Scientific Atlanta DVR Not So Hot

I've had this in NYC for about a month and have not had the same amount of problems. My main gripe is that switching channels takes a second or three longer than my last SA box, due to the live recording, which we cannot turn off. I have not had the spontaneous resets, which is better than my old SA, which used to show "no program data" everynight at about 11 PM and then I would have to hard reset it, if it didn't do it by itself. The menus and setup are quite easy to follow. This might be just an example of a bad box. All recordings have been correct for me. Starts/stops, times, shows, series. The series manager does not do once a week every week, it does every instance of a show, so you will get reruns that come on at 4 AM. Which reminds me, I've got to cancel a duplicate recording....

Have not had any issues, in fact had nothing but great experiences with the box so far. We've had it for a few weeks and it has worked perfectly. The picture seems better that on our Tivo Series 1, and the guide is terrific. I'm with Time Warner in NYC...

My experiance with the box has been good I work for a cable company that has this box in the tech support area and I get the calls about this box the majority of these boxs work fine even through there is a there is a higher fail rate on the box so the chances are that most stories are from people with bad box or already hard bad signal at the home anyway.

I've had nothing but good experience with this box! I was out shopping for an alternative box last week only to discover that I've got the best deal in my Explorer8000 - feature for feature, dollar for dollar. I plan to pick up a second box from TWC this weekend. I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I have only had minor issues with my Explorer 8000. It will occasionally record repeats, even though it has been set not to, and the InDemand functions will sometimes show the wrong show in the info bar. Besides these 2 issues, the box has worked just fine. I only wish it had a keyword search like TiVO does. I'd love to be able to record "Auto Racing" without recording EVERY SHOW that has been titled as "Auto Racing." ;-)

I stumbled on this site during a search...and man was I glad to find a place to vent! I HATE THIS THING. I have had it for three weeks and it has been nothing but trouble. Last night I found it had completely shut down, got some kind of "fail" message and lost a TON of recorded shows. WHY? I thought that even during a power outage stuff was not supposed to get lost. This is the second time I have lost data like this.

Also, I set it up to tape a regular 30 minute show and on about 75% of the shows it quit taping with about a minute left to go. On another 1 hour long show, it STARTED taping when there was only 2 minutes left in the show. I don't see how you can set it up not to tape when there are repeats of an episode, and so when you find out (through info) that a show is a repeat, and try to take it off the list (when you have set it up to "record all episodes" you can't....it says "delete all episodes?" You can't delete a single episode. Also, you can't manually change a record time to add a minute or two to the end of a show. I am ordering TiVo as soon as possible and demanding my money back from Time Warner.

Wow...lotsa comments on this one. Looks like it's somewhat of a mixed bag -- many folks like it but several seem to have gotten real lemons. Given that the 8000 is such a bargain, maybe it's a case of "you get what you pay for?"

I have also had multiple problems with my 8000. The first one didn't work at all and was replaced. I have had the second one for about 3 months (in Austin, TX). I also have the problem with recording repeats, which I can live with, but the main problem is that about 30-40% of the programs it records come out as complete junk. It looks like it recorded, but when I try to play back, I get a screen of scrambled, multicolor junk.

I had dish network with their built in DVR/Receiver for 18 months and loved it. I moved 3 weeks ago and got time warner in charlotte. I have had the 8000 and have to say it pales in comparison to the old system but I haven't had any major problems. The biggest issues I have are with channel changing (2 second delay) and fast forwarding, when you fast forward to the resumption of a show, it backs up 3 seconds or back into the commercial. Overall, the word I would use is clunky, but any major problems others have had I would chalk up to a bad box.

Just picked ours up today. We had TiVo since July 2000, but upon moving to San Antonio, we decided to go wireless with our phones, so that ruled TiVo out. Really happy with the two-tuner capability of the SFA box. Wish there were a user manual, but I hope to mess with it tomorrow and figure everything out. I really do miss the wishlist capability of TiVo -- used to just plug in a movie I'd like to see, and TiVo would record it wherever it could find it. I think if TiVo had a dual-tuner model for cable, I'd have stuck with them, but c'est la vie. Hope my box is not a lemon like some I read about here.

I have the Explorer 8000 for a couple of weeks now and am pretty happy with it. I have Time Warner Cable in NYC and they only offer one box per household. Does anyone have one they'd like to sell to me? Email me at Justme136@hotmail.com. Please put Explorer 8000 in the subject line as I tend to get a lot of spam. Thanks.

Have had the box for 4 days. No major problems until tonight, right at 11pm. It was recording a show that I was watching at the same time (but on delay), when it reached 11pm (end of show feed), it stopped the recording, took me live and basically left we without seeing the last 5 minutes of the show. You would figure that if I was recording the show, I could just go back to the recording and watch the whole thing. But no, it wouldn't let me watch any part of the show, just told me a message of "no data, nothing playing." Yet, it allowed me to watch other shows I've recorded today. I turned it off, waited about a half hour for it to rest itself and then gave up and did it manually. The reset fixed the problem and did not erase any of the recordings.

It looks like this box hasn't had all of its bugs worked out, hopefully with a software update, these things might clear up (DishNetworks would periodically update their software on their box, hopfully TWC(brighthouse) will do the same with SA). We'll see what happens with this little box. Oh, I also came from a Dishnetworks PVR box which ran great. I also agree, this one is pretty annoying with the delay of changing channels, yet as someone already said "we get what we pay for", currently $7 more a month in Tampa Bay, FL.

How to reset Explorer 8000 : "VOL+" + "VOL -" + "Info" ...Press Buttons on face of box at same time and WAIT! for the time to come back on BEFORE you turn the receiver back on

First of all I am amazed to see people without problems with this unit :0, unfortunatly for me it has been the cause of much grief. I recently moved to a new place and had to give up my beloved Dish Network system, (no mounting locations and all). I suppose I am a little spoiled, those of you who've had the Dish PVR would agree, the Echostar 508 receiver I had was great. Dish Network uses great equipment, that receiver had a super quiet, fast, and reliable Seagate hard drive. It also had a very well designed remote, and a simple, yet powerfull, interface. The Explorer 8000 on the other hand is a cheaply made imposter of a digital recorder.

I am currently on my third one, the first having had a dead hard drive, the second could not tune any of the digital tier channels, and the third, functional yes, adequate NO. It has a huge ugly remote with an overly "universal" feel(was this made for a DVR?). It's F'n HUGE, with a bad looking front pannel that has great big nasty green digits that cannot be disabled(wow, so that's what time it is, thanks for being all in ma face with that). Of course you can't forget the crappy hard drive, I can hear the read/write heads from across the room, which screams low speed drive. That can only be a tie in for the terrible performance, all channels should be accessed by number or from the guide, to save time(still unreasonably slow). Channeling via channel +/- will consume your day.

Of course not much can be expected from huge cable providers like TW, "We need some digital recording receivers like the satellite providers have, but we can't spend alot of money, you know, yacht payments and all. F the customers they will think it's the coolest." Booooooo to cheezy 8000 I say. I want my dish back :'<

Sorry for the rant, I needed to vent. I guess I just don't like getting my tv the same way people in the 1940's did, cable is just lagging behind satellite. Lamer cust service, bad hardware, poor A/V quality(mpeg 4, hurray for pixelation :< not). Enuf I'm done here.

End.

i like tv

I read all the writeups from the geek naysayers, who'll tell you this box is no Tivo. But to this techie and TV fiend, it's a wonderkind.

Yes, it does have some bugs. No, the software's not quite as user-friendly as Tivo's. But the bottom line is that it works just fine most of the time. Most importantly, it changes the way you watch TV FOREVER. Never watch another commercial. Always catch your favorite shows. Always find something you want to watch. Give up channel surfing permanently.

How is it better than Tivo? Well, the price, for one thing. Even I couldn't rationalize spending hundreds for a Tivo box, then paying a monthly service fee. Time Warner gives you this box free, and charges just $6/month to use it. That's a good deal, in my opinion.

This is the way everyone will watch TV a few years from now. Be one of the first to enjoy it.

All I know is that the very *first* time it decided not to record a show that my wife wanted to see, it'd be headed straight back to Time Warner (most likely via the trash compactor). The TiVo is flawless, and I guess we're willing to pay a bit extra for that reliability and peace of mind. But, I'm glad to see that those who have lower expectations also have a product that fits their needs -- the more variety, the better.

Hi. i'm a TV critic or the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, where Bright House networks have mounted an aggressive marketing campaign to sell these DVRs. I was wondering if there were any people on this list who live in the Tampa/ St. Petersburg/Clearwater area and might be willing to speak with me about the problems they are having. My telephone ia 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8521, or you can message me at deggans@sptimes.com.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Eric Deggans

I've got the 8000 from TWC in NYC and have had it for a month or so now. I love it. Never had any major problems with it.

Had a little issue with the repeats but that can all be sorted out if you actually look at the recording options. The menu system isn't that hard to figure out if you're willing to spend a few minutes and actually read the menus.

I also had the issue of it cutting short an episode. I set it to record Everybody Loves Raymond and the new Charlie Sheen episode that followed it. It stopped Raymond about a minute from the end BUT picked it up in the Charlie Sheen recording which also was cut short by a minute. Its not the recorders fault but the broadcast stations fault. If the show doesn't start at exactly on time, you're gonna get it cut. Simple solution tho, as you can set the recording sechedule to record up to 10 minutes over the scheduled stop time.

Well, I'm a technogeek, programmer, consultant and also a volunteer firefighter (yes, a strange mix). The combination of those makes my extremely insistent on good equipment. period.

Frankly, I've had the 8000 for about six months now I guess, and its been 99% reliable. At first, it did have this wierd issue where it decided to record all of a show I didn't like. I had to restart it then wipe the shows. odd.

