JCMatthew DVR320t firmware update

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#793811 5-Apr-2013 12:29

I suggest everyone follows my lead and emails tim.diprose@freeviewnz.tv again. This is getting ridiculous! How many times does this have to happen before everyone gives up on their PVRs?

Jaxson

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#794848 8-Apr-2013 09:29

bazzer: How many times does this have to happen before everyone gives up on their PVRs?

A lot less for me than you apparently

Agree about pushing freeview. I still struggle to see them as anything more than a brand and as such I would have thought they would give more of a damn about products with their logo splashed across the front of them. Products with features deliberately disabled to gain freeviews approval.

By contrast, my non freeview TIVO has not had any of the issues my JC Matthew box experienced...

bazzer

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#795340 9-Apr-2013 07:51

Especially given the ads they are now running on TV...

bazzer

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#927488 5-Nov-2013 10:49

Looks like it's up to its old tricks again. I wonder if it's related to this development? The whole things a bit of a joke really.

To quote the Freeview website: All Freeview approved recorders have been fully tested and meet the following standards:

Record a show while watching another
Pause live TV
8-day onscreen programme guide
Easy to install
Automatically scan for new channels as part of the set-up process
Able to access interactive TV as it becomes available
Automatic over-the-air software upgrades
Tested for future developments
Warranty/service guarantee and support
Parental control feature

They are quick to disclaim "Freeview does not make, sell or install digital TV products" but they do say "the products listed here have been tested & approved by Freeview to ensure compliance with technical standards specific to New Zealand digital free-to-air broadcasting." Even though this unit is listed as "no longer being manufactured" I still think it should continue to work as designed. Either the standards have changed or the testing/approval process is broken (both of which are Freeview's fault).

Nothing ever happened to the analog broadcast that left my VCR unusable, but as it stands now, this box is next to useless. I could replace it with something else but how long before that is also rendered obsolete? Should I have to replace my PVR every two or three years? With the DSO completing any week now, I think this deserves more attention. Freeview don't care, but maybe someone in the media will pick up the story?

butlerboy

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#927508 5-Nov-2013 11:16

Strange that you bring this up now. I've got ours set up in the bedroom and my daughter was using it last night and we couldn't get it to fast forward no matter what we tried. This was the first time I'd used it in months so just put up with it, would be a pain if it was your primary PVR though.

Brunzy

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#927526 5-Nov-2013 11:36

butlerboy: Strange that you bring this up now. I've got ours set up in the bedroom and my daughter was using it last night and we couldn't get it to fast forward no matter what we tried. This was the first time I'd used it in months so just put up with it, would be a pain if it was your primary PVR though.

Was this by chance a TV3 recording , or does it affect all rec?

butlerboy

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#927537 5-Nov-2013 12:02

Brunzy: Was this by chance a TV3 recording , or does it affect all rec?

Sure was

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kimxk

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#927557 5-Nov-2013 12:23

bazzer: I suggest everyone follows my lead and emails tim.diprose@freeviewnz.tv again. This is getting ridiculous! How many times does this have to happen before everyone gives up on their PVRs?

I've got a Zinwell box with the same issue. Emailed Tim Diprose, the support address and used the online help page.

Never got a response to any of them.

bazzer

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#927625 5-Nov-2013 13:59

Mine wasn't a TV3 recording, but I'd bet money that the Mediaworks mux is the problem again.

The only way to make it remotely usable is to unplug the aerial (which is obviosuly useless if you're trying to record something!). That returns it to usual responsiveness, but I haven't tried it on a TV3 recording yet.

waam

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#927651 5-Nov-2013 14:20

I have all but given up as my 320t is stuffed it now displays a green haze after about a month of going slow I think will remove the HDD and build a media PC

I really do appreciate this forum though you guys/girls ROCK...

bazzer

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#927758 5-Nov-2013 17:36

Does anyone have a contact at the Herald or something that might want to pick up the story?

For me, the story is not just about this box no longer working. It's about the fact that with DSO these types of devices are really the only option for a recorder going forward and Freeview can just allow changes to their broadcast that will render them useless/obsolete.

I no longer feel comfortable buying a "Freeview approved" PVR because I can't trust that it will continue to function as intended. How would the average consumer be expected to deal with that situation?

Apsattv

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#927961 6-Nov-2013 06:22

I can't see the post so what exactly is the issue with it?

