Here is my quick review after a few days of usage of issues.
Background:
Im hooked up with Monster HDMI cable, thats the only connection back to TV. Ive been using the same connection with a H20 for the past 9 months.
After booting up, picture looked as good as the H20 (but not dull like the HDTIVO). If it only worked as it should, it will be quite nice, however i ran into several issues.
I got my HR20 this previous Saturday, after going through the first update to
00cx (whatever the latest one was, i dont remember the exact version) that i got immediately after powering up I have been using the system and here are the issues I've found. Now I see there has been a new update and some of my issues have been addressed and when i get home I will take a look to see if it resolved my issues.
1) First thing I noticed was when changing stations from the MPEG2 to MPEG4 there would be a white screen. By using the channel up down to go back resolved that initial issue.
2) I did a few initial recordings, A few HD Football games on Saturday evening. I noticed that the lipsync is very noticable on all recordings. I also noticed that when trying to playback a recording and you need to stop for a while, either by turning the unit or watching another station, the playback doesnt RESUME where you last left off like a Tivo. I noticed that there are some weird things like going to guide button and choosing the station and then after watching something you press the VOD (the third button on from the left above the select button), i cant remember the button name offhand. but when you do this SOMETIMES it resumes where it left off.
3) A very critical issue with me; when i set the todo to record a program automatically (MPEG4 ABC Station) it recorded but when i went to play this back, there was just a white screen of nothing. It sort of looked like static but it wasnt. When I tried to fast foward, the buttons changed from 1 to 2 to 3 (speed) but the playback indicator didnt move. I said thats freakin weird but i went on. Last night i recorded the Marlins vs Reds game on channel 96 and the record indicator was on the whole time but i didnt have the TV on. Later at night I went to watch the recording and this same problem with the white screen was there, where I see it took space on the drive percentage wise so i knew it was there but no video or sound just a white screen. I called adv hd support and by no surprise they said they never heard of this (obviously they did because they put out a fix for this today) and the tech person told me to restart the system, i said fine. After I restarted it the records that didnt work vanished from the vod list. But when i looked at the history it was saying "recorded" the tech figured my unit was bad but i said "i know lots bout PC's and there are no signs of hardware trouble" more like a firmware issue. He differed with me. Also another weird event, I recorded the Saints vs Falcs on Monday night, i was able to play it back that night but last night when i went to play it, there was video but no sound, after rebooting, it worked correctly.
4) Listen to this one. The tech figured I need to format my drive so he told me when it does the following to press "on the unit" not remote the Down Arrow and Record button at the same time and this will initialize some type of format on the hard drive. Supposely, after the "please wait a few moments" clears and the screen goes black if you do that it will work. I tried it 4 times but it didnt work at all. The tech said my (GET THIS) dish needed to be adjusted and was going to send a tech. What a waste of 90 minutes. They dont even know how to use thier equipment they are selling.
Remember, i didnt get the new fw that came out this morning so i will see if this corrects some of my issues since it sounds like it does and will.
Sorry I rambled on so long but i like to be concise.
Background:
Im hooked up with Monster HDMI cable, thats the only connection back to TV. Ive been using the same connection with a H20 for the past 9 months.
After booting up, picture looked as good as the H20 (but not dull like the HDTIVO). If it only worked as it should, it will be quite nice, however i ran into several issues.
I got my HR20 this previous Saturday, after going through the first update to
00cx (whatever the latest one was, i dont remember the exact version) that i got immediately after powering up I have been using the system and here are the issues I've found. Now I see there has been a new update and some of my issues have been addressed and when i get home I will take a look to see if it resolved my issues.
1) First thing I noticed was when changing stations from the MPEG2 to MPEG4 there would be a white screen. By using the channel up down to go back resolved that initial issue.
2) I did a few initial recordings, A few HD Football games on Saturday evening. I noticed that the lipsync is very noticable on all recordings. I also noticed that when trying to playback a recording and you need to stop for a while, either by turning the unit or watching another station, the playback doesnt RESUME where you last left off like a Tivo. I noticed that there are some weird things like going to guide button and choosing the station and then after watching something you press the VOD (the third button on from the left above the select button), i cant remember the button name offhand. but when you do this SOMETIMES it resumes where it left off.
3) A very critical issue with me; when i set the todo to record a program automatically (MPEG4 ABC Station) it recorded but when i went to play this back, there was just a white screen of nothing. It sort of looked like static but it wasnt. When I tried to fast foward, the buttons changed from 1 to 2 to 3 (speed) but the playback indicator didnt move. I said thats freakin weird but i went on. Last night i recorded the Marlins vs Reds game on channel 96 and the record indicator was on the whole time but i didnt have the TV on. Later at night I went to watch the recording and this same problem with the white screen was there, where I see it took space on the drive percentage wise so i knew it was there but no video or sound just a white screen. I called adv hd support and by no surprise they said they never heard of this (obviously they did because they put out a fix for this today) and the tech person told me to restart the system, i said fine. After I restarted it the records that didnt work vanished from the vod list. But when i looked at the history it was saying "recorded" the tech figured my unit was bad but i said "i know lots bout PC's and there are no signs of hardware trouble" more like a firmware issue. He differed with me. Also another weird event, I recorded the Saints vs Falcs on Monday night, i was able to play it back that night but last night when i went to play it, there was video but no sound, after rebooting, it worked correctly.
4) Listen to this one. The tech figured I need to format my drive so he told me when it does the following to press "on the unit" not remote the Down Arrow and Record button at the same time and this will initialize some type of format on the hard drive. Supposely, after the "please wait a few moments" clears and the screen goes black if you do that it will work. I tried it 4 times but it didnt work at all. The tech said my (GET THIS) dish needed to be adjusted and was going to send a tech. What a waste of 90 minutes. They dont even know how to use thier equipment they are selling.
Remember, i didnt get the new fw that came out this morning so i will see if this corrects some of my issues since it sounds like it does and will.
Sorry I rambled on so long but i like to be concise.
