Igloo set top box shuts down in the very early morning

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KevinLeth

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#131023 5-Oct-2013 20:22

I have an Igloo set top box connected to a VCR. I have found that the box shuts down in the early hours of each day. Calls to the Igloo help desk reveal that this occurs when updates are send at about 3.00am.

Apparently the only occasion the box will remain on is if it is set to the Animal Planet chanel. This makes it impossible to set the VCR to record a particular programme over a number of days as the Igloo box needs to be physically switched on each day. (No good if you are on holiday away from the box).

I have not seen any mention of this on any Igloo material or their web site. Retailers seem to be unaware of this issue.

Can anyone suggest a way around this dilemma?

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#908607 5-Oct-2013 20:49

What happens when the unit is powered on at the wall? Does it automatically turn on and go to the last tuned channel?

If so you could get a timed power switch and programme it to turn off at 4am (which would be after the updates) then back on 5 mins later.

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B1GGLZ

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#908619 5-Oct-2013 21:51

According to the User Guide the box will auto power down by default after 4 hrs of inactivity. I presume when you finish watching you just leave it on and go to bed so it will then power down by itself 4 hrs later. Have you tried changing this setting to "Never" as per the Guide? That should make it stay on.

KevinLeth

6 posts

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#908624 5-Oct-2013 22:03

I doubt that this would work. Even if the timer turned the set top box on, you would still have to reset the chanel - when the box is turned on, it does not go direct to the chanel it was set to.

Turning the power off at the wall, then on, causes the box to re-boot.

After re-boot or after switching the unit on, the chanel has to be reset either by pressing the OK button or the Live TV button. Either button will bring up the last chanel the box was set on. The box does not automatically go to the last chanel used.

KevinLeth

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#908626 5-Oct-2013 22:10

I have set the power down to never - unit still shuts down in the wee hours. Somehow whatever is done in the wee hours causes the unit to shut down regardless of the power down setting.

I have been advised by the Igloo help desk that the box will only stay on if set to the Animal Planet chanel. This is no use if you want another chanel.

freitasm

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#908627 5-Oct-2013 22:15

This has been its behaviour since the launch. I've heard they had plans to change it sometime in the future.

KevinLeth

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#908642 5-Oct-2013 23:21

Thanks. It seems like a case of wait and see.

It is a pity that the matter of Igloo shutting down (and also possibly Dish TV) is not mentioned in the documentation that comes with the set top box, does not appear on their web site, and retailers do not seem to be aware of it.

In discussions with the appropriate staff at Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming, I have only met one person who was aware of the shut down.

gregmcc

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#908669 6-Oct-2013 07:13

KevinLeth: Thanks. It seems like a case of wait and see.

It is a pity that the matter of Igloo shutting down (and also possibly Dish TV) is not mentioned in the documentation that comes with the set top box, does not appear on their web site, and retailers do not seem to be aware of it.

In discussions with the appropriate staff at Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming, I have only met one person who was aware of the shut down.

You could always go down the CGA route, this seems to be a significiant problem, tell them to fix it or return the box for a full refund!

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B1GGLZ

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#908680 6-Oct-2013 08:53

gregmcc:

You could always go down the CGA route, this seems to be a significiant problem, tell them to fix it or return the box for a full refund!

+1
Another case of misleading advertising or rather just lack of significant information which renders the unit useless for the purpose?
Another good reason not to invest in Igloo.
Get a refund and get Sky instead?

cb1

336 posts

Ultimate Geek

#908700 6-Oct-2013 09:54

KevinLeth: I have an Igloo set top box connected to a VCR. I have found that the box shuts down in the early hours of each day. Calls to the Igloo help desk reveal that this occurs when updates are send at about 3.00am.

Apparently the only occasion the box will remain on is if it is set to the Animal Planet chanel. This makes it impossible to set the VCR to record a particular programme over a number of days as the Igloo box needs to be physically switched on each day. (No good if you are on holiday away from the box).

I have not seen any mention of this on any Igloo material or their web site. Retailers seem to be unaware of this issue.

