We should start a Facebook group and lobby Thomson to give us back our EPG!
DHD4000 - The end of the line for them all
5 of 5
Originally Posted by nwg:
“Thomson has no control over the EPG.”
“Thomson has no control over the EPG.”
That's a pretty defeatist attitude - maybe they have no direct control, but they commissioned these boxes with knowledge of whatever contracts were in place regarding the EPG broadcast.
As a corporation they have the capacity to renew the contract. They also (more than anyone else) have the expertise to develop a firmware upgrade to use the Freeview guide - 4TV was bought up by Thomson.
Other manufacturers involved have at least offered goodwill gestures - £100 off voucher from Sony, £70 cheque from Beko (Digifusion).
If I was a Thomson owner, I'd certainly be giving them a hard time - the fact they have remained completely silent about this is astonishing. Then again unlike Digifusion owners, I've not seen much evidence of any direct action from Thomson owners.
Originally Posted by Shoog:
“That's a pretty defeatist attitude - maybe they have no direct control, but they commissioned these boxes with knowledge of whatever contracts were in place regarding the EPG broadcast.
As a corporation they have the capacity to renew the contract. They also (more than anyone else) have the expertise to develop a firmware upgrade to use the Freeview guide - 4TV was bought up by Thomson.
Other manufacturers involved have at least offered goodwill gestures - £100 off voucher from Sony, £70 cheque from Beko (Digifusion).
If I was a Thomson owner, I'd certainly be giving them a hard time - the fact they have remained completely silent about this is astonishing. Then again unlike Digifusion owners, I've not seen much evidence of any direct action from Thomson owners.”
“That's a pretty defeatist attitude - maybe they have no direct control, but they commissioned these boxes with knowledge of whatever contracts were in place regarding the EPG broadcast.
As a corporation they have the capacity to renew the contract. They also (more than anyone else) have the expertise to develop a firmware upgrade to use the Freeview guide - 4TV was bought up by Thomson.
Other manufacturers involved have at least offered goodwill gestures - £100 off voucher from Sony, £70 cheque from Beko (Digifusion).
If I was a Thomson owner, I'd certainly be giving them a hard time - the fact they have remained completely silent about this is astonishing. Then again unlike Digifusion owners, I've not seen much evidence of any direct action from Thomson owners.”
I think its because many of us have had our DHD4000s for a loooong time now, and we acce[ted that the reliance on a 3rd party EPG would mean we were vulnerable to a loss of the service at some time.
Remember, unlike Digifusion, Thomson only came out with one Freeview PVR, so they didn't remain an active player in the market.
Products become end of life and unsupported - just a simple fact of life. That's not defeatist on my part, just a recognition that I believe that I've extracted all of the value out of the product that I've got, am happy with the results my investment of £229 bought me, and now don't believe Thomson owe me anything.
Others may well disagree. I suppose I'm influenced slightly by the fact that after a couple of years of use I also opened the box to add a USB cable and a bigger HDD, therefore most likely voiding my warranty anyway.
Matt
Originally Posted by larkim:
“I think its because many of us have had our DHD4000s for a loooong time now, and we acce[ted that the reliance on a 3rd party EPG would mean we were vulnerable to a loss of the service at some time.”
“I think its because many of us have had our DHD4000s for a loooong time now, and we acce[ted that the reliance on a 3rd party EPG would mean we were vulnerable to a loss of the service at some time.”
Could be right that the most vocal on the Digifusion boards have only had theirs for a 3 years or so, but I'm not sure.
Originally Posted by larkim:
“Remember, unlike Digifusion, Thomson only came out with one Freeview PVR, so they didn't remain an active player in the market.”
“Remember, unlike Digifusion, Thomson only came out with one Freeview PVR, so they didn't remain an active player in the market.”
I would argue that Thomson were the most active in the market with the top up tv boxes:
- Thomson DTI6300
- Thomson DTI6021
I think what bothers me most is the silence. It wouldn't have taken much to release a statement, or even just get some tech support guy to post on here (some companies do).
The 4TV platform has been defunct for 5 years. I'm surprised the EPG lasted so long, I expected it to disappear years ago. Expecting compensation because the EPG has gone on a box I bought 6 1/2 years ago would be a bit silly IMO. Anyway the box still works and I'm still using quite happily. Whether I can get it to work post DSO is another matter but I'm damn sure I've had my 230 quids worth out of it.
Originally Posted by Shoog:
“I would argue that Thomson were the most active in the market with the top up tv boxes:
- Thomson DTI6300
- Thomson DTI6021
”
“I would argue that Thomson were the most active in the market with the top up tv boxes:
- Thomson DTI6300
- Thomson DTI6021
”
I stand corrected, of course.
What I think I meant was that Thomson only came out with one device based on the 4TV EPG platform, unlike Digifusion which had multiple models.
From recollection the 6300 and the 6021 used the Freeview EPG?
Matt
I think originally they got the EPG data via overnight update similar to the DHD400 (provided by InView, but via a different stream), but Thomson issued a firmware update to allow the user to select the freeview EPG instead.
Sounds like a good solution
Sounds like a good solution
Hi guys,
I explained my problems in earlier posts. My friendly engineer could not help with any ideas, so I called in the aerial engineers. They had fitted a new aerial about 4 months ago (simply because we had had an old chimney removed), and at that time reception was good. As previously explained, since the DSO my Thomsons both get very blocky reception with lots of audio hangs. The aerial fitters have just left, and they told me that the aerial reception is fine. They tell me they have seen similar reception problems with older digital TVs since the DSO, and think that it is an internal problem with the Tommies, possibly software. I doubt if Thomson are about to upgrade the software for such an old machine, but I may try contacting them.
