Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 Home Entertainment Server User manual

Explorer®8000™Home Entertainment Server
• Record and store from 30 to 50 hours of programs
•Record your favorite programs when you’re away
•Record one program and watch another
•Watch two programs at the same time with the Picture-in-Picture
feature on any TV you have
•Record two live programs while watching a third program you
recorded earlier
•Use instant replay anytime you want
• Pause live TV for up to 1 hour without missing a minute
User’s Guide for the
Digital Video Recorder
with Picture-in-Picture Control

i
Contents
Introducing the Home Entertainment Server 1
Get More Out of Your TV 1
Take Control of Live Programs 2
Get Started 3
Prepare the Remote Control to Work with Your TV and Home Entertainment Server 3
Find Out When Your Favorite Programs Are On 5
Display the Program Guide 5
Select a Program from the Program Guide 5
Search for a Program by Channel, Title, or Theme 6
Search for a Program by Date 7
Control Live TV and Recordings 8
Pause a Live Program or a Recording 8
Use Instant Replay 9
Rewind or Fast-Forward a Live Program or Recording 9
Use Slow Motion 11
Watch Action Frame by Frame 11
Catch Up With a Live TV Program 11
Watch Two Programs At Once 12
Turn PIP On and Off 12
Change the Channel of the PIP Screen 13
Move the Location of the PIP Screen 13
Swap the Main Screen and the PIP Screen 14
Record and Play Back Programs 16
Record a Program That You Are Watching Live 17
Record a Single Program or All Episodes of a Future Program 19
Record Two Programs at Once 21
Record a Pay-Per-View Event 21
Display a List of Your Recorded Programs 22
Play Back a Recording 22
Display a List of Programs You Have Scheduled
To Be Recorded in the Future 23
Cancel a Scheduled Recording 23
Cancel a Recording That Is in Progress 24
Contents

ii
Manage Programs and Recordings 25
Keep Others From Watching a Program 25
Keep Others From Watching a Recording 28
Maximize Your Storage Space 30
Copy Recordings to a VCR Tape 30
Change the Default Save Time Setting for Future Recordings 31
Change the Save Time of a Recording You Have Saved 32
Erase a Recording 32
Find Answers to Frequently Asked Questions 33
Questions About the Home Entertainment Server 33
Questions About Controlling a Live Program or Recording 33
Questions About Watching Two Programs at Once 34
Questions About Recording Programs and Playing Them Back 34
Get More Information or Assistance 37
Frequently Asked Questions 37
Online Documentation or the Explorer eClub 37
Customer Support 37
Index 39
Quick Tips inside of back cover
Remote Control inside of foldout
Contents

1
Introducing the Home Entertainment Server
The Explorer®8000™Home Entertainment Server changes how you watch TV:
•Control live programs just like they are recordings
•Create your personal video library by recording and storing from 30 to 50 hours
of programs
•Watch your recordings anytime you want
•Add the Picture-in-Picture (PIP) feature to any TV you own
Get More Out of Your TV
With the Entertainment Server, you can use your TV to . . .
Watch •Watch one live program
•Watch two live programs at the same time with the
PIP feature
•Watch one pre-recorded program
•Watch one live and one pre-recorded program at the
same time
Record •Record one live program
•Record two live programs at the same time
•Record from 30 to 50 hours of programs,
depending on the programming source
• Record all future episodes of your favorite programs,
just by performing a one-time setup
Watch and Record •Watch two programs and record one of them
•Watch two programs and record both of them
•Watch a pre-recorded program while you record
two other programs
Introducing the Home Entertainment Server

