Comcast declaring war on TiVo with the Motorola 6412

Yeah, we know a lot of other cable providers have already begun offering DVR service, but Comcast is supposedly the biggest cable company in America, and since we heard about these units supposedly having some issues (which hasn't yet been fully substantiated) we're at a turning point now that they've begun rolling out Motorola's 6412 DVR; it's finally on, Comcast vs. TiVo. And TiVo, listen up and listen good: these things have dual tuners (don't even try and tell us it's not necessary), they record HDTV, rock HD video on demand, and still do 60 hours of regular TV. And they cost the consumer nothing but an extra $10 per month. Seriously, TiVo, you'd better get your act together quick; giving out a couple thousand free low-end Series 2 boxes isn't going to save you from the ugly fate of The Cable Company wiping you out with dirt-cheap DVR service for one and all.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I live in the D.C. area and have had Comcast "tivo" service for the past year plus.

Good service, reasonably priced, but their equipment is garbage!!

Time to call and see if I can get this sweet box.

[David Jarrell @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Wow, if I didn't have an HTPC I would be all over that. Sweet day for competition!

[Afterdawn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

This says it all from Afterdawn:

I have the Motorola DCT6412 Dual Tuner from Comcast. Personally, I think it SUCKS. Analog stations look like &*#!, and the HighDef channels pixilize all the time. The sound skips, the picture breaks up, i've got pixils falling out onto my living room floor!!!(well, not really, lol) I've had Comcast here 7 times so far in the last month. They can't get it right.
When I try to record something, while watching another program, it usually stops..because of the poor signal. They've rerun wire from the pole to my house, adjusted signals, traded out boxes, everything. I'm viewing on a TOSHIBA 46HM84 DLP TV. One Comcast guy told me that I need a newer TV....??(it's a month old)lol. Upstairs, on my digital box, and tube TV, all channels look awesome. I Have read so many bad things about these Motorola HighDef boxes.

[Mellissa @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have this box (I think) I got it when the dvr rolled out to me in early June. I like it a lot, and I'm wanting one for all my tvs now, not just the main one. But! my box does not have dual tuners. Is that just a new thing starting with this box?

[JoeBob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

The old saying applies here as well: you get what you pay for. If you can't afford, or don't want to pay for, an actual TiVo, there are lesser alternatives out there. My only hope is that competition raises the bar for everyone. Of course, to have competition, you have to have more than one company producing DVRs. So, if for nothing else than putting pressure on the cable companies' STB supplier, everyone should cheer TiVo on.

[Jonathan Greene @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

A dual tuner Tivo would require a dual-tuner cable box or 2 boxes... Probably won't see anything from Tivo until cable cards come and then you won't be able to realistically record any good HD without getting the broadcast flag all up in your plan.

[PKS @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Nothing but $10 a month!?? LOL. I guess that makes a monthly Comcast digital cable with DVR something like $100+ a month? I have basic cable (price is being increased this Jan) and it's bad enough at $55.

[Dave M. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Don't forget about ReplayTV. :) I have had 2 TiVo units. Both have died in around 18 months. I bought lifetime subscriptiosn for both and didn't even break even on that. TiVo is dead to me now.

I'm giving ReplayTV a try and so far, it's not all that bad. Sure, I miss a few of the features in TiVo, but I don't miss the dead units.

The biggest PLUS for ReplayTV is that when it's in standby mode, it's not recording anything so the HD is not beating itself to death like TiVo does. I suspect that this will extend the live of the ReplayTV unit to a much longer lifespan than TiVo. 18 months, 24x7x265 = dead HD (I suspect).

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

TIVO is on life support already. Its on a collision course with the dustbin of history unless they radically change their business model.

[J. Stein @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've had one of these boxes since early November, and I love it. I replaced my old ReplayTV, and I don't regret it at all. It is worth it for the HDTV capabilities alone, but throw in dual tuners, and they could have charged a few bucks more and I still would pay it.

Oh, and unlike Afterdawn, I have not experienced any problems with the box, other than an interface which leaves something to be desired. It ain't graceful, and their is the occasional buffering of commands (only about 2 seconds, and happens maybe 3 times a week), but the picture is amazing. I often forget I am watching a recorded or delayed program, because the picture is so sharp. And I can watch HDTV sports and record a HDTV program on another channel.

