MagicTV 3600.. my quick impression report (updated)

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85 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#526821 28-Sep-2011 16:10

lorenzo: I have hooked my 3600 up to a 14" Philips CRT, and while the picture on all channels is very good, the text on the player (menus and gadgets) is pretty unreadable - it appears to have a white shadow. Anyone noted this on CRTs and found a setting that improves it.

I'm bedevilled by a similar-sounding white shadow around the text on the menus - particularly the "Recorded Programs" menu (because it has the finest text). It's a pain having to get my glasses to select a program. It is only noticeable when I use the HDMI connection to the TV; if I use SD video I get a chunkier menu that is easier to read. Since I prefer to watch HD pictures, that isn't really an option.

Cheers,
Jef.

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 40

#526833 28-Sep-2011 16:24

MTV 3700 power consumption from the importer

"Running is 13w and low power standby is below 1w . Our power meter reads 0 "

you may recall i was hoping to get the 3600 using less a few months back and installed a power timer after it was discovered the 3600 lacked its own timer on the board.

a bit better than our 30w running and 20w standby me things , well done Dish/MagicTV to import a unit to fix this for future purchasers

fatjulio

90 posts

Master Geek

#526945 28-Sep-2011 21:00

I've just started copying off a couple of files thanks to Ian's great firmware. Easy and simple.

It's interesting the transfer rate is capped at 2.5 MB/s. 1 file goes at that speed, but 2 at once still only adds up to the same rate.

theoldfarter

235 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 21

ID Verified

#526952 28-Sep-2011 21:16

lorenzo: One way is fine, as Jimmy says let the Magic do the Magic. Playback can be achieved by a number of different options. I use an ACRyan and stream video off my NAS, being able to archive off 3600 to my NAS is great !!!

Thanks for the great work Ian.

I also have an AC Ryan, the PlayOn HD 73100. I do not have a NAS but am thinking of getting one. What make & model do you use & what is your opinion of it?

lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

#526958 28-Sep-2011 21:59

theoldfarter:
lorenzo: One way is fine, as Jimmy says let the Magic do the Magic. Playback can be achieved by a number of different options. I use an ACRyan and stream video off my NAS, being able to archive off 3600 to my NAS is great !!!

Thanks for the great work Ian.

I also have an AC Ryan, the PlayOn HD 73100. I do not have a NAS but am thinking of getting one. What make & model do you use & what is your opinion of it?

Same the 73100 - the FW is just so buggy. Touchwood I have not experienced the same Network issues others have.

I run a Tranquil PC BBS similar to this http://www.tranquilpcshop.co.uk/products/BBS%252d3-Intel-D525.html and have Openfiler installed. I have 4 x 1Tb Samsung green drives in a RAID 10 (mirror and stripe) array (so gives me 2Tb). The ACRyan has a 2Tb drive (but not using for storage as yet due to buggy FW).

I tried for while using an old Dell PC I had an installed a SATA card and Openfiler as well as trying FreeNAS but the box was frustrating and I became so fluent at the mdadm command I decided if I wanted something I could trust I needed to get a solid hardware platform first. So from the specs it may not be too different than a make-your-own PC conversion it is small quiet and a toaster (ie no fuss and works when required). I enabled WOL and scheduled shutdown so any PC can boot it into life and it will shutdown in the early hours of the morning - although I have had it running for weeks no problems.

Staying ontopic with the thread it works well in my setup supplementing the MTV3600

fatjulio

90 posts

Master Geek

#526961 28-Sep-2011 22:02

I'm getting the audio dropout from using V3.17 and the revised firmware. I think it's brought on by pressing skip a few times quickly. An alternative would be to set the jump forward to 4 minutes, so only 1 press and the audio stays. It makes more sense to me, 1 button press is easier than 4.

Samsung

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lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

#526982 28-Sep-2011 22:57

fatjulio: I'm getting the audio dropout from using V3.17 and the revised firmware. I think it's brought on by pressing skip a few times quickly. An alternative would be to set the jump forward to 4 minutes, so only 1 press and the audio stays. It makes more sense to me, 1 button press is easier than 4.

Can you note your audio settings etc and report back - also is it repeatable and under what circumstances. If a few of us can repeat the problem then perhaps we can get a PixelMagic to look at it.

