After three days I can report one occurence of juddering on playback, two recordings declared "unplayable", one total freeze and lock up, combined with a missed recording.

I think that's it ....

Not bad in three days!

But when it works it is lovely ... fabulous upscaling and terrific sound. And we haven't got HD yet ..... And, of course, we still have the Humax as back-up.

A software update is in final testing and due soon for release according to Phillips/Pace

The latest software version is 7.19 but that update was pulled by Phillips. The updates will appear here:-

http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/d...ctn=HDT8520/05

They are currently offering version 6.21 and the new update should appear there soon.

Software vers 7.21 now available from the link I posted above. The web page says its 6.21 but if you download the zip file and open it you'll fine 7.21

Thank you for that, SS! Mine was shipped with 7.19, so I am about to attempt the upgrade.

I have now got "lost signal" on ITV3 and intermittent blanking to black on other channels to add to my list of woes.

What a duff box this is! If I had paid £300 for it I would be apoplectic, but at half price I am prepared to give it a little - very little - longer.

Funny thing is: In spite of all the problems I rather like it ....

So now I am on 7.21, and hopeful ..... There must have one iteration that never saw the light of day - v7.20, so that proves they are trying hard at Pace in France.

We shall see. It all SEEMS fine so far, but what can you tell after an hour or so?

I think the tuner is a bit feeble, as it still shows "lost signal" most of the time on ITV3. My Humax pvr, one step down in the daisy chain, finds that station and plays it perfectly. No lost signal there! But although the Humax upscales to 720p, the picture is simply not comparable to the Philips/Pace at its best.

Once switch-over is complete, and the broadcast strength is upgraded, I expect the weak tuner will no longer be a problem for me. But anyone living in a marginal area might wish to bear this weakness in mind.

I shall come back with more when there is more to report. It will be nice if they have really hacked it this time. Then I shall think I have a bargain!

I have given the box a complete hammering over the last three hours or so - nice to be retired!

I have put it through its paces as completely as I can - and not one single glitch has been thrown up. Still early days ... but so far I would urge those who have put their box back in the box to get it out again and install 7.21!

I think it is very possibly the box everyone wanted. If this goes on I shall buy another while they are going cheap!

But ......... early days.

Incidentally, they have revamped the website page. It no longer calls the download 6.21

Thanks again for the pointer, SS!

I too installed 7.21 yesterday and am pleased to say that I recorded two HD programmes last night that played back perfectly.

It's only taken Philips/Pace 15 months to get this box working anything like properly. Long may it last. Let's hope that's the end of our woes.

That's good news!. We don't have HD here until August, but on SD the box now seems very stable. The only tiny glitches I have seen are permanently recorded, so more likely to be the poor signal than the pvr itself.

Yes, I wish the tuner were as sensitive as my Humax, and then that might not happen. But it will probably not be a problem after switch-over. And I would like the low volume addressed, please Pace! I understand this is even worse on HD.

But .... Now I can appreciate some of the finer points. The EPG is very good, although it would be good tobe able to search for programmes, as one can with the Humax.

I love the way series are grouped together in a single "file cabinet". That is a big plus. I really like the "not watched" icon, too.

The picture quality is so good! I shall be hooking it up to my projector this afternoon, which will show me just how very good that upscaling is.

7.21 seems to make it the box you all thought you were getting for your cash, and I hope those who stuck with it are now content and that we see no further problems in the months ahead.

As for me, I shall probably buy another refurb. There is nothing wrong with the hardware, those returns were because of the firmware and functionality, which now seems to be fixed. So they are a real bargain now.

FINGERS FIRMLY CROSSED!

Yes, it took fifteen months. But I think it took the Digifusion at least that long and probably longer. I bought that box on Day One, when it cost £249. I bought it for the advertised subtitles, being a Deaf Old Fool. However, those subtitles were not implemented for the best part of a year, and very many little niggles remained to be cleared by subsequent OTA upgrades for a very long time after that. The power supply went belly-up frequently, and internal modifications were needed by some users. Philips owners have been spared that, at least!

The Digifusion became a much-loved and well regarded bit of kit in the end. Only the disappearance of the EPG finally killed it, and some happy owners are still using it, putting up with Now and Next, and programming manually.

So Philips/Pace have not really been all that bad!

(Don't throw those stones at me! )

Still completely solid after much button-pressing,

The SD upscaling looks stunning projected onto my big screen.

Yes I have ordered up another!

How have the rest of you found it?

Very quiet here!

I fear Pace may be too late with the upgrade that gets everything right.

Both my Philips "refurbished A grade" boxes are behaving exactly as they should, very stable and solid machines. The second one was so "refurbished" it still had the protective plastic stick-on covers over it and the handbook had clearly never been opened. I'd call that new.

They both had v7.19 installed, but the upgrade to 7.21 is easy.

At £149 it is the buy of the century! Go and get one!

I got a new HDT8520 from an ASDA Superstore at the weekend for £149. Has firmware 6.21 installed but I've not had time to upgrade firmware or even try a recording yet.
I got mine mainly for recording SD channels ( BBC3/ITV2 ) but the HD option is useful.
Is the light around the top of the unit supposed to come on for a few seconds whilst the unit is in standby ?

