cable box blues,

[reddevydde]

problem hooking up

I'm having trouble getting my motorola dct 5100 to work.
Instructions say to plug the wall cable connection into the back of the cable box, and to put the tv/vcr out connection to my mits 55513 cable antenna input, and then to put my tv on channel 3 or 4, and not turn on the cable box until the time appears. the time isn't appearing. waiting waiting.
i turned the cable box on, i get most of the expanded basic channels, the high def channels say they should be on shortly. their in the channel 700's. I'm using charter cable. not sure why the box isn't downloading what it needs of the cable connection. I also notice a card slot on the front of the cable box, similar to my directv box, but their isn't a card in this slot, I wonder if it needs one.

can anybody help me?

[57U]

1. No card is required.

2. In order to see HD channels you need component video cables connected from the STB to the TV. Suggest you start reading the operating manuals for the STB and the TV. You'll probably also need to connect S-video cable for the SD channels.

3. You may wish to read the FAQ on "Cables & Connections". There's a link in there on how to hook up a STB, although it's a different manufacturer, the connections are similar.

4. Didn't an installer come to install the box and check everything out?

5. The 5100 also has a number of different settings that have to be set properly for you to get 1080i signals for the HD channels - again an operating manual issue.

6. Please do not "cross post" (put more than one post on the same topic.)

[reddevydde]

Turn out charter computers have been down most of the night and could not initialize the box. The installer said it takes up to thirty minutes for the box to download what it needs, not knowing the computers were down, he left. I part of a test market who(m) get the boxes and channels free till the end of the year. Yes I said Charter, HDTV, HDTV Box, and Free. Sounds like Charter is getting ready to go to battle with directtv, which I have know, but haven't upgraded to the hdtv box, I think I may wait till next year when the stb's have built in hard-drives, hdtv recording, and a reasonable price, although the $399 upgrade path isn't bad.

Sorry about the cross posting, won't happen again.

The funny part about this is, the "broadcast basic" package of the cable company, which I subscribe to now, is coming through the component video outputs just fine, I think I may be able to bypass a S-VHS connection altogether, the digital-coax output works just as well with no need for analog connectors that I forsee at this time.

I have looked through the manual for the moto. box, which Charter has supplied, and it isn't written well enough for me to know how to dig into it to tell where I can set it to always export 1080i for the mits TV. I will find it through trial and error and/or these forums.

I must say one thing, the 55-513 looks beautiful. I do professional color correction, photo air-brushing, and digital compositing for a living, after an evening of tweaking, I was giddy over how good monsters inc. looked coming from my Sony-DVD 755 prog scan output. I told my wife and kids to come running and see Sully's hair!

Finally, I have to figure out how to put a 152" large-directional channel master antenna in my attic to receive the five DT signals coming from Madison. I hope it works well in the attic.

Sorry to write a novel here.

This is my third mits rptv, my last, a 50-803 was infinitely frustating with it's dead-end minded conception of inputs for hdtv. I over paid, and the powesupply went after 4 years. In frustation I went into the service menu and killed it with two volatile resets. It felt good to put that dog down. I feel redemption with the picture I saw earlier on this 55513.


Go Green Bay Packers!

[leadvocal]

I have looked through the manual for the moto. box, which Charter has supplied, and it isn't written well enough for me to know how to dig into it to tell where I can set it to always export 1080i for the mits TV. I will find it through trial and error and/or these forums.
You need to go into the user menu to set your YPbPr output to 1080i and 4:3 override to 480i/480p

First connect component output from the box to component input on your TV. Then either S-Video (as 57U suggested) or coax from the TV/VCR output of the box to their respective inputs on the TV.

Now, go into the user menu by turning the TV on and the box off. Press the menu button on the front of the box. Use the arrows on the box to make your selections. Up & Down for the setting you want to change, Right & Left to make the changes.

For TV Type, select 16:9
For YPbPr Output, select 1080i (your TV doesn't support 720p)
For 4:3 override, select 480i or 480p (480p won't allow you to see 'menus')

Press the power on or menu button again to save the settings.
You should be all set.