Otherwise, its been 100% reliable. Yes, there are a series of features and better menus I wish it had - but for what it does do, its been exactly as I'd like.

my setup:

#1 - I have a good clear cable signal - the unit reports (through the built in utility if you know the hot key) a "green" connection.

#2 - The unit is on a UPS. Perhaps that helps.

Although I have had mine for some time with no problems, there is still no perfect solution. I like the functionality of the unit. 2 tuners...Tivo can't record 1 program and watch another, the deal w/ premium scrambled channels and having to use relay IR to tune the cable box w/ tivo....yet tivo offers a way to do media to your audio system......but it's not a computer that you can use to surf the web on your tv, run apps, play games.....so htpc (home theatre PC)....but you're back to the cable scrambler box issue for premium channels....same with Media Center PC's w/ Microsoft XP media center....Scientific Atlanta makes a 8000 type box that can also do networking, etc....but TW in Kansas City doesn't do that....There is no good solution in 1 unit...for me anyway....when all the technology is available...

My dream is for the cable companies to start working with and adopting TiVo-powered units -- then we'd have the best of both worlds (inexpensive gear that works well with the cable system and an interface that is really easy and enjoyable to use).

I've heard the same mixed things, even from the "honest" cable rep (who said that changing channels takes a sec or two now because of the continuous recording of any station tuned -- his suggestion to use the guide to switch stations makes a lot of sense) but I do love my DVR! The only problem I've had with it is when I'm recording two different live shows and simultaneously watching a saved show it stutters here and there on the sound and occassionally pixelates the screen or pauses... this I can live with. I do wish it would show the amount of time remaining for recording as well as allow you to NOT record the live broadcast of every station you tune to, as my chances of wanting an instant replay are so slim. Maybe a future update...

Per the "Quick Tips" that came with (only two pamphlets came with!): "This is brand new technology [humph! - a hard drive and two tuners!], and you are among the first to experience it. Keep in mind that your DVR will act like the computer it really is, and as such, may reboot occasionally or the screen may momentarily freeze." And as the computer that it really is, it can have cheap memory, bad instruction sets, and a faulty storage medium!

P.S. To the guy who's looking for another DVR in Manhattan -- they have changed their policy and now offer as many boxes per household as you like but the price has gone up a few bucks.

We've had our TW (Los Angeles) DVR box for about a month now and we're just beginning to discover some problems. Channel changing does take substantially longer than a regular digital cable box...it will record an entire series when only a single program was entered...and even though a title is listed as recorded, it will not play (so far, that has only happened once but I do foresee this a recurring problem.) We're not totally displeased with the performance of the DVR. It's just a bit irritating.

The first week of using this was hell. two things hapened. a tech came and pulled a new line from the box so I could get all the chanels and reset it to get a new firmware. It now loads a new firmare about once a month and get smoother every time. I'm happy with it now. I just wish I could extract the video via the 3 firewire ports!

I have an Explorer 8000 from Bright House in Central Florida. Although my first unit did eventually die (would not power back on), I had no problems with it up until that point. And now my new unit is working great. I'd be lost without it.

Milage my vary. :)

I had my first box for about 5 or 6 months. There was some initial trepidation while recording when I wasn't home, but after a while I forgot all about it and recorded programs left and right.

It's probably best for those in between casual and hardcore TV viewers. If you're the type to procrastinate and leave a lot of programs stored up, there's always the possibility the hard drive will get wiped (it seems mine had while viewing a recording during a firmware upgrade). Having a strong cable signal (I have three other outlets used for analog and will probably try a signal amplifier) would be ideal.

Also, the "scheduled recordings" list can get cluttered if you program to record all showings of a particular series. Menus and interfaces are decent, but not out-and-out user-friendly. I'm a big channel surfer, but I've gotten used to the relatively slower pauses while doing so.

All in all, it's 95% reliable, and as far as my cable company goes, exchanging boxes is no hassle (they probably go through quite a few altogether). But if you're the type who just can't risk missing an episode of a favorite show, Tivo etc might give better peace of mind. If you're not, and you're on a modest budget, and like the idea of two tuners, the SA8000's a good way to go.

This thing has a Firewire...does anyone know how to export recorded shows to a Mac (or PC) with Firewire. TW gives you a little piece of paper that tells you it cannot be done. Baloney.
I'm sure someone has tried it...does it work.

the only reason I haven't is that my mac is far from my DVR and it do not have a laptop to try it.

Apparently the 8000 box has a whole slew of ports that aren't 'turned on', including the usb port...to be activated 'at a later date'. Hrmph. I have had very few problems with mine. I do get bad spots in recording on occasion that cause the playback to freeze, but a quick tap of the ff button fixes that. Buggy, yes, but well worth the seven bucks a month I pay for it.

I'm trying to look up some hacks for it, but I'm not getting much...

So far so good, but the unit definitely needs an operating manual. Biggest drawback so far: multiple recordings of the same show (reruns, e.g. The Daily Show---4 per day!)
Does anyone know whether the power needs to be on at all times, or does it turn itself on (like a VCR) when recording?

If anyone at Time Warner reads this--PLEASE send out some operating instructions!!!

I hate this thing. The reason for having a recording device is to allow you to confidently watch your favorite shows at a later date. This doesn't do that. My VCR records 99.999% of the time. This thing is batting around 85%. That just isn't acceptable.

If two of the same show comes on back to back, the second show is unavailable for viewing. Even if the record light is on for the second show. I can't count the number of shows I've missed fooling with this thing. If you have to manually setup the times for each show, I'd rather use the VCR. The picture quality on recorded shows sucks too. The lack of a manual sucks. I could go down a list of things that suck, but I'm trying not to be to critical.

Oh, something nice...the box is very pretty.

I have had the Explorer 8000 for 3.5 months and LOVE it! It has totally changed my television veiwing habits forever!

I have had no real issues with the box Brighthouse provides here in Lakeland, Florida. I find the interface to be extremely user friendly and the recording options super simple to navigate. My only real issue has been multiple recordings of the same program. But once the setting were changed, everything has worked simply wonderfully!

Recording TWO shows while playing a third back is worth the experience alone!

Piece of CRAP!!! In the past 9-days, we have had to have three service calls and three different boxes. (All of which were used) TW sent us an e-mail to start with stating that we could bring in our digital box and trade it in for a DVR @ no charge. The fee for the service is 6.95 per mo. All three DVR's have been slow. The first one would not record at all, and if you tried, it would reset itself. The second one just reset itself over and over again until it just quit working. And the third one has so much background air that you have to turn the tv down so that you don't go nuts. All of the tech's and customer service people have been nice and understanding, but these DVR's just don't work worth a damn. They are bringing us a new standard digital box on Monday. Hopefully santa will bring us a Tivo for Christmas!

I have had the 8000 for over 4 months and would not live without it.

Overall, I like the DVR functions, and it is relatively reliable. I like the fact that I am not locked into it and can walk away at any time. That is my challenge with the investment necessary for DISH, DirecTV or TiVo.

My biggest issue is that I cannot get the Digital Audio out to work. I have tested and confirmed that it is not an issue on my end, the Digital Audio is simply not coming out of the box. When I called Brighthouse tech support, they indicated that they do not support the digital Audio connetion! I cannot understand how they believe they can remain competitive and not provide Digital Audio for their Digital cable boxes!

Does anyone have their Digital Audio connection working? Is it simply "turned off"? I have already tried a second box with the same result.

Frustrated,

Dt

I've been a Tivo customer for ~2 years, so maybe I'm a bit biased. I would have to say that the 8000 is a good start, but nowhere near as sophisticated as my old Tivo.

Cons:
Navigation and recording options suck on this thing. Tivo's user interface is FAR superior. Software bugs seem to be everywhere. You can't watch a recording in progress without expecting to be kicked back to live TV once the recorder hits the end of the time slot. You can't select recording quality: I want my movies to be recorded and replayed with the quality of the initial broadcast, but my kid could care less if Blues Clues is crystal clear. The remote looks like something you could pick up at Radio Shack. No automatic two-second backup on high speed FF and Rewind, we loved this about the Tivo. No way to resume playing a recorded program at the point at which you left off. Digital audio is only fully functional while watching live broadcast. LOUD ass hard drive, i can hear it from across my living room.

Pros:
The chassis looks nice. Dual tuner (this is a big plus). Digital audio out, but you can get Tivo's with this now.

My wife and I have decided to go back to our old Tivo for four main reasons:
1) Interface intuitiveness.
2) Recording quality.
3) Lack of bugs.
4) Reliability.

It has a terrible odor that permeates the whole room. It always makes noise.

I've had the Scientific Atlanta 8000 for a few mounths now and all I have had is problems. When the "Cable guy" or "tech" came over to install it, he said "remember, it's digital so if you press ch up five times it will go up five times", some feature eh? well not so, I had the normal "Digital Cable setop" before and it didnt do this, it's obviously a flaw, you try to enter in channel 1151 and it enters in ch 1, pauses, switches to ch 1, pauses then goes to ch 151. This bad delay isnt just for channel changing, it also applies for all the other buttons that interact with the setop. It seems there is a buffer for incomming remote interrupts, and the processor in the DVR is so hung up that it is forced to wait and replay the buffer when the CPU has free time. I am guessing that Scientific Atlanta wanted a cheaper box, and put a cheaper processor in to cut costs, what a mistake! Now because of a slow processor the 8000 DVR setop is plagued with errors like Fragremented recordings, where a one hour show is fragmented into five or six shows in sizes from 5 to 23 mintues in size, and/or a total Hard Drive failure where the box must be rebooted or even worse, replaced! The software in this thing is bad, it makes Microsoft software look flawless, and the hardware (mainly the CPU) is hampering this potentaly good product down to the point where it is almost uselss.

