[TelstraClear] T-Box issues continued

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1039 posts

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#639816 12-Jun-2012 17:39

kharris:
langers1972: Gary, can you confirm if the issue with incorrect padding is being addressed in this next update as mine doesn't add anything to the END of any shows I'm recording even if I've set the padding to five minutes which means I'm losing the end of 90% of what I'm recording

Did you delete all you planner entries and set them back up again after you changed the padding time? The change only takes affect on new recordings. Sounds dumb ay but unfortunately it's true.

You're having a laugh?!!!!!

I'l try that but hope that can be made more intelligent

langers1972

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#639817 12-Jun-2012 17:39

kharris:
langers1972: Gary, can you confirm if the issue with incorrect padding is being addressed in this next update as mine doesn't add anything to the END of any shows I'm recording even if I've set the padding to five minutes which means I'm losing the end of 90% of what I'm recording

Did you delete all you planner entries and set them back up again after you changed the padding time? The change only takes affect on new recordings. Sounds dumb ay but unfortunately it's true.

You're having a laugh?!!!!!

I'l try that but hope that can be made more intelligent

kharris

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#639820 12-Jun-2012 17:45

langers1972:
kharris:
langers1972: Gary, can you confirm if the issue with incorrect padding is being addressed in this next update as mine doesn't add anything to the END of any shows I'm recording even if I've set the padding to five minutes which means I'm losing the end of 90% of what I'm recording

Did you delete all you planner entries and set them back up again after you changed the padding time? The change only takes affect on new recordings. Sounds dumb ay but unfortunately it's true.

You're having a laugh?!!!!!

I'l try that but hope that can be made more intelligent

I wish I was! But nope. I can also report I am having no issues with the buffer being added.

You do have to delete your series records for the new setting to be effective.

Allan2805

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#639848 12-Jun-2012 18:49

Our T box has behaved fairly well since the last software update. Two reboots 'only' needed, the second last night when I had paused a playback and a programmed recording started when I was out of the room, I came back in and the unit was frozen.

Still inclined to revert to a digital decoder though and go back to my DVD recorder and with the advent of reliable dual hard disk DVD recorders for not huge prices, I see that as the best overall solution. After all, if you want to edit and copy a recorded item onto a disc, a recorder allows you to do that. Not the T box and no-one can tell us what the "sockets for future use" are for.

Given the troubled history of the T Box, I don't think TC would have a leg to stand on if someone pursued their rights under the CGA!

langers1972

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#640018 13-Jun-2012 09:15

I can safely say the padding issue we're getting isn't down to having to redo all our recordings as its happened to a lot of 'one off' recordings too (like some movies for the kids on Disney junior).

D1023319

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#640041 13-Jun-2012 10:02

Allan2805: Still inclined to revert to a digital decoder though and go back to my DVD recorder and with the advent of reliable dual hard disk DVD recorders for not huge prices, I see that as the best overall solution. After all, if you want to edit and copy a recorded item onto a disc, a recorder allows you to do that. Not the T box and no-one can tell us what the "sockets for future use" are for.

Hi
I presume you are talking about Telstra TV via cable not Freeview so which digital decoder are you referrring to? I thought Telstra T-box was locked down due to DRM compliance.

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soleil24

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#640067 13-Jun-2012 10:39

I believe my T-Box experience may now be almost complete

For the first time I have had random wrong recording - select one channel to record and instead get a totally different channel. Planner tells me it has recorded what I selected, content tells me otherwise.

Admittedly it was a bit of a lame film and I've even seen it before, so no great loss.

But I can finally tick that on off the (too long) list of faults.

But to be fair it seems a consistent fault...er...I mean "behaviour" (when did the English language become so difficult to use?). Two nights in a row I've had a chunk of C4's music channel in place of something I actually wanted to watch on TV3 (I know, who'd have thought it, 2 consecutive nights with something to watch on TV3!!)

To be even more fair (because I am), my T-Box hasn't actually been locked up and dead on startup for a few weeks now. Although it has gone into dead and locked up on an event (an event like the end of a recording) a couple of times to make up for that.

