garrysydney

I'll ask him to check the antennas around his house. Definitely living in a house. I wasn't there at the time. Very funny! My friend's name is John, and I am just trying to help him out. I have a spare stb, so I'll take that up and see if it tunes ok. Thanks for the advice! Cheers, Garry P.S. If not Mr Antenna, can anyone suggest another antenna guy? P.P.S. Thanks for the offers to help in person. Please let me know what it would cost to get you up there.

A friend of mine recently got an antenna guy out (at my recommendation), and received the following info. He was told that there's not much he can do about it, and was told that he won't be able to get digital reception at the moment. He was told that there is likely to be a solution soon. My friend wants to buy a whopping great big plasma and doesn't want to spend all that money only to find that it doesn't work in his area. "The information I received from Mr. Antenna who came out to measure the signal strength here was that the analogue signal was strong but the digital signal was problematic as the M Flat reading for all digital signals was well above 5 (some channels were up to 9) and that this reading should always be below 5. He checked out an analogue filter that would filter out all analogue signals and bring down the M Flat but they were expensive, bulky, unsophisticated and questionable as to how effective they would be in my situation." Can anyone shed some light on this issue? The house is located in Warrawee near Hornsby. Cheers, Garry

My thoughts exactly.

Mine has always done this. I figured it was normal. I have only ever connected via HDMI into my Yammy 2600. Would love to get rid of it if I could, but not if I have to use component cables. Another thing... does anyone else connect via the Yamaha? I find that when watching the Sony, my volume graphic does not come through to the TV, but when watching anything else (Foxtel IQ, DVD, or Panny HDD), the volume does show on screen. Would love to fix this! Cheers, Garry

I am via a 2600 to a Pioneer 50 inch. What do you need? Regards, Garry

I too just took the plunge and picked up a new 250GB model with the magic yellow dot (1.10). It's been a long time since my trip out to Sony for the launch, and much reading and angst. Like so many others, I was waiting for the elusive Toppy, but when I decided that I should just get an SD Toppy in the interim, it made more sense to pay nearly the same price for the Sony. The store I went to (HN CHWD) had them on special for $1039 and $1068 (160GB/250GB), so I thought... why not! Didn't even bother haggling for a better price... No problems yet. Had some awful quality on the first day, but then I realised that the tuning had picked up two versions of each HD channel, so I just had to work out which one was best, and hide the other. Easy. Only recorded three shows so far (CSI's and Idol), and both seem to have worked fine. Not a large sample group I'll admit, so best to withhold that opinion for a week or so. Must say that the PQ on CSI was simply stunning... similar (if not better) than my Hotchip STB which performed admirably. This topic seems to be petering out a bit (thank god!), so I am wondering if we should start another on tips and tricks for new and happy owners of the Sony. I haven't found any yet (except maybe pressing play from normal viewing starts the oldest recording - or resumes what you were just watching), but I'm sure that those of you who have been playing for a while might have something worth sharing? Suggestions about leaving powered on or not, etc would also be greatly appreciated. Peter... would you consider getting this underway? Regards, Garry P

