MagicTV 3700TD - Opinions

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4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#523019 19-Sep-2011 13:48

got a new MTV3700TD about a week ago. EPG not working. Pressing guide button does nothing. Am waiting for response from Dish TV where I bought it online, but they have already told me there are no firmware updates yet available for the 3700. If they can't solve it, it will be coming back to them...and I'll be requesting the 3600 instead.

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Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek

#523021 19-Sep-2011 13:53

the guide on the 3600 can be slow to respond , i normally go to tv3 before pressing it and actually hold the button down for a few secs and wait about 10 secs, so i m not too surprised the 3700 isnt much better I guessing yours isnt faulty it just like ours .. eek . what signal strength do you have ? are you running a VHF antenna as well as UHF ? i understand VHF can really mess with the digital signal in marginal areas

wklie

191 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

MagicTV

#523027 19-Sep-2011 14:03

mithiedog: got a new MTV3700TD about a week ago. EPG not working. Pressing guide button does nothing.

Does rebooting it (using the back panel switch) help? After every channel switch, wait for several seconds before pressing guide.

nigelb999

37 posts

Geek

#523076 19-Sep-2011 15:31

I got a new 3700 just over a week ago as well, and am quite pleased with it - I am thrilled at the quality of the high definition content that it records.

However, one thing I am completely frustrated with is the extremely choppy video that is experienced when I fast-forward or rewind through a recording. For this kind of device, I would have expected reasonably smooth video transition through each of the 2x, 4x, 8, 16x, 32x speeds, but instead, it jumps and semi-freezes through the frames all over the place, and makes it hard to know where I want to resume playing. Rewinding through a recording at -2x speed appears to be the worst scenario of all, especially when all I'm trying to do is just go back 5-10 seconds of footage - a lot of the time the video momentarily freezes and I have to wait for the device to respond before I can even select a higher speed. Sometimes it jumps back a couple of seconds, and then pauses for like 5 seconds, and then instantly jumps back a further 5 seconds or so, and continues to just jump instead of showing smooth video. It's extremely frustrating as I'm now starting to regret needing to fast-forward or rewind through any scenes. Normal playback is fine, it's just when I use 2x, 4x, 8x, etc. Playing DVDs on my old PS2 shows far better smoother motion during fast-forward and rewind than this device does! Is there a firmware update which will rectify this? Does anyone else experience this on the 3700? Does the 3600 do any better?

lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek

#523116 19-Sep-2011 16:17

Nigel

My 3600 (3.16NZmod and 3.12NZ) has similar ffwd fbwd choppiness, I tended to use 32x for ad skipping (pre-mod days) and it was tolerable. I have had the freeze situation you mention too. I guess I just got used to it, it was never enough of an annoyance for me to consider taking the unit back.

The 1min fwd 8sec back mod pretty much removes any ffwd fbwd requirement now so I am not that fussed.

the 3700 has a faster processor I thought so I would have thought it could handle the multi-tasking of recording, playback better than the 3600. I would wait for an update before considering going back to the 3600, which while perfectly good is 2-3 years older than your model.

Just checked the unmodded v3.12 2x is fast and smooth forward and backward 4-32 will skip frames (as expected). This was on a unit doing nothing else (playback only)

mithiedog

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#523247 19-Sep-2011 20:51

Jimmy22: the guide on the 3600 can be slow to respond , i normally go to tv3 before pressing it and actually hold the button down for a few secs and wait about 10 secs, so i m not too surprised the 3700 isnt much better I guessing yours isnt faulty it just like ours .. eek . what signal strength do you have ? are you running a VHF antenna as well as UHF ? i understand VHF can really mess with the digital signal in marginal areas

thanks Jimmy, your TV3 trick worked. I'm surprised and disappointed that from TV3 is the only way to bring up the guide (after your advice I tried all other channels) So this is a symptom of poor signal? - not something that can be cured by a mod or firmware upgrade?

Checked my RF signal strength (menu > settings > channel setup > RF signal) and im getting 48% strength, 78% quality.
What are other 3600/3700 users getting?

Nigel - no 3700 firmware upgrades yet available, and im also getting difficulty using FF x2 x4 x8 x16 etc.

theoldfarter

216 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#523252 19-Sep-2011 20:58

Have the 3600 & get a SS of 79 & SQ of 100.
Sometimes, the SS drops to 50 - 60 & the SQ goes down to 90.
On those occasions, I would get pixelation.

Do you get any pixelation and/or audio drop-outs?

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek

#523409 20-Sep-2011 10:02

yep you really need 80% signal , ditch the vhf if you have one as a start and get a high gain if all else fails. it sounds like the 3700 has about 50% of the fixes of the 3600 and it really needs that first update to get it on a par with the 3600, obviously when it does get on a par the better hardware will be very helpful. pity the first 3700 patch isnt out there because then you could try the 3600 one for kicks and if it totally dies go to failsafe reload of the 3700 software, providing the 3700 has the emergency restore option ?!? i note the 4000 and 3700's can happily interchange software possibly because they are identical hardware.

mentalinc

2742 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#524252 21-Sep-2011 19:19

They are being sold at JB hifi for $577.
Very tempting.

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Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek

#524270 21-Sep-2011 20:11

Hoohoo JB rattle the market yet again. still 30% ? More than aussie though huh? Why are we getting such a raw deal on milk vegies and freeview

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek

#524425 22-Sep-2011 09:12

Oh Crazy Stu , where for art thou Crazy Stu ....
http://crazystu.com.au/Magic_TV_MTV4000PVR_1TB_Dual_HD_PVR_MHEG_5_MPEG_2_4_H_264_HDMI_Optional_Wireless_N_Adaptor-p-324721.html

299 AUD or $373.00 NZD

$373.00 N Z D available now in Aus , same Manufacturer , same Hardware and no hobbled software .... the 4000 evidently can run 3700 software BTW. ill keep an eye on the price of milk in NZ in the mean time ;)

fatjulio

90 posts

Master Geek

#524428 22-Sep-2011 09:19

How have you found out that it will run 3700 software?

nigelb999

37 posts

Geek

#524429 22-Sep-2011 09:19

Another odd thing that I've noticed has started happening since day one is that I can be watching a programme on TV1 or TV2 and then all of a sudden the subtitles start appearing on the screen, sometimes after 20 or 30 mins of watching a programme. All I do is momentarily switch channels to clear it. Thankfully this doesn't happen on any of the other channels by virtue of the fact that only TVNZ transmit subtitle information. But it's very annoying when it happens, especially as I don't want them to appear. The 'show subtitles' option is definitely switched off in the Options, and I definitely don't press the Subtitles button on the remote control, in fact a lot of the time when it happens I'm not even holding the remote.

Has anyone heard of this happening?

It's very disappointing for a unit like this to have these sorts of problems - it's almost like they've just not tested it very well.

Jimmy22

377 posts

Ultimate Geek

#524457 22-Sep-2011 10:07

re 4000vs 3700 see my post # 517934

Dont panic on the faults of the 3700 yet , just make a list and let them know via the magictv.co.nz site the 3600 box is on revision 16 now and i think it was released in NZ on V 07 or something ?

Magic tv are very good at responding to requests over time but are always hampered by Freeview rules.

mithiedog

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#524556 22-Sep-2011 12:17

Just been advised that the first firmware upgrade for 3700 is now available. (5.03NZ) Will install and report back on any performance improvements.

http://magictv.co.nz/support.html

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