tuesday night i noticed that when the news at ten was on bbc1 it still showed the program as the last previous program and didn't update till 22:03
anybody else noticed this-if the timer was set then at that time the program name would be different

Having suffered all the same lock-up problems as everyone else, I finally took Sony's advice and took my 710 to a service centre. They kept it for 2 weeks and returned it saying they'd changed a cable inside. Unsurprisingly, it still locks up from time to time. Frankly, I've given up trying to get Sony to take this seriously - they clearly don't want to know.

It sounds like the 860 has the same problem from some of the comments on this site - I guess it is not surprising theat the 860 is based on the same software code as the 710, given how similar they are.

While longer term I don't intend to by a nother Sony, in the short term I can't afford to throw out the one I've bought either. So I'm looking for a 'fix'. Since IMHO the most credible suggestion as to cause is a software buffer overflow, I'm considering plugging it into a mains timer to reset it by switching it off and on at, say, 4am every morning.

Can anyone think of a good reason why I sholdn't do this? (e.g. Will it cause problems with any software updates? not that there are any.... )

I've tried switching it off at nights and it makes no difference=still locks up

My machine is now in the menders for this to be looked at before the guarantee runs out.

I provided a print out of this thread to the mender just in case Sony denied any knowledge of the problem!!

Just before it went in, over the weekend, I also had an instance of an extended recording which I had to stop manually.

I also started having the problem of the channel rather than the program name being saved. In one instance, I went to the menu during a recording and the program name was visible but when the recording stopeped it changed to the channel number!!

Hi all.
I thought I'd add my voice to this thread as I have had a 710 since march and I've been experiencing all the problems everyone else has mentioned.

Here's a rundown of how my machine is currently behaving:

*Mine used to lock up quite regularly. Oddly though, it hasn't locked up even once in several months, even though it seems from other's reports that this is still a regular problem. I thought it might be due to the heat in the summer as that was when it seemed to happen most, and my player is in a room that gets quite hot in summer time. Sounds like that's not the cause though if its still happening to others.

*At present every programme (withought exception it seems) I record from the EPG overruns, i have to stop them manually. The only time this doesn't happen is when programmes are recorded while the unit is in standby.

*Again, every single programme I record from the EPG shows the correct programme name while recording (or sometimes the name of the previous programme) but once the recording is stopped, the name goes and is replaced by just the channel name, just like everyone else is experiencing.

It does seem the problems occur most when the machine is switched on but I have also had a few endless recordings while the unit has been in standby.

I've tried unplugging for 30 mins or so as some have done but it doesn't really have much effect, maybe the first thing I record after this works properly but then the faults return.

I have also had one rather strange experience last week which I haven't noticed anyone else mention.
I had set the unit (using EPG) to record the Heston Blumenthal programme on BBC2 last tuesday followed by 3 other programmes, all on different channels. I had also been using it to listen to Talksport at some point in the evening. It recorded the Heston show fine, even titled it correctly, but where the 3 other recordings should have been it had recorded Talksport each time, at the times the programmes I DID want were due to start and finish. on top of that each recording was entitled 'Heston Blumenthal etc..' Very odd, and it hasn't happened again since.

Has this kind of thing happened to anyone else?

On the one hand I'm glad I found this forum as I was worried that I was the only one and just had a fautly unit, but it seems the problems are coming from the other end.

I really do hope that the Sony engineer you gave this thread to is conscientious and delivers it to his superiors. I'd like to think that they'd spend the next few days puzzling over the problems and working out solutions which could be delivered 'over-the-air' to all users. More likely, they'll have a good laugh at our gullibility in buying this not-so-cheapo Japanese tosh.

My 310 has been away for repairs for a fortnight now - still no news. I have to say that based on the reports here, my repeated problems with my 310 and odd problems with my 910s I'm not planning on spending my hard-earned on Sony kit again.

I bought Sony because (rightly or wrongly) you got the impression that you were buying a superior product. Well, although in real terms the number of reports here is small, there are probably an awful lot more unhappy Sony users out there. I wonder how many of them have taken their boxen back for repair, after having spent more for a 'better' product?

