Is anyone using the JCMatthews DVB-TB01 with the 0609 firmware on a conventional (4:3) TV? I have a Diginet DVB-T901, which runs the same firmware as the Matthews, and it will not display a letterbox image properly. The display is set to 4:3, and it squashes the widescreen image rather than displaying the letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the screen. It sucks watching pan&scan almost as much as squashed widescreen. I am using the old-fashoned composite (single) video input into my old Sony TV, if this might be the issue???
Yes, I am having the same problem with the 0609 firmware on the JCMatthews DVB-TB01. I remember the letterboxing working properly before I updated the firmware and that was using a composite cable so it must just be a bug in the 0609 firmware. Hopefully it will be fixed in a future update.
Hi, taking the thread back a page or two, I've got what sounds like an identical problem to NikkiB with my JCMatthews DVB-TB01. I upgraded to the 0609 firmware, and now find that with 720p on hdmi, the picture will cut in and out, and sometimes it will appear pixelated. It won't work at all on 1080i, with hdmi. Conversely, it will work on AV1 input, though even there, the picture quality is not what it should be, by way of comparison to my old Sommet freeview box. My TV is a fairly new 42 inch LG, which can handle 1080i and 1080p, at 50hz, and the aerial provides a good signal. I've re-loaded the firmware, reset it to factory settings, multiple times, but still, no luck getting it to go. The TV worked perfectly with my old Sommet freeview box in either 1080i (or p or whatever it did), as well as 720p, and all looked stunning. But this box does seem to be a dud. It will run for a while (a few minutes) ok on 720p/hdmi, but then will start cutting in and out. It never runs on 1080i with hdmi. Picture quality when it does run can vary, sometimes its perfect like the old Sommet box, and other times its a disgrace, or somewhere in between. Restarting it often sorts it out for a few minutes. When I first got the box it had the old firmware, and that did work for one evening, even on 1080i, untill I upgraded. However, even then, the picture and sound had been disappointing compared to the Sommet, and that is why I upgraded the firmware. (that new recording function and chasing playback is fantastic, its an impressive unit, if only it would show TV clearly!)
Anyway, the key question is; NikkiB, did exchanging your DVB-TB01 for a new one fix the problem for you? I see another person on this board had the problem too, and just used AV1 rather than hdmi to work around it. I've got a tv that really looks and sounds great with hdmi, so I want to sort it out. Any ideas? (I've reloaded the 0605 firmware half a dozen times, and done multiple factory resets, all for no gain)
Purchased one of these last week. Mostly find it OK. Good picture no sound problems, Just the PVR new to this and can not work out which Channells go with one another. Recording Channell 3 can only watch Channell 4 all other channells are blocked. Could not find how to stop recording.Frustrating can anyone help.
mikester: Anyway, the key question is; NikkiB, did exchanging your DVB-TB01 for a new one fix the problem for you? I see another person on this board had the problem too, and just used AV1 rather than hdmi to work around it. I've got a tv that really looks and sounds great with hdmi, so I want to sort it out. Any ideas? (I've reloaded the 0605 firmware half a dozen times, and done multiple factory resets, all for no gain)
Hi mikester, my tv is also an LG, though it only has 720p capability, so can't comment on the 1080 problem, but aside from that, you're describing the issues I have exactly!
Here's where I'm at: JC Matthew finally agreed to swap out the box for a complete new one. I bought a DSE box which worked perfectly ok, so I figured I'd eliminated the TV as the issue and it was definitely the box. New one arrived on Thursday, hooked it up, got through the updates ok, but the problem started right after that, so frustrating!!! Now what? Is it a compatibility issue? Is it my tv?? My next step is probably to take the tv back and have it checked under warranty. I haven't got any other HD devices to test, am considering getting and HDMI upscaling DVD player to test, but more $$ I don't really have. I did a factory reset and tried using the box without the firmware update, tuned in the channels, but same issue still occurred. I'm at a loss really! And I, like you, would rather have fully functional HDMI than just give up and go with the AV cable connection, it is just not good enough when you've seen the difference.