What is the point of having USB and firewire ports and you cant even use them????Gee thanks

Some online resources in .PDF format:

Explorer 8000 User Guide
http://www.sciatl.com/consumers/userguidepdfs/4002771B.pdf

DVR and PIP Quick Reference Guide
http://www.sciatl.com/consumers/userguidepdfs/740246_RevC-BookLayout.pdf

User's Guide for the Digital Video Recorder with Picture-in-Picture Control
http://www.sciatl.com/consumers/userguidepdfs/4003743_A-Web.pdf

The 8000 has some neat features: 2 tuners, PIP, digital audio out (which works fine for me, Dolby 5.1 is great). The interface is completely intuitive as far as I'm concerned.

BUT...

The constant clicking of the hard drive is irritating.

AND...

I've had mine 3 weeks, and the main problem has been this:

It runs fine for a few days, then the image will start becoming pixellated, while the hard drive grinds. then the hard drive stops, and the picture either freezes or goes back to normal.
After a few seconds, the picture pixellates again, and the process keeps repeating, until the box crashes.

The only way to get it working is to disconnect the coax, powerdown, reconnect the coax, powerup.

I've had the unit replaced, and the second one does the same.

I had a tech come out, and of course he checked the signal, replaced a splitter and connectors. But to no avail.

I'm going to try replacing the unit again this week.

Is there any way to turn off the extra compression it seems to do on the digital channels. The dark scenes become overly digitized. Plus for some reason it works fine on HBO and Starz but with Showtime and the movie channel I get massive audio dropouts. Anybody have this experience.The main flaw is that we can't choose our amount of compression like Tivo lets you do.

Are people slow. The manual is on the scientific atlanta web sight, and aside from the 2 sec delay mine works flawlessly, 4 months never a problem. some of the comments here are rediculas, read the dam manual," you can't tell it to start 2 mins early" of coarse u can.

I was an original TiVo user and loved every minute of it. However, I have since decided against a hardwire phoneline, so there went TiVo. No worries, my local (San Antonio) Time Warner Cable company has a DVR, the SA8000. Great.

Sucks. I'm on my second box in 3 months, and I have exactly the same issues I had with the first one, primarily that it drops programmed recordings for no reason. The dropped programs are always season passes.

In addition, our software does not allow a season pass for first-run only. Also, there are issues with fastforwarding, only seen in the higher channels. I've read elsewhere that this is a problem with recording digital signals. Shouldn't be a problem in my mind.

I could go on about the things this thing does worse than TiVo, but suffice it to say, I'm considering a hardwire phone line so I can get my TiVo back!

--Steve

Why don't you hack your TiVo so you can use your Internet connection (e.g., cable modem) instead of having the TiVo call out over its own internal modem? That, and other suggestions, are listed here: http://pvr.blogs.com/pvr/2003/07/how_to_setup_a_.html

We rec'd an 8000 from Comcast a week ago and have really enjoyed it! No problems to report. Very low additional cost compared to Tivo (was looking at that before Comcast provided this option).

Here is my comments to Videotron, my cable provider.

--------------------------------------------------
I switched from Analogue Cable TV to Digital Cable TV back in August. I also purchased an Explorer 8000 PVR manufactured by Scientific-Atlanta. I am generally pleased with the Vidéotron services for the Digital Cable TV as well as for the High-Speed Cable Internet.

Today (2003-12-08), there was a scheduled blackout by Hydro-Québec between 09:00 and 16:30. When the power returned, I noticed that I lost all Scheduled Recordings and Recorded Programmes on the Explorer 8000 PVR, including the 3 Nova episodes that I had planned to watch during the holiday period. Since the hard disk on the Explorer 8000 PVR is a permanent memory with magnetic media just like any personal computer, it should not lose the content after a power loss. It must be a firmware/software problem rather than a hardware problem specific to my unit.

I received a letter dated 2003-11-10 stating that Vidéotron has addressed some problems with the Explorer 8000 PVR. I would like to see a list of bug fixes on the Vidéotron website.

There are still problems with Manual Recording. First of all, a TV programme that I scheduled to be recorded every weekday was recorded OK for a few days but got dropped for some reason after a while. Second, when I cancelled one scheduled programme, another scheduled programme got cancelled as well. Third, once I scheduled a TV programme to be recorded for (Start: 17:55, Stop: 18:00) every day, it was entered correctly for that day. However, the entry mysteriously changed to (Start: 17:00, Stop: 17:05) for the next 2 days. The following day were back to (Start: 17:55, Stop: 18:00).

I noticed that the Guide/Menu shows all TV channels. I would like to see an option to filter out the TV channels that I do not subscribe to so that I can navigate only among the TV programmes that I can watch.

Hi I hope My message gets read. I own a cool looking tivo series1 80gig. It is a paperweight. I plan on returning it and getting this twc dvr. Has anyone had success getting this tivo to change channels on a scientific atlanta explorer 2100 digital cable box? The rf signal channel changer doesn't seem to change the channels. I'm thinking of giving this tivo a try if someone tell me how to get it to change channels on the digital cable box. I recorded a news program using manuel record and the quality was good. Anyone else got a tivo and a explorer 2100 digital cable box? If not I will return this cool looking giant tivo box and geting the $8.75 per month time warner cable dvr. The cable operator said it's capable of recording two channels at once, thats cool. There must be a large number of defective units of dvrs out there or a large amount of stupid users. ha ha ha. I read a stupid commnet that said a vcr is 99% work and the dvr is 85%work, well stuPID does your vcr recor two channels at once or can record 50 hours of show at once? JUST WANT TO GET MORE value out of my cable programming. $108 a year to get a tivo paperweight replacement sounds like a great value to me. ha ha ha.Please some respond or the darned cool tivo is history.

Intro: Avoid the SA800- - this machine SUCKS!

I came on the web to look for vcr codes for my sa8000, but found these postings that mirror my (bad) experiences with the sa8000. I am turning on the old reliable vcr - until they come and take the sa8000 out of my house.

Regarding Microsoft. I must disagree with the poster saying Microsoft is worse. While I really hate Gates, even MS wouldn't put out a 'paid' product with this many bugs.

To those of you who haven't had problems (yet) - good luck.

To those of you who think it’s a user issue – re-read the posts. I know *how* to program - I know *what* I programmed, but damn thing will still erase & modify using some unknown buggy logic.

The specs *are* great, but the product just DOES NOT WORK as designed.

Also, a minor point, but huge irritant - after pausing a live program to answer the phone, I accidentally hit the channel-up key (meant to hit the volume-up) and lost the recorded program. I really wanted to watch that show and would not have answered the phone had I not had 'piece of mind'. Errrr. Yes – this is a user issue, but a well designed product would be more forgiving.

My trust is gone.
My patience is gone.
That box is out of my house.

--BTW, biased on these posting, I'll be checking TiVO out...

This dvr sounds great. two channels at the same time yum. Trouble is I got a stupid tivo and it doesn't have any sound on live tv or recorded tv. The channel changer works alright there is no sound except the tivo beeps. Anyone own a tivo dvr that does this?

Heyhey, I is gonna buy a coby dvd revorder and forget this tivo nonsense. Although the explorer 8000 looks awesome! Just went to the wb site and saw the demoof it. Extremely informative and fascinating!!! Good bye vcr hello dvdr. Anyone know where I can g et cheaper priced dvd+rw disks other than from khypermedia? This web site is REALLY informative. I got a garage full of maxell tdk and sony vhs tapes to tape to dvd recorder.

Havent had any trouble with this unit. Bet you can chalk up the vast majority of the problems here to use error.

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August 27, 2003
Scientific Atlanta DVR Not So Hot
A friend of mine just got .... notice this guy's friend has it not him. what moron reviews something he doesn't use?

My wife and I have a summer weekend getaway cabin where there is no cable tv service, and we have been with Dish Network there for five years. This past summer we upgraded to a Dish DVR 510 and really enjoy it, so much so that we decided to get a couple of DVRs for our home. Our home is on a wooded lot and we assumed that Dish would not
work due to the trees, so we ordered a couple of DVRs through our cable service, BrightHouse (Indianapolis) f/k/a Time Warner.

When the two 8000s were installed it was apparent that they lacked many features of the 510: thirty-second "skip-ahead" button, individual fovorites lists, information on recording time used and remaining, key-word program searching, to list a few. We asked the installer about some of these features and he hadn't a clue what we
were talking about. He did not have any information about a user's guide, as was the case with the BH customer service office. (I finally
found one to download on the internet.) The only advantage that the 8000 has over the Dish 510 is two tuners instead of one, although Dish
has remedied this with introduction of the 721. It appears to us that the 8000 is a dumbed-down parody of the Dish product we have used.

Our greatest disappointment is the lack of storage space on the 8000. The 510 has sixty hours, and it lets you know precisely where you stand on that. BH advertised the 8000 as having fifty hours, which was acceptable. In fact, we have not been able to store more than thirty-two hours our 8000s. We complained to BH, and they agreed that
their ads stated fifty hours of storage and they replaced the units. The results are the same: thirty-two hours. Interestingly BH said
that no one had previously complained about storage, probably because no one wanted to take the time to manually count the time of recorded
programs. Perhaps the only "in the know" entity is Scientific Alanta, whose user's guide states storage of thirty to fifty hours depending
on the recording source, whatever that means.

If there is a way to stretch the storage on the 8000 I'd like to hear it. Otherwise I plan to call a tree trimmer and a Dish agent to make the change. I trust that I won't be the only long-time customer that BrightHouse will lose due to their trying to market an inferior product.

yep, stretch it by geting two scientific atlanta dvrs. notice it has only one quality option and it's broadcast quality so it's genuinely 40 hours of porn. man i have brecorded so much soft core porn and movies and reality shows from regular cable and all the premium channels That I've invested in a svhs vcr and 150 tapes to archive the ones the get me off. If any of you guys are tired of wasting money not watching all the cinemax porn movies or showtime sleaze shows then please get this box. The tivo is history. if your a high fsalooting rich white guy then get a dvd recoirder to archive yior porn. i never miss a reality show now no more missed fear factor, i eat your skin, boot camp, play boy ntv, regular joe 2 hawaii, and iothers, mmmh all that porn.

