Except you could try feeding the aerial through the other way?

Just in case you saw the 3 hour problem tonight, because I did on all my boxes, the BBC appeared to have a signalling meltdown on all their channels - not sure if it was a nationwide thing or the local transmitter. At 22:30, for example, the now/next info was still showing previous programmes, but sprung into life around 22:40. It wasn't a box issue, as my Sony TV was showing the same incorrect information.

thanks for the info

I did see a problem last night - it didn't pick up WDYTYA until 23:56 and recorded a blank minute but I had not expected that one to work as I had left PVR1 going into low power - hence no signal to PVR2!

I did have a problem last night but earlier in the evening - I was testing it recording 2 programmes concurrently-8pm and 9pm on BBC1 and 8pm, on another channel. The other channel worked but nothing for BBC1 - now I am doubting whether I set it up.


I could do but hadn't wanted to risk PVR1 not working.

I have another unused aerial point in another room but had not bothered trying it as the analogue signal was always poorer (have not tested it on Digital yet) and TV no scart socket. However I could route it through a VCR.
At least then it would not be dependent on PVR1 for signal.

I have till 18th April to test/upgrade this PVR2 (v2.5) and the chances are the elderly person it is intended for is going to have trouble learning to use it ( they currently only use instant record on VCR).

Alternatively, you could use a TV aerial splitter unit to divide the signal from a single aerial to two PVRs/TVs etc.

These generally work OK as long as you have a reasonable signal strength as each output is slightly less than half the input signal strength due to losses. If your signal strength is low then you can still use a splitter if you first use an amplifier. There are also combined amplifier/splitter units available.

I started using my Hitachi HDR165 again after giving up on it in disgust following the 4.6 update. It's still an absolute joke with the long pauses and other stuff. I sent a message to Hitachi about it.

http://www.hitachidigitalmedia.com/contactPage.do

I've just had an email notification of a forthcoming software upgrade:

Firmware V4.8

This firmware upgrade for the Hitachi HDR255 is scheduled to be broadcast from 10:00 on Monday 2nd April 2012 until 09:00 on Wednesday 4th April 2012.

Does anyone know any details about this?

Not heard anything but I hope it fixes alot of things because recently mine has gone belly up, it finds all the channels, restarts and then you can only watch BBC1, you can't turn it over, you cant even get into the menu to do a first time install, reformat the drive or anything else, its buggered, I've had this problem ever since DSO its about time Vestel got their finger out and fixed their crapy software, its even worse than a TUTV PVR
I've got Humax/Sagem and a Dion PVR and they all work fine on the same aerial but not the Hitachi.

As I have told you before, I believe your Hitachi has a hardware failure. No amount of changes to the software will get your unit working, if solder joints have failed underneath the processor (common fault for Hitachi units bought from ebay, which are all ultimately secondhand even if the listing says otherwise), for example.

Yes and no . It depends if this is the same v4.8 that I have tested, because that one was not good enough. The unnumbered release that I'm currently testing (since Wednesday) does so far seem back to the performance levels of v4.1 and earlier though - maybe this is being released as v4.8 (unfortunately, I do not know for sure).

Those using v4.6 currently should certainly update as even if v4.8 is not the final fix, it won't be any worse than v4.6, and may offer a slight improvement. Those still on v3.x should be more cautious on updating to v4.8. I'll update my v4.6 box to v4.8 on Monday evening, so I should know then whether this v4.8 is the same as the one that I tested. Looking forward to seeing the feedback from others.

I was hoping it was going to fix everything so that I could avoid buying a cable to upgrade 2.5 box and downgrade 4.6 before DSO.

Will certainly update 4.6 box at first opportunity and will be interested in Futaura's feedback as to whether it is the 4.8 version that is not good enough.

My thanks to catsitter for flagging this up and to futaura for the info.

If a changelog for v4.8 can be published this will be very useful to help establish if we should "upgrade" or not. For example, fixing the slowdowns would be good but if the RGB/CVBS configuration bug still remains then this "upgrade" would be a non-starter for me!

So, if users would kindly post their experience of this upgrade asap then this would help others decide on its value to them.