I've seen the schlock other cable companies are passing off as DVRs, such as the Scientific Atlanta boxes, and comparing the Motorola box to that is like comparing a Jaguar Xk to a Ford Fiesta

[Walter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've got a cable company provided, $10/month scientific atlanta explorer 8000 DVR and I *love it*. My parents have the HDTV version (the 8300HD) and THEY love it too! I would never buy a TiVO anyways, I would buy a Replay TV mostly because of the fees heh. I don't mind paying the fees and not paying for the box, and I don't mind paying for the box but not the fees. But buying something and then having to PAY to USE IT is just not acceptable.

I've used TiVOs before and ReplayTV's before as well and I'll be the first to admit that their interfaces are superior, but the Cable DVRs interfaces are good enough and they get better with each firmware upgrade. TiVO had a golden opportunity to license their technology to the cable companies, but they screwed up. I don't know how, but they failed. Maybe it was their relationship with satellite providers?

My call is that the last chance for TiVO will be Verizon and SBC's fiber rollout-- both companies plan to deliver cable services to the home and will certainly want a DVR to compete with the respective cable companies in their markets. TiVO better jump on this one or else it'll be the last opportunity they'll get to blow.

[Eric Andresen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've had this box for about 2 months now, and I'd say it's fair. Before this I had a DirecTV dual-tuner TiVo, and I can tell you the biggest difference is the user interface. TiVo's is legendary. Comcast's is legendarilly bad. If that's even a word. The channel guide makes it hard to find things, season passes are hard to do, there's no recommendations of shows you may like, and they actually use stickers on the remote to re-program existing buttons instead of using a dedicated DVR remote. A far cry from the "dogbone". If my new place would let me put up a dish I'd go back to the direc-TiVo in a heartbeat. Oh, also Comcast has told me that I can get either video-on-demand, or my dual-tuner box, but not both due to a software bug. I wish Comcast or Motorola would just wise up and buy the rights to the TiVO name and UI and put it on their boxes. It would make life so much more sweet.

[Jesse @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I dumped my TiVo for this box through Cox 5 months ago. All in all, I got HD service, plus a dual tuner HD DVR in one nice, neat box for less than $10 more/month as opposed to TiVo's 12.95/mo. Having dual tuners is SWEET. It really comes in handy on Sunday nights when there is so much stuff on.

The only downsides are that the audio on my HD breaks up sometimes when you are dual recording. The breakup is even recorded. Some of the "digital" analog channels look like crap on the 50" DLP. I use the DVI output from the box. Note that you might have to 'fix' the output of the box for you HDTV from the service screen(I think it was turn box on, press power and hit select a few times.)

A friend of my also got the box. He doesn't have an HDTV yet, but he dumped his TiVo so he could get the dual tuners and an integrated box. Another friend of mine dumped his TiVo for DVR through Charter. I love TiVo's interface, but the cable company's offerings are just more compelling. Too bad. My network modded, dual hard drive TiVo is collecting dust in the basement.

[cd @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

The only problem I have with the Moto box is that it occasionally forgets to record a show I scheduled it to. Instead of "taping" LLOST from 8:00 to 9:00 it will have it in the list with a time of 8:00 to 8:00. I think it must be a guide problembecause otherwise it is reliable. The picture of the recorded HD shows is amazing. There's nothing like pausing or rewinding crystal clear video.

[Nigel Pond @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have this box too and apart from the interface it works just fine.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have had one of these boxes for the past few weeks, and its functonal enough to replace my old series 1 TiVo. The interface isn't as elegant, but its maybe 80% of the way there. The dual tuners / HD capabilities / digital cable reception are all features that make it much more useful than my old TiVo. Really, I moved my season passes over to this new unit and haven't looked back. Sorry TiVo.

[TheMatt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

One problem with this box, you can only connect to it via component, composite or DVI. Seems Motorola decided not to provide a coax out. Now, you can blame Comcast for marketing this box as a general, not just HDTV, box, but still, shame Motorola. It's a freaking coax out and would have cost you like $1.00 per box.