I got my Explorer 8000 from TWC in NYC a couple weeks ago. I was going to go Tivo, but couldn't see paying 13 bucks a month after paying $300.

Being a guy, the first thing that bugged me was the slow response time in changing channels. Ok..so this is something I would have to get used to..no problem

Then the same problem Reg had with the picture becoming pixellated reared it's ugly head. It got so bad you just couldn't watch. After rebooting the box, the problem cleared up, but all the "DVR" functions were lost. I called TWC service, and they suggested rebooting again..with the same results. The best part was the gal from TWC service said she would give me a date for someone to come out to look at the box (Jan 8th..15 days from now!), but that wasn't a "real date," nobody would be coming out on that date..but she just wanted to get my name into the system! lol (Gee...do you think they're having problems with these suckers? :) )

I'm hoping that eventually the box will self-correct and I will again be able to view the shows I saved. But if it does come back I'm not cancelling my service appointment as I expect something will go wrong in the interim.

I'll probably just try to get the unit replaced..looks like some folks boxes actually work. Consider yourselves lucky!

Just got my unit yesterday and am still trying to understand how to use it. I expected a manual but didn't get one. I gather from other posts that you should be able to set it to record without repeats. Can someone tell me where to find that option when programing it to record.

Thanks

Me and my wife just got hooked up with this box yesterday. No manual so I'm searching for info. With a USB port and a hard drive inside there's got to be a way to activate this port. Has anyone used the hard drive as a drag and drop storage device when hooked to a PC or Mac? Its gotta be possible. Anyone who has had luck please email me.

Austin, Texas (Time Warner Cable):
My roommates and I have had the SA8000 since Nov. 2002. There are four of us so we put a lot of stress on the poor computer. I admit that when we first got the 8000 we also had some similar problems (restarts, wrong program recorded, not recording a program). However, since early 2003 all of those problems have disappeared. I must say that I am nothing but impressed with the SA8000. I had never used a DVR like TiVo or RePlay before I got the SA8000, and now I am completely spoiled. Thinking that TiVo and RePlay were similar in nature, I considered purchasing a TiVo until I realized that TiVo does not support recording two shows at once, or even watching one show while recording another. Also, with a TiVo or RePlay, you have to have two boxes (the TiVo AND your digital converter), and the two work independently of each other. And of course, with TiVo or RePlay, you have to have a phone line or Ethernet connection, something not required at all on the SA8000.
Needless to say, the SA8000 blows TiVo and RePlay out of the water.

However, there are a few things I would like to see on the SA8000 in the future that are not currently available:

- Ability to schedule recordings for your box over the internet

- Ability to transfer recorded shows to a scaled down version of the SA8000 somewhere else in the house over a home network, preferably wireless.

- Media Server options such as playing Mp3s and watching MPEGs from another computer over the network

- Ability to playback recorded programs on a computer connected to the SA8000 over a home network

Overall, I am very happy with the performance and capabilities of the SA8000. I watch TV now more then I ever have (is that a good thing?), and I never miss a program. I would strongly recommend the SA8000 over TiVo or RePlay to anybody, especially since the price ($9.95/month in Austin, Texas) is hard to beat.

I got the Scientific Atlanta 8000 from BrightHouse of Central Florida. My first one lasted 1 month and then the hard drive died. I was mad so I told them I would cancel, but they talked me into getting another one, and guess what...tonight my second unit died also. It is saying "Hard drive failure", but it still tunes in shows. What am I supposed to do? I love recording shows but this unit is a piece of crap. I'm cancelling for real this time.

I have had this box for about a month now. I have had a few problems but am generally glad to have a DVR, any DVR (Tivo is not available here).

My biggest compaint: when tuning to a program already in progress that I have setup to record, it starts at the live point, not the beginning. I would like to option to start at the beginning. Right now, I start the program and rewind to the beginning. Very frustrating.

The box has a set of output jacks labled "out 2.. VCR out" i can't get audio or composite video from these jacks.
Time warner could not tell me on the phone why these don't work and had a "technician" come out who replaced the box. This one has no audio or video output fron the "VCR out 2" jacks. the technician had no answer, just could not understand why i wanted two outputs from the box....... anyone know why this box had an extra set of input and output jacks that do not seem to do anything? It would be nice to have an extra set of outputs to use for a second tv or to use a video capture on my computer.

I just got the box and after playing for about a week now, I think it is the best thing that ever happened to my t.v. I dont have PIP on my tv and this gives me that and after being used to any other digital box, this is very easy to understand and use. I dont think its perfect, but pretty darn close. I think alot of the complaints above represent the cable company or billing system in regards to the errors or failures, and once in a while your gonna have a bad box, it happens.

The Scientific Atlanta 8000 works finer for me had it 3 months so far never reboots like others say always records what i want maybe 1 time over past 3 months it didnt record a show in full stopped recording and have no idea why.
thats 1 time out of 3 months and i record stuff everyday.

My only complaint with this box is it only holds 35 hours?
what is that? thats like 4 VCR tapes
no where near enough!
and whats with the usb being disabled?
I am looking and searching on how to enable these myself because by the time time warner gets around to it i will probably be grey!

But other then that BOX is awsome cheaper then TVO and nice compant cable and dvr recorder in one box.

This is my first experience with 8000. Just got it from Adelphia in NE Penna. So far no probs. Adelphia has stores in a mall near where I work, and they were pretty versed in the operation. Unable to get video output yet to my VCR, will work on this. Also, a little tricky to program remote to turn off all devices with one shot (hate having to click two buttons to turn off tv and cable box).

To answer a previous post, the power can be off on box and recording will still continue.

Link for guides from SA:

http://www.sciatl.com/consumers/Exp8000.htm

Only bug I have is that once a playback stops, it freezes the last frame of the picture until you delete the program or switch to another playback. You can never get back to a "stop" state. Unless I'm missing something.

Yes, the channel change delay is an annoyance, too.

PIP will not work while recording a program, obviously is uses the PIP tuner to record, so it can't be changed. Also, by design, if recording 2 shows, one must be viewed.

I just got this device from Comcast yesterday, and it has been nothing but frustration for me and my wife so far. It won't allow us to view recorded programs, recorded programs disappear and reappear in the list, the live playback features (such as pause and instant replay) only work some of the time, and the slow response time isn't even consistent enough in behavior for us to know whether or not the box has received the remote's signal at all. Totally rebooting it will cause most functions to work normally for a little while, but I have been completely unable to view recorded programs! Perhaps this is a defective unit, but with the similar problems I've since found reported all over the internet, I'm seriously considering just giving up on Comcast's DVR service completely rather than bothering with endless support calls and one or more replacements.

Oh, before anyone tries to say that I'm stupid or crazy for not being able to make this thing work, you can shut up now. I work with computers and networking for a living, run my own LAN and internet server, and have no serious problems with any other electronics I own. The majority of people who feel the need to insult those of us having problems with the SA8000 can't even spell properly.

how do i record from SA8000 dvr to a hard drive or dvd?

Pat

I live in NYC and just subscribed to Time Warner's DVR. I picked it up and I hooked everything up, but I get no Guide Functions. I also noticed that there is no program data whenever I switch channels. Am I supposed to call into their service center to activate something? ALSO, as I was going up the channels, I noticed some movie channels appearing even though I know I've never subsribed to them. What should I do?

Jason, I think it would need some time to download and process all the program guide data -- give it overnight after being hooked up to cable and powered on to see if that's the case.

Q: I have the Explorer 8000 DVR. How do I add a video game device to it?
A: At present, because the AUX inputs on the Explorer 8000 are not active, you need to plug the video game device directly into the TV inputs according to the game device installation guide.

Q: I have my DVD player connected to the AUX input. How do I change the input to recognize the AUX input so that my DVD player will play?
A: The AUX Input port on the Explorer 8000 home entertainment server is not currently active. It will be activated by a future software download to your set-top. This is expected later this year.

Seriously, wtf??? I'm just glad that my tv wasn't a Scientific Atlanta! Could you see that support when you call in for none of the inputs working (rf, RCA, S-vid, etc...) WHY PUT THE PORTS ON IF THEY DON'T WORK?????? Arrrrrgggghhh..... No other problems yet but it's been about 3 hrs out of the box.

My first box I got was a lemon...got a new one after 3 weeks of Time Warner BS and it works great. Only problem is that the channels take longer to switch AND I can't yet have HDTV & DVR. BUT since neither Tivo nor Replay TV offer dual tuners and i OFTEN watch something while recording something else...I don't have much a of a choice. I'm getting the All In Wonder 9800 for my PC to see if that does a better job...but that of course only has a 125 channel tuner...so NOTHING is perfect!
I'm w/ Time Warner in NYC.

I've had this DVR for about 4 months. I have been very please with it. TiVo is still king. But, with the SA8000, it keeps the cluter down in my entertainment system. My only gripe is the slow response from the remote to the settop. There's about a 2-3 second delay! I hate that!

An important issue to take into account with these boxes is whether your local cable system is updating the boxes with the current software fixes. A user like Dayv, who posted above, may be fully qualified to run any basic piece of digital equipment, but if his local Comcast cable provider doesn't provide software updates or have qualified people working in the headend configuring the hardware and software that provides data to the 8000, then there will be problems. Although there are 8000 boxes that are just duds, the lack of software fixes and data supplied by the local cable provider to the boxes at the headend level will be the primary culprit in poor performance with the 8000.

FYI:
I've had the 8000 box since September 2002 and although there were issues at first, they have been resolved. It's not the equipment, it's your cable company.

Ray

OK Guys, Please get a clue!

