MagicTV 3600.. my quick impression report (updated)

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152 posts

Master Geek

# 638198 9-Jun-2012 12:06

A larger skip back sounds like a good experiment to try. I'd vote for 20 seconds but anything in the 15-30 sec range sounds great.

I've noticed I'm using the 8 second skip back in place of the rewind just because the rewind is so inconsistent. And I'm using markers now too. Probably because the 8 second skip is so small. It will be interesting to see how a bigger skip will affect my behaviour.

lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

# 638260 9-Jun-2012 15:09

Just got to vote here for status quo fwd 1min back 8 sec is great for the ad skip purpose Ian developed this for. If you want a skip function for something else that is a different matter.

lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

# 638262 9-Jun-2012 15:12

Honek: ..beside which it is also a DVD recorded so I can copy "keepers" on to a DVD

Presumably these will only be SD given the ts files for a movie are about 10-14Gb, what codec is the DVD rip and can it play on other machines DVD players?

JefWright

85 posts

Master Geek

# 638303 9-Jun-2012 18:12

I'm a bit slow sometimes and it can take me quite a few seconds to work out what is playing (the picture often barely begun to show by 5 seconds). I find I usually use at least two back-skips in order to actually go backwards. I'd vote for a 15 second back-skip and the status quo 1 minute forward-skip.

Cheers, Jef.

Chis

89 posts

Master Geek

# 638319 9-Jun-2012 19:39

I've been quite happy with the 10 mins forward, 6 mins back for quite a while. Yes, ad breaks aren't always 4 mins but it's fairly easy to go forward or back depending. Most ad breaks seem to be 3.5, 4 or 4.5 mins.

So are there better options now? I still love my 30sec forward jump on my old S1 Tivo, mostly because it's just so darn responsive. You can press the button 8 times in a second and have the picture jump in sync. I haven't found the MTV remote buttons as responsive.

In the end I'd be happy with any forward/back combinations that got us to around 4 mins with the minimum of key presses.

And huge thanks to 2lostkiwis for the wonderful find on the jump area and making a hacked ROM for us.

PimpMyMagic

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 638417 10-Jun-2012 10:01

Chis: I've been quite happy with the 10 mins forward, 6 mins back for quite a while. Yes, ad breaks aren't always 4 mins but it's fairly easy to go forward or back depending. Most ad breaks seem to be 3.5, 4 or 4.5 mins.

So are there better options now? I still love my 30sec forward jump on my old S1 Tivo, mostly because it's just so darn responsive. You can press the button 8 times in a second and have the picture jump in sync. I haven't found the MTV remote buttons as responsive.

In the end I'd be happy with any forward/back combinations that got us to around 4 mins with the minimum of key presses.

And huge thanks to 2lostkiwis for the wonderful find on the jump area and making a hacked ROM for us.

I think the present settings generally work very well for most prime time shows I watch.
Very late night and less mainstream channels though often use shorter breaks, sometimes in 30" offsets and I find them harder to respond to. For that reason I'd find a reverse jump of 15-16" very useful - or certainly not more than 30".
I also use jumps to navigate to the start of late running programmes and will often end up using a reverse jump after an overshoot. I mostly press reverse jump twice to get back as I'd sooner catch the last unwanted bit than miss the first words of what I'm about to view.

evanh

152 posts

Master Geek

# 638640 10-Jun-2012 21:29

lorenzo: ... what codec is the DVD rip and can it play on other machines DVD players?

DVDs have to be "Standard Definition" to conform to PAL/NTSC/SECAM timings and has to use MPEG2 compression to be compatible with generic DVD players. Any other combo is not a DVD any longer.

lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

# 638644 10-Jun-2012 21:38

evanh:
lorenzo: ... what codec is the DVD rip and can it play on other machines DVD players?

DVDs have to be "Standard Definition" to conform to PAL/NTSC/SECAM timings and has to use MPEG2 compression to be compatible with generic DVD players. Any other combo is not a DVD any longer.

I was asking a different question . but thanks

evanh

152 posts

Master Geek

# 638677 10-Jun-2012 23:36

The Panasonic recorders record as standard DVD on DVD discs. I was explaining why they do so.

latimers

52 posts

Master Geek

# 650551 4-Jul-2012 11:42

I bought an MTV3600TD in 2010. After lots of software problems that eventually got fixed by firmware updates, the unit started freezing in September 2011. I would get up in the morning and the unit would still show "REC" on the front, would only become responsive after recycling the power and a programme that had been scheduled for recording the previous evening would only be partly recorded.

Magic tech support suggested restoring the factory settings and reinstalling the latest firmware (then 3.17). I did that and a while later it froze again. (This time I was away on holiday and missed a lot of scheduled recordings.) A couple of weeks later it froze again.

Tech support suggested I reformat the HDD and reinstall the software, which I have now done. The latest theory is that the freezing was caused by problems on the HDD which a reformat would fix.

Has anyone else experienced their 3600 freezing up like this?

(I'm tempted to give up on the Magic box and buy a Panasonic. Anyone had any experience with the Panasonic DMR-XW390GZK?)

Bob.

Jimmy22

375 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 650564 4-Jul-2012 12:03

ages ago i had that issue , but a full restore / latest patch sorted it and all has been well ever since. I update via USB stick NEVER on air or internet updates. my box runs hot so it sits on its own at the top of the shelves with a solid 100mm in every direction except down ;)

wklie

191 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

MagicTV

# 650653 4-Jul-2012 14:47

Magic tech support suggested restoring the factory settings and reinstalling the latest firmware (then 3.17). ?I did that and a while later it froze again.

Sounds like having bad sectors in HDD.

latimers

52 posts

Master Geek

# 650676 4-Jul-2012 15:17

If it is bad sectors on the HDD, will the formatting have fixed it?

The format didn't take very long - perhaps 30 seconds. I expected it to take quite a while, based on my experience with PC HDDs.

Jimmy22

375 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 650678 4-Jul-2012 15:20

no that is a physical issue , eg "like" rusting . good excuse to drop in a 1.0 GB hdd and upgrade to 10sec FFD patch ..

latimers

52 posts

Master Geek

# 650716 4-Jul-2012 15:46

Not sure I understand the "physical issue" comment.

With a computer HDD, a format will identify bad sectors and mark them as bad so they don't get used. I was hoping that's what the Magic format would have done.

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