I hate to worry you all, but more and more of you may find similar problems following the DSO in your own areas.
Although I have had my money's worth out of the Thomsons, I still think that there is not much available now of a similar standard. I don't want to buy another couple of SD PVRs right now because HD is coming, but equally I'm reluctant to shell out at the current price for an HD machine, particularly as it will probably be very beta.
If I get any reply from Thomson I'll let you know.
Cheers,
Colin.
I explained my problems in earlier posts. My friendly engineer could not help with any ideas, so I called in the aerial engineers. They had fitted a new aerial about 4 months ago (simply because we had had an old chimney removed), and at that time reception was good. As previously explained, since the DSO my Thomsons both get very blocky reception with lots of audio hangs. The aerial fitters have just left, and they told me that the aerial reception is fine. They tell me they have seen similar reception problems with older digital TVs since the DSO, and think that it is an internal problem with the Tommies, possibly software. I doubt if Thomson are about to upgrade the software for such an old machine, but I may try contacting them.
I hate to worry you all, but more and more of you may find similar problems following the DSO in your own areas.
Although I have had my money's worth out of the Thomsons, I still think that there is not much available now of a similar standard. I don't want to buy another couple of SD PVRs right now because HD is coming, but equally I'm reluctant to shell out at the current price for an HD machine, particularly as it will probably be very beta.
If I get any reply from Thomson I'll let you know.
Cheers,
Colin.
No response from Thomson, but I found a useful post from tghewett in this thread: "DHD 4000 - BBC Mux Problem on Mendip". Here is the interesting bit:
"I have my own DHD-4000 working now having had the same problems as you when Mendip switched over. The PSU can't cope with 8k mode and a full size hard disk at the same time. The only permanent solution I've found is to replace the disk with a laptop 2.5" one, using a large to small IDE adaptor to connect it. These smaller drives ignore the 12V supply and use less on the 5V, this frees the PSU to cope with 8k mode. Mine's been perfect since doing this."
I've had a couple of private messages with tg, and as a result I have copied his advice. I bought a Samsung Notebook Hard Disk 2.5 Inch Drive 160GB IDE from R U SMART TRADING LIMITED through Amazon for £42.50, and a 3.5" IDE - 2.5" IDE Laptop HDD Adapter Cable from CDL Micro again through Amazon for £3.99. All you have to do is remove the 3.5" drive from its plastic caddy, and disconnect the ribbon cable and the power cable. Next connect the adapter cable to the main board, and connect the power supply cable into the adaptor cable. I was unsure which way to connect the adaptor cable to the new 2.5 HDD, as this one is capable of being connected either way round. Obviously if you get it wrong you are likely to fry the HDD. Tg advised me to have the power connection at the opposite end from the four jumper pins on the HDD, or to put it another way, the power goes into the HDD at the far point from the front of the Thomson, if you have mounted the HDD with its label uppermost. If this is not clear send me a message and I'll email a photo. Once connected I fixed the new 2.5 HDD into the caddy using sticky tabs.
I have just tried it out and the reception is now greatly improved, and I would describe it as 95% of perfect. I still get the very occasional freeze or blockiness, and sound glitch, but not enough to be a problem. The reception had become totally unwatchable, but is now fine, if not perfect.
I'm going to try it out for a week, to see how good the recordings are on different channels, and then hopefully upgrade my other Tommy the same way. This way I can postpone buying new machines until the HD models become cheaper (and hopefully reliable).
The lack of EPG is still annoying, but I can live with it.
My heartfelt thanks to tghewett, who has been prompt and helpful with his advice.
Colin.
"I have my own DHD-4000 working now having had the same problems as you when Mendip switched over. The PSU can't cope with 8k mode and a full size hard disk at the same time. The only permanent solution I've found is to replace the disk with a laptop 2.5" one, using a large to small IDE adaptor to connect it. These smaller drives ignore the 12V supply and use less on the 5V, this frees the PSU to cope with 8k mode. Mine's been perfect since doing this."
I've had a couple of private messages with tg, and as a result I have copied his advice. I bought a Samsung Notebook Hard Disk 2.5 Inch Drive 160GB IDE from R U SMART TRADING LIMITED through Amazon for £42.50, and a 3.5" IDE - 2.5" IDE Laptop HDD Adapter Cable from CDL Micro again through Amazon for £3.99. All you have to do is remove the 3.5" drive from its plastic caddy, and disconnect the ribbon cable and the power cable. Next connect the adapter cable to the main board, and connect the power supply cable into the adaptor cable. I was unsure which way to connect the adaptor cable to the new 2.5 HDD, as this one is capable of being connected either way round. Obviously if you get it wrong you are likely to fry the HDD. Tg advised me to have the power connection at the opposite end from the four jumper pins on the HDD, or to put it another way, the power goes into the HDD at the far point from the front of the Thomson, if you have mounted the HDD with its label uppermost. If this is not clear send me a message and I'll email a photo. Once connected I fixed the new 2.5 HDD into the caddy using sticky tabs.
I have just tried it out and the reception is now greatly improved, and I would describe it as 95% of perfect. I still get the very occasional freeze or blockiness, and sound glitch, but not enough to be a problem. The reception had become totally unwatchable, but is now fine, if not perfect.
I'm going to try it out for a week, to see how good the recordings are on different channels, and then hopefully upgrade my other Tommy the same way. This way I can postpone buying new machines until the HD models become cheaper (and hopefully reliable).
The lack of EPG is still annoying, but I can live with it.
My heartfelt thanks to tghewett, who has been prompt and helpful with his advice.
Colin.
5 of 5