First:
If you didn't get one from your cable provider go to the Scientific Atlanta website and READ THE MANUAL!

Second:
People with these "pixelation" problems as they call them. These are NOT caused by the box. This is caused by a signal transmission problem. It is either a low strength signal, dirty signal,. It can also be a bandwidth problem. Some companies haven't put out enough equipment to handle all these new toys but they want to be competitive with others and put them out anyways. Most of the time there aer too many connections node, or there is just a plain old mixture of new fiber and old copper .

Third:
The box can do at least 50 hours of recording depending on how much the cable company has compressed the signal. Some people have mentioned that they only get 30-40. That may be true but the better the picture, the larger the data. so the fewer hours of recording.

Fourth:
This is a no brainer. If this was YOUR home computer would you enable all the ports and give everyone the password to it? So duh, the cable company doesn't enable the ports on your equipment so some schmucks could fiddle around with the programming of them! OF COURSE NOT! Could you even begin to imagine the outcome of this? They would all go broke trying to do tech runs, equipment replacement and support calls related to the messups of nincompoops. And the digital audio port is not usually enable unless the cable provider has the equipment(or the want) to support it.

And finally to the persons that say Microsoft doesn't release anything wihtout thouroughly testing it first! HAH. On what planet do you live on? They onl[y have the biggest contigent of Beta Testers of any company known to man. It's called "Wer are the greediest company in existance. Lets release our new product early and let the users beta test it for us"! Then we will release eight million patches for the next few years. These guys released Windows 98 with all the bugs when they already had ME, XP and NT done! (Well done if you are Microsoft and you don't worry about system crashes and bugs).

I have had a TIVO that all these folks are bragging about. It's ok. But it's not all THAT! You have to pay to purchase the unit then you have to pay a monthly fee for subscription service unless you shell out a couple humdred extra buck at first. It can only record one feature at a time. By the way you also need a hard wired phone line for it to call in and get the programming guide with and THIS IS VERY SLOOOOWWWWWWWW.

My local provider only charges $5 a month(and no equipment purchase) for the DVR and the service so I can't think of any other hardware combination that can match it for the money.

What you all read here are common problems found to exist with the DVR units.

Not all DVR's are lemons! Hardrive failures are common if you place the units in confined spaces with inadequate ventilation.
The hardrives (Maxtor) are touchy, max heating it not desired unless you like frequent visits from your cable guy.

Not all reset problems are bad equipment,
the signal to your DVR is very important too!
All cables must be well shielded and adequate signal strength provided, look for any pixeling of digital channels and snowy/grainy pic on highest analog channels, this usually indicates possible low signal or other cable related problems which can cause a reset.

Beware of surge protectors, the input to the DVR must be well shielded, most surge protectors do not provide adequate shielding for 50-700 mhz.
If your surge protector is causing problems then you may place it on the rf output of the DVR, it will still provide coaxial protection to the tv.

I have examined many DVR failures while out in the field and signal problems resulted in about 90% of the service calls, hardrive failures about 8% and the last 2% were software or other onboard electonics failures.

Word of advise! Backup your favorite show with video tape or other media..........
Death and taxes are the only sure thing in this world!
;-)

Please read the manual, alot of you guys here are griping about "missing" features that are clearly THERE!!! Use a ABC keys to activate more features, you indeed can set its recording to a weekly or monthly schedule, even create your own custom recordings to the minute, or add or delete minutes to each recording. The only gripe with the SA Explorer 8000 is that its not practical to surf channels as there isnt a way to turn of the instant recording of every channel as yet.

This machine is much better than a Tivo. Period. Some people have gotten lemons, but I've seen Tivo lemons as well.

Also this Spring Time Warner will debut with a HDTV DVR as well as VOIP (Voice Over IP) in Fall-Winter for about the same cost ($6/mo).

My hunch is that anyone who says "This machine is much better than a Tivo" about the SA8000 hasn't spent much time with a TiVo.

We've had the SA8000 DVR for about 3 weeks. I loved it and had NO problems with recording at all, until I tried to record HBO and Showtime original shows. The sound sucked on almost all of the recordings. Skipped and jerked. Finally I called and asked them if this was normal. They said no and swapped out the box. Now we have one that is much worse. This one mostly does not record at all, just once in a while. Sometimes I press record and nothing at all happens. Then if I can get it to start recording, the screen goes black on that channel. I've been able to record 2 out of the 10 programs I tried to record, although it seems able to record a few minutes at a time (which of course makes it hard to show a tech (we've had one here). The red light is on and the List says it's recording the show, but when I go to the List afterward--nothing is there. Oh yeah, and the sound still sucks on premium original recording. They are now bringing yet another box. The technical supervisor told me he is going to use it in the office for a few days to make sure it works. I'm not optimistic, but I think it's a great device when it actually works. So what are the chances you get a good box? 50-50? BTW, I am very technically knowledgeable and do not have problems operating electronics or computers. This is not caused by the user as some suggest. The first one recorded just fine (other than the sound quality). This is definitely a screwed up box.

Yeh! I finally figured out what this box has been doing. It doesn't record analog. No channels below 100. They're swapping it out tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed that the next box is OK.

Clearly there are people on this board from Scientific Atlanta and Time Warner trying to make people think the DVR is so great.

It's awful.

I had TiVo first, and decided when I got the SA DVR that I would sell my TiVo. However, something told me not to, and thank GOD I didn't -- the SA DVR frustrates me to no end.

What sucks:

-Remote control delay
-Inability to do fast deletes (unless the hard drive is full!)
-4 or 5 steps required to record all episodes of a program
-Dropped recordings
-Spontaneous reboots
-Poor Sound quality on the recordings
-Unreliable scheduling

ETC, ETC.

If TiVo ever had simultaneous recording capability, I'd dump the SA DVR like yesterday's trash.

We just got one with Rogers in Ottawa, Canada. The only gripe I have so far is the slow channel switching, especially if you're already recording a show. IMHO, the live recording shouldn't start until you've been on one channel for 5 or more seconds. You can hear the hard disk scratching every tiem you change the channel.

Batting .500

TWC just installed the 2nd of the newest SA 8000. The 1st one had a POS hard drive that would record but playback was a nightmare every few seconds it would freeze up and ask if the program would like to be deleted, POS. A very frustrating first expierence with a DVR. No problems yet so far with batter #2 but only time will tell.

TWC is beta testing a new DVR with a 160 GB hard drive that should be out soon but still unclear if its for HDTV only.

Batting .500

TWC just installed the 2nd of the newest SA 8000. The 1st one had a POS hard drive that would record but playback was a nightmare every few seconds it would freeze up and ask if the program would like to be deleted, POS. A very frustrating first expierence with a DVR. No problems yet so far with batter #2 but only time will tell.

TWC is beta testing a new DVR with a 160 GB hard drive that should be out soon but still unclear if its for HDTV only.

is there an echo in here?

Problems I have noticed:

1. Although the manual indicates the unit recognizes identical program descriptions in the same day and ignores repeats, this is not the case. Set it for Dennis Miller (CNBC), it always records all 3 daily episodes. If I pick 1 timeslot (9:00pm-10:00pm), and indicate "all episodes", then it should only record all episodes in the chosen timeslot, not 12:00-1:00am, and 3:00-4:00am as well.

2. If you stop a recording, it will remove all future show scheduled recordings.

3. Unit is slow changing channels, and pulling up guide, especially when recording.

4. After 3 weeks, my unit stopped recording.

Cable company tech support indicated a software bug causes the unit to stop recording, and a remote software upgrade will correct above issues. We will see.

I have had the SA 8000 for over 6 months and though I hated the delay in switching channels and once in a while have experienced the pixelation issue (which I also experienced with my digital settop box), I generally love the DVR!

(1) as everyone else has explained, go online and read the manual.

(2) the ability to record and watch other channels is fantastic (especially when my wife and I disagree on what to watch).

(3) TWC is just getting the hang of things-- they'll just get better over time with these DVRs.

Sunil

The SA 800 works absolutely perfect for me the only issue is as mentioned the slight hesitation when switching but I can live with that great unit.
Those with problem you have a lemon or a lousy signal coming in.

Can you hack the firewire ports at the back???

Just got the unit recently, and it works great for me!

Just a small tip to everyone who hates the delay:

If you're currently are watching a channel, just hit the up/down arrows on the remote to see what is playing across the other channels. If you find something you like, then just hit the select button.

It'll save you the grief of having the delay across each and every channel you traverse.

Comcast in Northern Virginia installed our SA8000 DVR 6 months ago. The first SA8000 failed after 2 months. The replacement is acting strangely now. It shows programs scheduled to record (highlighted in red on the guide), but they don't record! The odd thing is that it occurs intermittently-- SOME programs DO record.

The friendly lady at Comcast remotely reset the box; we'll see if the problem recurs.

I have no experience with TiVO, but we are generally happy with our SA8000. I haven't used a VCR in six months! We like the 2 tuner feature, although sometimes we'd like to record 3 channels at once, or record 2 channels and watch a third.

Time Warner has released the 8000HD. It's still waiting for a software update. At the moment the component, coaxial, and DVI are inoperable. There is an auto strech/zoom feature on its way. The box I recieved has no 1394 ports.

It supports all current HD formats. The 1080i channels are beautiful. All 8 of them. It has 160 gig harddrive and duel 166mhz processors.
I also had the 8000 model. Visually and navigationally they are identical. Thus far the box seems stable but I'm holding judgement till the software upgrade goes public...word is, its in test homes now and is about a week away.

Time Warner has released the 8000HD. It's still waiting for a software update. At the moment the component, coaxial, and DVI are inoperable. There is an auto strech/zoom feature on its way. The box I recieved has no 1394 ports.