When the box is powering/booting up it lights up for a few seconds only. It may also do it when the box goes into standby. Be warned though, this box has a reputation for NOT coming out of standby which is a pain if you have set the timer to record something. I have set my box to never go into standby. I know that is not 'Green' but it does get around the problem.

You will think I work for Philips/Pace/Maplins (not true!) but I have to say that neither of my boxes, so far, has failed to come out of standby, nor missed a recording, nor thrown up a single one of the well documented faults discussed on this forum.

I did have a scare ... Subtitles failed on a recording of Scott and Bailey, and I found they were recorded on my Humax. However, the Humax had recorded the programme on "+1", so I concluded that some idiot had forgotten to turn them on at ITV on the original showing.

Watching the programme with subtitles showed me how much I miss when they are not there. Thank God for the subtitlers! Without them, we Deaf Old Fools would have no clue about anything!

GreyOwl - once you have upgraded to 7.21 - and I hope you will do it soon, as it is easy - you will find you have a machine to treasure at a real bargain price. However, you don't have to do it yourself. I think they are going to send it OTA soon.

Great, I think I managed to brick a Tvonics HV-250 trying to update the firmware via USB.
Do I have to set anything in the firmware to allow automatic OTA update ? I can only see a manual update/scan option.
thanks.

I an mot absolutely sure, but I think the box will update itself if you leave it on - not in standby. It has an automatic update feature and will find new channels without operator input. The software OTA update could be the same.

The update to 7.21 is not running as an OAD at the moment. Go to this link and download the zip file.

http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/d...ctn=HDT8520/05

extract the .bin file to a usb memory stick. This should be formatted to FAT standard and not NTFS. Put the .bin file into the root folder then plug the memory stck into the PVR and navigate to the software update settings and the box will find the update file. You just confirm to proceed and off it goes. Takes a minute or two.

Once the update is complete shut the box down and power off at the mains. Power back on and it will reboot with the updated software.

I powered up my HDT8520 last week whilst the 7.21 update was being transmitted and it detected it straight away.
Update went fine, but did a disk format & reset afterwards anyway.
It's recorded everything fine so far but I suppose the real test will be in August when my area gets FreeviewHD.
The only minor issue is the "halo" light or whatever it's called that keeps flashing on for a second or two a couple of times a day whilst the unit is in standby.

That's interesting. My light comes on when you call the machine out of standby, and that is it. Have you switched off "demo mode"? I wonder what the light was meant to do, apart from looking pretty in the shop?

My box is still working well, but I have identified (I think) the problem with lost or unplayable recordings. If you simply select a programme for recording, that's just fine. But if there is a clash, and you go with the option that says it may record another showing, then there seems to be trouble with some recordings already scheduled.

Also, with the HDD a third full I find everything has slowed down. I can live with it. So far. But what will it be like when the drive is full?

Owl, you must be in the same region as me. Which is your transmitter? It might be interesting to compare notes.

I think I record too many things. Most of them will probably stay unwatched!

Not likely that you'll fill the disc - there is a limit of 254 individual recordings after which it'll not record any more.

For some reason they stored the number of recordings in a byte (8 bits) giving a max of 254 usable. It appears that even with the updates that they have not changed this limitation.


As for the performance degrading. Funny that modern PVRs don't have a defrag function. We have an old PVR with inbuilt DVD burner at work(forget the make/model) and that does have a defrag tool which actually does make a difference.

Hi "bear" Yes demo mode is definately off.
"Halo" light comes on when powering up, going to standby and fades on and off, I think twice a day whilst in standby. Morning and early evening.
Otherwise it's working fine.
I'm based in South Yorkshire on the Belmont transmitter.
( Large hill between me and Emley Moor )
I tend to record and then watch ASAP. Most stuff is deleted within 48 hrs.

I am the other side of the Belmont mast, in Lincolnshire.

I suppose my "halo" may come on from time to time? I have just never caught it in the act! lol

I am quite convinced I have it right about lost recordings. I did not get to record the Mohammed programme for this reason ... unless my recorder takes a view on the fellah!

Yes, squirrel. I did know about the 256 limitation, but I forgot to take it into account.. So thanks!

I guess it might still be possible to fill the cinema machine, once I start recording nothing but HD films ....

But unlikely, I suppose

I had scheduled "Jeeves and Wooster" to record today on ITV 3. I get rotten reception on ITV3, so decided to deschedule it. The machine was in standby. Lo and behold, at the time it should have been recorded, the halo light came on, went off again, came on again, and then the machine dropped off to sleep again.

First time I have seen THAT happen! But no harm done. Anyone who is considering buying this box while it is cheap should certainly do so. It is great, now!

While generally happy with mine I get massive AV sync issues from the spdif out. After 30 or so mins of watching a recording the audio is arriving about half a second before the video! Any advice?
Thanks folks

Is this happenning with SD recordings? Or onl;y with HD?

There is a synching facility in the menus somewhere, but I have never had to use it. Have you tried this and found it still failing to work?

My SD Humax has done this in the past, and the solution seemed to be to halt the playback and restart it. It has not done it for some time, though.

Just in case you haven't found it, the "lip synch" adjustment is accessed via the "options" button on the remote, next to the big MENU button.

Hope it works!!