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®
Explorer
Digital Video Recorder
User’s Guide
Get More Out of Your TV…
Watch • Your favorite shows anytime you want...on your schedule
• Two programs (live or pre-recorded) at once with the PIP feature
Record • Two live programs at the same time
• All future episodes of your favorite programs by performing
a simple, one-time setup
Watch & Record • Watch one program while recording another
• Watch two programs at once (using the PIP feature)
and record one of them
• Watch two programs and record
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Contents Contents Explore Your Entertainment Options .....................................1 Take Control of Live Programs .................................................................................... 2 Get Started ................................................................................3 Connect the Explorer DVR to Your TV ........................................................................ 4 Prepare the Remote Control to Work With Your TV and DVR ..............................
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Contents Manage Programs and Recordings........................................32 Block Programs With Parental Control ....................................................................... 32 Block Recordings With Parental Control .................................................................... 35 Control the Viewing of Programs and Recordings in Your MR-DVR System ............. 37 Find Out How Much Recording Space Has Been Used ............................................. 40 Maximize You
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Explore Your Entertainment Options Explore Your Entertainment Options ® With the Explorer Digital Video Recorder (DVR), you can explore TV in a way never possible before: • Record your favorite programs when you’re busy • Create your own personal video library by recording and storing your favorite programs • Watch your recordings anytime you want • Pause live TV for up to 1 hour without missing a minute • Use instant replay anytime you want on live TV or while playing back a recording • Share r
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Explore Your Entertainment Options Take Control of Live Programs Anytime you tune to a live program, the DVR begins buffering the program — that is, making a temporary recording of it — so you can: • Pause the live program for up to one hour • Rewind the program up to the point when you tuned to the channel • Fast-forward through the portion you have rewound • Instantly replay the last eight seconds of TV anytime you want • Save the buffered program to the DVR by recording it Buffered Programs T
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Get Started Get Started Getting started is easy. After unpacking your DVR equipment, follow these steps to set up your DVR. 1. Determine the types of connections you need to make, based on your TV type (HDTV or SDTV) and home theater connection requirements. 2. Connect the DVR to your TV based on the connection information described in “Connect the Explorer DVR to Your TV” on page 4. Note: Your cable service provider may have already installed and connected the DVR for you. If not, follow the in
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Get Started Connect the Explorer DVR to Your TV The DVR family supports a number of connection options to support connections to older TVs, SDTVs with composite inputs, and HDTVs with component inputs or DVI/HDMI inputs. The following table describes the available DVR outputs, including when the output should be used. For more information about connectivity requirements and connection diagrams, refer to the connectivity guide for your DVR model: ® ™ • Connecting the Explorer 8300 Digital Video R
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Get Started Important Note Regarding the HDMI Interface on the 8300HD DVR The HDMI interface will automatically configure the audio output for a format supported by the television. Because not all TVs support a Dolby Digital input, the HDMI interface will automatically select a 2-channel stereo audio configura- tion instead of Dolby Digital. When the output is configured for 2-channel audio, this configuration is carried over to the other digital audio outputs of the 8300HD. This configuration p
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Get Started Prepare the Explorer HD DVR to Work With Your TV The Setup Wizard is a program that helps you set up your DVR to provide the best picture quality that your TV supports. Based on the type of TV you have, the Wizard allows you to select all picture formats supported by your SDTV or HDTV. Note: If you are connecting an SD DVR to an SDTV, no setup is required. Skip this section and go to “Make the Most of Your Entertainment Options” on page 12. For more information about how programs are
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Get Started Easy Setup Instructions B 1. Press A or to select the type of TV Standard or Widescreen screen you have. The setup is complete. 2. Press Power to begin watching TV. Press if your TV has a standard screen (4:3) Notes: Press if your TV has a widescreen (16:9) • If you pressed A for the standard screen (4:3) TV setting, the TV is set Restart setup Complete setup to receive programming in 480i format on non-HD channels and 1080i format on HD channels. B • If you pressed
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Get Started Adjust Your HDTV Picture After using the Setup Wizard, if you feel that your HDTV picture quality needs improvement, you can adjust the HDTV picture display using options within the Quick Settings and General Settings menus. If you do not need to make an adjustment to your picture quality, skip this section and go to “Making the Most of Your Entertainment Options” on page 12. Adjust Your Picture Format Using Quick Settings Because the picture quality of a program is affected by many
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Get Started Adjust Your HD Picture Using General Settings You can adjust how your DVR displays pictures using the Picture Format and TV Borders General Settings menu options. Set Your Default Picture Format By automating picture adjustments, the DVR uses a method that you choose to automatically select the picture format that provides the best display possible. The methods that you can select from depend partly on the type of video connection your HDTV uses. (See the box on the next page for mor
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Get Started General Settings: Set Picture Format Upconvert 1 and Upconvert 2 - When possible, the DVR tries to improve the display of a program by upconverting the program. Fixed - All programming is displayed using the picture format you last selected. This setting remains fixed until you select a new picture format from the Quick Settings menu. For details, see the previous page. Pass-Through or Auto DVI - Programming is automatically formatted with the picture format that provides the best di
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Get Started Change the Darkness of Bars Used in Picture Displays The DVR automatically adds bars to certain types of program formats to improve the picture’s display. If you decide to use these automatic settings to watch programs, you can change the darkness of the bars from Light (the default setting) to Medium or Dark. To change the darkness of the bars that the DVR uses, follow these steps: 1. Press Settings twice. The General Settings menu appears. 2. Press Move Up or Move Down to select
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Get Started Make the Most of Your Entertainment Options After you connect the DVR to your TV, set up the remote, and run the Setup Wizard, you are ready to begin watching and recording programs using your DVR. In the following sections, discover how you can: • Find out when programs are broadcast using the Program Guide • Watch programs and pay-per-view events • Control live TV and recordings • Watch two programs at once with the PIP feature • Record and play back programs • Manage programs and