It supports all current HD formats. The 1080i channels are beautiful. All 8 of them. It has 160 gig harddrive and duel 166mhz processors.
I also had the 8000 model. Visually and navigationally they are identical. Thus far the box seems stable but I'm holding judgement till the software upgrade goes public...word is, its in test homes now and is about a week away.

I use this DVR with TW in Wisconsin. I've had it for 6 months and have nothing but kudos to say about it and all its features. I think one of the biggest issues wrt unhappy users, is not the hardware itself, but rather the software that the provider runs at the head-end. Here, TW runs Passport software. It is intuitive, solid and has all the features that others say are missing. Some useful tips: use the guide to surf and select instead of channel up/down. When fast forwarding through commercials, wait until you see scenes from the show, then stop FF'ing and the two second delay will put you right at the end of the commercial regardless of the FF speed you are using. If you decide to watch a program already in progress that is also recording, select and watch the *recording* (instead of rewinding the buffer), then if you decide to watch something else *do not* press the *stop* button! It will stop the recording. Simply change channels. If you don't want disk noise when the tv is off, put both tuners on non-recordable channels (i.e. I/Control). If you are having pixel issues, you have a signal strength problem. Get a hardware tech to install a signal amplifier. If you have the Passport s/w, investigate the sub-options in the Series Manager. There are unlimited settings for controlling repeats/days to record/time slots/channels/number of recordings to keep or purge, etc. If a program is running over, pull up the guide, focus the program, press the record button and select how long you want to extend the recording. It's a great device! I haven't turned on my VCR since I've had it. Never missed or lost a recorded program due to the hardware. HTH.

I also live in Austin, TX and have had this box for just over a week. I LOVE the thing, it is my first DVR box and I have had nothing but fun and success with it. However, my brother also got the box at the same time as me and he has a problem with it recording only half of a show that he set it to record. I would recommend it thought.

You can get user guides for all the SA products at:

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/index_new.asp

I just had the Scientific Altanta Explorer 8000 installed with new Time Warner (NYC) cable service. Since that time, I have not been able to successfully watch any programs. All shows are continually disrupted by "breaks" and fragmented images. I've reset the unit a number of times, which seems to correct the problem for a few moments only. The unit has also reset itself. My hope is that it's a hardware problem and getting a replacement model will resolve the issue. However, I'm concerned that my relatively low voltage (apt. has pretty weak power) could be causing the problem.

Any suggestions?

I doubt it has anything to do with your power and more to do with the lousy scientific atlanta box you have. I also live in NYC and I have replaced my TWC dvr twice and I still have issues with pixelation and sudden freezes in the picture and sound. I've had the coax line checked; the connector to my building replaced; the splitter for my modem and cable line replaced; none of it has really made a difference. I've inquired about a signal accelerator that I read about here and heard about from others in the city but the folks at customer service and the techs who visit me know nothing about it. If I didn't have restrictions about having satilite in my building, I would switch to dish.

We picked up an SA8000 from TWC in Wisconsin about a month ago on a recommendation from a friend who's had one for about 6 months. We have had no problems at all, though I back up "important" programs. I was given a users guide and was able to *easily* find all the information I needed on the internet, though anyone with significant computer/tech experience should not have a problem operating this box.

I've used Tivo, and agree with the ease-of-use arguments, but one point I don't see the Tivo devotees addressing is price. The SA8000 is costing me $5 a month, not $200 up front + $13 a month that the low-end Tivo would cost.

Possibly the reason nobody is bringing up price is because the alternative "cost" of an unhappy spouse when her much-anticipated episode of Gilmore Girls is lost to the vagaries of a tempermental "off-brand" DVR, or its confusing interface, that you are responsible for bringing into the house to replace the VCR is simply incomparable to the price of a TiVo. ;-) Maybe that's just me...seems like it's not, though.

I just got this wacky (8000) box and I want to gets me some more memorey. I want to hack it silly. I see 2 1394(firewire) ports. I need to try them out. Cable says I have nothing. I find that hard to believe with "SO MANY MINDS".
HELP ME OUT!

I am a huge advocate of the TW/SA8000 running Echo Passport. It is simply the best of breed available. After reading all the TiVo praises and BEFORE you decide to go right out and buy one, you should read this:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/newstmpl=story&cid=1738&e=2&u=/zd/121934

Sorry - the above link didn't work right - here's the text from the article:

TiVo Will Die
Jim Louderback - PC Magazine
It's always hard to write an obituary, especially when the subject is still alive. It's especially hard for me, because I love the little guy like a brother. But, alas, TiVo (news - web sites) will die.
I was one of the first reviewers to get my hands on an early TiVo box. I compared TiVo with ReplayTV (news - web sites), and although I really wanted to like ReplayTV, TiVo won my heart over.
It wasn't the cutesy mascot, although that helped. Rather, it was the drop-dead simplicity and ease of use that even the first version evinced. And to top everything off, TiVo came with the world's best remote control ever, even more astounding for such a fiendishly complex device. Shaped like a dog bone, it was simple to use, easy to understand, and a pleasure to hold.
The Wall Street Journal's arbiter of tech—Walt Mossberg—still thinks ReplayTV was better, and we've argued over the brilliance of the remote. But the acid test, for me, was when I plopped TiVo down in front of my computer-averse wife. She took to it like a duck to water. So much, in fact, that I soon purchased another one just so I could watch what I wanted to see.
But TiVo today has a problem—and it's not what you think. Most folks point to TiVo's inability to convince consumers just how cool the product is and why they need one. Yes, it's hard to describe why a personal video recorder (PVR) is better than a VCR—until you use one. Give a TiVo to your friends for a month and you'll have to pry the remote out of their cold, dead hands. ReplayTV faces the same challenge, but that's not where the real threat lies.
Instead, a convergence of three separate trends is conspiring to kill off TiVo.
Three Horsemen
Moore's Law. The first one, ironically, derives from the same technology that enabled TiVo to live in the first place: Moore's Law. As chips got powerful enough and hard drives cheap enough, the PVR was inevitable. But now the raw materials are cheap enough to put hard drive–based video recording into just about anything.
It's not just cheap components. Television delivery has changed, too. The original TiVo was designed to suck in an analog TV signal, via either antenna or cable. It also included analog S-Video and composite ports for set-top boxes, which aside from DirecTV and Dish Network were mostly analog, too.
Fast-forward to today. Nearly half of what the industry calls multichannel homes (those with cable or satellite) receive their TV in digital form.
And that's bad news for standalone PVRs like TiVo and ReplayTV. Satellite providers Comcast, DirecTV, and Dish—and companies that offer digital cable service—have spent oodles of cash buying up the best available MPEG compressors to convert analog feeds from broadcast networks, ESPN, HBO, and the other cable networks into compressed digital bits for home delivery.
It's a generational thing. Even with digital cable or satellite services, the broadcast signals spend little time in digital form. Within the home, a set-top box first converts everything to analog (the box doesn't know whether you have HDTV). Then, if you're using a standard TiVo, that data is reconverted into digital form (MPEG) for time shifting and storage. But the data undergoes one more conversion back to analog, so it can play on a traditional television set.
Just as in the old audiocassette days—where if you copied your best friend's mix tape, a bit more hiss came along with each generation farther removed from the source—the two-step analog-to-digital conversion causes noticeable and annoying artifacts. And as TVs get bigger and cable companies squeeze more channels into the same space, those blocky artifacts will become worse and worse.
So what's the solution? Stay digital all the way. TiVo realized this early on and swung a deal with DirecTV to build a combination PVR and DirecTV tuner. With the DirecTiVo, the fat digital bits from the satellite go right onto the hard drive and aren't converted to analog until they squirt into your TV.
Good first step. But since DirecTV had TiVo, archrival Dish Network decided to develop its own PVR/receiver combo. The Dish Player still lacks some of the basic show-finding features TiVo has had for years, including wish lists and season passes. It's also buggy, as well-known usability expert Bruce Tognazzini details in his blog. But because the picture is better than an analog TiVo's, Dish customers have flocked to the Dish Player in droves. For TiVo, this has caused enough concern that the company has filed a lawsuit accusing Dish Network of intellectual property violations.
And now the guys who make digital cable set-top boxes have gotten into the game. Motorola and Scientific Atlanta both make combo receiver/recorders for cable. And they're cheap, too: Viewers can't buy them but can typically rent a box for just $6 a month. That's half the cost of TiVo's monthly service charge after you've bought a TiVo unit for $300 or so.
I've played with most of the cable combos, and while they lack TiVo's elegance and usability, they work well enough, and the picture quality is noticeably better than with standalone recorders. Let's look at the next TiVo killer.

