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General discussion

Comcast DVR's

Feb 4, 2004 4:39AM PST

Has anybody tried Comcast's new DVR's. (Either the Sci-Atlantic or the Motorola)

If so how do they compare with Replay TV and Tivo?

Discussion is locked

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Comcast Motorola DVR
Jan 7, 2005 12:37AM PST

I was notified by Comcast that DVR was now available in Sonoma County and I made arrangements for both my digital cable boxes to be upgraded to the new 120 gig, dual tuner Motorola DCT6412. Two Comcast techs came out first thing in the morning on 12/22 and swaped out my units and fired up both with ease. There is a about a 45 minute interval while the box downloads guide info. According to the installers I was the 2nd install they had ever done with this item so they were learning like I was about it's capabilities. I found the guide and the remote very intuitive, I especially liked the PIP and Swap features. The next day I had Comcast return and replace one of the boxes because the DVR was only showing one tuner. Once that was done all was well with that particular box. I had Comcast come out again and replace my other unit due to a "freezing glitch" I was getting. I would be watching a program and for no reason the image would freeze. Changing channels would unfreeze the tuner/buffer, but that was hardly a solution. Replacing the unit seemed to solve the problem but the last few days the problem has returned. So unforturnately, on several recordings it failed to complete the program due to this "freezing" issue. One other annoying issue is conflict messages popping up when programing recordings, while you can record 2 programs while watching a playback, and swap between recordings, sometimes the unit will refuse a comand to record due to a time conflict where no conflict exsists! I have yet to get this resolved but having never had a DVR before, I am none the less thrilled at features available to me vs. VCR recording. $9.95/month per unit is a lot better than buying a stack of VHS tapes every couple of weeks, and a lot less clutter. The image is excellent, I am using the Component video out to feed my Sony TVs, and the Composit video to feed one of my VCR's and the S-video to feed another VCR. There is also DVI and USB2 available if you are a HDtv person! By the way, I was able to split the RCA audio outputs of the box with no problem. There is even a card reader and RCA inputs on the front of the unit built in for future Comcast features.

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Motorola DVR 6412
Mar 6, 2005 12:47AM PST

I got the Motorola 6412 from Comcast a month ago and have had the exact same problem with the picture freezing as you did. Went out of town last week and set the DVR to record 5 programs. When we got back we found not one progream had recorded in its entirety. When I called Comcast to find out what the problem was they said it was "global" and had no solution.
I got my old box back - what good is a DVR that doesn't record?

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motorola
Mar 7, 2005 4:22PM PST

I had the motorola too. It worked fine for the most part but was prone to freeze a lot more than what I was comfortable with, and always during something important. Comcast acted like it was part of the territory. Wound up returning it.

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Motorola
Mar 7, 2005 10:58PM PST

Ditto here. Tivo is by far the the better option IMO. The only thing I like about the DVR is the capability to record two programs at once. But if the screen constantly freezes up what good is that. Thinking of taking mine back too.

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Motorola DVR 6412 Dimensions
Jul 2, 2005 6:36AM PDT

I am looking for the physical dimensions of the 6412.

Thank you in advance,
Nir

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Screen freeze & corruption of files
Oct 4, 2006 4:22AM PDT

All,

I also have a Motorola DVR 6412 ? actually I am going on my 3rd one right now. I have had a bunch of problems with this device. The first DVR I received got ?scrambled? when I tried to hook up my HDTV using the DVI port (in spite of following the precise instructions from COMCAST?s customer service center) resulting in the box having to be replaced.

I had a technician come out and replace the box and had him hook up the DVI connection ? he couldn?t make it work either. So I am now just using the regular 5 wires that come with the box ? oh well.

This next box worked relatively well for about 2 months (naturally the traditional lagging and freezing of screens were still occurring), and I was recording all my shows etc. Then, while viewing one of my recordings, I tried to fast forward which triggered a tremendous lag (the show continued to FF until the end of the show). When trying to start the show over I realized that all the data on the hard drive had been corrupted, and I could only play back 9 minutes of every show ? great stuff!

So, now I am going on my 3rd box, and I am already about to throw the thing out the window due to the constant lag when trying to rewind or fast forwarding.

It is too bad that this box is not more stable in the technical circuitry, since it would be a wonderful device if it worked properly.

I hope other people out there are more lucky than I have been (And have received DVR's which live up to the hype).

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no probs for my DVR
Oct 4, 2006 6:17AM PDT

I have had 2 Motorola HD DVR boxes (one in Colorado, one in New Mexico) and neither have ever crapped out on me. I do get the occasional lag during FF/RW which can be a pain, but if it gets really bad just unplug the power cord for a few secs and let it do its reboot thing.

My only problem with these DVRs is that you cannot run their HDMI outputs through a receiver that has HDMI ports. There is a HDCP handshake issue and when I talked to tech support for both Comcast and Onkyo (receiver company) they blamed eachother for the problem...but I think that all that has to happen is Comcast release a firmware update which will take them forever to process.

All in all I like my HD-DVR box, just the HDCP and lag issues are the things that leave a small black mark on them.

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Motorola DVR 6412
Apr 30, 2007 1:51AM PDT

I get my DVR through RCN - a local-ish company, I guess - but the freezing problem is a big one. I'm on my third box and it is still doing the same thing. In the last week there are at least two shows that I haven't been able to finish (out of the 6 weekly shows I normally record); they scramble, freeze, then the screen goes blank.

If you have any options, don't go with this DVR.