RDR-HXD870 firmware update stuck: what to do???

[niicko]

Hi

I also have the 'update sticking', 'EPG knackered' and 'no live output' problems but, after managing to reset etc. and select line input to stop the update sticking each time, I tried a maybe-long-overdue firmware update to 1.70, to see if that would cure the problem.

I followed Sony's instructions to the letter but, unfortunately, after stage 1 (LOAD > DISC-DWLD) took a couple of minutes or less, and DOWNLOAD-2, DOWNLOAD-3 and DOWNLOAD-4 took not much longer, I still have DOWNLOAD-5 displayed and an open disc-drawer (and still powered on) after almost an hour!

Trouble is, Sony don't seem to give contingency-instructions unless an error is displayed - so whatever do I do now?  I don't want to take the wrong action and completely ruin the recorder (if indeed the process hasn't already done so).

Please can anybody in-the-know shed some light on this and tell me what I can do to save the unit?

[Mooly01]

The 2pm timeslot came and went. Machine went into update and tbh seemed to take a long time, about 5 minutes. I checked my other machine that is used daily and powered up 24/7 and that seemed to have completed much quicker. That one is the one with updates disabled in the menu.

No real conclusions from all this though. Both have worked correctly at this point but it would be interesting to prove if the update setting is a factor. 

[SkyNet404]

It's cool keeping up with your updates and seeing how things proceeded, hope that others can take advantage of that. 

[CaptainAmerica]

So my recorder is a slightly different model the RDR -HXD995. It looks similar to the RDR-HXD870 and so probably works very similar to what I have read. My firmware is the latest 1.24 from the sony website for my model. Your firmware is 1:70 for your machine so I would not try to do update it with that. It has worked for many years on the latest 1.24 firmware.

I am convinced the Aerial is not the problem. I have tried an indoor Aerial and moved the machine to another room but still the same problems happen.

The Temporary Fix

I can use a standard RF/coaxial 1.5 metre cable plugged into the digital aerial socket on the machine and the other end of the cable is not plugged in anywhere else. Suprisingly this will actually pick up alot of channels including the BBC ones and ITV. Channel 4. I have around 104. The EPG update at 6am and 2pm does not get stuck and updates as normal. The Digital EPG works fine and the UK is the chosen country.

[Mooly01]

That it picks up all those channels with just a short fly lead attached suggests you have lots of signal flying around. Without knowing the installation and aerial setup it's impossible to advise really. For example is your aerial a single system, one aerial feeding the downlead into the room, or is it amplified and distributed to many rooms, or is it a communal aerial system perhaps.

]

An attenuator is the recognised way of reducing level, but you would have to experiment and there are no guarantees. They can be 'stacked', that is one plugged into another to make different values. Fit the attenuator at the recorder aerial input.

If you do try one then I would say go for at least 15db or even more as a test. 15db would reduce the level by over 80% A 24db would reduce it by almost 94% 

[CaptainAmerica]

I will stick with the short fly lead for the time being as the machine is working as it should, and accepts those EPG updates at 6.am 10.am 2pm without getting stuck.

Which was really the main problem.

Thanks for your helpful suggestions already posted

[SkyNet404]

Am glad it's working for you now, hope that others can use it as well, cheers. 

[MellowNoma]

I have now managed to work out a way, though I am not entirely sure how I managed it !!😳

I had done a factory reset before I got started, however, I tried the short RF lead idea, but that just got me no additional or ANY TV channels to add to my setup. So, I did another factory reset before I got started again, and so I had no channels on my system setup (not showing), so I tried to do  what others have said, and select Digital Guide before I chose Initial Setup, which I have done in the past, and then chose the usual options, English, UK, Search for stations, which, as usual found the correct number of channels, with a few duplicates which it deleted and completed setup.

Then ... the same'ol..same'ol situation, select a TV channel, if you can, as it takes ages to move from one TV channel to another, though you can go from 1 (BBC1), to 2 (BBC2), then 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 are missing, so it eventually tries to load channel 7, each channel displays a channel screen, current programme, for about 3 to 4 seconds then the screen image 'freezes' and goes 'blank' to black. Other channels are missing or work as the others I've mentioned. The TV Digital Guide screen is more of a lilac, and yellow theme colour scheme than the usual blue, and many of the TV programme stations are missing from the schedule. This is the issue I reported from about 24 August 2022.