HDTV. The next fatal problem for TiVo is high-definition TV signals. 2004 will be the year America embraces HDTV. The Super Bowl looked tremendous in HD, movies are amazing, and in May, when ESPN begins broadcasting SportsCenter in HD, the contest will be over.
With the world moving to HD, here comes TiVo—a year late—with its own HD PVR. Scheduled to ship in March, the DirecTV combination HD receiver and PVR will cost a staggering $1,000. Cable, again, is about to trump TiVo. Motorola and Scientific Atlanta are readying their own HD set-top boxes, which will again be free to use and will cost about $10 a month to rent.
A legitimate TiVo alternative, the Digeo Moxi, offers everything TiVo does and comes with the first decent PVR remote since TiVo. Expected monthly rental: around $10. You could enjoy a Moxi for eight years and still not burn through the out-of-box price for the upcoming HD TiVo.
Even so, TiVo could happily go on losing money for the next ten years, based on its lucrative agreement with DirecTV. But alas, you have to paint Rupert Murdoch as public enemy number three in this tragic tale.
Murdoch's DirecTV. The problem is that Murdoch is a rapacious cost-cutter, squeezing margins and hunting for profits at every turn. He has already moved to consolidate the fractured DirecTV set-top market—where more than ten consumer electronics vendors build their own branded boxes—into one (presumably cheaper) look and feel. The next step will be for Murdoch to oust TiVo in favor of a lower-cost and less useful but cheaper PVR. And when that happens, you can kiss poor TiVo goodbye.
Of course, Murdoch could purchase TiVo lock, stock, and barrel—though it's doubtful. But there's one sliver of hope for the beleaguered PVR vendor, and that's software licensing. Unfortunately, the low price that TiVo's software would command won't translate into any sort of positive return on equity for shareholders. So that kind of licensing is probably not going to happen, either.
Of course, I should have seen this coming. Over the years I've observed that the more arrogant and less responsive a company gets, the more likely it's about to fail. Oddly, when the going gets tough, most companies don't do a gut check and rededicate themselves to service. Instead, they circle the wagons and go into a preventive defense—and search for someone to sue.
In the early years of TiVo, I'd get instant service. TiVo even gave me the name of a special ambassador—a strategy meant to ensure that the company got a fair hearing in the press, on the Web, and in other public forums. Today my inquiries go unanswered—or even worse, I never receive a promised response. Hold times on the help lines are interminable: It took me over half an hour last week to determine why the company had charged me $14. And I'll wager that Dish Network is not the first company or the last to be sued for IP rustling.
It's surely not the product designers' fault. They've built a great new category and an incredibly useful and usable product. But a few dumb decisions, coupled with intransigent corporate arrogance and overweening lawyers, have doomed TiVo to death. I'll surely miss the poor guy when he's gone.

i hae the dame thing no serch no over lap fix
so if a show is moved it cant re add the show
wich sucks i hack my dvr and ran linux on it
1 thing to add ther or 3ways to install linux
on it usb cd rom or 1894 or harde drive dump
i did the usb hack
things that im runing or redhat 9
logtech keybord and mouse

it runs good
and it has for some resone pay perview is free
runing kreep o 2.0 has full tv guide not the 1 that came with box
it has not crash yet i like my new hack
1 thing i like is playing unrale 2004 on it
yes a pc gaem on linux is crazy but a pc gaem on linux on a cable box is soo cool
shit thats off the huck or runing mame
with area 51 mslug and runs ps1 iso no cd rom suport on ps1 games yet
i jsut hope the hackers @ jitway.no-ip.com dc++ hub make some good hacks for it
its cool to see pc games and emulaters ran on some thing like this thank to usb we can do this
dvr is runing usb 2.0 1.0 cant run kebords
2.0 can install windows using kebord now 1.0 cnat do that thats way
i can run linux on dvr 1 note tvo cant do this

The only thing that I've been able to get working on the usb port is a keyboard, it controls the channels from the keypad & the guide form the arrow buttons.

I got this DVR box from Time Warner yesterday (March 24th, 2004) and it initially worked great. It was a little hard to figure everything out at first (even had to configure the remote control to work with my tv/vcr combo), but then everything seemed to work smoothly. Until this morning that is, when the system has been freezing countless times, and when it does freeze it makes this loud noise resemblant of say a loud alarm clock that even the Time Warner rep. heard while I was speaking to her over the phone (and she told me that the sound was very abnormal). A technician will be coming soon to replace the box (or perhaps I should go and try to replace it myself prior to the appointment), but I really do hope this is a case of a bad harddrive. If this noise continues, I will have to get rid of my DVR service. I do have to say that the recording procedure worked well last night, but this noise the harddrive is making (a very loud beep that last for 10-15 seconds) is very irritating.

Does anyone have a clue as to what Michael was saying? We could use him to write unbreakable codes so the terrorists couldn't read them!

Hey, I have been having problems with my unit freezing up and skipping when I record. This was only happening during the last half hour of taping a one hour show. I had the cable guy come out to see of there was something wrong with the unit. He said that they are very susceptible to temperature. It needs to stay cool. I had it in a cabinet along with other AV equipment. We took it out of the cabinet so that it would cool off and got proper air flow. We did this yesterday and it has been working so far. I put it through it's paces trying to recreate the failures but it seems to have done the trick. If you're having problems with your unit and it's not getting proper airflow then try this. You may have to get longer cables but this outweighs the benfits. The other thing that he mentioned was that it could be getting interference from my surround sound unit or stereo unit or even the TV. I'm not convinced on this one but with longer cables I can get it further away from them.

Well, I'm back. It's not working again. I'm off to the cable store outlet to get a new unit. This will be my third one in a little under a month. They think it might have been damaged by the heat. I'll let you know.

I've had the 8000 DVR for 4 months now. I jumped at it over Tivo for the 2 tuner aspect. My biggest gripes are that it doesn't seem to recognize repeats and currently, it stopped recording. Concerning repeats for example, Leno is on at 11:35pm and 2am (approx). Every weekday, I get both recorded even though I only wanted the 11 pm show. Very annoying. I had to set the Screen Savers to a manual recording because its on 3 times a day.

We've been bit by the "stop recording" issue to. I was just readying about the Feb 29th issue but I don't know if occurred around that date. Now it stopped recording all together. I looked at the guide last night 5 mins before a recording should have started. It didn't start and then I checked the guide again and it was nolonger red. This is the kind of thing they should be sending automatic software patches to fix over the cable system.

You stated that you prefer your tivo. But TIVO doesnt do HD!!!

Wel, Dan, neither does the SA 8000. In order to record HD signals, you have to have either the forthcoming HDirecTiVo or the SA 8000HD DVR (if you're on cable). IMO, right now -- April 2004 -- there's not enough HD content to worry about recording it. That will hopefully change rapidly over the next 12-18 months.

The SA-8000 series dvr's just went thru a software upgrade to help speed up the channel surfer remote ops. The upgrade delays the record funtion a couple seconds while you surf.
Still not as fast as a standard digital converter but none the less it did help.
Everyones gripe with the SA-8000 is justified, Time Warner did not want to wait for proper burn-in testing of the el'cheapo Maxtor hard drives they insisted that be installed.
Cheaper isn't always the best way to go ya know Time Warner!
Keep'm cool guys or loose your good stuff!

Later Dudes!

One of many,
Goober

This 8000 DVR really sucks! Besides being slow switching channels it "forgets" scheduled recordings, fills up the hard disk with repeats. I have two boxes with the same problem. Called Time Warner Brighthouse to complain and they said they weren't aware of any problem. They suggested to unplug the box to hard reset it. I am doing that frequently but the problem persists.

Have used the 8000 DVR for about 3 weeks and now have the "stopped recording bug." All shows appear to record thru the allotted time and then when listed it shows no time recorded, eg. 9:00 to 9:00. When one tries to play the recorded show there is a blank screen.

Also, lately when one powers on the unit there is only a blank screen. Only after changing several channels one gets the picture.

I am unable to seek a fix for this. Will try reboot etc. this evening... but what of the recorded shows that are on the system. These will probably disappear. Oh!! well so much for the new technology. Never had these problems with the old trusty VCR. Atleast the show recorded!!!!

I wonder if this sudden onset of problems is related to the switch over to Daylight Savings Time. Can anyone confirm or deny that theory?

And for what it's worth, Opjit, in the 2.5 years we've had our TiVos, we've never had a single program lost or fail to record for reasons that weren't user error (i.e., our own fault).

After Tivo, this is a major letdown. You tell it to record a weekly show, and as soon as that show gets pre-empted it drops it. I have to set it daily to make sure it records what I'd like it to record.
There's no way to jump to the beginning, no hash marks for big jumps. If you start watching a show that is in the process of being recorded, it drops you out of it when the show stops recording and you have to (slowly) find where you were again.
PQ looks just a little better than Tivo's basic (lowest quality), not as good as Medium.
Others here have posted most of the ills of this device. I'm just wondering why they obviously never bothered to beta test it!

I'M ALSO STARTING TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY SA8000 WITH TWC NYC SERVICE.. I NOTICE NOW IN THE PAST FEW DAYS, WHEN I TURN CHANNELS AT TIMES IT GETS STUCK SO BAD THAT THE BOX RE-BOOTS , THIS HAPPEN TO ME ALREADY TODAY 3 TIMES, AND ITS NOT LIKE IM TURNING FAST, BEEN HAPPENS ON THE MLB PACKAGE CHANNELS 445-450,... ANY IDEAS?

HI I ALSO HAVE A SA8000 WITH TWC IN QUEENS,NY

HAD IT NOW FOR LIKE A MONTH , AND IN THE PAST FEW DAYS , BEEN HAVING A REBOOTING PROBLEM, I HAVE BEEN GETTING THIS PROBLEM WHEN I TURN CHANNELS IT FREEZING SO BAD THAT IT REBOOTS, AND IT NOT LIKE I TURN TO FAST, ITS BEEN HAPPENS ON THE MLB PACAGE CHANNELS 445-450, DIDNT HAPPEN BEFORE..

Well had the 8000 for about a week... worked good at the start but now it seems that everything we record is glitchy and freezes every few seconds.. This is completely annoying... I have the service people coming out next week.. Otherwise the box is ok, I don't much care for the 3 second channel change delay but I'm never in a big rush to watch something on the tube anyway...
BTW my location is Green Bay, Wisconsin...

Does anyone know how to Re-Boot the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR set top box? I normally hold down the power button until the box shuts down, but I've been told that this is not the proper way to re-boot the system. We use our DVR to death and for some reason, I need to re-boot the DVR Box every month or so. The DVR goes from holding a show for four days to "Less than a day" and starts dropping the recorded shows from the system. This is my 3rd box and I just accept the fact that I need to re-boot once a month. Anyway, does anyone know the best way to re-boot the set top box?

