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Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 Review

7/10

Simply put, the Explorer 8000 is the best and least expensive DVR option for those with digital cable.

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Highs: Integrated digital cable tuner; dual tuners allow two recordings at once; digital audio out.

Lows: Lack of advanced recording features; many supported features not implemented yet.

Only available through cable operators, the Explorer 8000 features dual digital cable tuners allowing it to record two shows at once. Is it a TiVo killer? Read on to find out.

Summary

If we had written this review only a few weeks earlier, we would have given the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 a poor rating because of the extreme remote lag and its odd recording behaviors. However, a recent software update has made the Explorer 8000 a highly responsive and useful DVR. There is absolutely no remote lag – something that even TiVo and ReplayTV can’t claim – and its recording options are much better than they were before the update.

 

The Explorer 8000 beats TiVo and ReplayTV with several exclusive features such as dual tuners, the ability to natively tune digital cable stations, and in its overall costs. Scientific Atlanta has also proved its commitment to improving the product by issuing automatic software upgrades that take care of the product’s problems and its users’ complaints. The company also offers an HDTV version of the Explorer, another option not available from TiVo and ReplayTV.

 

If you are looking for a cost-effective DVR that works seamlessly with your digital cable service the Explorer 8000 may be your only choice. Fortunately, it is a pretty solid choice that keeps getting better. Simply put, the Explorer 8000 is the best and least expensive DVR option for those with digital cable.

Introduction


In our DVR technology article we compared three different hard drive-based solutions that allow you to digitally record TV shows – a TiVo or ReplayTV DVR, a cable company-provided DVR, or a home-built solution using a PC and Snapstream’s BeyondTV3 software. With the right product, the solution that may be the most appealing and cost-effective to many users is the DVR provided by their cable company. This is because a cable company DVR requires no upfront cost, is usually less expensive than the monthly fee for TiVo or ReplayTV, and can tune your digital TV stations – something the other options can not do.


 


The digital video recorder that seems to be most popular among cable operators in the U.S. and Canada is the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000. The Explorer 8000 Home Entertainment Server supports digital video recording (DVR), picture-in-picture (PIP), plus all of the latest interactive services such as video-on-demand (VOD), and movies on demand.


 


Available only from your cable operator, subscription costs vary but are usually around $8 to $10 per month with no upfront purchase cost and no commitment.


 



The Explorer 8000 is offered by cable operators in the U.S. and Canada.


 

Features and Design

 

The component-width Explorer 8000 is a gray and silver box about the height of a standard DVD player. It features a center-mounted four-character display, onboard controls, and a programmable universal remote control.

 

Scientific Atlanta’s Explorer 8000 has two major advantages over competing products

  • Chris
    I have both the SA8000HD and a TiVo unit. I keep the SA box around for just one reason: the ability to record HD material. I always program the TiVo unit to record the same show in SD because there is no guarantee that the SA box will record the show at all. Sometimes scheduled recordings mysteriously dissapear before the time to record, sometimes they are deleted after recording (but before viewing) even with 'save until deleted' turned on.

    The SARA software interface is abysmal. As a TiVo user of 3+ years, I have no idea what times (or even channels) some shows come on. The SA only allows you to search a particular day for a program, and then only allows you to select the first letter of a program to search for, then forces you to scroll through a list of hundreds of program names. In this list, it does not combine shows with the same name, so when searching for 'Alias' you have to scroll through about 3 pages worth of 'Adult On Demand' before you can select it.

    Audio dropouts on playback of HD channels are frequent.

    The box requires frequent reboots (only accomplished by pulling the power cable).

    When watching long programs (2+ hours) I will frequently watch 15 minutes, then pause the program to return later. TiVo can maintain this state on a seemingly arbitrary number of shows at a time. The SA box resumes playing the program after an hour or so even if noone is watching, so the next day, you have to fast forward to the spot you last watched. Given that there is no 15 minute skip and the maximum fastforward speed is slow, this can be a frustrating experience.