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

With Comcast, I pay $55/month for basic digital cable, $5/month for the HD channels, and another $5/month for the 6412 DVR. Comcast will be offering the Moxi box as soon as they get some On-Demand related issues resolved.

Tivo: No HD. No dual tuners. Monthly fee is higher. Cost of the box. Cost of a new box if they upgrade.

This isn't to say that the 6412 is perfect and I would like the home media networking option that Tivo offers, but all things considered, it is a no-brainer. You also don't need a phone line connected to the 6412.

[Jonny @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

We got this box a couple weeks ago. It freak'n rocks. I'm watching Connan after work, while it's taping two other shows for my girlfriend.

Ok, so it has a USB port on the front and back (I think it's only 1.1 WTF?) and two FireWire ports on the back. I hooked it up to my laptop, and it asks for a driver. Does anyone have a driver for this thing? My DVR box's harddrive is full (becuase of the girl friend's shows.) I'd love to store the shows on my laptop.

[Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have had a Tivo for 3 years. A few weeks ago I got a 6412 from Cox to replace it. Unless Tivo can start working with the cable companies they are done. I would love to still have a Tivo but how can Tivo compete in the cable market when a box like this exists? It is absolutely flawless so far. Don't believe the hype around so-called 'problems' with the box. I wouldn't call the interface worse than Tivo -- it is just different. Certainly it will take some time to adjust after using the Tivo for years.

[PKS @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

$55 for digital cable? How so? I have Comcast too. I'm looking at my January bill (love how they bill you 30 days in advance?) It's $49.95 for basic + $5 in fees= $55 for analog cable ready (not counting tuner or remote). Digital cable is another $10 per box per TV or Digital TV Plus is $20 and a another $5 for HD content. (Someone was telling me that he gets charged for some of the individual HD channels, is that true with Comcast?) I know one of my friends had a cable bill well over $100 and that didn't include HSI. The price I was just quoted over the phone by Comcast was $89.95+ tax for Digital TV Plus with HD and DVR. So you figure that's $95 a month for the full package, not counting movie channels and such. I could get the regular digital, which doesn't have On Screen on Demand, no music channels, and no additional channels + HD + DVR for $15 more a month. That would put me close to $100 with 3 TVs in my house. (3 tuners, 1 Comcast DVR, +1 HD TV)

My Tivo is paid for, no monthly fees. Granted it's not HD, but I would rather not give Comcast any more money than they are getting now. Nice thing about the Home Media setup in Tivo, which is missing from other DVRs, is the media streaming and very soon the ability to offload content to your laptop or computer.

[Jeremy Holloway @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Is there a Windows-based video extraction program for those Motorola DVR boxes? I read that there's one for G4 Macs via the Firewire ports. That would be one way of watching HD content without paying a "high" price for an HDTV; watch it on the PC...

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Okay, does this thing have a better remote than the old non-DVR boxes? I swear, a spec of dust gets in the way and I can't change the porn fast enough so I get caught by my old lady.

[Bill @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've been using the Motorola 6412 for the past three months with Cox Communications, forget Tivo, this thing is great. It has frozen on me two times to date and required powercycling, but that is not enough to detract from the +'s

[elbaso @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

We've had this box for a few months now. As a few other commenters have said, the interface is incredibly bad, especially compared to Tivo. You can't even do proper season passes. You can only set up a recurring recording based on day, time, and channel. I'm flashing back to blinking 12:00 displays on old VCRs!
I also have a Tivo in a different room, and it's worlds better. If only it could record HDTV, then I'd drop kick that Comcast box clear to Mexico!

[George @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Comcasts DVR just rolled out in Washington State in the past few weeks. I just got the DVR in myself and found that the HD charge is +$10 and the DVR fee is +$5. Functionally, its pathetic. It has dual tuning and HD recording which is nice, but the DVR interface and features are almost non-existant. It has the absolute minimum usability a DVR can have and stiil function as a DVR. TIVO, despite not having dual tuners or Hi-Def, is vastly superior in usability then comcasts box. Even Replay is better then Comcast. I wont be giving up my TIVO any time soon.

As for the pixelated Hi-Def recordings that have been mentioned. This is because of the poor video compression being used. TIVO does the same if the video quality is set too low. Unfortunetly this is not something that you can adjust on the Comcast Box.