Can anyone suggest a way around this dilemma?

You can just set a reminder from the guide. Igloo box will power itself on at the appropriate time and off afterwards.

KevinLeth

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#908701 6-Oct-2013 09:56

I already have Sky. I got the box so that I could record programmes while others were watching Sky - I could get My Sky, but that is an on-going cost as opposed to a one-off cost. The box is also connected to an older TV via a VCR so that others e.g. Grandchildren can watch TV in another room.

Thanks for the comments. I will be investigating Dish TV (help desk only open 8am - 5pm Mon - Fri!), but from talking to a retailer, understand that it also shuts down after an update, so changing set top boxes would not solve the problem.

freitasm

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#908703 6-Oct-2013 10:01

They will just say the box works as design. The sales people may or may not know how the box works, so asking them is pretty useless.

In my Igloo review published in 2012 I wrote in the negatives list that the box goes to sleep even though the setting is "Never". Also this was discussed in this topic.

Igloo probably doesn't have DVR functionality because they can't get around the "4am shutdown". How good is a DVR if it turns itself off?

mm1352000

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#909222 7-Oct-2013 11:40

freitasm: Igloo probably doesn't have DVR functionality because they can't get around the "4am shutdown".

The cynic in me says the box has been designed to do this to close every possible loophole that could allow the box to be used as part of a useful DVR system.

Dunnersfella

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#909269 7-Oct-2013 12:08

mm1352000:
freitasm: Igloo probably doesn't have DVR functionality because they can't get around the "4am shutdown".

The cynic in me says the box has been designed to do this to close every possible loophole that could allow the box to be used as part of a useful DVR system.

Agreed.
Frankly, it's a set top box that allows you to pause live TV and subscribe to other channels.
Nothing else.

kiwirock

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#909778 8-Oct-2013 12:10

I discovered this on the first night. It was on Animal Planet when I woke up (after leaving it on Nat Geo).

I haven't had it switch off since the first day over night though. Although the box does regularly crash and the remote makes the power light flick but does nothing on some mornings until a cold reboot. But I've disconnected it's broadband connection and now it doesn't change on me (yet).

I still kept my two because I watch Nat Geo only on one box, and I was going to buy a UHF receiver anyway so I just got the Igloo units for the same price.

But it's a buggy system, I often get channel breakups on the Sky channels in Southland on a really good signal where Freeview doesn't. The box glitches horrible audio sounds sometimes on channel changes on the paid channels. It often locks up over night and I'm not impressed with the muffled TV2 Dolby feed down here. You have to tweak the SPDIF output to get the box to default to the MP4 audio feed instead (since it doesn't remember audio selection between channel changes).

But I can live with all that for Nat Geo, until I start to miss recorded programmes on my PVR it's plugged in to.

The biggest thing I hate, is having to pay the full price for the channels on a second decoder. But that's because Sky's behind it and they don't want people leaving their multiroom for a more basic Igloo service. EDIT: Or should I say, encourage people to switch to Sky multiroom instead.

I see the 12month offer now out for a free box, I wondered how long it would be before Sky revert to their previous mentality for pay TV. If they pull the pre-pay, I'll be throwing out the boxes. But I'm guessing by the latest promotion, Igloo sales aren't going as well as they expected, not now that TV's are $400 with Freeview already built in, $99 + $24.99 a month seems a waste for a few not really exciting pay channels if you're buying a new TV during the switch over.

They would have been better off just launching a cheaper 11 channel satellite package given the dishes everywhere and Freeview SD already on it too.

KevinLeth

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#911597 9-Oct-2013 19:57

Thanks for your comments.

I have now exchanged the Igloo set top box for a Dish TV box. It does not switch off and stay off when updates are sent. (I understand that it switches off then on again at whatever state / channel it was set to). I can therefore set a VCR at any time and for several days if necessary, and know that I won't be recording a blank screen. It is a pity that Igloo won't let me do the same.

My concern now is why isn't the switch off mentioned in any material, including the Igloo web site? are they afraid that it will put people off buying the box?

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