    I'm not sure what revision of the SARA software the reviewer had seen, but based on my own experience and those of forum regulars at other sites, this software is not widely available. Given that the SA8000 has been around for several years, and the software is still so immature and unstable, I can't recommend this unit to anyone recording standard definition material. It is an inexpensive stopgap for HiDef material. When TiVo comes out with a HD CableCard version of their box, I will dump the SA box almost regardless of the price.
  • SWP
    boxes boot for no apparent reason...recorded a football gamme saturday..it did not record ..it booted and tiurned off cable box on its own..anyone else having this problem?
  • Russ
    I am on my second Explorer 8000HD, in six weeks, and my cable provider, Adelphia, wants two weeks to replace it. Fails to record. The first one failed to boot.
  • Bryan
    I have a SA8000 from Adelpiha. And I have had many complaints and problems as others have had. But reading some of the user review problems might not be the box itself. The box is extremely senstive to the signal strength that it receives. Too much and it reboots for no apparent reason, too little and it won't receive the signal it needs to use features such as VOD. I am not a technician so I am not sure of the correct signal needed. I do know that it needs to be higher than 600, but less then 1000. Try that and I believe some of your problems will disappear. You can buy cable filters or an amplifier just about anywhere.
  • Diego
    Peace

    Please someone help me...

    I love this machine, but i've used up most of the memory and i would like to know how to put the shows i have onto my hard drive on my computer. There is a usb port in the front of the 800, how can i plug that into my computer and download all my tv shows onto the compter???

    any help would be great!!!!!
  • Dan
    This thing locks up in the middle of a play back and your only choice is to unplug the thing and plug it back in, which sucks, when you have it tucked into a rack.

    I have experienced skipping (audio and video). The box gets very hot too.
  • Cyrano
    My wife and I call this SA box our TiNo because it ain't no TiVo. The lag is terrible. Worst of all, you can't start watching from the beginning of a show you are currently recording -- you have to rewind all the way through from the current point in the show. Then, when the recording ends, the TiNo bumps you out of the show and you have to start all over. Piece of junk.
  • zebo4
    Everyone should think about why they go through so many of these 8000HD boxes. They are like computers and they need circulation. These things get very hot and require a lot of airspace around the box. More than any other SA box in the market. MAYBE if you move the box to an open space in your living room you will stop having problems. Hard drives on these devices will go bad if you have it in a tight space.
  • Ken
    Hey, Time Warner-Rochester, where is my software upgrade to enable the switchable video source? I pay alot of money each month to have to swap cables everytime I want to watch my DVD player!
  • Quincy
    I use it for HD recording. Does a very good job of it. Having 2 tuners is great, and not having to worry about programing a Tivo and the cable box to record a show is a huge plus. It's simple and intuitive enough for my wife to use.

    I'm sure if I had cut my teeth on a Tivo, i'd be disappointed with the UI, but compared to programming a VCR, this unit is a dream.
  • nowaySA
    I signed up for digital cable not for the extra channels, but instead for the convenience of a DVR. After two machines failed within six months, I've given up and gone back to analog cable. As other reviewers have noted, the machine has a clunky interface and often fails to perform basic recording functions. Each machine we had needed frequent reboots before eventually failing completely. Since Cox (my Cable provider) seems wedded to SA equipment, I have no choice but to look into alternatives such as Voom's forthcoming HD DVR.
  • TG
    From reading the review of this device, it would seem that you can watch one live show and record another. The ability to record 2 live shows while watching another would be a big improvement.

    I have not had the same problems with the box that others have mentioned. I "think" I have had the box not record a show that I programmed it to, but then again, old age creeps up on all of us.

    The user interface could be better.
  • Shawn
    This is in response to the poster who was upset about watching programs as they're being recorded:

    1) The easy way to start from the beginning is to access the program from the function and not the . Selecting the program from the puts you right at the beginning of the show.

    2) I discovered how to jump forward in 15 minutes increments - start fast forwarding and then hit the right arrow key. This saves a lot of time and frustration!
  • Shawn
    (Stupid web interface garbled my post!)