Personally I haven't noticed this. I use the FastSkip when editing in playback and can tell whether I am still in Ads or the program by the audio as this plays back before the video.

I however have not used any separate sound system or home theatre hookup and only use TV speakers.

bfginger

1330 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 191

#527067 29-Sep-2011 08:51

These other files are in some proprietary file format. Even if you could upload files to the device, you would still need to figure out the file formats of these binary files and this would be no easy task. Finally the file format of the .ts video file would be very specific - it's not like the MagicTV has any general purpose codecs installed. So where will the content being uploaded come from? Would you be willing to spend hours transcoding it to an appropriate format?

I was only thinking in terms of uploading to the MTV for the purpose of playing back MTV recordings. It would be possible to play back a .ts on many other devices but playing back MTV recordings on a MTV instead of adding to the menagerie is going to make sense for some.
Someone was quoted in the Herald today as saying that only 1/4th of the population have a PVR so we can guess how few have more technically inclined playback devices.

fatjulio

90 posts

Master Geek

#527090 29-Sep-2011 10:08

If it's a recording that's come off the Magic, can you use the camcorder feature from a USB stick to put it on?

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 40

#527102 29-Sep-2011 10:21

i have found the drop out of sound from FFd too Lorenzo , but only once in 4 weeks. I have bit stream on and sound is via HDMI . I stopped the hdmi being fast start and it seems to have worked so far but i am pressing the skip 1-2-3-4 not 1234 if you get my meaning as it seems to skip 59 secs and if you pause between skips it reenters the program on the dot :). To be honest if FFd were smooth i wouldnt care abot the 10 min skip
issue .

theoldfarter

235 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 21

ID Verified

#527112 29-Sep-2011 10:48

Jimmy22: I stopped the hdmi being fast start.

What does it do? What happens if you change it from fast to normal?

New World

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Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 40

#527117 29-Sep-2011 11:03

um good question , i saw on here some where fast start created an issue of some sort so i turned it off and havent even noticed its slower (presumably it would be ?). i assumed it was starting up faster to up time and bypased certain checks along the way to do so making it unreliable if there was a change in connection states, but just a guess. Anyway i see no down side to a slow start so its staying that way for now. bloody hard to replicate the no sound failure so it may take me months to see if fast start has made a real difference to anything.

latimers

54 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#527120 29-Sep-2011 11:06

I've just sent the following off to Magic support:

"In trying to solve my recording problem (see previous correspondence), I have updated to version 3.17 of the firmware.

I have now noticed that the time in the To Do List for one scheduled recording did not match what I expected it to be.

I deleted all of the scheduled recordings, turned the machine off, waited and turned it back on again.

I then went to Maori TV for Friday 30 at 20:00 and set the RWC to series record.

I then went to Saturday on the same channel and 19:30 New Te Kaea had an [S] beside it but 23:00 RWC had no [S]. So I set the 23:00 RWC to series record and it got and [S] but so did 22:30 The Nutters Club on Friday.

I then went to the To Do List and there were two programmes on there: Friday 19:28 RWC and Saturday 22:28 RWC. These should have been 19:58 and 22:58 respectively.

(I double checked that the pre- and post-record options are set on 2 minutes and 10 minutes respectively.)

I figured the best bet was to go back to 3.16 (since 3.17 didn?t solve my earlier problem anyway). I tried a reset to factory settings but the 3.17 firmware is still there (as are the problems outlined above).

How do I get back to 3.16?

I have also tried setting each programme as a single recording. When I do that, the times in the To Do List are correct.

Bob Latimer."

P.S. I bought a Sony Play TV and it has some nice features. The problem is that Mediaworks and Sky TV are refusing to provide Sony with programme information (for rather childish reasons), so the EPG for some channels goes only two or three HOURS into the future, whereas some go 14 days.

cb1

339 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 44

#527368 29-Sep-2011 18:46

How do I get back to 3.16?

You can still download the 3.16 firmware from Magictv

latimers

54 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#527374 29-Sep-2011 18:55

Thanks. I do have 3.16 but the question really was how do I install it. If I try the online update it just tells me there isn't a newer version than the 3.17 I have installed. I'll have to try installing it from a USB stick.

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