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Sony HXD890 no video


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Old 21-07-2013, 07:32
soulboy77
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I'm pretty sure the problem is caused by the CRIDs for all programmes on Sky's channels being malformed (no data portion, due to a missing '/' separator character). Give Sony a break - it's not their fault, although arguably their software shouldn't fallover even if the EIT data is corrupt. Go and complain to Sky, or whoever maintains their EIT data . Besides, it is not just affecting Sony - Vestel-made PVRs are also having trouble.
Not a bad theory. The problem does though remind me of the boxes that went tits up because of the split NIT change.

Let's all hope it is purely an error in the data and not because of a permanent data tweak that the Sony recorder can't cope with.
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Old 21-07-2013, 09:57
tvaddict37
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But how do you manage to switch the box on?
My power button doesn't work, or do i need to hold it done for a while....

Mine has timer on, it knew it needed to do something yesterday, ie record casualty, but it just changed from update to cancel, back to update.
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Old 21-07-2013, 10:06
cheekyangus
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Sorry to hear about fellow Sony RDR owners having trouble. On hearing this news I checked my 870 and it's still working somehow.

I have some theories why it could be OK.

1) I live in a relay (aka Freeview Lite) area and the problem was with channel info on a multiplex I don't receive. This would back up Futaura's suggestion.

2) At the time of the problem occurring (up until a 20 minutes ago when I heard about this problem and switched it on to test it) my box was set to Line 1 as I had been using it in conjunction with a satellite box. If in Line 1 my box doesn't receive a signal or a particular type of over-air data then maybe that explains why.

Given that switching it out from L1 to Freeview is getting me my usual Freeview-Lite channels AND the EPG I suspect Futaura's suggestion is correct, especially since other manufacturers are having a problem with Sky-owned Pick TV's EPG data.

My hardware version is 435 and software is 116 if this is of interest.
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Old 21-07-2013, 10:17
fmradiotuner1
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I left the aerial out last night after a reset and it just turned back on so at least I can use the DVD for now.
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Old 21-07-2013, 10:40
futaura
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Not a bad theory. The problem does though remind me of the boxes that went tits up because of the split NIT change.

Let's all hope it is purely an error in the data and not because of a permanent data tweak that the Sony recorder can't cope with.
Yes - the only hole in my theory is that I don't have a record of what format the Sky CRIDs were in before. However, there is obviously a problem with them because Vestel recorders are having problems specifically with only the Sky channels. The older SD models are crashing when a series timer is set for the Sky channels. The newer HD models are not crashing, but I can clearly see that they are not liking Sky's data because any timers set on Sky's channels are not actually scheduling the timers.

Boxes that treat the CRID strings as just plain strings are going to be ok, but those that actually parse the strings according to the spec could hit problems because a required part of the CRID string is essentially missing. Sony and Vestel seem fall into this category. Others may be affected too, but owners might not notice until they discover their programmes set to record on Pick TV or Challenge did not record.
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Old 21-07-2013, 10:51
Fingerbobs
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But how do you manage to switch the box on?
My power button doesn't work, or do i need to hold it done for a while....
I was in the same boat as this initially - wondering how everyone else was managing to get to a blank EPG, changing channels etc. when my box was just totally unresponsive.

I managed to get my box to come on by disconnecting the aerial from the back, then switching off and back on again at the mains. It still went into "UPDATE" initially, but after a few seconds the power button started working and the machine came to life.
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Old 21-07-2013, 11:08
David_Ayling
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this tells you why your sony freeview box is not working
http://www.a516digital.com/2013/07/p...ers-using.html
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Old 21-07-2013, 11:51
barbeler
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My HXD790 is exactly the same. I restarted it yesterday by switching it off at the mains and then switching it on again (thanks, IT Crowd).