    This is in response to the poster who was upset about watching programs as they're being recorded: 1) The easy way to start from the beginning is to access the program from the LIST function and not the GUIDE . Selecting the program from the LIST puts you right at the beginning of the show. 2) I discovered how to jump forward in 15 minutes increments - start fast forwarding and then hit the right arrow key. This saves a lot of time and frustration!
  • Z
    After only having this unit for 4 days, I've experienced ALL of the problems mentioned. The unit FREEZES, mysteriously STOPS recording, and now (remember it's only been four days) has apparently died on me.

    I waited months for the season premiere of 24, and now I've missed it thanks to digital cable companies knowingly putting out a substandard box in order to capture the TiVo market.

    Will they try to rcover my data? Not when it would take time and effort --- as opposed to simply sending the unit back to the manufacturer for a replacement. THE SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA EPLORER 8000 IS NOT WORTH THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!
  • HRS
    On my 4th HD DVR - SA Explorer 8000HD in 6 weeks - hard disk crashes, lipsync audio& video problem; programming on series recordings misses, low vol audio when switching from HD Channel to analog; audio& video freezeson HD channels; TW claims model 8300hd will cure problems
  • Sean
    Does anyone know how to transfer the digital recordings off the 8000 unit onto a laptop. Please let me know.
  • Don
    PROS: Two Tuners , Excellent picture quality , HD record,, Much quieter than my TIVO , THIS IS THE BEST OVERALL, that I have tried

    CONS: not being able to start a ongoing recording from the beginning, must rewind first, because it takes you to live, while recording.,,,,,,,,, It has a terrible remote, buttons to similar in size and shape, I LOVE MY TIVO remote.
  • Matthew
    I think the box is pretty good. But, Time Warner needs to upgrade there software. Whenever I'm recording 1 or 2 shows, the box gets extremely SLOW! Someone, help me with this...I also need some help finding a way of putting the Shows on My Computer. PLEASE HELP.
  • Wendell
    I'm not a TiVo geek, but I finally convinced my wife that a DVR would actually set us free! I read the TiVo reviews/problems etc and decided to go with my cable company (Charter). I couldn't beat the deal, no cash out of pocket, $10 mo. (cheaper than TiVo), 1st mo. free, free install.
    I got one of the "new" units, silver & smaller. The new software works fine, no lock-ups yet, but a little lag when you're recording 2 and watching 1 (hey, what do you expect, eh?)
    Right now I'm recording everything in sight, but they'll come a time when I need to off-load some programing. It'll let you record to VHS, but I wanna smack the tech who designed that feature! I've got an external DVD burner and there's every port known to man on this unit (RCA, USB, Firewire etc.)
    Maybe the techs at SA read this post... come on guys, give us a hack!
  • Corey
    I've had all the same problems listed. I'm on my 4th box in less than 6 months, box boots for no reason, 2 to 3 second delay from when you hit a key to when it registers, and "unrecoverable disk error". In response to the poster who mentioned the unit getting hot and needing air, in my situation there is plenty of space around it. So that doesn't seem to be the issue.
  • Greenman
    We have had 5 of these units. TimeWarner cable supplied this box. Each box we have received had different problems/ First one would freeze every ten minutes, DVR function would record blank 1 minute recordings, next one would re-boot every hour or so and no locale channels. We have had the box for about two months and it is completely useless, unless you count the 3 months of free HBO offered as compensation from TimeWarner. All I want is a box that works. Save your self the pain, and wait until the beta version have been replace with something that works.
  • Michel
    I have an SA-8000HD DVR box from Time Warner Cable and have haed a lot of trouble and little enjoyment from it.
    This is my second box in a matter of weeks. First one lated about 48 hours. Apart from comoing with a loose front panel, it quickly died and refused to reboot. Second one worked OK for about two weeks. Now it reboots on its own occasionally, after which it refuses to record or to pause live show, and does not display previously recorded material. It needs a cold reboot (unplug-replug) to recover, and after a few hours looses again most of its functions.
    In addition to being totally unreliable, the box as served by TW Cable comes with instructions which are totally useless as they do not reflec modifications made by SA to Time-Warner-specific versions of the box. In particular, instructions on selecting aspect ratio and output format are totally wrong.
    On top of that, you get for the $118/year charge for the privilege of using that lemon a horrible user interface and very crude recording management software.
    There is no reason why a DVR should not be reliable, as it is a fairly simple device. I have owned a ReplayTV DVR for years, and it continues to perform flawlessly and offers features that are light-years ahead of SA/Time Warner.
    Too bas city dwellers like me are stuck with whatever thei cable monopoly condescends to throw at them.