And the risk of going for an hour without stuttering/skipping of audio and video is now at around 0%

But pixellation and "greening" of video is only evident about once or twice a day. Except I would typically only watch about 2-3 hours a day so that may be understating the true severity

So just to recap, if you had to measure the success of this product:

As a generic electronic device? Well you would expect it to consistently switch to an "on" state on-demand.
Instead there is always that "will it/won't it" moment...so FAIL

As a simple TV play through device? Pixellation, stuttering/skipping of audio and video not really acceptable...so FAIL

As a recording device? Even without the added "behaviour" of the random lock up or AV quality worse than that dodgy DVD you picked up from the market in Bangkok and used as a coaster for 5 years, the uncertainty over just what you might end up with a recording of, regardless of what you think you selected, is a fairly fundamental flaw...so FAIL

As I think I have mentioned before, the only redeeming feature of the T-Box is its impressive heat dissipation - always welcome in wintry Wellington (ok, let's be honest, even in summer too). Now if only TelstraClear had marketed the T-Box as a room-heater...

And we really shouldn't forget that a decoder/recorder for digital television is hardly cutting edge technology now is it? So come on TelstraClear, remind us again how the T-Box is fit for purpose and how you can justify charging for it. Ongoing passing of the buck to Digisoft along with similarly ongoing assurances that they are giving the matter their utmost attention really isn't cutting it.

MikeB4

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#640092 13-Jun-2012 11:05

soleil24: I believe my T-Box experience may now be almost complete

For the first time I have had random wrong recording - select one channel to record and instead get a totally different channel. Planner tells me it has recorded what I selected, content tells me otherwise.

Admittedly it was a bit of a lame film and I've even seen it before, so no great loss.

But I can finally tick that on off the (too long) list of faults.

But to be fair it seems a consistent fault...er...I mean "behaviour" (when did the English language become so difficult to use?). Two nights in a row I've had a chunk of C4's music channel in place of something I actually wanted to watch on TV3 (I know, who'd have thought it, 2 consecutive nights with something to watch on TV3!!)

To be even more fair (because I am), my T-Box hasn't actually been locked up and dead on startup for a few weeks now. Although it has gone into dead and locked up on an event (an event like the end of a recording) a couple of times to make up for that.

And the risk of going for an hour without stuttering/skipping of audio and video is now at around 0%

But pixellation and "greening" of video is only evident about once or twice a day. Except I would typically only watch about 2-3 hours a day so that may be understating the true severity

So just to recap, if you had to measure the success of this product:

As a generic electronic device? Well you would expect it to consistently switch to an "on" state on-demand.
Instead there is always that "will it/won't it" moment...so FAIL

As a simple TV play through device? Pixellation, stuttering/skipping of audio and video not really acceptable...so FAIL

As a recording device? Even without the added "behaviour" of the random lock up or AV quality worse than that dodgy DVD you picked up from the market in Bangkok and used as a coaster for 5 years, the uncertainty over just what you might end up with a recording of, regardless of what you think you selected, is a fairly fundamental flaw...so FAIL

As I think I have mentioned before, the only redeeming feature of the T-Box is its impressive heat dissipation - always welcome in wintry Wellington (ok, let's be honest, even in summer too). Now if only TelstraClear had marketed the T-Box as a room-heater...

And we really shouldn't forget that a decoder/recorder for digital television is hardly cutting edge technology now is it? So come on TelstraClear, remind us again how the T-Box is fit for purpose and how you can justify charging for it. Ongoing passing of the buck to Digisoft along with similarly ongoing assurances that they are giving the matter their utmost attention really isn't cutting it.

I never found the T-Box hot at all and the same with others that I know with the unit. If your unit is noticeably hot like you are indicating then this may explain your troubles. I suggest you check environment influences and placement of your unit.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

soleil24

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#640121 13-Jun-2012 11:35

KiwiNZ: I never found the T-Box hot at all and the same with others that I know with the unit. If your unit is noticeably hot like you are indicating then this may explain your troubles. I suggest you check environment influences and placement of your unit.

Guess that depends how you would define "noticeably" and "hot". I reported to TCL within a week of installation that I thought it was running hot and was told they were known to run "warm" and it wasn't a problem.

