[nlim]

Hello All!

I recently moved and was given a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HDC set top box through Time Warner. It comes with a DVR which I don't use as I would rather employ my trusty series 2 Tivo. A few of my recordings now have been disrupted or basically blacked out with what appears to be a screensaver that the 8300HDC activates. A message saying something like "please press any remote button to continue watching TV" comes on although audio is still recorded.

Is there any way to disable this screensaver? Not quite sure how or why it comes on as I am assuming the TiVO is switching channels therefore "fooling" the DVR into thinking that there is no inactivity.

I have gone through the settings menu a few times now and can't seem to find anything that could affect this. I also searched the post so hopefully this isn't a repost (although I would be surprised if I was the first person to come against this issue).

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[dianebrat]

Exchange the SA8300HDC for a non-DVR box and things should be fine, you don't want to daisy chain 2 DVRs.

 

[nlim]

Hi Dianebrat!

Unfortunately, my package comes with a "complimentary" DVR and is actually cheaper somehow than without it ($15 a month cheaper). I did ask for the non DVR explorer, but the Time Warner person said that was not possible given my package.

 

[dianebrat]

Hi Dianebrat!

Unfortunately, my package comes with a "complimentary" DVR and is actually cheaper somehow than without it ($15 a month cheaper). I did ask for the non DVR explorer, but the Time Warner person said that was not possible given my package.

I don't believe you'll ever get satisfaction in that then.
As long as you stick with not daisy-chaining them, you'll be fine, (and have 2 DVRs) with the exception of not being able to get the pay channels on the Tivo. By far this is the "right" way to do it.

The parallel DVRs is a setup that just is far too much a PITA to deal with, myself I'd pay an additional $15 a month to ensure the Comcast moto-DVR never returns to darken my house again.

 

[JimSpence]

Why not use the SA TiVo for the analog cable channels?

 

[nlim]

Oh, let me clarify. I use the SA series 2 as my main recorder for all analogue programs on the s-video. I switch over to the component input if I am watching something live and its in HD. Otherwise, I don't watch anything if its not on the TiVO. I am sure there is a smoother way to do this where I am getting the benefits of having both an analogue DVR in the TiVo and an HD DVR with the Time Warner box, but its too much of a headache to juggle and to worry about overlaps and conflicts. I would rather just give preference to the TiVO and sacrifice watching more things in HD until they do lifetime transfers for a series 3 and I can upgrade.

Back the the original question though, is there any way to disable this screensaver? If not for that my set-up is satisfactory at the moment.

Thanks for the replies! I know its not ideal, but I am just hoping to find a way to shut off that darn screensaver.

 

[ihatecable]

I have a simular situation. I've contacted my local cable provider and they told me no can do. Also I've googled this subject out the ying yang and unfortunatly there is no go around.

 

[twassel]

It's not actually a "screen saver", it's a power saving "feature". At 2 AM (IIRC), the box goes into standby mode, and you have to "press any key" to wake it up. Every day when I turn on that particular television, I get that message and have to hit a key to get out of the sleep mode. PITA. Can't be turned off.

 

[nlim]

Wow. Not the answer I was hoping for. hahaha,, well how are people working around this? Just to grin and bear it? Try and exchange the box? Are people using the capabilities of both their SA tivos and the HD DVR?

Can I schedule a recording for something around 2am so that it "fools" the DVR into thinking that I am watching? It would seem that if I pack the recording schedule the DVR might think that I was a constant watcher and not going into powersaving - i.e. that it was similar to a screensaver in that it has a latency period which must lapse before kicking in.

 

[twassel]

Haven't tried that, but it might work.