    I just hope that Time Warner Cable will get so many complaints and returns on the SA-8000HD that they will end up loosing money on it.
  • Mike Walsh
    For about six months I used a Tivo unit integrated into a Direct TV receiver but moved and have used the Explorer 8300 instead for a number of months now, so I am well suited to make a comparison of the two.

    The Direct TV unit had all digital channels and a somewhat more appealing user interface. The Explorer 8300 is analog on all channels below 100, and the user interface a bit more limited and awkward, but is at least fairly simple and reliable.

    So if you have a choice, go Direct TV/Tivo. But if you can't have a dish, or want internet and/or phone service bundled with digital cable service, then the Explorer 8300 is a close enough second place.

    As for reliablity, I have had no problems. I keep the hard drive close to empty and do not use it to archive programs - from what I've read, that boosts the reliablities of this units. Avoid loading the disk up.

    Hope that helps.
  • Derek
    Having seen the TiVo in action, I can definitely say this unit is not in its class. However, it more than suits the majority of my TV watchin habits. What I do find as a major omission is a digital optical out. Why just a coaxial connection? For those of us with several components in their home theater setup, a little added flexibility would be welcome.
  • Scott
    If you're like me and everything you watch is in HD, you don't have many choices out there. This box does what it is supposed to. The programming is okay on mine, definitely not as good as TiVo, but I can manage -- but not with the reliability problems -- dropouts, freezing, rebooting randomly during recordings, etc. Those are ridiculous.
    If you're lucky, the Passport software is better than SARA software. If you're even luckier, your cable company buys boxes from companies with quality control.
  • Roger
    This unit is horrible. It starts recording a show and stays on that channel and records everything on it till it fills the hard drive and then starts erasing and continues to record. It won't let me cancel record. Time warner says I must be doing something wrong. The something wrong is being with Time warner and SA.
  • sean
    Hi. I have been a subscriber of Time Warner cable for 15 years and since May 2004, I added their DVR service. Ever since, I have experienced CONSTANT "macro-blocking" and frozen imaging on my TV. The idea of watching TV especially in a city like this is to gain the rare down time, relaxation moment when you just need to escape the daily stress and pressures of the big city by staring at the box.

    What I have been dealing for almost a year is the constant aggrevation of interrupted, choppy and frozen service, constant calls and waiting for ridiculous amounts of minutes before a Time Warner rep finally picks up a line to answer your query and hopefully understand what you're going through and sending out a technician.

    Their technicians initially didn't know what the problem was: "The technology is too new and I have never dealt with this before," was the first technician's response after all the effort I went through to make the appointment and taking a day off work.

    Finally last weekend, after 10 months of complaining, they provided a new DVR box which has been working thusfar. For almost a whole year of going through the viscious circle of calling, hoping you're not holding for another 30 mins before someone answers the phone, making yet another appointment, taking yet another day off work, another incompetent technician showing up not knowing what they're doing ...

    Now that they've created a new box, they are not willing to refund the past 10 months' of lack of service that they've been charging over $90 for per month for!!

    The best they can offer is a month's service for free - is this proper business practice and dealings with a loyal customer of 15 years?

    It doesn't even end on that note - to comfort me, the customer service supervisor, Ms. Kaiser, said that even with the new box there are no guarantees - images may still freeze as we're still working on our DVR service!!! Great consolation - why offer the "service" and charge an arm and a leg if you're not fully committing to providing a functional service!! I guess they have a building on Columbus Circle to pay for!
  • Teresa
    The sound very often doesn't not match the picture. Sometimes the lag is a full second. Also, there too much of a time lag between when you press a button and the DVR responds, which causes confusion when you press the button a second time and go past whatever it was you were trying to select.
  • Justin
    I dont understand all the complaints I see posted here. My box works great. I haven't had a single problem. I love that I was able to program its remote to work with my TV.
  • jay
    The Adelphia version of this sucker is pretty good, had it for about 9 months now, and no problems. Had to reboot once or twice, but no lost shows, no freezing, no real problems. From reading the posts here, I think the main problem with the unit is Time Warner, because my Adelphia version works great. I've used Tivo before, and while the software isn't as good, its a close second. There was an update last august that fixed most of my complaints (now you can see how full it is, set recording to "record all in this timeslot" OR "record all on this channel" instead of just the channel). Picture quality is superb, unless you're watching something with a lot of explosions. Really hard to tell the difference between a recording and live TV.