And who am I to argue? Me being just a paying customer and all. But thanks for the suggestion. Maybe it's not a software problem at all. But honestly, I'm beyond caring why it doesn't work...

Oh and the unit sits on its own in a cabinet that used to house my Sky+ PVR, my DiSEqC controller/tuner, 2 DVD recorders and a VHS box...none of which ever ran warm, although that was in south-west France so not really environmentally comparable...Hey, maybe the T-Box is just lonely and grumpy?

ChristineNZL

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#641183 15-Jun-2012 10:24

Our T-Box gets very hot when it freezes up and it is not in a place where it should heat up like that.

Anyway after 2 incredibly bad weeks with the T-Box with it freezing up constantly and having so many failed recordings I have finally had enough. Our 2 year contract is up on 7 October and you would think that more than 20 months after we got our first T-Box things would be better but they are worse. Telstra have "kindly" said they will let us out of our contract early and we are just waiting for Sky to confirm an install date for MySky and I think we will end up cancelling our hone phone and broadband with Telstra in the very near future too. It saddens me in a way as we were one of the first people to move from Telecom when Saturn came to our area and when they announced they were introducing a T-Box we went on the waiting list to get one. The fact that Telstra continue to charge people for a product that still does not function properly after all this time is a joke but I guess the joke is on me as I have put up with it for 20 months but no longer. Sky have a very good deal at the moment where you get MySky installed for only $25 (usually $99) and you get Sky Sports free for 6 months. Hopefully I will report back in a few weeks how wonderful MySky is. Good luck to everyone else with their T-Boxes. Maybe one day Telstra can finally get this product to work properly but looking at their latest communication I wouldn't hold your breath as they still can't give a date.

langers1972

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#641185 15-Jun-2012 10:27

Your MySky will be epic in comparison, I'm holding out for the Telstra buyout by Vodafone and then we may all end up with Sky instead!!

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ChristineNZL

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#641202 15-Jun-2012 10:40

langers1972: Your MySky will be epic in comparison, I'm holding out for the Telstra buyout by Vodafone and then we may all end up with Sky instead!!

Yes I heard about that after I already contacted Sky which is why we're not rushing in to changing the phone and broadband yet but I just want the T-Box gone now as we have lost all faith in it. So annoying to sit down and watch something you thought you had recorded and find it's not there.

lanceanz

127 posts

Master Geek

#641228 15-Jun-2012 11:04

Sitting watching Coro Street last night in way way I usually don't do - live. Screen went blank. T-Box unresponsive. Cursed several times (used the words "T-Box" and "TelstraClear", I was *that* annoyed), then recycled the power. Caught the last 5 minutes and not sure I missed all that much really.

If I didn't love having the cable, especially for Internet, I would've tossed the T-Box long ago. It is taking far far too long for the fixes to arrive. TCL should be doing incremental improvements. Change a lot of things at once and you're bound to break other things. Formal testing can only do so much. It's common for exhaustive testing to be done on software, then within an hour of rolling it out a real end-user finds a bug.

MikeB4

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#641251 15-Jun-2012 11:49

lanceanz: Sitting watching Coro Street last night in way way I usually don't do - live. Screen went blank. T-Box unresponsive. Cursed several times (used the words "T-Box" and "TelstraClear", I was *that* annoyed), then recycled the power. Caught the last 5 minutes and not sure I missed all that much really.

If I didn't love having the cable, especially for Internet, I would've tossed the T-Box long ago. It is taking far far too long for the fixes to arrive. TCL should be doing incremental improvements. Change a lot of things at once and you're bound to break other things. Formal testing can only do so much. It's common for exhaustive testing to be done on software, then within an hour of rolling it out a real end-user finds a bug.

I had pixelation and freezing on all TVNZ and TV3 channels last evening on T-Box, TiVo and Freeview via set tuner

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

lanceanz

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#641266 15-Jun-2012 12:03

KiwiNZ: I had pixelation and freezing on all TVNZ and TV3 channels last evening on T-Box, TiVo and Freeview via set tuner

I am noticing that freezing of the picture is more common than it was. I mostly watch recordings, but it's just as common on live TV.

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