Part of the Sony thing is it's image, but it seems like what we have here is a touch of the Bang and Olufsens - nice box, shame about the innards.

I rely on my kit to timeshift stuff for me - that's why I bought the Sony in the first place. If it can't do that reliably, then it's just bin fodder, especially as my 910s are out of warranty - grrrr.


Clem

I rang my local John Lewis this morning to report the lock-up and title error problems. They said that two other people had recently reported the title error and that they would send an engineer out next week.

If they can't fix it or don't acknowledge a problem, I am going to try for a refund as I have evidence of the title malfunction saved on the hard drive. The thing is just not behaving as advertised and is therefore not fit for purpose. All this work around by switching on and off is just not acceptable. It should either work or be taken back by the supplier as faulty. And if they can't fix it, then the cost should be refunded.

This will be my approach, and I have usually found John Lewis tio be fair. One of the last places where the customer is valued.

I have had a 710 since the end of September. It worked brilliantly for 5 weeks and then started to play up. I have seen:[list][*]Channel name no title[*]Blank recording with Prog .0 shown as the channel and the same title as the previous recording[*]Lockups[/list]
I spoke to the technician at the shop I bought it from. He thought it may be to do with the EPG, and suggested I ran through the auto-setup procedure. The problems did start after the new channels from "five" were added. I did this and the unit had worked fine until this week, when I have lost some titling. There was an EPG update last weekend, so maybe this is the cause.

I will run auto-setup again and see if this clears the problem. Perhaps this is the solution: run autosetup after every EPG update??!

Neil

You presumably meant run auto-setup after any new channels are added, not after every EPG update, surely? In any event, that's what I generally do when new channels appear, especially as they always seem to get stuffed into the 800 range. I need to do this because of the addition of full-screen BBC Parliament (just why, FFS?).


Clem

Just to check - did you switch it off at the mains over night, or just at the power switch on the front?

off at the mains

anyway set it to record celebrity get me out of here last night got back abut 02:00 still recording and just the channel names for recordings syndrome!!
what the hell is going on with these ruddy things
Locky's are bad enough but now we can't even reliey on the ruddy things to record are progs when we not in now!!
Last edited by It's only me : 19-11-2006 at 14:48

I recorded "A for Andromeda" last night off BBC4 - whilst it was recording it showed up in the recordings list as "A for Andromeda" but when it finished and did the writing to disk bit it was .... BBC4 20:30 18/11/06 blah blah blah

So it knew the name but didn't remember it.

Anybody know if anything has changed with the EPG data?

I think the epg gone out of sync--see post(#276)
its out buy about 3 mins on tuesday night-and maybe thats what happened last night and it gets confused

Similar thing here... recorded 3 progs in a row.. British Summer was initially shown whilst recording but changed to Channel name when finished as did Planet Earth but Torchwood managed to keep it's Title name.... Annoying!

Called our friends at Sony this morning - yes, they know about the titling problems but its somebody elses fault - they blame the broadcasters. I asked if Sony were going to fix their machines (are any other PVR's suffering at the moment?) but didn't get a satisfactory answer.

Their only suggestion to prevent over-runs was to set timers manually and don't use the EPG.

Title names - "nothin' to do with us at Sony guv"


On a positive note, I've not had any lockups since the EPG started to play up so I assume, rightly or wrongly, they are connected in some way.
Last edited by rad10 : 20-11-2006 at 12:11

Also called Sony this morning (on 01635 872777) and after a long wait got exactly the same result as the post above. "It's the broadcasters not us". When I pushed for answer on when it would start working again the answer was that there was no information about any updates and if I'm unhappy about it I should take it back to the shop I purchased it from

The sheer number of views this topic has received must surely tell SONY that they have a problem with the these awful machines..? I've begun a new thread today outlining my miserable experience with a 710 and Sony's shocking customer care....... I will never buy SONY again.

I also called Sony this afternoon. opening Gambit from them was no known problems and to send machine in. So all the usual stuff then. I persisted and pointed out that if that was the approach to every 710 support call, of course there would be no problem in their opinion and that they should spend some time looking at the locking issues, EPG recordings that never stop (and others) to understand the issues and hopefully provide a fix; but at least acknowledge the issues.