All seemed to be working well, but this morning it's stuck on UPDATE again.
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Old 21-07-2013, 12:34
bodegg
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Try it again. My two machines are now functioning normally.
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Old 21-07-2013, 12:37
pmbond
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Got a HXD 995 here that was stuck on update. Just switched it off and back on and it appears to be working fine. EPG is populated as well. Off Emley Moor btw.
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Old 21-07-2013, 13:13
Fingerbobs
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My HXD-890 seems to be working fine again now, including EPG.
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Old 21-07-2013, 13:44
fedman
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Heathfield transmitter.
Have just performed an 'easy setup' from factory defaults on my 870, English / UK.
Can confirm all seems to be back to normal, changed EPG from 'guide+'.
Normal EPG display.
Bet someones ears are burning!
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Old 21-07-2013, 13:45
Viewer66
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My HXD-890 seems to be working fine again now, including EPG.
My HXD790 failed at switchon around 7pm on Friday. (Winter Hill)
I initially thought it had failed due to the heat. Tried various things without success and then found all the posts on the avforum yesterday with people having the same problems. It was still locked up in update mode around 10am this morning, but it is now all working ok.
It looks like the problem got sorted out around midday today.
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Old 21-07-2013, 13:56
fmradiotuner1
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Mine going normal now to
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:06
futaura
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Yes, I can confirm that the missing '/' separator in the programme CRID for all programmes on Sky channels has now reappeared. This is what was causing trouble for Sony and Vestel boxes.
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:07
Mark C
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23395516
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:13
futaura
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More importantly, I wonder if anyone is going to admit to causing the failure??? Technically, it is not Sony's fault, but whoever updates the Sky channels EIT data on Freeview.
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:17
barbeler
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Mine's now working again, but merely unplugging it didn't work. I had to hold the on/off button until it went off and then quickly press it to turn it on again. I noticed that BT Sports channels have suddenly appeared. Could these have had anything to do with the update problem?
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:22
jlgroom
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Sorry everyone I made a mistake in my last post it should have read.

TRY THIS FIRST.
1. Go to System Menu -> Initial Setup -> Digital Tuner ->Replace Channels -> Next Screen.
2. Select UK as the country.
3. Return to System Menu -> Initial Setup -> Digital Tuner ->Replace Channels -> Next Screen.
2. Select Belgium (or anything other than UK) as the country.
3. Select Return once progress bar reaches 1% or higher.
4. Go to Basic -> EPG Type Select.
5. Select Guide (digital) if not already set.
6. Press System Menu and your channels and EPG should be back after changing channels.

The 13 step one remains as before. Morale of the story don't type complicated instructions after a night out with the beer goggles on.

However, none of this matters now as the problem has been fixed. A standard UK scan works again, so the theory that it was due to corrupted EPG data seems to be correct.
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:23
tvaddict37
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Yes, mine is working again, needed to press power for more like 10 seconds and then it said EPG, pressed power a few more times and with remote and eventually it switched on.

All seems happy with it now, but that goodness for these forums!
Thanks everyone
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:30
a516
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Digital UK have in the past hour tweeted:

Some viewers with Sony/Pioneer recorders have reported difficulty receiving channels. Powering off and then restarting should resolve this.
Confirming the end of the problem.
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:33
barbeler
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A standard UK scan works again, so the theory that it was due to corrupted EPG data seems to be correct.
So if it was due to the corrupted EPG data, why didn't it affect any Freeview televisions or any other make of recorder (except Pioneer clones)? Surely the problem has to lie with Sony?
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:42
soulboy77
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Well I braved having a look at my Sony this morning having left it with the 'Update' message displaying yesterday and managed to get it back working though I wasn't sure what I did in particular. This afternoon I was sitting next to the TV having a cuppa when I suddenly heard the hard drive whirr into life and looking down at the recorder noticed the 'Update' message was back on the display. This time I held the record button down for a number of seconds, as you do to cancel a recording and low and behold the box returned back to normal.
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Old 21-07-2013, 14:47
futaura
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So if it was due to the corrupted EPG data, why didn't it affect any Freeview televisions or any other make of recorder (except Pioneer clones)? Surely the problem has to lie with Sony?
It wasn't just Sony boxes that had trouble - Vestel tripped up on the data too. The problem was in the CRID information supplied against every programme - this is used by recorders to identifier programmes/episodes uniquely and what series they belong to, if any. Televisions are unlikely to want to use that data. Freeview+ recorders on the other hand all will. How they interpret the data is where they differ. Some may just use simple plain string comparisons on the CRID string so no problems will have arisen, but Sony and Vestel would appear to be parsing those strings in strict accordance to the Freeview+ specification. Probably the Sony boxes are parsing the data to store it internally in a database. The Vestel boxes only had problems if you had a series timer set up to record on Sky channels including Pick TV and Challenge.

I have a hunch that more boxes were affected too, but the symptoms may have been less severe, and perhaps the owner would only have noticed when they realised that programmes that they had set to record on Pick TV, for example, failed to record at all. In one way it is fortunate that the Sony boxes had symptoms so severe, otherwise the problem might have been harder to track.
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Old 21-07-2013, 15:07
Nigel Goodwin
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Some may just use simple plain string comparisons on the CRID string so no problems will have arisen, but Sony and Vestel would appear to be parsing those strings in strict accordance to the Freeview+ specification.
When did Freeview+ start?, the affected Sony/Pioneer recorders are quite elderly.
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