In short, dont give up your TIVO unless you dont use the following features: wish list type searches, the extensive category search listings, the commercial skip, the 7 second back up, or the customizable channel listings.

Comcasts DVR box is another example of a tradition of Low quality products/services at high prices.

[StuBee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Uh..Engadget..the reason Comcast can come out with a dual tuner box like this is because they have a monopoly. Tivo has to wait until the Card type box becomes standard, and they can create a dual tuner that doesn't require two cable boxes.
Comcast can do it, because they own the both equipment, the cable box and the DVR.

If you have directv you can already get a Tivo that is integrated and allows HD Dual Tuner.

[Darryl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

This box is sweet! TIVO is dead!!

[Darryl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

This box is SWEET! Go Comcast

TIVO is HISTORY!!

[di11rod @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

They can take my tivo when they pry my cold, dead fingers from the remote. I've got a series one and I pay $10 per month for basic cable. Period. I have a lifetime subscription to tivo service and it has served me perfectly for rout years.

I'd like to point out that this Comcast box fails to offer the features that series 2 Tivo boxes provide-- web-based scheduling and the Home Media Option (mp3 streaming and photo sllideshows). You can also share tv shows between tivos in the same home. Without the competition of Tivo in the marketplace, it's unlikely that Comcast will implement these features in their DVRs.

di11rod

[Dave Jones @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I'm a Cox Virginia Digital HD subscriber and TIVO user considering adding HD DVR capability. However, it burns me that COX wants an additional $10/month for the DVR service when it appears from many of you this service has little of the functionality we pay for in the TIVO service. Am I, in effect paying $10/month for the HD recording capability? I may try this service in one room for a month and keep TIVO in another. Just wish TIVO would catch up and build a HD DVR which doesn't require Satellite subscription.

[Angel Phyfer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've had a Comcast DVR for the past couple of months and with the exception of its ability to record in HD, it's a horrible product. I no longer watch analog channels in my bedroom because it makes analog look like pure crap. I'm probably going to go back to one of the old HD boxes that they had and give up the DVR. I'll just go back to Replay.

[Jerry @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I don't know what everyone is bitching about...there is NO pixelation at all with the HDTV channels...if you're experiencing that, you need to call Comcast ASAP...it just doesn't happen. I love the fact that there is almost NO lag-time between channel changes...plus, I love the fact that Comcast uses a lot of ReplayTV's intuitive guide (they licensed the software from Replay...which is why it is so similar). Anyway, it's a fantastic product, and really doesn't degrade the analog channels at all. Maybe the signal strength into your house isn't that strong. This is in Baltimore, btw.

[Anastassios @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have the Motorola 6412 DVR from Comcast and it works excellently. The software is not as elaborate as that one finds on Tivo but it is usable. Having two tuners and HD capability is indispensible. I cannot believe that Tivo never seriously added any of these.

I have no problems with the quality of recordings. HD recording is excellent (as one would have expected). I see no reasons why anybody should be sticking with Tivo if they have cable service that overs a dual-tuner, HD recording DVR.

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

As a die-hard Tivo fan, I'm sorry to say it. But the reality is that this product means the beginning of the end for Tivo as we know it. Sure Tivo's interface is much better. But is that really sustainable? Is there any reason to believe that Comcast and others can't add these features within a couple of iterations of firmware? The bottom line is that "services" cost about the same ($10-$15). The difference is that one requires you to pay $100's (or even $1,000) for a product that will be obselete, if not broken, in 24 months. That may be good enough for those already Tivo-ized, but it doesn't look good for rapidly adding new customers.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I am certainly not as into HD as many of you seem to be, but when we called Comcast to get a DVR they came with the new dual-tuner DVR that also has HDTV. Now, we don't have an HDTV, but getting the broadcast channels in DVD quality is nice.

We are experiencing picture degredation in the analog channels, which we can deal with, but our bigger problem is that the box just freezes on us all day long. The picture and sound just stop. It usually only takes a channel change or restart to keep going, but it is a big pain.

We have had Comcast out 3 times and they have no idea what the problem is. Everyone at Comcast that I have talked to doubts that there is a problem with the box we have. Is anyone else having these problems? Any suggestions?

