New Rogers Cisco 8642HD PVR

[Brad]

The new Rogers Cisco 8642 cable box will feature:

dual tuners with hard disk drive storage ranging from 160 to 500 Gigabytes; 1 GHz Tuning which could allow Rogers to expand network bandwidth to provide additional services; MPEG-4 (H.264) decoding support; support for tru2way, personal media which enables display of photos and playback of video and audio from standards-based home network connected devices; Ethernet Connection; Whole Home PVR enables sharing and managing of video services throughout the home to other connected DVRs, set-tops and consumer electronic devices using standards-based connection and security technologies; Digital Transmission Content Protection over IP (DTCP-IP) provides encrypted content protection, such as “copy-one-generation” or “copy-never” based upon content copy control information (CCI), when output through an IP connection to an authenticated device; and optional Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) support.

anecdotally, ive heard rumour that it supports 1080p as well, but that hasnt been verified yet. word is it will come in 160GB and 250GB sizes and has an eSATA port on its ass end as well.

[Suave]

That sounds pretty good from the description. And the new design looks much more up to date!

I really hope that the new menu system will be in 1080i or 1080p - it would look so much better.

I wonder if you'll be able to request for Rogers to switch your current box for one of these new ones.

Any idea when these will be available?

[SoundGame]

Something like this will look much sweeter in my audio rack. Let's hope it comes soon.

And yes, they need better menus as well as a better search function - the current ability to search is archaic.

[Suave]

I just called a local Rogers Plus store and these box are already available. Right now, only for purchase and not for monthly rental.

The sales person told me that right now only a 160 GB version is available for $499. A separate 1 TB external hard drive can be purchased from Rogers for $300. Other external hard drives however will not work.

It looks like Rogers wants to clear out the older boxes before they start renting the new ones. Now may be a good time to buy a used 8300 box from someone on Craigslist...

I also found some higher resolution images of the unit:

[Brad]

$300 for a 1TB drive? that is outfriggingrageous. cant wait til someone hacks it so you can use any garden-variety $99 1TB drive from futureshop.

[Suave]

$300 is certainly a stupid price for 1TB hard drive, so yes, I hope that someone does come up with a hack to use any external drive.

Personally, I think the coolest new feature is the ability to stream recorded programs to other TVs in the house.

[Suave]

I think I'll try my luck with Rogers to see if they can replace my (free) rental PVR with the new model, when I return from Montreal. My new "free PVR" rental deal just started a few weeks ago... but it wouldn't hurt to try.

If anyone else tries this and is succesful let me know!

[SoundGame]

Now I'm facing the choice of whether to pick up an old one for a steep discount or buy the new one for premium price.

[Suave]

Currently in order to watch a 3D broadcast, TVs must be switched manually to a 3D mode (usually side-by-side 3D).

But appearantly a firmware update (due this August) for the 8642 will upgrade it to "auto 3D", which will enable the TV to switch to a 3D mode automatically.

[Suave]

For anyone interested, Bestbuy has both models of the new Rogers 8642HD PVR on sale until this Thursday.

The 160GB version is on sale for $425 (from $500).

The 500GB version is on sale for $525 (from $600).

http://www.bestbuy.ca/Search/SearchR...Category=20227