2
Take Control of Live Programs
Anytime you tune to a live program, the Entertainment Server begins buffering it –
that is, making a temporary recording of it – so that you can . . .
•Pause the live program or rewind it
•Fast-forward through the portion you have rewound
•Instantly replay live TV anytime you want
•Save the live program to the Entertainment Server by recording it
Buffered Programs
The Entertainment Server automatically buffers the last hour of the
channel that you are watching and continues to buffer the channel
until you . . .
Watch the channel for longer than an hour
After an hour, the Entertainment Server removes the
earlier minutes of the program from its buffer so that
only the last hour is kept in the buffer.
Tune to another progam
When you change channels, the Entertainment Server
begins to buffer the program you have just tuned to.
It removes the program you were watching from
the buffer.
Turn off the Entertainment Server
When you turn off the Entertainment Server, it
erases everything from its buffer.
Have the Entertainment Server record
the program
When you press Record , the Entertainment Server
records the portion of the live program it has buffered,
and begins recording the rest of the live program as it
is broadcast.
When recording, the red Record light turns on.
Introducing the Home Entertainment Server

3
Get Started
Getting started is easy. After you’ve connected the Entertainment Server to your
TV, VCR, or other audio-video equipment, you only need to prepare the remote
control as described here.
Note: To connect the Entertainment Server, follow the instructions in the connec-
tion guides on the Explorer eClub Web site. (For information on the eClub Web
site, see “To Join the Explorer eClub” on page 38.)
Prepare the Remote Control to Work with Your TV
and Home Entertainment Server
Set up the remote control in two steps:
1. Prepare it to work with the
make and model of your TV.
(For additional information
on setting up and customizing
the features of the remote
control, refer to the guide
that is included with your
remote control.)
2. Place it in Cable mode as
described in the picture at right.
Note: Your cable service provider
may have already placed the remote
control in Cable mode for you.
You can verify this by pressing
Power to see how the
Entertainment Server responds.
After you set up the remote control,
you’re ready to . . .
•Find out when programs are
broadcast
•Control live TV or recordings
•Watch two programs at once
with the PIP feature
•Record programs and play
them back
•Manage programs and recordings
Can’t find a key on the remote? Open the foldout on the back cover of this
guide to display the illustration of the remote control.
To place the remote control in Cable
mode, press Cable . The Cable key
blinks red when you press it to indicate
that it is in Cable mode. When the remote
control is in Cable mode and you press
Power , the green Power indicator
on the front of the Entertainment
Server turns on or off depending on the
current status of the Entertainment
Server.
Note: Each time you press a key on
the remote control, one of the four
mode keys blinks red to indicate the
mode the remote control is in.
Cable Key
Get Started

4
Protect Your Recordings
To extend the life of the Entertainment Server and to save money on your electric bill,
turn Off the Entertainment Server each night before going to bed.
When the Entertainment Server is powered Off (and plugged into an active outlet),
all scheduled recordings will be performed automatically – and your recordings will
be protected.
Powering off your Entertainment Server also resets and turns on the Parental Control
feature automatically. Powering off the Entertainment Server is the easiest way to turn
on the Parental Control feature for all the programming you have chosen to block.
For more information on this feature, see “Keep Others From Watching a Program”
on page 25.
Each night before you go to bed, make
sure that the green Power indicator is off.
The time displays whenever the Entertainment
Server is plugged into an active outlet.
Get Started

5
Find Out When Your Favorite Programs Are On
From the Program Guide, you can search for programs by channel number,
program title, theme, or broadcast date. After you find a program, you can tune to
it directly from the guide. This section provides instructions to . . .
•Display the Program Guide
•Select a program from the Program Guide
•Search for a program by channel, title, or theme
•Search for a program by date
Can’t find a key on the remote? Open the foldout on the back cover of this
guide to display the illustration of the remote control.
Display the Program Guide
1. Press Guide . The Program Guide appears and lists the next
7 days of programs.
2. To close the guide, press Guide . The Program Guide closes,
displaying the program that was highlighted in the Quarter screen.
Program Guide
Select a Program from the Program Guide
1. Press Guide . The Program Guide appears and lists the next 7 days
of programs.
2. Press the directional keys ( ) to move through the program listings
and highlight the program you want to watch.
3. Press Select . If the program is currently on, the Program Guide closes
and the program you selected appears in full-screen TV. If the program is
on in the future, a future program option screen appears.
Headline News
4:00-5:00pm
Up-to-the-minute coverage of the
latest events.
HDLN
36
DSC 34
CNN 35
HDLN 36
ESPN 37
TOON 38
Great Chefs
Inside Politics
' Headline News
Bikes, Blades & Boards
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Hollywo
Pokemo
Travelers
Headline News
NFL's Greatest
Pokemon
Great Chefs
Early Prime
Yu-Gi-Oh!
4:00pm 4:30pm
36
Wed 6/18 4:02pm
5:00pm 5:3CHANNEL
WED 6/18
DateBrowse By
The Information
area displays
information about
the program that is
highlighted in the
Program Guide.
The Browse By
area automatically
lists programs by
channel number,
but you can
change this and list
programs by title,
theme, or date.
The Quarter screen
shows the program
you are tuned to.
The Broadcast
Time Bar lists the
times programs
are shown.
The Programs area
displays the title of
each program.
The Options area displays
additional options available.
Find Out When Your Favorite Programs Are On