Have you contacted the manufacturer. To request repair or refunding if the issue can't be resolved?

Interesting, that the Zinwell /dse 7500 has been biggest lemon of all Freeview units and is getting the most complaints. It too was a certified unit and was suppose to auitomatically update etc, ok so it is an older unit but still in my opinion they were purposely designed with firmware locking out the ability to load other services. So they dug themselves into a hole in terms of

•Tested for future developments
•Easy to install
•Automatically scan for new channels as part of the set-up process

They have fix which is nothing more than a long winded HACK. It would be good if DSE offered to swapout all those units returned for the equivlent replacement unit.

bazzer

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#927980 6-Nov-2013 08:14

Apsattv: I can't see the post so what exactly is the issue with it?

Have you contacted the manufacturer. To request repair or refunding if the issue can't be resolved?

Interesting, that the Zinwell /dse 7500 has been biggest lemon of all Freeview units and is getting the most complaints. It too was a certified unit and was suppose to auitomatically update etc, ok so it is an older unit but still in my opinion they were purposely designed with firmware locking out the ability to load other services. So they dug themselves into a hole in terms of

•Tested for future developments
•Easy to install
•Automatically scan for new channels as part of the set-up process

They have fix which is nothing more than a long winded HACK. It would be good if DSE offered to swapout all those units returned for the equivlent replacement unit.

The issue is that the unit becomes almost unreponsive to commands (either by remote or using the front panel buttons) under certain conditions. Without a signal, it's no problem.

If you look back through this thread you'll see the same thing happened about a year ago when something changed in the Mediaworks mux. Freeview liaised with JCMatthew but I think the final conclusion was the box was unable to be updated to correct the problem. Eventually, it went away and the assumption was that the change to the transport stream had been reverted. Now it's happening again...

alasta

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#927990 6-Nov-2013 08:41

bazzer: The issue is that the unit becomes almost unreponsive to commands (either by remote or using the front panel buttons) under certain conditions.

That's interesting - I'm having exactly the same issue with a Dish TV S7070r. I haven't followed this entire thread, but I'm gathering that your unit is a terrestrial receiver? Interestingly the S7070r is a satellite receiver.

It's strange that the same symptoms would occur across different brands of receiver, and across both terrestrial and satellite services. I'm guessing that when the unit becomes unresponsive it's the result of the firmware completely crashing - perhaps for varying reasons - but the audio and video continues normally as a result of that function being hardware driven.

I have contacted Dish TV's support and they came back with a procedure for an EPROM reset which has turned out to be ineffective at resolving the problem. I was seriously considering ditching the S7070r and replacing it with one of the better quality Korean units from freeviewshop.co.nz but now I'm worried that it might suffer from the same issues. What are the implications of those models not being 'Freeview approved'?

bazzer

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#928001 6-Nov-2013 09:07

alasta:
bazzer: The issue is that the unit becomes almost unreponsive to commands (either by remote or using the front panel buttons) under certain conditions.

That's interesting - I'm having exactly the same issue with a Dish TV S7070r. I haven't followed this entire thread, but I'm gathering that your unit is a terrestrial receiver? Interestingly the S7070r is a satellite receiver.

It's strange that the same symptoms would occur across different brands of receiver, and across both terrestrial and satellite services. I'm guessing that when the unit becomes unresponsive it's the result of the firmware completely crashing - perhaps for varying reasons - but the audio and video continues normally as a result of that function being hardware driven.

I have contacted Dish TV's support and they came back with a procedure for an EPROM reset which has turned out to be ineffective at resolving the problem. I was seriously considering ditching the S7070r and replacing it with one of the better quality Korean units from freeviewshop.co.nz but now I'm worried that it might suffer from the same issues. What are the implications of those models not being 'Freeview approved'?

It doesn't sound like the same thing. For a start, I don't think the same symptoms are occurring across different brands (other than two specific Zinwell and JCMatthew boxes which are basically identical, I think).

When I say unresponsive, it's simply that it takes somewhere between the normal time and a really long time for the unit to react to the remote. Eventually it will catch up and perform all the operations. Sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better and it can be fixed by pulling the aerial, all without a reboot. I don't think it's the firmware "completely crashing", as you put it, I think it's just not able to "keep up" with the current transport stream. Not sure if this matches your experience or not?

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