JC Matthew did give me the option of taking a refund the last time, but I chose a new STB because when it works (as it does periodically, like we've both found) it's actually a really nice box. The DSE one was nowhere near as user friendly and misses a few small but key features, like displaying the channel on the box and has ugly banner things (on screen, whatever they're called). But if I'd known this would be the case I might have taken the refund and suffered with the DSE that actually worked! If it is a compatability issue though, then the box should (I think) be returnable under CGA because it's not performing it's function correctly (though whose problem is it, JC matthew or LG?!).
Sadly the parental units are also off the JC and back onto the crashing Zinwell, contemplating another return or flicking it off. After being returned, it was simply flashed with the same FW (which I had already re-done) and 'tested OK'
So once again, sounds like an incompatibility with the previous mentioned interlacing or similar with the Panasonic 50" 1080 plasma panel.
When in 1080 output mode (over HDMI) the image randomly jumps. As does the menu screen. The top 1/4 remains in place while the bottom half of the picture compresses upward.
It seems to be fine in 720 mode, which I would be happy with leaving it as given my tv/combo is already.. but the fulltime watchers of the other combo like the idea of 1080 tv3 (even though theres a tiny amount of actuall 1080 content) when it should be fully capable.
In short it appears buyer be warned. Nice unit, if it likes your tv/output mode.
Hi Buffy, I just tried out the same thing you described, and... Suprise! ... I got the same result. I got some message in broken English when I tried to change more than one channel. I note that the box is currently in chasing playback mode. I was able to go back into the recording, and play it while it was still recording (which I thought was impressive), and fast forward parts of it. Perhaps if it was a normal recording that had been scheduled, rather than using chasing playback, it would be possible to watch all stations? It does seem like a bug. I haven't tried experimenting further as its late and I have to get up early, but I think its worth doing a recording with it not in chasing playback mode. That might do what you want.
Hi NikkiB, thanks for letting me know the end result of your efforts. Given my Sommet box would work with the LG, its more likely the JCMatthew than the LG that is at fault, though I suppose both could be slightly non-standard, just enough to mess things up. I'm going out to dinner tomorrow, and will take the JCMatthew box with me to try it out on someone else's TV. That should give it a fair test. I'll keep you posted on that. It does sound horribly like the box may simply be incompatable with LG TV's. Are you sure the blighters didn't just give you back your old box? ie, did you write down the original serial number? I don't mean to sound too hard on JCMatthew, but I know what people are like.
Hi Oblivian, that's interesting that on a Panasonic you strike problems with 1080 mode. On my LG, it won't go at all. The only mode it does work properly on with HDMI is 520 mode (if that's the bottom mode, pardon my memory if its a different number) I think you are right about the buyer be warned. I had hoped I just struck a dud, because its a big improvement on paper at least over the last box I had that broke down. But it looks like it just doesn't mix well with all tvs. I'll give mine a test on another brand tomorrow. Still, its hard to believe they are all like this. Surely they must test these things before selling them? But then again, perhaps not!
Hi Thanks I have had yet another play,found channells 1,2,6,and 7 all on same MUX channells 3and 4 channell 10 on its on. You can only record channells on the same MUX. Can not record from EPG Set up the same as VCR. You can rename the programs after recording though. Having a little more success now.
Hi Buffy, glad to hear you've figured out what's going on, and why. If I can get my JCM box to work with my TV that info will be handy. I've just come back from dinner, and found that the JC Matthew box works perfectly with a 42 inch Toshiba Regza LCD TV. 720p, 1050i, all no trouble, flawless, no flicker, just great picture and sound. I've done a temporary swap of freeview boxes, swapping my JCM for a Sommet SHDNZ1 on loan (which is what I used to have), and the Sommet I've swapped in still works with my LG LCD. Its not quite the news I wanted to hear, because its not that the TV is necessarily faulty, or that the JCM is necessarily faulty. It could be either or both, or they may be just designed to be incompatable. Its bizzarre having a Freeview box that doesn't work with all televisions, but given what NikkiB and Oblivian have found, its appears to be the case. If it happens to work with ones particular TV, great, but in my case, it appears not to.