6
Search for a Program by Channel, Title, or Theme
The Entertainment Server automatically lists programs by channel number, but
you can change this and list programs by title or theme.
1. Press Guide . The Program Guide appears and lists the next 7 days of
programs.
2. Press Browse By
A
. The Browse By area of the Program Guide displays
the options Title, Channel, and Theme.
3. Press Move Up or Move Down to highlight one of the following
options:
•Channel, which lists programs numerically by channel number
•Title, which lists programs alphabetically by program title
•Theme, which lists programs by theme, such as adventure, comedy,
sports, or news
4. Press Select . The Browse By area of the Program Guide displays the
programs according to the option you selected.
Browse By Options
Headline News
4:00-5:00pm
Up-to-the-minute coverage of the
latest events.
HDLN
36
DSC 34
CNN 35
HDLN 36
ESPN 37
TOON 38
Great Chefs
Inside Politics
' Headline News
Bikes, Blades & Boards
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Hollywo
Pokem
o
Travelers
Headline News
NFL's Greatest
Pokemon
Great Chefs
Early Prime
Yu-Gi-Oh!
4:00pm 4:30pm
36
Wed 6/18 4:02pm
5:00pm 5:3CHANNEL
WED 6/18
DateBrowse By
Headline News
4:00-5:00pm
Up-to-the-minute coverage of the
latest events.
HDLN
36
H
Hawaii Five-0
Hawthorne
Headline News
Health & Fitness
Hometime
31
16
36
41
56
10:00pm
8:30pm
4:00pm
4:00pm
5:30pm
PROGRAM
36
Wed 6/18 4:02pm
CHTIMETITLE A-Z
WED 6/18
DateBrowse By
Headline News
4:00-5:00pm
Up-to-the-minute coverage of the
latest events.
HDLN
36
News
Headline News
Close-Up on C-SPAN
Headline News
Early Prime
Headline News
36
25
36
35
36
3:00pm
4:00pm
4:00pm
4:30pm
5:00pm
PROGRAM
36
Wed 6/18 4:02pm
CHTIMETHEME
WED 6/18
DateBrowse By
Browse By Channel
Channel lists programs numerically by
channel number.
Browse By Title
Title lists programs alphabetically by
program title.
Browse By Theme
Theme lists programs by theme, such
as adventure, comedy, sports, or news.
Find Out When Your Favorite Programs Are On
Note: A star next to a program indicates
that the program is currently being
broadcast.
Note: A star next to a program indicates
that the program is currently being
broadcast.

