received my TWC SA8000 a few days ago. I am annoyed to once again not have the DVI out enabled. Guess I can wait to buy a switcher and another cable. The Pioneer 3510 I had did seem to have a slightly better picture, although minute. The SA8000 has a much nicer look to the guide menu. I find the colors and quality much more appealing. The best thing is, after 2 of the Pioneer's, I still had freeze ups when I hit the guide button on an HD channel. The SA800 doesn't have that problem. For that alone I love it.