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program guide has gone berserk


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Old 06-09-2016, 11:07
jpdovey
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morning all, i have a 8 year old duraband 80 gb recorder and just lately the program guide has gone haywire i.e it just does its own thing i.e. again-- info will appear on screen without being requested and when on guide page it will go forwards or backwards or up and down without prompting. apart from this little glich it works perfectly with no other problems(i hope that i haven't tempted providence) if i could find another new duraband i would buy it.
does anyone know if there is a fix for this glich as i am reluctant to buy or is this a sign of the end of the road for old faithful. will it deteriorate from now on.
i have tried numerous re-sets ----it doesn't stop the problem.

jp
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Old 06-09-2016, 11:50
chrisjr
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The chances of getting any sort of firmware update are somewhere between zero and not a snowball in hell's chance And I doubt that it would be economical to repair. One possible cause of odd behaviour could be the power supply.

It is always possible that after 8 years the power supply has degraded, especially electrolytic capacitors. Not uncommon for manufacturers to fit cheap and nasty caps that die after a few years use. If you know one end of a screwdriver and soldering iron from another and are brave enough to attack the machine then it can be a DIY job to replace dodgy caps.

Otherwise the more humane thing to do would be to put the poor thing out of it's misery and invest in something a bit more modern.
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Old 06-09-2016, 13:53
jpdovey
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thanks for the advice chrisjr, not what i was hoping for but it did seem inevitable to me.
now it has deleted a channel had to re-install.
this box is mainly viewed by my wife who is not pleased as it is full of favourite recordings which will be lost--some go back to the beginning.
plus it will take her months to get the hang of a new machine--hey i'm getting that way myself .
i have a humax and a bush but i woudn't have another humax---the bush is fine for what it cost.
i'll run this duraband until she can take it no more then i'll go from there.
is there a machine that will let you copy out the hd recordings---if there is it'll be quite costly i would think.

jp
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Old 06-09-2016, 14:47
chrisjr
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You are aware that keeping recordings for repeated viewing is illegal under copyright laws? The only legal use for a PVR is to time shift programmes, ie record live then watch once at a later time and delete once watched.

But I won't tell if you don't

But that is basically why you won't see machines shouting about any ability to copy recordings on and off the hard drive And even then you are likely only to be able to copy SD recordings. Most boxes that can receive Freeview HD encrypt the HD recordings and won't let you copy them. Though some Humax boxes can be loaded with custom firmware to get round this restriction (may be others but I can't think of any off hand).

Quite a few machines will let you plug a USB hard drive into them and you can do some copying back and forth. But obviously that's no use if your Durabrand doesn't support USB drives.
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Old 06-09-2016, 19:47
jpdovey
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i found a old freeview box in the attic so with that and the use of a scart box she can now have her recordings off the duraband and freeview off the old box for as long as it lasts( i rarely throw anything away--the freeview box must be older than the duraband but not as much used).

thanks for your interest and information chris and the education about recorded material.

jp
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Old 06-09-2016, 22:48
futaura
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Have you removed the batteries from the remote, to see if the problem persists? It could be a dodgy remote, perhaps not even the Durabrand one. Failing that, I agree that it could be a PSU failure or some other failure on the mainboard.

Regarding the recordings - you might be able to find a cheap secondhand box on eBay - doesn't have to be a Durabrand, as any compatible one will do (Vestel T810 based, I think). You could then simply swap the HDD over from your Durabrand. It might even work in newer T816 or T825 models. It's a slow process, but it is also possible to transfer recordings using a PC and ext2fsd from your old HDD to another in a newer box.
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Old 06-09-2016, 23:17
Luis Essex
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Couldn't an eight year old duraband with an 80GB HDD also be a T825?
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Old 06-09-2016, 23:27
futaura
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Yes, you're right - I should have checked my own website instead of relying on my memory . It could be a T810, T816 or T825. If the OP can tell us their software version number, that should answer it and allow us to advise further.
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Old 07-09-2016, 19:53
AngusMast
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@jpdovey

As has been mentioned you should have a look at your remote control. It sounds like the keys around the OK button are activating. Prize it open and clean the circuit board with alcohol-based cleaner ideally. clean the rubber keypad including the black rubber contacts, I usually clean all the bits other than the circuit board in water and detergent. Pat it dry and leave it to dry completely before reassembling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBBJlGFUWv0

If you do get a newer Vestel machine like a Hitachi you may find that the old Durabrand remote will work with it, only a few buttons are different or non-functional (you have to go through the menu to look at the timers list, for example), so your wife doesn't have to learn a new button layout.
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