7
Search for a Program by Date
1. Press Guide . The Program Guide appears and lists the next 7 days
of programs.
2. Press Date
B
. The Browse By area of the Program Guide displays the
next 7 dates.
3. Press Move Up or Move Down to highlight a date.
4. Press Select . The Program Guide displays the programs that will be
broadcast on that date.
Find Out When Your Favorite Programs Are On

8
Control Live TV and Recordings
With the Entertainment Server, you control how you watch a program because, in
many ways, you can treat live programs like they are recordings. The Entertainment
Server lets you control how you watch a program in all of the following ways:
•Pause a live program or a recording
•Replay the last 8 seconds of a live program or a recording using instant replay
•Rewind a live program or a recording to watch a portion of it again
• Fast-forward through portions of a live program that you have rewound,
or through portions of a recording that you don’t want to watch
•Slow the action of a live program or a recording to watch more closely
•Watch action frame by frame in forward or reverse
•Catch up with a live program to see what is currently being broadcast
Can’t find a key on the remote? Open the foldout on the back cover of this
guide to display the illustration of the remote control.
Pause a Live Program or a Recording
1. Press Pause . The action freezes and the Status Bar appears briefly in
the Pause position at the bottom of the screen. For programs that you are
watching live, the Entertainment Server will remain in pause for up to 1 hour.
2. Press Pause again or press Play to resume playing the program.
Status Bar
The Status Bar appears whenever you pause, rewind, or fast-forward a live program
or a recording.
For a live program, red indicates
missed programming (from the
time the program began until the
time you tuned to the program).
For a recording, red indicates
the portion of programming that
was not recorded.
Pause American Idol
8:00 – 9:00pm
This area represents
the current status
(paused in this case).
The name of the
program appears
beneath the bar.
The yellow pointer
indicates where you
are in the program.
For a live program,
the time of the
broadcast displays.
For a recording,
the program length
displays.
Green indicates
the portion of the
program that the
Entertainment
Server has
buffered or
saved.
For a live program,
yellow indicates
the portion of the
program not yet
broadcast.
Control Live TV and Recordings

9
Use Instant Replay
Press Instant Replay to watch the last 8 seconds of a live program or a
recording again.
Note: The first time you press Instant Replay , the Entertainment Server
replays the last 8 seconds of a live program or a recording. Every additional
press jumps back 8 more seconds.
Rewind or Fast-Forward a Live Program or Recording
Rewind a live program or a recording to watch a portion of it again, or fast-forward
through portions you don’t want to watch. You can rewind or fast-forward in any
of three different speeds, as shown in the box on the next page.
1. Make sure that that the program or recording is not in Pause mode. If it is
paused, press Play .
2. Rewind or fast-forward the live program or recording by following
these steps.
To Press Result
Rewind Action reverses and the Status Bar appears
in the Rewind position at the bottom of the
screen. The pointer on the Status Bar moves
to the left as you rewind the program.
Note: When you rewind a live program or
recording to the point where you first tuned
to it, the recording automatically begins
replaying at normal speed.
Speed up: Press Rewind one or two
more times to incrementally increase the
speed. Press it again and the program
resumes playing at normal speed.
Control Live TV and Recordings

10
To Press Result
Fast-forward Action speeds up and the Status Bar appears
in the Fast-forward position at the bottom of the
screen. The pointer on the Status Bar moves
to the right as you fast-forward the program.
Speed up: Press Fast-forward one or
two more times to incrementally increase the
speed. Press it again and the program resumes
playing at normal speed.
Live TV: When you reach the end of the
buffered program and catch up with the live
broadcast, the Status Bar briefly indicates Live
and the program automatically begins playing at
normal speed.
Recordings: When you reach the end of a
recording, the Playback Status screen appears
to give you the option to erase the recording.
To exit from this screen and return to live TV,
press Last , or press Channel Up or
Channel Down .
3. To resume play at normal speed, press Play . The Status Bar
indicates the Play position and the program plays at normal speed.
Status Bar Speed Indicator
Control Live TV and Recordings
Rewind or fast-forward in any of three speeds:
• The first press (or ) increases the speed to 4 times normal speed.
• The second press (or ) increases the speed to 10 times normal speed.
• The third press ( or ) increases the speed to 32 times normal speed.
Fast Fwd
Rewind
A green arrow ( or ) indicates how fast you are advancing
or rewinding a program. Each time you increase the speed,
another arrow appears.