Wasn't sure where to post this one, as it fits into so many categories! Toshiba's Hard Disk Recorder with HD DVD is World's First. Integration of 1-Terabyte Hard Disk with HD DVD Recordable Drive Opens way to Recording and Archiving of High-Definition Video TOKYO-Toshiba Corporation today (22/06/06) unveiled the future of home video entertainment in an age of digital, high definition content: the world's first digital hard disk video recorder integrating a recordable HD DVD in combination with a 1-terabyte (TB) hard disk. The new "RD-A1" can record and store up to 130 hours of high-definition (HD) broadcasts on its high capacity hard disk and record up to 230 minutes of HD content to a single HD DVD disc. In addition to superb image and sound recording and playback, the new recorder also offers an extensive range of advanced functions made possible by the versatility of HD DVD, including optimized navigation and menu displays. The RD-A1 is scheduled for roll out in the Japanese market from July 14 (Delayed a couple of weeks). The RD-A1 is the first video recorder to support recording and playback of content in the HD DVD format, the next generation of DVD format defined and approved by the DVD Forum. The recorder combines support for recording of full HD broadcasts with high capacity recording to HD DVD-R discs: up to 115 minutes of HD content to a 15-gigabyte (GB) single-layer HD DVD-R disc, and up to 230 minutes to a 30GB dual-layer HD DVD-R disc, allowing viewers to make HD DVD-R libraries of their favorite TV programs, whether dramas, movies or sport. Ease of use is also enhanced by the ability to record two TV programs, one digital HD and one analog, to the hard disk, simultaneously. In addition to HD DVD, the RD-A1 also supports playback from and recording to conventional DVD-RAM/-RW/-R discs, giving users complete access to content recorded and saved in standard DVD. It also offers simplified transfer of DVD disc content to higher capacity HD DVD discs. Another key feature among the many supported by the RD-A1 is support for 1080p output via HDMI, allowing viewing of "full HD" progressive scan video signals. Up-conversion of standard DVD to 1080p resolution output also enhances the enjoyment of current DVD software and recorded programs. Video and audio output is further enhanced by the design of the RD-A1's chassis, which isolates the player from vibration and optimizes the performance of its high-grade parts and components. RD-A1 takes full advantage of the advanced functionality offered by the versatility of the HD DVD format, which far surpasses standard DVD in its extensive support for "pop-up menus" and advanced features such as Picture in Picture (PIP) with moving picture functions. http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entert...rder-182569.php http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/22/toshiba...-with-1tb-disk/ I want one!!! Garry

QUOTE(Bobby @ Jun 27 2006, 3.00PM) I too have been lurking on this topic almost since the thread began. I am also using my Foxtel IQ in the meantime before I take the plunge. My experience with the IQ box is not quite the same as yours though. Bobby... just thought you should know that my IQ unit is very close to perfect, but my first 7 units sounded much like yours. Garry

Like so many other people glued to this forum, I have been quietly sitting here frustrated over the issues suffered by the two latest HD PVRs, and can't believe there is still no "dream machine". I had to laugh when I heard that people were still using their SD PVRs as backups, and just thought I would add my two cents. Whilst waiting for TNBT, I have been "forced" to continue with my Foxtel IQ. Then I thought... what am I complaining about? Albeit SD quality (or less than)... I often forget its reliability and functionality. 2.0 tuners, resume play from anywhere you damn well please, no file splitting, no dropouts, no missed recordings - ever!, no pixelation, no dst issues, much appreciated warnings galore when I stretch the PVRs capabilities (tuners) to the limit, and the 7 day EPG for 9 and SBS (very handy during the world cup, although the other FTAs would be nice). Do I recommend this box ahead of a good HD PVR... no way!!, but as an alternative capable of keeping us sane until the Toppy comes out... pretty damn good! I always have my HD STB if I need a fix, and my old Panasonic HDD if I want to record it. I'm going to get the Toppy... hopefully in time for Christmas next year! Thanks to all the many contributors to this forum... you know who you are, but particularly the regulars (pgdownload, PVE, Muzz). Without your input, I would have innocently wandered into the PVR wilderness and bought something, and would have immediately been dissatisfied. Then I would have thought that I was the only person with any issues and just chalked it up to experience. This forum is invaluable. Garry

Remember back to my post regarding the "experts" from Sony at the product launch in Sydney... they were the ones that told us you couldn't record two and watch a pre-recorded program. Not very bright if you ask me. If they took a little time with the machine and actually turned the thing on, they might have been more knowledgeable on the subject. Coming from a large company that's headquartered overseas, I can, however, vouch for the fact that information sharing is not as easy as one would think. I regularly deal with people who mean well, but are misinformed. People who simply make s#@t up deserve to be shot, but the majority in my experience are simply mushrooms... Like many on this forum, I am riding the early adopter roller coaster. Lucky for me, I decided to wait an extra week or so before buying. A week ago I decided that the Sony would be a great buy, and a week later I'm glad I was too busy at work to go out and get it! I hope that Sony gets their act together and delivers an upgrade that resolves the main issues and lets us get back to more important matters like what to buy next, and how to get it past the boss! Regards, Garry

