In response to the rumor scrounging I did this week, I got this in my email from a manufacturer's rep regarding interface problems between Bell HD boxes and A/V hardware (his brand has been redacted, since this isn't official brand business):
As an aside, you mention the Bell 9200 HD-PVR receiver in your blog. Well, here's an interesting fact for you. One of my dealers ran into a problem with our [A/V reciever] not showing on-screen programming using HDMI & up-conversion from the [A/V reciever] to a Panasonic Plasma. He was blaming it on the [A/V reciever]. Then he found out from Bell that they have had a large number of 9200's with short circuits in the HDMI board. As soon as the HDMI was removed from the Bell & replaced with component all worked fine. (I knew the [A/V reciever] was working fine lol) Bell, just like Shaw, are buying refurbs from the U.S. All castoffs from Echostar/Dish Network & in the case of Shaw, cast-offs from U.S. cable companies.
Ah, the joys of troubleshooting.
For the record, I have no axe to grind against any one broadcaster. I dislike them all, and the HD boxes from Bell, Star Choice, and Shaw all have their little maddening quirks that you need to be aware of when integrating them into a complete system. This ties in to what I just wrote about on CE Pro Magazine about paying attention to the details.
Friday, March 09, 2007
A tidbit about HD boxes from the field
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1 comment:
I just had my Bell HD system serviced and I can vouch for the "official position" in terms of the techs who were at my house. I was informed of the following hardware incompatibilities:
1. Using protective circuits such as the one on my MonsterCable power station to protect against surges on the input signal line is not recommended. The claim is that these protective circuits cannot pass an HD signal. I was chastised for having hooked my system up this way, yet I experienced no problems for over 3 months until the recent service call. Testing the system revealed a bad connector on the exterior of our house and a bad switch in the dish hardware. I may reconnect the system later to see if problems arise, but this is my second service call in less than 6 months as a subscriber and if the problem is NOT hardware related I am charged a $75 service fee.
2. Upscale (i.e. gold plated) HDMI cords cause problems with Bell HD receivers. The explanation I was given was "gold cannot handle the voltage or pass it properly". I didn't debate the issue, but I am convinced the techs believe they understand the reason these types of connectors "burn out" (their words) these receivers. I didn't hear anything in the explanation that seemed to explain the reason for the problem in either engineering terms or in basic electrical terms. I am convinced the techs were telling me what Bell told them to tell me, and I am convinced they believe this explanation.
As I am certain that any reasonably well made after market interconnect cable would present performance specifications far in excess of what the Bell hardware should require I must admit I am disappointed that the hardware seems so susceptible to technical problems. I am also disappointed that Bell is so willing to blame the shortcomings of their hardware on others. The vast majority of their clients will never be knowledgeable enough to discern this.
In my opinion this is the price we pay for government over regulation which limits competition and consumer choice. If the market was actually free I am confident that an entrepreneur would rise to the challenge and demand of providing an excellent HD satellite service to the many clients like myself in Canada who have the desire and means to have a quality home entertainment system and are unable to obtain a signal by conventional means. There are more of us than you might think as I live only 23 KM from a major city and cannot access HD by cable.
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