11
Use Slow Motion
1. While watching live TV or while playing a recording at normal speed,
press Play once. The action slows.
2. To resume play in normal speed, press Play again.
Watch Action Frame by Frame
Analyze sports events and other programs by watching the action frame by
frame. When you watch frame by frame, you fast-forward or reverse the action
one second at a time.
1. Press Pause . The action stops.
2. Fast-forward or reverse action one frame at a time by following these steps.
To Move Action Press Result
Back by one Each time you press Rewind ,
second action moves backward by one second.
Forward by Each time you press Fast-forward ,
one second action moves forward by one second.
3. To resume play at normal speed, press Play .
Catch Up With a Live TV Program
When you pause or rewind a live program, the program continues to be broad-
cast. You can continue watching the buffered program (delayed TV), or you can
catch up with the live broadcast by pressing Live .
Note: The Live key is inactive when you are playing back a recording.
Control Live TV and Recordings

12
Watch Two Programs At Once
Watch a soccer game and a basketball game at the same time by using the PIP
feature. The Entertainment Server gives you the ability to use PIP even if your
TV doesn’t have PIP. This section provides instructions to . . .
•Turn the PIP feature on and off
•Change the channel of the PIP screen
•Move the location of the PIP screen
•Swap the main screen and the PIP screen
Can’t find a key on the remote? Open the foldout on the back cover of this
guide to display the illustration of the remote control. The dedicated PIP keys are
shown in blue.
Turn PIP On and Off
When you turn on the PIP feature, you can watch two channels at once. One
channel appears as a full-screen image; the other appears as a small image
within the full-screen image.
1. While watching a program, press
PIP On/Off . The PIP screen
appears within the full screen,
and a channel banner appears
briefly under the PIP screen.
Note: You will hear the sound of
only the program that is shown
in the full screen.
2. To turn off the PIP screen, press
PIP On/Off again.
Notes:
•If you press Info when the
PIP feature is on, a channel banner
appears for both screens. If either
program is currently being recorded,
its channel banner will show the
Recording Now symbol.
•You can turn on the PIP feature
only while watching TV in
full-screen.
25
GOLF
Full-screen image
in main TV screen
Channel Banner appears
briefly under PIP screen
PIP screen within
the full-screen image
Watch Two Programs At Once

13
Change the Channel of the PIP Screen
1. If the PIP feature is not on, turn it on. (See the previous page, “Turn PIP
On and Off,” for details.)
2. Press PIP Channel Up or PIP Channel Down to change the PIP
channel.
Note: You must press the PIP channel keys to change the channel of the PIP
screen. Pressing the main Channel Up or Channel Down key changes
the channel of the program that is shown in the main TV screen.
Move the Location of the PIP Screen
If the PIP screen blocks action in the main TV screen, move the PIP screen by
pressing Move .
Possible Positions of the PIP Screen
Each time you press Move , the PIP screen moves clockwise to the next corner of
the main TV screen as shown here.
Watch Two Programs At Once

14
Swap the Main Screen and the PIP Screen
To move the full-screen program shown in the main TV screen to the PIP screen,
press Swap .
Recordings and the PIP Screen
If you are . . . And you . . .
Recording the program Turn off the PIP feature, the program continues
in the PIP screen to be recorded.
Recording the program Have the PIP feature on, the recording does
in the main TV screen not capture the PIP screen in the recording.
The recording shows only the program in the
main TV screen.
Recording the program Press Info , an information banner appears
in the PIP or the main for both the PIP and main TV screens. (If a
TV screen program is being recorded, the Recording Now
symbol appears in the channel banner.)
The recording does not capture the channel
banner in the recording.
Full-screen program
in main TV screen
PIP screen
Watch Two Programs At Once