Thanks aussyspeed. Very good advice... makes complete sense! Now that I have eliminated the cabling as the issue, I'm stuck with either shipping the TV-Link back to the UK, or asking for another IQ box. It would be my 7th, but I swore I wouldn't bother with another one. What I might try is connecting it to a friend's Foxtel box and see if I can get it to work elsewhere. Would hate to get the next IQ box only to find that the TV-Link was faulty! I guess that it should work with standard Foxtel STBs... is that correct? I assume most users (here or in the UK) would not have the PVR STB anyway. Just had a thought... Dick Smith offer the 14 day money back guarantee. Maybe I could just buy the official Foxtel Multi-Room Remote and see if that works. Then I could get Foxtel to troubleshoot if it doesn't, then return the remote and start using my cheapy from the UK. Brilliant! Couldn't have got there without your advice aussyspeed. Thanks again! Garry

Hi, Wondering if someone could help me. I was interested in buying the new Multi room accessory from Foxtel, but then I heard about the TV-Links coming from the UK at a great price, and I don't need another remote as almost everytime they replace my IQ (onto my 6th unit), they tend to leave me the old remote. I think I have at least 4 of these floating around! I received the Sky TV-Link from the UK today, and have hooked it up as per instructions (RF2 etc) between my IQ box and my second TV. Picture quality is great, and the light on the TV-Link is on so all should be good, but no remote commands are getting through? I have gone into the secret menu and have confirmed that the settings are correct (RF on). I must be honest and say that I couldn't wait until tomorrow to buy the proper coax cable etc, so I hooked it up with 4 x 1.5m standard (crap) antenna leads in daisy chain (I stress this is a short term situation to satisfy my impatience!). Could this be preventing the remote commands coming through? The picture is great, and the TV-Link red led light is happily glowing. Any suggestions??? Cheers, Garry

Hi, Wondering if someone could help me with this. I just received the Sky TV-Link from the UK, and have hooked it up as per instructions (RF2 etc) between my IQ box and my second tv. Picture is great, and the light on the TV-Link is on so all should be good, but no remote commands are getting through? The TV-Link came with instructions on how to tell the Sky+ box to accept commands from the remote, but the commands don't seem to translate to anything that makes sense. Has anyone else got this working? The instructions supplied are as follows: 1. Press Green button "Services" (Do they mean Setup?) 2. Press no 4 3. Press 0 followed by 1 followed by Green button "Select" (Same on our remote) 4. Press no 4 5. Pres Green button down 6. Check that highlighted box says "on", if it doesn't press Green arrow right until it does 7. Press Green arrow down 8. Press Green button "Select" 9. Press Blue Sky button (Foxtel button) to return to pictures. Any suggestions??? Cheers, Garry

Whilst I hope you are correct, I asked that question twice in front of the crowd, and both times he said no... the machine cannot do more than two things at a time. Seems silly that you can't chase play whilst recording two programs, but if it could do that, what would stop it from playing a pre-recorded show whilst recording two? Mind you, the first time I asked the "record two, watch a pre-recorded" question, he answered with an unintelligent "it doesn't have three tuners" and then laughed at me. I think the joke was on him! Garry

Let me confirm that I am a huge Sony fan. Pretty much everything I have is Sony, although I have strayed a little in the past year. I really wanted this to be the next big thing on my shopping list. At the moment I record and watch most things on my IQ, so I am really wanting to at least match if not improve the feature list, as well as the expected PQ improvement of HD (I love watching the great PQ on my HD STB, but I rarely watch live TV - 11th Commandment ). My girlfriend and I have different tastes, so every night we record two channels at once, and we take turns watching a pre-recorded show from a previous night, or the occasional chase play. I'm just a little disappointed. At the moment, the only box that does everything I want (albeit in SD) is the Toppy. I held off buying it to wait for the LG, and then the Sony... this waiting game could go on forever! My somewhat biased opinion of the Sony DVR... looked great. Menu's looked better than what I have personally used, did better on a number of fronts when compared to the LG, and PQ was excellent. Would I recommend it to people with little to no PVR experience... definitely. Would I buy it myself... probably not. The "no watching whilst recording two programs" issue is a deal breaker for me. I need that feature. I will wait until the first "early adopters" have bought and played, and I wish hopefully that the Sony Product Specialist got it wrong. Here I am again... waiting for something unlikely to happen. Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Garry