    My only major gripe is that I can't pull the shows off and onto my laptop. Now, I know I could buy a TV tuner capture card for the laptop, but they are expensive and I'm poor. With the firewire ports right on the fricking machine, you'd think someone would have worked out a way to use them by now.
  • Hakan
    I have had it with Time Warner service for a while. The first month went by with frustration, till I realized there was no stability in this thing. It is not very user friendly and there is a significant delay in response when you hit the buttons. If you are only recording one channel you will be fine but when you are recording two channels simultaneously, even though you should be able to view those channels, the machine reboots itself. The best way to switch your channels is going throught the recorded list and selecting what you want to see, then it will work.
  • qrz
    I'm using this device more than 8 months. The HDD is very noisy. Also, it makes a lot of extra heat. Do not try to put SAE 8000 inside your stack without good ventilation. If you left DVD on top it can melt the disk. But this is all OK until you see the RF output on your TV. The contrast level is out of any acceptable level. All is dark as you you see the night scene all the time.
    Hope SAE 9000 could be better...
  • Eric
    I have had my SA-8000 since September 2004. It works, but does have the problem of losing shows from time to time. I got shows listed to record that no longer air but it'll drop shows from time to time that air every week. I called out to have one show record at a certain time which airs once a week, but it keeps grabing the repeats from a different time that air every day, so I have to constantly baby sit this thing. I have lost recorded shows on occation for no apparent reason. It does reboot on its own rarely so I don't know if it is the machine or the cable company updating. I have COX service in Las Vegas, so it's not just Time Warner having issues. I too would love a way to just down load the recorded programs off the drive. I am switching to HD here very soon and look forward to seeing if the SA8300HD is any better. If not then I'll buy two DVD-RAMS and still be able to record two shows while watching a third.
  • TIMMY
    I HAVE REPLACED 3 BOXES IN THE LAST MONTH,THIS IS HORRIBLE.
  • J.Nawrocki
    Shows are lost when disk space is needed. Shows maybe marked "save until manually erased". Series recording can be set for "First run only" else all episodes on all channels will record (the default).
  • Bryan
    I'm on my fourth box in three months all with hard drive failures.
  • Karen Falc
    I am on my 6th box. The hard drives keep crashing and I continue to lose all of the shows that I save. Scientific Atlanta told me that this model has many problems and the new 8300 is supposed to correct them. I do not recommend this box!!
  • BGG
    I dont know about all of these complaints, ive never had one piece of problem with my DVR, its a great piece of hardware. I love it, i dont know i lived without it!
  • Matthew
    Oh dear, I've had this for 2 months and when playing back you go through a reboot every few hours on average, sometimes several times in a row though. And playback will often 'loop back' a few minutes (??!?) or even get to a point where it fails to go ahead at all. Sometimes even live TV loops back! And the cable guy who comes around has no idea except that there are a lot of complaints going around and that the 'top engineers' say they have fixed it (??) but he is still hearing all the complaints. When I turn on the default channel is CNN but on turn-on the channel has already frozen so I have to change channel and back to get the TV to work again. The times when it works smoothly it is nice.
  • Robert
    The SAE 8000 is a good product for the low cost offered by cable systems. I use BrightHouse (FKA TWC in Tampa) and their SAE uses SARA software. I would like to have the ability to time index like the Passport software version or a TIVO. These brands allow indexing in 15 minute increments. SA will have to provide a s/w update to add this feature. However, for $6/month the rest of the functions are a bargain. Our unit gets quite a workout too, and it has been replace only once in the one year we've had it.
  • rhsnowsr
    I've had this unit for a couple of years. It is great. Wouldn't be without it. I'm surprised at the complaints. We've had no trouble.
  • Alan
    Box number 4 has the same issues as boxes 1 - 3. The HDD is very
    noisy, there are a lot of freeze ups, and you could cook on top of the
    box. If at all possible, I would stay away from the 8000. Have they
    come out with a newer version yet and if so, does the cable company
    let you buy one and use it on their system?