I was assured this would be passed through to Sony technical and a call ref assigned so I could call back and quote if I didn't hear back in a reasonable time.

Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this will go anywhere.

TOO RUDDY RIGHT!!

but in the mean time we're stuck with an expensive pile off do doos!
does anybody know of a good alternative freeview hd dvd recorder thats any good that not made by $ONY

This sounds like the tack I took with them except the idiot I spoke to refused to pass it on anywhere although did log a call

For interest I had another lockup tonight ... it was recording fifth gear, about 20 mins in I then went into the title list, highlighted the recording fifth gear entry and pressed the play button; animation played to show the selection had been selected (depressed and popped back out entry) but then that was it it was locked and refused to do anything so about five mins later at next adverts I decided to reboot the unit but when it came back to life it had lost what it had already recorded ... just started recording from 20 odd mins in

Dave

It is so frustrating when this happens. I saw the SKY+ box report last week on Watchdog and would've suggested we send this thread to them, but for the fact that WD seem to accept any answer that the PR primed company representative gives them. So even WD seems like a waste of time...whatever happened to Annie Robinson..at least she had bite

Sony - please wake up and acknowledge that your customers are in fact right - there are issues with the 710 that need resolving.

You might be interested in this........ This just pitched up in my inbox. Contains direct numbers for the PR dept. Might be worth a call


cut n pasted here..

Dear Mr Young

Thank you for your e:mail regarding your HDX-710 recorder. I am very sorry to hear of the problems you have experienced with this product. I have asked our Customer Information Centre to contact you and help to resolve this issue.

Kind regards.

Tracey Legg
Public Relations
Sony UK Limited
E: tracey.legg@eu.sony.com
W: www.sony.co.uk
T: +44 (0) 1932 816417 (direct)
F: +44 (0) 1932 817089
M: +44 (0) 7795 490313

PR Agency contacts:
David/Jess at Kazoo
E: sony@kazoo.co.uk
T: 020 7479 4310

And this was "customer services" response... Very helpful... Everythings alright now then...!

Cut n pasted here..

Dear Mr Young

Thank you for your e-mail addressed to Tracey Legg, which has been passed to me by our Public Relations department for reply on their behalf.

I am sorry to read of the problems that you have experienced with your Sony RDR-HXD710 DVD recorder. From the content of your e-mail, I appreciate
that this matter is the cause of a great deal of frustration to you.

I acknowledge your reference to the digitalspy forum and can confirm that this forum, along with a number of others, are websites that we regularly monitor as
a source of feedback and sample information from our customers. Having said this, the information reflected on forum sites must be viewed in context and
compared to the number of units sold. With this in mind, whilst I fully understand your perception, particularly given the problems that you have experienced
with your machine, I can confirm that Sony is not aware of any specific or inherent problems with the models that you have mentioned.

In the circumstances, we would recommend that the unit is examined by an Authorised Sony Repair agent under the terms and conditions of the guarantee. I understand however that you are not happy with this course of action and are pursuing a refund from the dealer. As you are no doubt aware, your Contract of Sale
and the Sony European Guarantee are two separate issues and whilst Sony can offer assistance with a repair if necessary, we have no jurisdiction or influence at
all over whether Adams, Cook & Pearce offer you a refund.

I am sorry that on this occasion Sony cannot be of direct assistance, however I hope that my e-mail has gone some way to clarifying Sony's position.

Kind regards

Yours sincerely

Miss F Measures
Customer Information Centre
SONY UNITED KINGDOM LTD

I can live with the occasional lock-up. The 710 is basically a computer with a Freeview tuner strapped in. Every Freeview box I’ve ever owned has frozen from time to time and I’ve yet to use a computer that hasn’t required a CTRL ALT DEL kick up the rear end to jolt it back to life.

What I am pi$$ed off about is the titling problem. The titles are often there during recording and then gone when it’s finished. My HDD is half full and 70% of the titles have had to be input by hand. The box clearly isn’t doing what it says on the tin so I think its days in my household are numbered.

Three questions….

Has anyone managed to get a refund out of Argos (product is 3months old)?

Does the 860 suffer from the titles problem.

Is there an alternative £300- £350 product other than Sony that is man for the job?