15
The PIP Screen and the Quarter Screen
The PIP screen and the Quarter screen look alike, but they are different. The Quarter
screen is actually the main TV screen, but it has been reduced, as shown here, to fit
within Entertainment Server screens such as the Recorded Program Options screen.
To control the program in the Quarter screen, use the main keys on the remote control.
To control the program in the PIP screen, use the PIP keys.
Change save time
Play "The Jungle Book"
Block "The Jungle Book"
Erase
Options
"The Jungle Book"
Wed: 6/11 7:00pm 2hr 0min
Save: 1 Day
Choose Highlighted Item Recorded List
Recorded Program Options
From the Quarter screen,
you can use any of the main
remote control keys such as
Pause, Rewind, Fast-forward,
or Record.
From the main TV screen,
you can use any of the main
remote control keys such as
Pause, Rewind, Fast-forward,
or Record.
From the Picture-in Picture screen,
you can use any of the dedicated PIP
keys, such as Swap or Move.
Note: To control or record the program in the PIP screen, first swap it to the
main TV screen. For details, see “Record Two Programs at Once” on page 21.
Watch Two Programs At Once

16
Record and Play Back Programs
Record programs and watch them whenever you want by referring to the topics
in this section:
•Record a program that you are watching live
•Record a single program or all episodes of a future program
•Record two programs at once
•Record a pay-per-view event
•Display a list of your recorded programs
•Play back a recording
•Display a list of programs that you have scheduled to be recorded in the future
•Cancel a scheduled recording
•Cancel a recording that is in progress
Can’t find a key on the remote? Open the foldout on the back cover of this
guide to display the illustration of the remote control.
Saving Your Recordings
Whether you record a program you are watching live or schedule a program to be
recorded in the future, you have three ways that you can select how long to save
the recording.
•Use the default Save Time setting. Using
the default Save Time setting is the quickest
way to save recordings because you don’t
need to select the save time each time you
record a program. For details, see “Recording
With the Default Save Time Setting” on page 17.
•Select the Save Time when you schedule
a new recording. For details, see “Recording
Without the Default Save Time Setting” on
page 18.
•Change the Save Time after recording a
program. For details, see “Change the Save Time
of a Recording You Have Saved” on page 32.
Important: Because the Entertainment Server can save between 30 and 50 hours
of recordings, depending on the programming source, it is not intended as
a long-term storage device. When saving recordings, consider the impact
of the save time on your storage space.
Want to maximize your storage space? Reduce the length of your Save
Time setting.
SAVE TIME
2 Days
7 Days
14 Days
Until erased
1 Day
Record and Play Back Programs

17
Record a Program That You Are Watching Live
To record a program that
you are watching live,
make sure that you tune
to the channel when the
program begins. This
ensures that you record
the entire program from
its beginning. Otherwise,
you’ll record only part of
the program.
Before recording the
program, decide how
long you want to save
it, and then follow
these steps.
To save the program Follow the steps in
Using the default “Recording With the Default Save
Save Time setting Time Setting,” shown on this page.
1, 2, 7, or 14 days, “Recording Without the Default Save
or until you erase it Time Setting,” shown on the next page.
SAVE TIME
2 Days
7 Days
14 Days
Until erased
1 Day
Save Time Setting
"The Jungle Book"
USA (Ch 67)
Wed 6/18 7:00-9:00pm
Record: 1 Episode
Save: 14 Days
Record Options Cancel
Confirm Recording
Press to record this program
or press for more recording options.
Press Options
A
to change
the default Save Time setting.
Press Select
to record with the
default Save Time
setting.
The default Save
Time appears here
in the Information
area.
Recording With the Default Save Time Setting
If you want to record a program that you are watching and save it according
to your default Save Time setting, follow these steps:
1. Press Record . The Confirm Recording screen appears.
2. Press Select . The Entertainment Server records the program using
the default Save Time setting.
When the Entertainment Server
leaves the factory, its default
Save Time setting is set at 14
days. Using this setting, the
Entertainment Server automatically
saves each recording for 14 days.
At the end of 14 days, the
Entertainment Server erases the
recording to make space for other programs you want to
record. You can change the default setting from 14 days
to 1, 2, or 7 days, or you can change the default setting
to save recordings until you erase them.
To change the default Save Time setting from the
factory-set time of 14 days, see “Change the Default
Save Time Setting for Future Recordings” on page 31.
Record and Play Back Programs