Unfortunately, Vestel are secretive when it comes to changelogs, just like many other big companies - doesn't exactly help me during testing either . Priority has been on stability and responsiveness fixes - the CVBS issue was not fixed in the v4.8 software that I tested recently, but is fixed in the latest unnumbered software that I'm currently testing. My plan was to ask Vestel if I could distribute the fix here for testing by the few that have cables, etc, once I was happy that a suitable release candidate was available. Everything I've tested until Wednesday evening has fallen short of the mark in my testing, hence I have not even bothered to waste anybody elses time testing those versions.

The version that I'm currently testing has behaved itself so far, and the main thing that needs re-addressing is the duplicate recordings issue. This includes v4.6's insistence of scheduling a new timer for non-series records once the original recording has been deleted from the library (this usually shows up as a blank entry, unless a repeat is available, after a reboot / LP standby). Although I have already reported this issue, I shall be sending an extended report on all the duplicate recording issues to Vestel this evening. Once those are fixed, things should be back to normal.

Does this unnumbered release have any advantage(s) over v3.4 and, if so, what are they?

Crucially, does it still have the RGB/CVBS configuration bug introduced in v4.6?

Advantages not to your taste, yes . Like green button trailer booking, recommendations and TRD support when scanning for channels. There is a possibility that all the tinkering in trying to recover from the v4.6 calamity may have made the software more responsive than v3.4 even.

As mentioned in my previous message, yes. The CVBS issue was in fact present in v3.7 and above (not sure about v3.5 and v3.6) - I must admit that I never spotted that while testing v4.1 . Actually, testing CVBS mode in the OAD tomorrow will be a quick way to figure out what state the software is on - CVBS working will mean the software is good when it comes to the other issues too.

Thanks for the info, Futaura. I'm still on 3.4 so shall wait for your verdict before installing.

Trouble is, you are unlikely to get a lot of feedback on here as those who have reverted to 3.4 probably wont bother as it doesn't look like there will be much advantage.

Also a fairly short window to upgrade.

I'd like to add my thanks to Futaura for his valuable input.

If this release fixes slowdowns and DSO fixes missng words/scenes I'll be quite happy.

My T835 has now picked up the software update - it reports as v4.8. Have set the output to CVBS and just waiting for a low power standby cycle to see if it comes back on in CVBS or RGB........

I downloaded the 4.8 software this morning.

First impressions are that there are still some issues with freezing but not as bad as it was on 4.6.

After about 10 minute of playing I experienced a few freezes navigating in the Timers list. So far the freeze durations were much shorter than on 4.6 being of about 6sec duration. Navigation through the Menus generally was similar to older software versions bearing in mind this was noted only about 20min after a re-boot.

I find that rapid repeat presses of the Skip buttons causes slowdown in response. For example pressing 2min Forward about 10 times takes a few seconds to implement. This is something I have not experienced on previous Vestel PVRs.

I note there are a significant number of "old" blank entries in the Timers list for recordings deleted in the last week or so.

Colin

The new v4.8 still has the RGB/CVBS configuration bug, so it seems it is not the very latest (least buggy) version that Futaura was testing. Shame.

So far so good for me but probably too early to tell.

Everything a bit quicker but then usually is in the morning.

I can't tell the difference in picture with CVBS/RGB anyway so I'll take your word for that, so it's disappointing if this is the buggy version.
I can see difference when the small picture is displayed when toggling but when it comes back on I'm not sure what type of picture displayed.

tried a one-off recording and then deleted it from library - has not reappeared in timers list yet

It will reappear after a reboot, I'm guessing. It will be interesting to hear the general feedback on v4.8 - I was intentionally harsh in my testing, as I was looking for v3.4 performance and was testing alongside a v4.6 box for comparison, but it may be slightly better than v4.6 was.

Unfortunately, after I posted last night, I got the "Service is not running" banner (immediately after switching on from LP standby) on the latest version which I'm testing, so although the responsiveness issue seems resolved, there is still some work to do.

Correction to my post above. The blank Timer entries I have are all for recently completed Series so can be expected to remain in the Timers list.

Colin

Forgot to add, pleased it didn't require a FTI like last time.

Why are the OAD download windows so short ? Do Vestel have to pay per hour it is available.

I need more time to test this one before allowing update on other box.

I think 2day downloads are now typical. All those scheduled for this week and next week (with the exception of 3day over the weekend) are for 2days. I guess with the larger number of devices in circulation there has been a big increase in demand. For anyone who follows the normal procedure of leaving equipment in standby overnight this should ensure that the download is picked up.

Colin

So, for those of us currently on 3.4, should we install the upgrade or not, please?