SA 8300 HD PVR

So for the last year we have had a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD PVR. We used a Tivo Series 2 for years and loved it. The SA 8300 is like night and day. This thing is terrible in so many ways. I can't believe Time Warner charges people for this piece of garbage. Some problems include:

• HDCP Problems - We constantly had problems with HDCP using the SA8300. When viewing TV, we would often have a error code displayed that required us to turn off all the components and sometimes the TV. Thanks DRM!
  
• Interface Quality - The interface is kludgy at best. It looks like something from 1980. Text is blocky, everything is blocky.
  
• Picture Quality - I assumed the HD signals were just crappy using the SA 8300. Using the Tivo, you can see that HD shows actually look nice. Artifacts are rare with the Tivo.
  
• Season Pass Management - There is not an interface to specify priority of season pass management. Also, season passes seem to be get lost periodically.
  
• Interruptions When Viewing - It would often put up a silly message while you are viewing to let you know that it is about to record something. Who cares, unless you actually are watching live TV and you need to make a decision?
  
• Fast Forward - No 30 second skip, fast forward does not auto-correct after you stop like a Tivo.
  
• Remote - The remote is a big clunky boxy thing.

On the positive side, it does record two different streams at once. It does PIP (who uses this?). It can be expanded with a eSATA drive. It can do on demand.

Even with the headaches I have had with the Tivo HD, I still prefer it by about 10 to 1 over the SA 8300 HD box.

Component Setup

So last year, I got a promotion. My wife and I decided to celebrate by upgrading our AV system.

We ended up getting a 52 inch Aquos LCD with 1080p, an Onkyo amp, and some speakers from Orb Audio. The cable company supplied a SA 8300 HD PVR. After a four hour wait in the parking lot of a Target on a cold morning in February, we also had a Wii. We wired up everything on the dining room table to test and tweak, then we started to install...

The TV just perfectly fits over the fireplace in our den. With about 1/4 inch on each side (if that) it is the perfect width. This is also nice, since we had an alcove over the fireplace, so all the wires can go behind the TV and it is pretty flush to the mantle. Also, with a mantle, there is no crazy wall mounting to do, it just sits there and the wires are all easily coiled behind. We put painted board in above and below to hide the void space behind, it looks pretty darn good IMHO.

We have a corner of the room that is near a window and walkway. The area is about 2x2 feet, so it is about perfect for components. We could not find suitable furniture to fit, so we decided to try a shelf for components. Also, this may keep the kids out of them a bit. After two iterations, we found a TV shelf on a swivel arm that would support 100 lbs. The problem was the metal shelf they provided was flimsy, but we propped the system on there anyway. I finally made a new shelf out of four layers of 1/4 inch MDF glued and bolted together. After routing, filling, priming and painting, the new shelf looks ok. The nice thing about this setup, the arm swings so I can get access to the back of the components pretty easily. We mounted the 17x17 inch shelf at an angle, so the wires are also hidden pretty well. You don't notice them from the front or either side. This should be great until the kids pile up something and pull down the stack of components.