[Mark F @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

We've had the Comcast DVR now for about 2 weeks and are loving it. Two questions remain to me tho...
1. is there any way to switch between the tuners so you don't get the warning about having to cancel the recording to switch channels if you happen to be on that tuner?

2. Is there anyway to get the info off the DVR to a PC? The Comcast install tech said that they disabled the outputs on the box...true/not true? Workarounds?

Thanks!

[A F @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

This box is incredible! And unlike others I have not had technical issues with it so far.. My Sony Tivo has been sitting idle ever since I got the Motorola. In the past week I've recorded 2 House of Blues concerts, Seabiscuit, Alias, Ultimate Fighting Championships and numerous IMAX shows (amazing!!) -- all in HD. The two tuners and HD recording are a one-two punch that may KO Tivo. Add the content available in HD through On Demand, and it's no contest..

[Jkierst920 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I must say, I just got the dct6400 from Comcast and I love it! Seems to blow TivO out of the water. The interface is much faster than my last box, which was a Motorola also. I too am looking for driver for the Firewire ports for XP.
There seems to be a lot of future functioning to the box, such as streaming music... that'd be awesome!

[Jack Burch @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've had freezing problems with the Comcast DVR service. It's always on the analog channels. The service tech was just here and gave me a new box (my 3rd in a week), and it just froze again. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Apparantly the motorola boxes have problems.

You can switch the tuners to view other channels while recording. You use the "swap" on your remote. If it doesn't have a swap button, use the TV/VCR button and if it doesn't work call Comcast and they will tell you how to program it to work.

[Jack Burch @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Finally had my comcast DVR freezing problem resolved. I was notified that all motorola boxes in the GI1446 series have glitches. After going through 3 boxes in this series, I was given one in the GI1436 series and it works fine.

[garmotex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

i'm having the same problem -- the "freezing" issue, and i have to say it's pretty frustrating. i've had problems with this box since day one, which was 9 days ago. actually, i'm on my second box now. the first had a problem where if i was recording two programs at once and i was watching it, it would freeze up, in which I would have to do the "change-the-channel" fix to correct it, but that means I had to cancel my recording and lose whatever amount of that program it had already recorded. so i called comcast, they sent out a signal which seemed to have corrected it, but then it would shut down and restart all on its own...so they replaced it.
so they had a guy come in to replace it. now this new one freezes while just watching tv, in which, again, i have to do the "change-the-channel" fix to get it working. and sometimes, i'll turn on the box and i'll get "..program avaiable shorty"...but it'll never come up, unless i change the channel. it'll also freeze up while recording two programs, so i have to kill one. and i also noticed that some programs i record don't have the entire time slot recorded...which i'm assuming is due to the freezing issue.
so another tech came and increased the signal to my box...nonetheless, i still have the same problems.
has anyone had a tech do/say something useful??? i don't want to get rid of it b/c i just bought an hdtv bu this is getting ridiculous!

[kurt dicke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I received two 6412s a couple of days ago and had a problem with one. I had it replaced this morning and the new one works fine. I checked and the old model had a 1446 serial number so this is consistent with Jack's info above.

I had a couple of DishNetwork's DVR 510 models for over three years and got tired of their reliability problems. Recording invariably failed whenever I tried to do many normal operations such as searching and selecting from the guide. The stress of continuous recording, especially during college football bowl season was generally too much for them. I had been searching for an alternative for a while, tivo, replayTv, etc.

So far, I'm glad I waited for this 6412. Though there is certainly room for improvement.

Reliability: I have had pull the plug once, so the reliability is not perfect. I must say that I am a hard user. I push lots of buttons fast and all this while recordings are taking place. The reliability is clearly superior to the DishNetwork equipment I had.

Guide: The guide seems to fill in slowly. I'm used to always having a weeks worth of programming at my fingertips. I've seen that the guide does exceed a week if you wait long enough. Also, the channels increase in number as you go down the guide. This is counterintuitive and I can find no way to reconfigure it. There is a nice feature of seeing part of the description for a program when browsing the guide, without any additional buttons.

