scottjohnson wrote:
Hard to believe that I might say that.
Over the weekend our HD-DVR bit the dust. It was the Scientific Atlanta 8000. The SA-8000 was obsolete the day it was released, and even more so when we got one 6 months ago. The broken one was our 2nd.
Everything on the internet says that the SA-8000 has a tremendous failure rate, mostly due to the excessive heat in the case.
Not only did TW actually have a service person come on my schedule (mostly - 4:45 is close enough to quittin time), the tech came out, didn't ask questions, reboot, fuss,etc. He just gave me a new box (and hooked it up right this time, last time they hooked the digital audio out to the video out port...).
The best part is that it's a SA-8300. I've already noticed how much quicker it is when flipping channels, and flipping between 1080i output and 480p/i output. The hard drives are also MUCH quieter.
I swear the picture quality is also better on all channels.
The box is also cooler, with a much nicer front display. It tells you the signal output (1080i/480p/i) and a few other goodies. The old SA-8000 didn't have a bunch of the features/outputs enabled, I haven't investigated this one yet.
As a side note, you might wonder about the 1080i vs 480p/i options. If you set the box (advanced settings) to output more than 1080i, then it's likely you can apply your favorite zoom function on the TV to the signal.
My Toshiba can't zoom a 1080i signal, but when the box is set to output 480p/i the TV is able to use it's own zoom functions, rather than me relying on the crummy zoom built into the box. This means on ALL non HD stations my TV is doing the zooming, rather than the box. If it's an HD station, I'm stuck with whatever letterbox/sidebars they output.
Scott
We've had the SA Explorer 8300-HD for quite a while already. While it is MUCH better than the unit you did have (as we had that as well), it does have it's own problems (at least in our unit).
Good things:
- MUCH bigger HD for LOTS of HD and normal TV shows (I can record about 2 months worth of Speed TC/GT races, Grand Am, Trans Am, WRC + all the wife's stuff from HD without a "One week left" on anything for space considerations).
- Much more responsive
- Day switching button to surf between days
- The wife loves it (primary user).
Only Bad thing:
- My unit WILL reboot infrequently when switching between channels. It happens the most when jumping between HD and non-HD channels. This is not an ambient temp thing as it is in a relatively cool location need an air vent.
Unfortunately, WC will only allow you to record up to a week in advance (from the guide), but it is definitely a step in the right direction!
It is a much better unit, and you can tell which 480i channels are broadcasted 'better' than others (at least on our CRT you can).
Hope you enjoy it! Still makes me think of going Tivo instead with firewire and then piping that to a backup storage unit.... or just to put Linux on it
- brian
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Unfortunatley I have the crappy one. Actually its worked fine for me so far. I've only had it a couple months, and it hasn't crashed more than once. I would like more HD space though, I fill it up rapidly. Guess, I'll "accidentally" leave a magazine laying on top this weekend.... 
