Having returned from holiday only to find that my trusty Wharfdale 250DTRHDMI has yet again locked up and not recorded programs whilst I was away, I'm just about to go out and buy a Humax HDR-FoxT2.

Just before I do though I thought I would check to see whether the 2 problems that bug me the most are indeed 'features' and therefore unresolvable or whether there has been a fix/work around that I have missed.

The two features are:

1. The box locking up whilst unattended, only resolvable by re-booting.

2. Loss of HDMI, again only happens when switching on.

As far as I know I have the latest firmware v13.0

Hi macgd016,

the two symptoms you describe are fairly standard as far as I am aware for this box.

I have the LP160DTRHDMI and the HDMI drop out is annoying, but I have got used to working around this by using a 2 way HDMI splitter and selecting the recorder once it is tuned on. I Still have to reconfig the picture aspect ratio every time.

The locking up issue was prevalent under earlier firmware versions, but this for me at least, appears to be cured under v13.0. I too have suffered the disappointment of returning from a holiday to find my scheduled recordings have failed to action and the box is ‘locked up’.

This hasnt happened in the last 14 months since the OAD of v13.0.

I would suggest checking which firmware you have.

The LPxxxDTRHDMI boxes are far from perfect, but I have found mine excellent value for money.

Hope that helps.

pvteyes99

Thanks for your reply, heartening to hear that I'm not the only one with these problems!

I am using v13.0 but I have noticed over time that these problems both seem to come and go. I had cause to reformat the hard disk a couple of months ago and after that the HDMI problem was manageable, the picture tended to be narrow when the box was initially switched on but went to full screen if you selected Library. I also had a period of 3 or 4 weeks when I didnt get a lock up at all. Then I went on holiday, the box locked up and now everytime I switch it on I have to set the HDMI settings. I think that this box has been great value for money but I cant put up with it any more, shame.

Have you tried doing a First Time Installation? This sets the unit to the manufacturers default settings and can clear out corrupt functionality.

Colin

Hadn't thought of that, I assumed it just did a re-tune, I will give it a go and let you know.

Well I've done a First Time installation as suggested. I haven't had a crash yet but then I don't get many in any case. I still have the HDMI problem though although I notice that it only occurs after bringing it out of standby when the clock has gone off. If the clock is visible the HDMI is fine. Not really sure how to describe this, I don't have Low Power on but after several hours the clock is no longer visible,

You probably have automatic update checks enabled, so the box will be rebooting at 3am every night and it is after that when the clock has gone. It essentially goes through the same process as entering and exiting low power standby. So, you could try disabling automatic updates, although you may then find the the box then slows down a lot and becomes unstable after a few days, but the clock should remain visible and maybe then avoiding the HDMI problem.

Interesting, I will give it a try and let you know what happens.

I have owned this model for several years. It does not properly handle a weak, sometimes disappearing, signal - it just hangs. Version 13 firmware is much better than the original but I think the problem really lies with the middleware; an earlier Aldi model with similar middleware behaved identically.

Solutions (apart from moving to Freesat):
1. Leave the unit in standby whenever possible.
2. Before going into standby, select a channel such as 87 - Community, which is only around for a few hours each day. If there is no incoming signal to process, the unit is less likely to hang.

HDMI: Try using the SCART connection (set to RGB). The output appears different but is just as sharp.

You are quite right disabling auto updates does (almost) stop the clock disappearing and HDMI has been ok, until today! The clock once more had disappeared and the screen format in HDMI had to be reset. You are also right that even after 24h the controls were getting sluggish.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have always left it in standby but it even locks up when its in Low Power standby, ie when I'm away.

Interesting idea about using a channel like 87 I will give it a try.

You are right using SCART does get rid of the HDMI issues but with HDMI set to 720p and using some screen enhancement controls on my TV I get something close to HD provided the source is good to start with, much better than RGB SCART unfortunately!