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  • Norm Preco
    A recent firmware upgrade by TW appears to provide selective lockout of fast forward feature probably as an option to advertisers. Two e-mails to TW elicited no response. What other "benefits" occurred?
  • Jack
    The other benefit that came with the upgrade is it enable the auxiliary input in the back of the 8000, wich can be select by pressing the video source button from the remote
  • James
    I had this SA 8000 for over a year now, love it. No problem at all. Is it because of a combination of cable compagny Videotron and this recorder, i dont know. But i strongly recomand it.
  • Jeff
    1st unit died.
    2nd unit froze up everyday and stopped responding.
    3rd unit it beginning to lag in audio after replay and pause, also freezing up.
  • S
    This device is fine for watching tv, but its recording needs some work. Fast movement and contrast changes cause the picture to pixellate badly. Forget recording sports or concerts with light shows with this device.
    The interface is not great, and the remote isn't very comfortable. Since TiVo is about to release their HD version, I will be getting rid of this box as soon as I can.
  • Dave
    Constant problem with power supply failures, rebooting. Every time COX cable comes out they bring me a recycled 8000. Isn't there some regulation somewhere about bad service from cable companies
  • Bryan
    Scientific Atlanta's 8000 has crashed 4 times since 1/13/06!
  • Jerome
    The guide is too slow. Search feature is really bad.

    I used to have a lot of issues with "pixellation" for months. After I plugged it in a power filter bar, all my problems went away and now I didn't have an issue for more than a year.

    I had to see it to believe!

    I use Monster's HTS 1000 MKII power bar but I think you can use an other model. That bar is rather expensive. I got it just to try it thinking I would return it, but since everything is fine now, I didn't.
  • elvis
    i install alot of these boxes, and find myself going back to the same home 3-4 times to replace them
  • Phil
    The new updated ones are much better than the original. My first one blew up in 2 days, but the replacement has lasted 6 months no prob. Very friendly recording, 2 channels at once, and auto show recordings are good features that work perfectly.
  • Brian
    Has anyone successfully transferred DVR recordings on this machine to an external DVD recorder?
  • Gary
    Worked okay when using component video hookups to HDTV, but when using DVI-HDMI connection with 1080p HDTV there are compatibility problems (see DVI Alert Box), usually dealing with authentication issues.

    Trading in for a 8300HD solves the problem as it's HDMI to HDMI connection. A Scientific Atlanta tech advised that the DVI conversion to HDMI causes a "bottleneck" which creates problems toggling back and forth between TV and DVD operation. Trade up to the Explorer 8300HD.
  • Sal
    I have an 8300HD. Had it for 2 years now. went through three of them in that time because I thought there was something wrong with the units themselves. By the third one I concluded that the product simply sucks. You can tell within days of use that the cable companies who use this product were bidding by price and not by quality. The unit skips during recording, the menu slows down and ceases to function after a few weeks of use and the recorder is as basic as a 1970's alarm clock. In fact a few minutes ago, I had to reboot the machine because the PVR lost about 20 minutes of buffered video I had paused. Of course, the 20 minutes I lost was during the best part of the movie. Bottom line, if you can help it, avoid SA products cause they suck!!! I'm not a huge TIVO fan either, but at least they work!
  • charlie jayne
    i have not been able to make 900mhz headphones work on the exp 8000 audio out jacks-appreciate any help!!
  • Jian
    Have exchanged my DVR twice thinking I had a bad set but the unit is pathetic. Half of my recordings (and I only got the set yesterday) are there but you can't playback. You get a screen prompting you to use the LIST button to see the list of recordings. Got this unit because of the dual tuner capability but not worth it if you can't actually watch your recorded programs. TiVo isn't perfect but it doesn't make you want to start smashing things.
  • Jack
    I have been using this for the past 4 years or so and have barely had a problem, my cable provider runs it on a different os though which could make a difference, I can't do much with the usb port on the front, I found some secret menus but otherwise, no advance features it is still a wodnerful DVR.
  • Jim
    I've had the unit about a week. I've had to reboot it at least twice a day because of bugs in the software. I prefer my TiVo.
  • Robert
    If you place the SA box on top of anything that genereates heat, it will likely die. Nor does it like anything placed on top of it.

