1) Pull your set-top-box out so that you can see the connections on the back of it.
2) Unplug the power (small black round connection) so that all of the lights on the set-top-box go off.
3) In about 5 seconds, reconnect the power.
4) On the front of the set-top-box, press and hold down the OK button as well as the down arrow button at the same time. When you see the “LINK”, “HD”, “RECORD” lights on the front of the set-top-box blink rapidly, then you can release the two buttons.
5) If done properly, on your TV screen you should see a grey single gear.

After a couple of moments, the screen should advance to display 2 gears and a loading bar near the bottom of the screen. This indicates that your set-top-box is re-downloading the software necessary to perform the reboot. This stage will take quite a while to complete (approximately 30 minutes). Once that is done, you should see a screen with 3 dots which means the software is installed and your set-top-box is finalizing the settings and initializing.

Once complete, you will have a factory default configuration on your Optik TV set top PVR. Any recorded programs will be erased. The nice part of the Optik TV platform is that you will retain your PVR timers and series timers, and if you have configured remote recording control from the iPhone or website, it will still work.

Keep reading after the jump….

Since September 1st. The CRTC has recieved 1000′s of letters from upset Canadians demanding that they not be taxed in order to fund a bailout of the big two Canadian Broadcast networks (CTV and Global). On September 17th, the Heritage Minister asked the CRTC to review their decision and consider the consumer in the debate.

With the above said, the CRTC still needs to hear from you! Please send your MP, the Heritage Minister and the CRTC a letter or email expressing your opinion. CTV and Global are lobbying very hard to try and charge you money for a service that is supposed to be ad-supported. (You are actually doing them a favour by watching on Cable and Satellite as they no longer need to build out terrestial transmitters…. think rabbit ears).

Shaw Cable has a great website with sample letters that you can send to your MP in the mail and via email (remember, postage to an MP or Minister does not require a stamp).

Please speak up!

You now have a HD PVR with nearly unlimited video recording storage, as you can swap drives to allow you more recording time. Please note that once data is recorded onto the drive, you cannot connect the drive to a computer; nor can you connect the drive to a different 6141 receiver. The 6141 can accept a USB drive up to 1 Terabyte in size, giving you a max recording capacity of up to 100 hours of High Def content.

If you have problems getting your USB drive to work, power cycle your 6141 and you should be good to go.

Please feel free to post your experiences in the comments.

Bell ExpressVu is the first to launch the new Super Channel, and starting on November 2nd, ExpressVu HD subscribers will be the first to preview the new set of stations until November 22nd.

Super Channel HD1 will mirror the content of Super Channel 1 in High Definition.

Super Channel HD2 will feature movies, and special events in HD.

In addition to the two HD stations, Superchannel will offer 4 standard definition channels, with SuperChannel 1 being a mirror of SuperChannel HD1.

There is no word yet on pricing, if anybody knows what it will cost, please post a comment below.

More information about Super Channel can be found at the bell website, playback magazine, and official Super Channel homepage.  You can also find more information on channel 329, and of course watch the free preview from November 2nd – 22nd on channel 843 and 844.

The limitation of a 40 hour guide was by far the largest complaint of ExpressVu 9200 HD PVR owners, and owners of Bell’s earlier PVR models. ExpressVu had been quietly updating the firmware of their receivers over the summer, and just flipped the 9 day guide switch sometime today.

With the addition of the 9 day guide comes 9200 firmware version 150. I have not noticed any new enhancements other than the longer guide, but the extra days of information will be really useful for planning PVR recording timers.

Also, with the start of the fall TV season, Bell ExpressVu has discontinued Bell TV Magazine, replacing it with the new SHOW magazine. The new format is a welcome change, and likely tied to the conversion to a 9-day guide. The old magazine, which was a useless paper schedule has been replaced with a very readable useful magazine. SHOW magazine will launch their new website on September 1st.

Not the kind of news that we normally look forward to (new HD channels) but its a a win-win for ExpressVu customers, considering that after two years we did not expect to see a 9 day guide until MPEG-4 gets launched.

If you have noticed any new features with your ExpressVu 9200, please leave a comment below. If you do not see the 9 day guide yet, please power cycle your ExpressVu receiver to download and/or activate the new firmware.

[My commentary on the report follows after the jump]… 

A cursory glance at the chart shows Rogers and Bell ExpressVu neck and neck, they don’t have all the same channels, but with ExpressVu not adding any new channels in the last couple of months, Rogers could take the lead in Canada. ExpressVu needs to pick up a few more channels if they want to remain the dominant HD player in Canada. ShowCase HD has been out for quite a few months, and according to the charts, it has a medium ammount of content, and would be a great asset. (this is unlike A&E HD which is a total waste of HD bandwidth stretching an SD signal to HD — not any fault of Bell I might add).

Shaw cable has been making a few strides forward, which is good to see. I havn’t looked at a Shaw HD box in a while, so I am not sure if they have resolved some of their bandwidth issues yet. I do know quite a few Shaw employee’s who are on ExpressVu simply due to the ammount of HD Content.

Videotron and Cogeco have the most HD french channels, but who really cares about that, its a waste of bandwidth for most of the country. (kidding really).

SaskTel Max is really impressive, 27 HD channels over their ADSL 2+ based network is very impressive! Considering that SaskTel serves a much much smaller market than TELUS, they are the most technologically advanced ILEC in Canada. Telus really needs to take a look at SaskTel and roll up their sleves and get to work upgrading their network. Right now, you can’t really buy TELUS TV. I would like to review Telus TV once it makes its appearance in my area.

Its worth mentioning that ExpressVu has also stated that the Ethernet port, and the USB 2.0 ports on the two new recievers are to be disabled at launch, reserving them for “future use”.

With all of the uncertainty surrounding the new HD receivers, I’m glad I decided to rent my 9200. I won’t loose anything when the new receivers are finally released, and with the date pushed back, the new units will be available at the same time as my contract is up.

The main reason for the update to the list appears to be the addition of HDNet to StarChoice and Shaw Cable’s lineup. (not too surprising, StarChoice is owned by Shaw). Bell has had HD for a while now, and they still appear to be the HD leader in Canada.

I’m not expecting to see many new HD channels this year, Bell is expected to focus on upgrading to MPEG-4, adding additional bandwidth for HD channels, as they try to stay ahead of the Cable, and IPTV providers.

I’m still trying to “discover” all of the many changes, and I will post the updates as I discover them.

Here is a list that can get you started, if you notice anything new, please feel free to post below.

In summary, the unit feels a lot faster,  and more reliable. I also like the diagnostic changes, and the updates to the guide.

• Daylight Savings time fix (remember DST comes three weeks early starting this year).
• Picture in Picture (PIP) has been revamped to include “side by side” mode.
• The system information screen has been totally revamped, menu, 6-1-3
• The guide now shows more information, season, show number, and original air date. The same info is also shown on the PVR screen.
• The ability to rename events on the PVR.
• General bug fixes, HDMI audio sync, HD 30 second skip.