Remote pics http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/852/dsc00079a9vz.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1209/dsc00080a6cs.jpg http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/2686/dsc00081a1xr.jpg Display Pic when On http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3462/dsc00083a3ky.jpg

I agree... I also don't think it's correct... but let me expand on my questions to Andrew. We went through the process in the menu, and there was no "weekly" option. I then asked what do I do if I want to record at 7.30pm every Monday night, and Andrew replied that I can specify the Monday time slot 4 times... this Monday, then next Monday, etc. I said that I thought this sounded strange, but he said he was sure. There definitely wasn't a "weekly" option in the menu. I hope that Andrew was wrong, and I couldn't be bothered setting separate timers every month, and if you miss the start of the month, you won't tape anything! How stupid. Also very bummed about the no chase play when recording two channels. As I record two things on a very regular basis, the machine will almost never be free to watch a recorded show... something I do every night on my IQ box. Regards, Garry

Need some help here. I can host the pics, but not sure how to get them to appear in the forum.

10/05/06 11pm: I've edited this a few times as things come back to me. I'm going to use the previous list and add my observations in Red. Where there is no comment, I couldn't get an answer or agreed with the previous response. Let me start by saying the chicken was pretty good! I had nuggets, spinach pie, quiche, and what seemed like a fake calamari ring that "might" have had some sort of minced meat product inside. Time Can you manually enter in the time (or a DLS offset?). NO Do you just pick your region? YES How does the unit handle a power failure? UNKNOWN Both when in standby and when 'on' - does the time get reset after one? UNKNOWN Timers Number of slots for Timers (20+)? 30 Recurring Timer Types: Weekday? Weekly? WeekEnd? The menu offers Mon-Fri, Mon-Sun, etc, but no weekly setting. When asked, Andrew said that you could program one month in advance, and would have to redo timers every month. Can you manually name timers or just the recordings they make? YES The timers are named from the EPG at the time the unit records. Andrew "claimed" two unusual things... 1. if you set a timer to start 10 minutes before and after a show, the machine looks at what the "majority" of the recording is and names it appropriately (hence adding top and tail to timer shouldn't adversely effect the name of the recording), and 2. If you record by timer for 4 hours, he claimed it would name each individual show (4 entries). Not sure about that one? You can rename both timer and epg recordings after they are completed. Can you record two overlapping things at once by setting two timers? YES How are unnamed timers and instant recordings named (Channel name or broadcast info?) Answered above Ability to schedule a recording using the Now and Next info / EPG? Yes Navigation What SKIP facilities does the unit have (30 second jumps?) - user configurable? 30 sec jumps, not user configurable Is the FF/ REW display silky smooth or single frames? Top speed x64? UNKNOWN Does the PVR continue playback from where you left off when you next select the show? YES You have the options of resume or start play Bookmarks? UNKNOWN Closed Captions / Subtitles Can you show subtitles? UNKNOWN Are subtitles recorded and available on playback? Can you toggle them on and off on payback? UNKNOWN Can you change channels while on Subtitles mode. UNKNOWN Output Does it have HDMI out? YES Is the output selectable? ie 720p / 1080i No. Andrew stated that it was fixed on 1080i, but could not confirm what happened if the original broadcast was less than 1080i Can you download saved files to a PC? NO Does it have a USB2 port? NO File menu Buffer Can you enter the file menu and trim/delete/rename/move? YES Andrew answer NO to this when I asked. during recording? UNKNOWN Can you have subdirectories for your recordings? UNKNOWN Didn't look like it Are 'edit' functions instant (eg trim file to end) No (above) Can you sort recorded titles by date and or name? YES TimeShift Buffer Can you turn the TIMESHIFT BUFFER (always background recording) off? UNKNOWN Is there an option for an always on timeshift buffer? UNKNOWN What is its max size? UNKNOWN Two hours? He quoted me 3 hours, and later he quoted 6 hours??? Does the TimeShift buffer get restarted from scratch when you change channels? UNKNOWN Cost Price on the street (not RRP) - less than $1200? Website lists RRP $1399 and $1599. Today's presentation quoted $1299 and $1499 Remote Good Layout? Looked good to me... pictures to follow later tonight. Size? Exactly the same size as my current Sony DVD remote Slide panel with hidden buttons? No Will the remote have any Universal functions for operating, say, your Tv? ONLY SONY BRAVIA LED What does the front panel display? Time, Channel, and GB?? when on. Pictures to follow While recording, during replay, at rest and in standby? Just time when in standby Finally, I would like to ask: Did you get to see the actual DVR and touch it? Very nice I thought Did you get to check out its remote control? Pictures will be uploaded tonight Did you get to see the DVR in action e.g MENUS, HDD Recorded list? Very nice interface. Better than the IQ, about the same as the Panny HDD TV Reception - PQ Looked good, but limited viewing Cannot auto timer two shows and watch a prerecorded show. Can only watch one of the two recording channels live Cannot chaseplay if both tuners are recording. Can chaseplay if one recording and one not. Can record from now and next EPG. Cannot "auto" add 5-10 minutes to start/finish of EPG recording like IQ does. Can manually add time to end of recording in 30 minute increments. 250GB records 36hrs HD, 69hrs SD (1080i 15Mbps) 160GB records 23hrs HD, 44hrs SD (576 8Mbps) Has analogue output for saving shows to DVD or HDD recorder If I think of anything else I will add later... the boss is pressuring me to go out and get dinner. I will also post pics later tonight Cheers, Garry