Re: Composite outputs I get no picture using component output to an old (2003) Samsung projection TV, but the its component inputs work fine with a DVD player. Anyone striking this problem with component output on the JCMathew or Diginet units? Does it seem likely that this is the same 'incompatibility' that these units demonstrate when using HDMI? Thanks
Hi Bored Wild, Given I can't get HDMI to work between my 42" LG LCD TV and my JC Matthew DVB-TB01, I thought I'd try component, and if that worked, I'd just use that instead. While HDMI will work for the lowest resolution, and cut in and out at 720p, I couldn't get component to work at all. Nothing, Nada, Zip, zero. No response. So it sounds like my box is doing what yours is doing. I'll try it on another TV, but it may take a couple of weeks before I can do that this time. The HDMI worked on a Toshiba tv, but not on the LG I've got (both the TV and JCMatthew box are hdmi 1.3 supposedly). I've even tried today putting in a better HDMI cable. Interestingly, the better cable produced a worse result! More speckling, and more cut out, and even gave some pixelation and cut out on the lowest resolution. Perhaps I need to try a really lousy long cable then? Does anyone have a support contact number for JCMatthew?
Breakthrough (I think) ... Hi, I did a search on; hdmi, sparkles, and flicker, or something like that. Google came back with a number of hits describing the problem of PS3's not working at high resolution via hdmi with LG TV's. When people test their PS3's against the same model TV elsewhere, they find that their particular TV has a problem. It can sometimes be fixed by a firmware update to the LG TV (sharp TV's have LG innards in them). More often however, it requires the replacement of the 'main board' in the TV, and in one case I saw, it took LG 7 attempts to fix the problem, another chap was without his TV for months while LG fixed the problem. Apparently any TV can give up the ghost and stop working at high rez with some devices, but LG's are more prone to it than other brands. They can work for a year or two, (getting just outside the guarantee period) and then start giving trouble. It is fixable, but it is a hassle if LG decides to fix it rather than replace it. Potentially a long drawn out saga. One chap even thought the outfit that LG had out sourced repairs to had put in a cheaper tv's innards, as he started getting problem only found in an earlier model! But having read that, I'm pretty sure it will be the TV that is at fault. Next weekend, I'll take the JC Matthew box in and try it out against another TV of the same model at the shop. I've been in touch with LG support and JCM via email. I'll call LG and see what they say on the phone. Regards, Mike.
mikester: Next weekend, I'll take the JC Matthew box in and try it out against another TV of the same model at the shop. I've been in touch with LG support and JCM via email. I'll call LG and see what they say on the phone. Regards, Mike.
Thanks for the update, I was debating about whether or not to pursue the tv issue or not (9mths old so still under warranty). I was also thinking about calling LG and seeing if they had come across similar probs before. I'm off to Melbourne for a week tho, so won't be able to look into it till I get back. Will look forward to seeing how you get on.
Explained my issues to 1-day from whom I bought the Digitech DVB-T901. They simply asked me to return it so they could forward it to the supplier. They supplied a courier pickup, which was fine. A week later I received a phone call from the supplier (didn't ask his business name) - friendly chap. I went over the problems with him. He said he put a new mainboard in it and now it was good. After another few days I received it, but the letterbox issue is no different. It will not display undistorted letterbox on a 4:3 screen. Regarding component output, still a no-go on my old Samsung rear projection TV. To satisfy my curiosity, I took the receiver to the nearest Dick Smith. They let me attach it to the component input of one of their LCDs (can't remember the make). It worked without a problem on all the output resolutions: 576p, 720p, 1080i. I guess it is a problem with the Samsung. It is supposed to be a progressive scan TV, but perhaps all it will accept is 480p from a DVD player. Guess that's the end of the adventure for me.
I have the same letterbox/aspect problem on a sony xj29 TV with a diginet from 1-day.
It worked fine until I installed the new firmware given by 1-day to use the recording functions. I get a head error from both the JCM reload and the JCM firmware. Does anyone have a copy of the older firmware I can go back to?
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