So, I did I another factory reset before I got started again, and so I had no channels listed, so I opted for Digital Guide once more, but then I put the ususal RF/aerial lead in, and of course it showed I had no channels to display, so I went to Initial Setup and chose the usual options, English, UK, and set another few settings that I usually choose, but did not do a TV channel/station search, I just exited back to what would usually be where the TV channels would display, to what I had expected would be a 'blank' black screen, but then I got BBC1 displaying working as usual - even though I had not done a search of TV stations/channels at that point - so that was weird in itself. Several other channels were in their usual place, but ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 to name just 3 TV channels, were listed in the 800s section, so I went into channel sort and moved them to where they should be, and then I exited that part, and went to Digital Guide to see what that then looked like. So, I had BBC1 as 1, BBC2 as 2, ITV1 as 808, and Channel 4 as another 800 channel, the same for Channel 5, but they were listed and they worked, but the Digital Guide still had a lilac/yellow colour scheme.

I switched the system off at that, happier that I had most, if not all, of my TV channels working again on the RDR-HXD870, even though they were in sort of weird listing/numbering order and the colour scheme was unusual.

Later that day I switched the system back on and the usual blue Digital Guide screen was present, and the lilac/yellow scheme was gone.

I do not have an ideal setp, and it is not working as it should be expected to work, but it is working, so currently I am grateful for that.

Thanks to all for your suggestions, ideas, but none of them seemed to work for me, and I am not exactly sure the process was exactly as I have described/explained it, but it is working for the most part, so I can use it.

Having said that, SONY should never have allowed the situation to get to this sorry state of affairs where customers have to 'pull their hair out' to try to solve an issue that should never have needed fixing by many other adversely, and similarly affected customers having to offer their help to other customers, while SONY employees don't interject, even to offer solutions, whether they be hardware, software or guidance, as none of that has been forthcoming from the manufacturer. SHAME on SONY!

[Mooly01]

I'm not what to say really 😊 If you have found a method that works reliably for your set up then that's great.

That you mention main channels in the 800's sounds like you are picking up multiple transmitters (regions). You might find that as propagation conditions change (weather) that the recorder keeps trying to alter the channel line up.

All you can do is see what happens.

[CaptainAmerica]

Hello Mooly01

Sony support finally after months of waiting said I need a band filter to filter out a broadcaster on 498 MHz. Would you know where I can get such a thing? The aerial that causes the problem is a communal aerial system. I also get same problem with an indoor aerial.

[Mooly01]

Trying to remember where this was up to 🙂

498 MHz is channel '24' in the UHF band.

Historically all TV broadcast channels (channel does not mean a programme number by the way, its a point on the UHF band) were between channel 21 and channel 68 although the top end of the band has since been sold off for mobile phone use.

You are going to find it very difficult to get an off the shelf filter to reject a single point on the band.

If you know what 'channel group' you are in meaning the range of channels your local transmitter operates on them you might be able to get a filter to reject.

https://www.aerialsandtv.com/knowledge/aerials/tv-aerial-groups-widebands 

Look up your own transmitter on-line and determine the grouping. It will be either A, B or C, or C/D

(If you are on a main transmitter (most are) then the elements of the aerial will be horizontal (look at others on roofs near to you) and if you are on a smaller local relay transmitter then they are usually vertically placed. Just something to be aware of)

498Mhz is in group A. Providing you are in a different group then you might be able to get a filter that passes only your group and rejects the others.

For example this PASSES Ch 39 to Ch 62 and might be usable if you are in Group B

https://cpc.farnell.com/proception/proobf1e/overlap-blocking-filter-pass-39/dp/AP02399 

Another option, very diy oriented but can be effective if done correctly is to make a 'stub' but the only way you would get this to work would be if you could display the signal level of the unwanted channel and adjust the stub to attenuate it.

The Sony HXD870 has a signal strength display in the tuning menus and you could enter directly with the left/right keys on the remote 'Ch 24' and see what the signal level is of this unwanted channel. Assuming there is something there then a stub can be made to work and reject  that one channel.

http://www.arcticpeak.com/antennapages/quaterwavestub.htm