Let me just get my notes together... I sat there like a geek with pen and paper, and I even took some ppics of the remote and front display! Watch this space. Garry

Great work! I am hoping to take the plunge and buy the Sony, and your comparison certainly simplifies the process of working out which is most suitable. Just one thing... I believe that the IQ has a 160GB HDD. Cheers, Garry

I am going to the Sydney launch this week to try out their chicken skewers, so I was hoping that someone could do a quick roundup of what we know (or think we know ) and leave me with a list of the unanswered questions (or ambiguous answers) so I can concentrate on those. I also want to clarify something regarding overlapping shows and naming timer records. Overlapping first... on my IQ and Panny HDD, if I am recording 3 shows on one channel, and simultaneously recording 3 on another channel, I overcome the "overlap" issue by simply setting recordings by timer (not EPG) such as - Channel 9: 7.30 - 8.35pm, 8.35 - 9.35, 9.35 - 10.45, and the same on the other channel. I discovered this worked best on the IQ, but I then lose the title info. On the Panny I can name those timers too, but on the IQ I just get "Channel 9 - 7.30pm". Don't you think this would fix the issue? I wouldn't want to do it on adhoc recordings, but as mine are all "weekly" timers, I only have to name them once. I read earlier that we can "rename recordings", but can we "name timers"? Can someone please provide me a revised/updated question list for Sydney's launch? Cheers, Garry (the other one!)

My IQ allows me to delete whilst recording (there are no editing features at all), but my Panny HDD locks all these features during recording. Looks like I'm going to have my hands full during the launch... or maybe I should say Sony will if I get my way! Garry

I have little to add to the numerous features that we would all like to see on the Sony PVR (the list so far is fairly comprehensive and not overly ambitious IMHO), and note that two of my older machines do many of these things (albeit in analog), like resume play and 2.0 tuners on my IQ, and naming timer recordings and easy editing on my HDD Panny. I will be eagerly attending the Sony Sydney launch, and will have a printout of this topic just so I don't miss anything whilst there. I agree that the demonstrators may not know as much as we would like, but if I get a chance, I'll get my hands on one and see if I can suss some things out. If someone like to gather the various questions into the one post, I will do my damndest to get the answers. Garry (from Sydney)

Seemed this thread moved from PVRs to Remotes and back again. Just wanted to add my little bit... I have the Harmony 880 and had no problems getting it to control my Foxtel IQ. From memory, most of the features came through automatically from the web GUI, and little to nothing was setup via IR learning. Not sure why some people have had problems with it? If anyone wants a hand with it, pm me and I'll try to help. Cheers, Garry