    I found that 2 inch spacers between the SA box and any other equipment above or below it usually gives enough relief from the heat to eliminate most crashes.

    I went rapidly through several boxes at first, until a tech finally warned me about the heat.

    After adding the spacers, they have rarely crashed. When they do, I have been able to get it to recover by holding in the power button for 10 seconds until it does a soft reboot. In more severe cases, you can get a hard reboot by disconnecting the power for a short while.

    Hope that helps.
  • John
    Comcast did a remote software "upgrade" a few weeks ago, and the program guide is now seriously broken. This is in addition to the previous problem of recorded programs randomly disappearing.
  • James M
    I moved recently and was forced into getting one of these things. Previously I had one of the motorola DVR's from comast, mainly because it was functional enough and far cheaper than upgrading my S2 tivo to an S3 would have been. After moving, comcast told me the motorola ones wouldn't work in my new location and gave me one of these monstrosities...

    In short, this thing fails miserably as a DVR. I can not believe that at any point anyone who designed or OK'd the purchase & rollout of these things ever actually made an attempt to use it.

    Setting recordings is maddeningly frustrating due to a completely missing option for finding shows by name, rather than scrolling through lists of programs in a tiny 4 channel+ad corner of the screen. Once you do find the show you want to start recording however, that's when the real fun starts. You have an option to record just the one showing just like any other DVR, however if you want a series recording you are stuck with "record all showings in this timeslot"... which is useless if it gets a new timeslot. "record all showings at all times on this station"... which is just awesome if your recording anything that gets shown several times through the week at various times... and finally "Record all showings at all times on all stations", I think everyone can see how bad that would turn out. It's sad when a DVR is so bad you wonder if it supports VCR+ codes since you could at least look them up in tvguide without the pain of the terrible interface.

    The only reason I score this DVR as a 1 is that I didn't have a lower option.
  • Kristan
    I just got this thing and I need tips to search and record. I tried to search by title but it will only let you put one letter in and then scroll through a million shows before you get to the one you want (if you get to it). Anyone have any short cuts on this Explorer 8000 DVR? I was told to "upgrade" from the Moxi and I feel like I downgraded. And Tech Support doesn't have a clue.
  • Judi
    I had Direct TV's DVR prior to signing on with Charter. This DVR is awful compared to that one.

    Only records 25 hours.

    No such thing as "one touch recording". Searching for a program means entering only one letter and having to scroll through ALL programs beginning with that letter.

    Fast forwarding through commercials means rewinding a little after stopping - it always goes to far, and there is no auto rewind build in to allow for this.

    All of these features and more were on my old DRV. I may switch back just because of this dreadful machine.
  • Daniel T
    I had one from Dec 2008 to May 2009, while living in Kauai. This thing is the biggest piece of crap. Another user posted (in 2004) that if you have the updated software it preforms much better. I had one in 2008, so I am pretty sure it had the upgrade.

    This PVR was slow, unresponsive, many times it would lock up. It would store successive commands. So you could turn it off, it wouldn't go off after 10 seconds, so you push the button again. After a while, you get frustrated, and keep pushing the button only to see the unit go off-on-off every 10 seconds.

    The unit had a very hard time with processing on demand. It would either lock up or tell you that the service was unavailable. If the unit locked up, it had to be unplugged from the wall, the boot time is about 1-2 minutes until it can accept the first command.

    The unit could only search the guide 7 days in advance. My windows PVR can search 21 days. Paging up or down through the guide is extremely slow.

    The menus were put together sloppily, and many times don't make sense at all.

    I think we can thank the engineers in China for mailing us 20lbs of Chinese scrap metal.

    Do not buy this, and if your cable company offers it, say "No thank you. We don't need more Chinese Junk."
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