Search: You can only search for title information and classifications, such as "it happened ..." or "comedies" or by channel. There is no way to search for movies with an actor or by keyword, such as "depp" or "india".
Though DishNetwork didn't have it, I always wanted to search for movies based on critical acclaim, say for all 4 star movies.

Scheduling: I think this is their biggest flaw, and is very nearly unacceptable. Say I want to record "the daily show" on comedy central at 10pm Monday through Thursday. To do this, I have to set up 4 separate weekly recordings, one for each of the four days. To choose the begin and end time, there is a sliding number scale that increases and decreases with the up and down button. As you press and hold the button, the speed that the time changes increases. So, unless you have superhuman timing, you must work toward the time you need using a series of adjustments narrowing in on the time, over, under, over less, under less, etc. It is infuriating.

Recording: Having two tuners is great. I actually hit a triple conflict, so more than two would be useful. I programmed the 30 sec skip on the lock button and that is great. I'll never use lock, and lock is adjacent to the 15 second back, so skipping commercials is easy. I wish the scheduling time had this feature. The display for where you are in the program takes some getting used to. It shows a long bar for the whole program, a progress bar for what has been recorded, and mark for where you currently are, along with times for begin, end and current. DishNetwork had minutes and seconds from end during live recording. This was useful for skipping commercials. If the time was greater than 2 minutes, then you could skip NFL commercials.

I hope this helps DishNetwork customers reluctant to switch. For all you Tivo advocates out there, remember Macintosh was easier to use, more reliable and preceded Windows, it just didn't do as much. I'm wondering if this isn't the Windows of DVRs.

I'm now looking into getting an HDTV. I think maybe an HD2+ DLP, no greater than 50 in wide to fit into the space on my cabinet.
Also considering a pcmcia firewire card if I can figure out how to capture the video stream on my laptop. I could then save some of the movies to DVD, and save space on the hard drive of the 6412.

[david campbell @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Has anyone found a way to move the recorded shows off the DVR (i have the Moto 6212) to your computer using the firewire port?
I have XP Media Center and when I plug the firewire port in, there's no driver.

Is there another way around this?

Thanks,
David

[david campbell @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

err sorry, 6412

[david campbell @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

err sorry, 6412

[garmotex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I have one 1446 that works and one that doesn't, so Jack's comments aren't exactly correct but a major help nonetheless. i got the bad one replaced with a 1439 and it works great. finally!!!

[Steve Antonakakis @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've also recently signed up for the DVR upgrade in the Atlanta area. I received a 6412 box and including the new remote control with the picture in picture and swap buttons.

I've gone through the FAQs on the Motorola site with regards to pulling recordings from the box into a PC using the firewire interface. The following site provides some information on how to do this.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3818890#post3818890

Good Luck!
Steve

[DanS @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I'm having the exact same problems are garmotex:
"channel available shortly" and recorded programs being cut short.

Customer support is always totally useless.

[Mark F @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Well I still love the DVR, but I am starting to have reservations. Here's why:

1. Scheduling a "series": the dang thing records EVERY instance it can find, even tho I have it set for recording "First run only"
2. Programs getting cut short: I want to record my Gopher Hocky games to review after I get home and they ALWAYS are cut short. Altho this morning our cat may have alerted me to what is going on there...I was getting ready to leave and he suddenly ran over to the TV/DVR, the display was dark and as I watched it turned back on. It basically "rebooted", no programmng available and no DVR function "Please wait while that functionis being installed". I kno wthis is not s sytemic issue with Comcast as our second DVR in teh other room was fine. Just the one in the Living room. So I will be telling that story to the tech.
3. "MUTE" on when I get home from work: both DVRs have a tendancy to "MUTE" themselves when they start recording form an "off" state...have to wait till the recording is done or stop the recording to turn it off and on again (again effectivley a "reboot").
4. Had the living room one replaced once already and am having the same issues as the first one after one week. Other one in the house is just fine (with the exception of the "MUTE" deal). The tech said the whole number issue above is bunk (1446 vs. the 1436), but I am supposed to beleive a HS drop out?

Needless to say I am going tohave to get Comcast out AGAIN, and spend half the day waiting for them, so I think they mayhave to refund some of my money for their somewhat questionable release of a somewhat questionable product. Still like it better than a VCR, but it sure gets frustrating.

Mark