Shaw Direct DSR630 - thoughts?

[tvmaster2]

After lots of HD-PVR headaches, I bought one of these to try out.
Liking it alot - simple and a fairly good amount of storage.
Anyone else using one? The small footprint is especially nice.

[Kryspy]

I got one on a free one year rental with $199 to buy at the end of the year.

It's okay but it is the usual Motorola garbage. 14 day guide is nice.

I get the odd spontaneous reboot for no other reason than I looked at it. Other than that it's okay. Picture quality is really good and the Shaw Direct customer service is hard to beat.

I'd love to get rid of it altogether and go with something like Netflix but not sure how that would go over in my house.

If I went with a SageTV setup it would be OTA only along with Netflix and Hulu. The HD PVR solution has never interested me beyond the first time i tried it.

Kryspy

[wayner]

I have been running two HD-PVRs connected to Rogers HD cable boxes for over two years without any problems, other than a cable box dying.

[Kryspy]

wayner,

I said I'd like to get rid of it all in theory. In reality I will most likely set up a Sage whole home solution this year with a HD PVR and OTA.

I'd like to go the route of LINUX though as my Sage server so that's gonna be some work on my end as I have newbie to average LINUX skills.


Kryspy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Kryspy

I got one on a free one year rental with $199 to buy at the end of the year.

It's okay but it is the usual Motorola garbage. 14 day guide is nice.

I get the odd spontaneous reboot for no other reason than I looked at it. Other than that it's okay. Picture quality is really good and the Shaw Direct customer service is hard to beat.

I'd love to get rid of it altogether and go with something like Netflix but not sure how that would go over in my house.

If I went with a SageTV setup it would be OTA only along with Netflix and Hulu. The HD PVR solution has never interested me beyond the first time i tried it.

Kryspy

is Netflix delivering 5.1 surround with their streams in Canada, cause' they don't in the U.S.
why bother paying if it's only two channel sound?

[wayner]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

is Netflix delivering 5.1 surround with their streams in Canada, cause' they don't in the U.S.
why bother paying if it's only two channel sound?

Because a lot of content is not available in 5.1 (like pretty much all of the children's content that they have) or doesn't really gain much. Action-adventure movies are much better in 5.1 but it doesn't add as much to comedies. I don't know that 5.1 would add that much to a movie like The Social Network for instance, not that it is available on Netflix.

[Kryspy]

No, no 5.1. sound.

Kryspy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wayner

Because a lot of content is not available in 5.1 (like pretty much all of the children's content that they have) or doesn't really gain much. Action-adventure movies are much better in 5.1 but it doesn't add as much to comedies. I don't know that 5.1 would add that much to a movie like The Social Network for instance, not that it is available on Netflix.

Do you mean children's content like 'Up', 'Wall-e' or 'How to train your dragon'? Because I found their soundscapes breathtaking at times.
I would rather watch an average print with brilliant sound as opposed to the other way around - the reality that surround brings can make even an average film far more enjoyable. The question is: if audio bandwidth is much less than video bandwidth, then why can Netflix stream HD, but not 5.1?
I think the Hollywood dealmakers have creeped into the mix, so to speak. No? Why BUY a DVD if cable, satellite and now Netflix can return a theater experience.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Kryspy

No, no 5.1. sound.

Kryspy

Thanks - that's a let-down.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Do you mean children's content like 'Up', 'Wall-e' or 'How to train your dragon'? Because I found their soundscapes breathtaking at times.
I would rather watch an average print with brilliant sound as opposed to the other way around - the reality that surround brings can make even an average film far more enjoyable. The question is: if audio bandwidth is much less than video bandwidth, then why can Netflix stream HD, but not 5.1?
I think the Hollywood dealmakers have creeped into the mix, so to speak. No? Why BUY a DVD if cable, satellite and now Netflix can return a theater experience.

I mean childrens TV shows like Dora the Explorer, Angelina Ballerina, etc. I don't think these shows are available in 5.1 nor are they available in HD, although that may change soon.

And dialog driven movies, like Woody Allen movies, don't tend to derive much benefit from 5.1.

I first moved to surround sound about 7-8 years ago. I previously had my system connected to a stereo Yamaha receiver with two speakers. I spent $1200 for a good Onkyo AVR, a centre speaker, subwoofer and surround speakers. On some movies it makes a huge difference but on a lot of content there wasn't much benefit so I don't know that was the best $1200 I ever spent.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wayner

I mean childrens TV shows like Dora the Explorer, Angelina Ballerina, etc. I don't think these shows are available in 5.1 nor are they available in HD, although that may change soon.

And dialog driven movies, like Woody Allen movies, don't tend to derive much benefit from 5.1.

I first moved to surround sound about 7-8 years ago. I previously had my system connected to a stereo Yamaha receiver with two speakers. I spent $1200 for a good Onkyo AVR, a centre speaker, subwoofer and surround speakers. On some movies it makes a huge difference but on a lot of content there wasn't much benefit so I don't know that was the best $1200 I ever spent.

sorry to hear that - If there's a program in 5.1, vs. one that isn't, I watch the 5.1 channel. Same goes for HD now - finding myself prioritizing HD shows before SD. It's like I've gone back to the early 80's, when there were 30 channels.

[Kryspy]

Same here. If it's not in HD I am not really interested in watching it.

Kryspy

[wayner]

I agree that I far prefer watching HD compared to SD but the quality of the show/movie is also very important. Keep in mind that watching Netflix on Sage requires using PlayOn which can't handle HD content so if you decide to go with Netflix and you are watching it through Sage extenders then SD is all you will get. Netflix has some content in HD but that will require getting other hardware, like Xboxes, etc, to connect to your TVs.

Requiring HD is why I switched to Sage about 2.5 years ago from Win MCE as I wanted to be able to record all channels in HD. That requires an HD-PVR and Sage is the best solution for an HD-PVR.

But saying that you will only watch HD is kind of like saying I won't watch a movie that is in Black & White. If that is the case then you will miss out on some of the best movies ever made, some of which are carried on Netflix Canada - The Seven Samurai to name just one.

[Kryspy]

What can I say; I am an HD snob. With so many options to watch I choose to watch HD only content

Kryspy