RDR.. Issues (May 2014) - MASTER THREAD

[rdr-hxd995_owner]

Friday 23rd May approx 19:00 attempted to turn on DVD recorder RDR-HXD995. Seemed reluctant to power on from remote (and when pressing power on on unit itself) as in UPDATE mode. Finally after switching power off at the wall a few times, managed to get it to respond. However when a channel is selected, it displays for a short while and then the screen goes blank. Also, a programme which was set to record, has not recorded.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem - is this July all over again or is it just me?

Any help/advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

[linwilso3]

Hi I was watching a film recorded from tv, when it ended i could not get it to switch off or return. The first thing we did was to change the batteries. Nothing changed.
we can turn the unit on by the on off switch and it comes up with the time then says no disc then the standby sign and hdd show with DO11. However the remote does not switch it on or off and there is nothing on the screen.
So unplugged everything re booted and tuned tv and tried to start again when pressed input the AV1 came on screen when tried to put code in for Sony 01 the AV1 flashed on and off but nothing happened.
It seems that the unit and tv are not communicating.
Have tried to source replacement remote, although not sure why it should suddenly fail not found the exact one as yet -
have also pressed reset on the machine but nothing happens
maybe was just a co-incidence that there was a problem with the epg?
this is the second machine we have had the last one had problems and eventually sony replaced it with this model (supposedly better) but the other one we could record to disc this one can only record to hard drive.
Tried to call the support line was told they are busy and will ring back!!

[Anonymous]

Hi linwilso3

Reading through what you have wrote, im shrugging my shoulders on this one - I don't know to be honest.  I think you are right though about the EPG - pure coincidence I think.  It could be a remote control failure, or even a IR port failure on the RDR unit itself.  My advice is to persist in contacting Sony Support - If you still having problems, post back and Ill see what I can do.

Good luck with everything.

Cheers.

[rooobb]

I don't think it applies, since you seems to have other problems, but be aware that the remote may be configured to use 3 different channel to command your unit. Default is DVD3 (since you reset it it should be that way). to be sure your remote in is DVD3 too, you should press ENTER and while holding ENTER press number 3 for at least 3 seconds

[linwilso3]

thank you
i have found a local repair centre who will check out the unit and remote for free and then say whether or not it can be fixed. I will let you know outcome
regards
Linda

[linwilso3]

thank you - i am taking in to a local repairer to see what they can identify, i am now thinking it was just co-incidence, to be fair thinking back over the past month or so we had a few issues of freezing picture and jumping along which we put down to the signal but perhaps not.
Linda

[No_Pic]

Not sure how many are still following this thread and are still interested in the issue but anyway .....

The latest EPG fiasco last weekend really irked me when it happened for third time in less than a year so I set about trying to find out which organisations are involved in the EPG process.

I filled in a feedback form on the 'Digital UK' website, selecting 'Missing Channels' in the subject line (though I think 'Complaint' might also have been more appropriate!)

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/email-us

Much to my surprise I did actually get a reply today which is reproduced below in case anyone is interested.

*****

Thank you for your email regarding EPG problems with your Sony PVR which has been escalated to me for response.

As you know in the past weeks there have been two instances where formatting errors, in part of the EPG data supplied by channels, temporarily caused some models of Sony DVD recorders to malfunction. As soon as we became aware of the issue it was corrected. Viewers affected were advised by our contact centre to power their recorders off and on which returned the DVD recorders to normal operation.

Digital UK handles day-to-day technical management of the Freeview Electronic Programme Guide. Issues of this nature are, thankfully, infrequent and mechanisms are in place to correct them as soon as possible should they occur. This fault was due to a recent update for software used by some channels to upload their EPG data centrally and has now been resolved. I am sorry for the inconvenience this has caused, we are working to ensure these types of problems are prevented in the future.

Yours sincerely,

*****

Why bother posting this? Well, I suspect there is little chance that the issue will be solved by Sony due to the age of the equipment involved. I guess the only way the equipment will continue to work reliably will be if Digital UK stay on top of the EPG content and ensure the formatting errors do not occur in the first place.

Perhaps weight of numbers reporting the issue might make Digital UK aware that this is a significant problem for Sony users each time it occurs, so if anyone feels inclined to also make a report, the link above seemed to get through to someone who knew what it was about!

Cheers

[ccarmock]

It's poor that there are not checks in place to prevent incorrect format data being sent in the first place

However given this is the third time this has happened and only seem to affect Sony devices and the Pioneer ones on which these are based I feel Sony should provide a firmware update for this series that allows them to be more resilient to these data errors. Clearly it's possible as other devices including the earlier Sony ones are not suffering

[No_Pic]

Hi ccarmock

I think you might be hoping against hope that Sony will do any more to fix the problem (but it would be really nice if they did).

At the same time as I contacted Digital UK (above), I also emailed Sony support about the issue. It took them just short of a week to reply and I have reproduced their response below.

Whilst an email reply from an individual operative in an overseas support centre doesn't represent the corporate response of Sony in the UK, the fact that the content of the reply was so far removed from the actual issue suggests that this isn't a matter which Sony have any great interest in dealing with at all (since they clearly haven't shared the issue with their own support agents).

Anyway, I laughed out loud when I read the reply. Hopefully others might see the funny side of it too.

(Copied an pasted verbatim)

*****
Thank you for your e-mail.

In responce to your quiry about the Sony PVRs experienced problems in tuning and recieving the EPG.

Kindly be informed that the devices don't need a firmware update to resolve un-expected issue, The issue basically because of 4G mobile networks launching nationally this year have the potential to cause interference with Freeview reception for a minority of households.

This is not an issue with the device it self, and it will remain unlikely to replace the device or to buy another product because of this issue,

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact us via the numbers below.

Yours sincerely
*****

Incidentally, the current range of Panasonic hard disk recorders look quite interesting and some include a feature for recording two channels at the same time using a dual tuner feature.

The next time the EPG goes down I think I shall be looking into buying a new Panasonic!

[radioman998]

Hi everyone - sorry to bump this thread again.

I'm from Lancashire, and only now having trouble with my HXD870. 

It lost everything completely during a freeview update a few weeks ago, and now I cant get anything on it at all.

I've done everything so far on all the forum threads - including "France", and all the intermediate upgrades from 1.65 to 1.70.

The problem is, the machine just wont recognise the updates on the CD, and so its still on version 1.63 with no obvious way of updating it. 

I appreciate you've all probably seen all of this before, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

I called Sony themselves about 3 weeks ago, who promised me a solution by email - but it never came. I feel a bit short changed by them to be honest. And there's no way I can just go out and buy a new unit. Why should I?

Thanks for letting me rant. Please help.

[rooobb]

In order for your HXD870 manage the problem you have to have the 1.70 version installed. You have to ask to the call center to send you a preinstalled CD (not an email) in order to solve the problem, In the mean while you may try to check better the way to produce your own CD via a PC. I'm aware that  many people using MS Win7 standard utilities are not able to create the right format of the CD itself, you may want to try a different product (such as Nero) that works (setting the parameter suggested in the downolad section of the support page for RDR HXD870)