Thanks

Another Austin TWC 8000 user here. Have had good luck so far with this unit. At first, had many problems listed above such as pixelation etc... Found that 99% of my problems went away after running better quality cables from curb to house and into the box. These things are VERY picky when it comes to signal strength. TiVo is a little more forgiving. Only complaint is the delay in channel changing, but that is acceptable as I simply use the guide to browse and select. Amplifiers are a HUGE benefit to those of you with annoying problems. Currently working on hacking this thing to shreds. Anyone with skills or an interest in cracking please contact me so that we can get these things cracked for everybody. My focus at this time is cracking the aux input and 1394 ports to run feeds from my satellite into the box and, ultimately, to burn to DVD's. All in all, the 8000 seems to be pretty promising as long as the software updates keep coming. Those of you from Austin already know that that is a shot in the dark though! BTW... one other thing I am seeing is the pic quality of recorded material leaves something to be desired. Oh well, as long as I can see it that's all that really matters to me! If you're hard-core into pic quality though, I think my TiVo had much better playback quality.

TH

I like the 8000 due to the fact you dont need to buy the box an sign up for long term comminets from these satalite providers. The unit works well with my tv an I love the pic in part plus the 2 recordings. I had a tivo an to me its to much bull you need to go through to record a program with an it turns when it wants. With this system you hit the guide an just record. It is not fancy but gets the job done so you dont need to waist time with all them long tv guides..

I've had the 8000 for a week now. It has worked ok so far but the noise it makes concerns me. I called about it was told that a "hissing" noise was normal and should quiet down. This one also makes a clicking noise that I can hear across the room, and can also hear when the TV is on. The noise is coming from the left side, facing the unit, of the box. There is also an odor and it is very warm to the touch. Is this normal?

I've had my Explorer 8000 for about 3 months now and have had no problems with the unit whatsoever. I have had a few problems with shows starting earlier than scheduled (primarily on TV Land) but I now understand that this is the broadcasters fault and not the DVR. I would love to be able to send the movies that I record to my PC so that they could be saved. If anyone knows of a way to do this I would love to know.

My unit has worked fine for several weeks now. However, it's annoying to see all the duplicate shows that have been recorded. Looks like the 8000 is not smart enough to recognize that the second show is the duplicate of another show already recorded in the unit.

Other than that, no problems so far.

Replaced one after 2 months. Lost all my recorded shows. Bummer. Lesson learned: Don't stockpile your Buffy's-- you may get hosed.

Moreover, due to a tempermental remote, both the new one and the old one still needs to be unplugged for a minute and then rebooted about once per month. Time-Warner says "that just happens." I said, "Hmmm, wanna knock some $ off my bill, then?" "Sorry sir, it's out of our control," they said.

What do I expect, right? If I rented a laptop for $10/month, I'd have to make some compromises. Consider this a descrambler with a low-end laptop hard drive in it. Sometimes the damn thing will just hang on us like a cranky PC when you're trying to use the guide or change channels.

Still better the effing around with videotapes and having to decide which ONE program I could tape at any given time. Also, still better then when I had satellite-- it went out a couple times a week during even the lightest of storms.

The only real gripe I have is that you can't through a show the way you could with a VCR. Instead, it will do 3x frame advance on screen, which is fine for a 30 min show but a royal pain in the caboose for a 2+ hour movie.

I have had this unit for over 2 months and the only problem I am having is recording certain shows via the menu system. It sometimes cut shorts the shows by 2 minutes or so but realize it is the cable scheduling the incorrect times. and it is only late at night never during prime tmes as they are up to date with the correct schedule times. The other problem is my cable company has the VHS outputs disabled but can use the TV outputs but the tuner makes a low humming sound when recording to tape or to DVD.

I was browsing complaints again and thought I would throw my 2-cents in again.
* Softboot = Hold Power Button In Till "BOOT" Displays.
* HardBoot = Unplug the power cord and cross fingers the drive doesn't crash.
All timed selections are controlled by the GUIDE, your recordings are at the mercy of program faults and commercial overruns.
Those experiencing constant resets should check for proper signal levels and/or poor shielded cables.
Most systems use channel 100 for info and coverter status, you can check your FWD & REVERSE Levels there and its much simpler than reading the diagnostic screen.
FORWARD SIGNAL "incoming" - Most DVR's will freeze or pixel on various Digital channels when the FWD signal is below -6db.
REVERSE SIGNAL "outgoing" - Used for PPV access & "Billing" also ON-Demand services.
The DVR must be 2-WAY Connected to accurately read the REVERSE level, the reverse needs to be as low as possible. "Splitters & Distribution Amplifiers will affect the reverse level."
The DVR's are more descriminating than the 2000 series converters and reverse levels below 50db are required, anything higher can be aggravating!
Most people with newer high-end sets seem to follow the tv installation instructions when connecting converters.
Don't do that if you are on a 2-way system!
Use a splitter if you want dual coax inputs or Standard cable. "Dont use the CONVERTER OUT for the digital converter input or you will loose signal when the tv is off "some sets" and no reverse signal will pass for the On-demand or PPV service!
If none of this makes sense then please ask and I'll try to elaborate on any given area.
Back-up the good stuff.......nothing last 4-ever!
Goober

I have the new 8000HD... Mixed bag with this one.

It functions well, but the DVI output as well as the VCR Archive outputs are disabled until " a software patch" is sent. Come on... Anyone else have any info about these features? Let me know.

guamkid@citlink.net

Snak - You can fast forward in 15 minute increments by pressing FF and then the big right arrow key. Fast reverse works just the same, except using the FR and left arrow keys.

-Elmo

Anyone have any experience with the Digeo Moxi?? It looks incredible.

http://www.digeo.com/prodserv/moxi_overview.jsp

Comcast is testing it now in some markets.

Being a Cincinnatian, I hope Time Warner will consider it. Unfortunately, I think they'll stick with Scientific Atlanta...

Has anyone removed the hard drive from the SA 8000 and tried to read the files off it through their computer? I am sure the drive has a standard IDE interface. Maybe the data is stored as MPEG. I don't own one but I might have to get one because it is the only PVR that my cable company will rent or sell and I want to burn DVDs with recorded programs.

Functionally, this box is great. I've had very few problems with it missing recordings, etc.

I am on my third box, however. Despite it being in a well ventilated cabinet, with no other components, this thing has a huge heat dissipation issue. I've put it on blocks, which seems to help some, but it still overheats in hot weather.

The tech support guy says this is quite common. Any of you having problems with pixilation, shut downs, etc. should make sure the thing is plenty well ventilated...I've even considered putting a fan into the cabinet to help matters.

All in all, I love my box, but SA needs to get the heat issue fixed (mount a computer processor fan in the box for goodness sake).

Functionally, this box is great. I've had very few problems with it missing recordings, etc.

I am on my third box, however. Despite it being in a well ventilated cabinet, with no other components, this thing has a huge heat dissipation issue. I've put it on blocks, which seems to help some, but it still overheats in hot weather.

The tech support guy says this is quite common. Any of you having problems with pixilation, shut downs, etc. should make sure the thing is plenty well ventilated...I've even considered putting a fan into the cabinet to help matters.

All in all, I love my box, but SA needs to get the heat issue fixed (mount a computer processor fan in the box for goodness sake).

My SA8000 (Time Warner Cable) is unusable if the sound is connected through the coax digital sound output. It cuts out repeatedly for a fraction of a second, breaking up the sound. The Time Warner techs have been out many times, but are baffled. The problem is not with my receiver, since it occurs on two coax inputs and on a different receiver as well. Anybody had a similar problem with this piece of junk?

The stuff below helped with a problem on my 3 day old SA80000. It dislplayed a message saying that a software update was needed, and then attmepted to connect to the network for the software, without success. Soft boots and uplugging just brought me back to the update screen. The following process took me out of the loop, as noted on this page (thanks):

How to reset Explorer 8000 : "VOL+" + "VOL -" + "Info" ...Press Buttons on face of box at same time and WAIT! for the time to come back on BEFORE you turn the receiver back on

My first 3 Explorer 8000s did not provide digital out. Because the third unit was a complete dud, the company installed a 4th unit. Not only does digital out work, but it records channels that are in analogue and plays them out in digital. In addition, programs broadcast in dolby digital are recorded and played in dolby digital.
I just wanted everybody to know that this piece of junk can work great if you go through enough of them.

Everyone's posts on this topic are fascinating. I've had the SA 8000 since February. I'm on my second unit. Many problems were related to the cable company/signal (Oceanic Time Warner in Hawaii). Fragmented recordings seem to happen when the signal is interrupted for more than a tiny amount of time. The 8000 will record, say, 42 minutes of a scheduled program, them the last 16 minutes of it as a separate file.

I have noticed the stuttering several people mentioned, but never knew if it was a cable or DVR glitch until recently, when I had watched a program live, then later watched the recording. It was the DVR, not the signal.

My 8000's hard drive is extremely noisy, much louder than the manual says.

My cable co. said originally that it would record 30 hours of analog, 50 hours of digital. It's hard to know which is which. I know, for instance, that Hallmark is an analog channel. They don't offer a digital signal to cable operators.

I can't find out if it's possible to eliminate the 2-minute warning box. Anyone know? I really hate it when playing a recorded program. If I'm copying the recording, it ruins the copy, if I'm simply watching, it's truly irritating.

Which SA manual has the information on extending recording times? I haven't been able to make the 8000 do it. I've scanned several online manuals, but trying to be paperless here, don't feel like the expense and waste of printing the whole thing. We have several broadcast stations in Hawaii that start/stop programs 1-8 minutes early or late and I can't figure out how to compensate for that.

For those who asked, I was told by cable co. that the 'VCR out' jacks were for recording from the small picture only when using P in P. This seems ridiculous. I want two sets of 'out' jacks, plain and simple. One for another TV, one for my VCR.

Thanks to everyone who posted solutions to some problems. As many have said, this machine (and my Panasonic DVDR) have changed the way I watch TV forever, and for the better. I really like the 8000, despite its problems. A friend in L.A., with Aldephia, has the worst digital setop box I've ever used. I'm grateful for a better cable co. and system.