Thats good news, I got my ear bent by the missus when I got home, she tried to watch a DVD this afternoon and it restarted 6 times. Hope the fix is soon. If you avoid watching or recording C5, will you still get the problem IYO?

Well done for persevering. It looks like mine going to get replaced for another showing the same probs.

As a matter of interest I also have a Wharfedale (from Argos), similar spec, but not as good as the Sony. The Wharfdale has also started exhibiting strange probs. e.g. switching channels during a timed recording, now no sound. I wonder if it's all related.

Would be great if you could keep us posted on the Sony situation.

Experiencing same problems with my HXD860 which worked perfectly for 6 months. Logged fault with Sony today and obtained a case number. Was then advised to write to them at Basingstoke with proof of purchase and a covering letter detailing the problem. Sent this today and expect to be contacted in the 'near future'.

Working in an IT service organisation I would recommend that everyone logs a call with Sony and obtain a case number, so they appreciate the scale of the problem. This will also ensure that they allocate appropriate resource ASAP or risk damaging their customer service stats.

I am confident that this will eventually get resolved, how long depends on if it is within Sony's control.

I've just had a gander on the agoraquest.com forum and they have got a response from Sony - see below:
UPDATE!!

The local service centre called back.

They have found out that the fault is caused by Multiplex-A issuing some additional Radio Stations. This is causing some problems in the Sony 860, and Sony are working with the Freeview people to try and determine what's gone adrift.

They are aware of the problem, and that it seems to centre on Channel 5. He also stated that entering a recording or disc-playback state also seems to reportedly trigger the reset as the device attempts to refresh it's channel data.

He recommended either:

a) Avoiding Channel 5 for a while
b) Try turning off auto update for a while

They weren't sure how quickly the fix would be in place, and what form it would take. Either a dealer-level software update, or an over-the-air update. But something is being done about it.

There is no point at this stage in taking the device in for repair however.

So I've said I will keep an eye on it and ring him back in a week or so.

Hope this helps some people.

Cheers

Steve

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve

Thanks for this. The agoraquest.com website is very useful. I see that someone has disabled auto update and that this seems to temporarily fix the problem.

In the meantime, it looks like I've unnecessarily sent mine back to the shop (cost £15 p&p + insurance). I wonder if Sony or Five are going to cover that? I think I can guess the answer!

I've just bought a 870 as I really can't do without a recorder these days. It seems to be ok on Five, but I have noticed that it's got completely different software to the 860.

Paul

With reference to lurcher's and misterg's recent posts, I have seen more posts on the agoraquest.com web site today and it does appear that switching the Digital Software Update to OFF is fixing the problems. See Pages 90 to 94 of the RDR-HXD860 manual.

I wonder if the 860 getting confused with updates intended for Thomson products which are broadcast on multiplex A (Channel 5 / SDN).

We will have to keep an eye on the Engineering Channel Download Schedule to see when it is safe to switch it back on.

I do wonder if this is also what's causing the RDR-HXD710s to lock up on the five channels and the VTX-D800Us to have problems with aspect ratio switching and temporary losses of picture on the same channels. See links:

VTX-D800U

RDR-HXD710

Would seem too much of a coincidence that so much equipment from the same manufacturer experiences problems on the same group of channels? Does anyone know if other manufacturers' products are being similarly affected on five's channels?

Turn off the automatic software update, that will stop the lockups as temporary solution.

Sony are doing a new software download to address the issue, which they are confirming as being CH5 related.

You'll need to turn on the software updates again for this.
23rd - 25th July on channel 071 (CBBC), and repeated on 28th - 30th July on channel 001 (BBC1)

Here is the link to the Sony site with the instructions for getting the update for the restarting problem. http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowArtic...site=odw_en_GB

The machine needs to be left tuned in to the required channel for at least an hour. (Channel 71 is apparently CBeebies not CBBC.)

Is there some irony in the fix being transmitted via CBeebies?!

Hi,

I reported the original problem early this year whereby the 860S will lock up when setting a Series timer event. It then powers off after a minute or so, then powers up with the Welcome sign for 10-20 secs, then powers off. Every 30secs thereafter it goes through the same 'Welcome' power on/off sequence, making the product completely unusable. Pressing the HDD or power buttons during the power up does not reset the machine.

The only way it got fixed was to take it to a service dealer where they did a factory reset (unfortunately, the engineer wouldn't say how this is done) so every time it happens, I have to take it back.

When I got it back, I discovered that the fault occurs when you try to set more than 1 Series timer event. On the 2nd event programme, it locks up, but reboots into L1 input mode, and if you change the programme channels on the remote quickly enough it prevents the power off, so you do get control back on the machine and can remove the unresolved timer events.

However, if you then try to programme a 3rd Series event, it will fully crash and there is no way to get control back other than take it back to the service dealer for another factory reset.

Subsequently, I have learned to live without more than 1 Series event (Ch4 Hollyoaks as it is the only thing I am addicted too ).

Hopefully, the OAD update may fix the Series timer problems, but I don't know if I can be bothered to test it...

Exact same thing here. The engineer didn't seem to think the software update will have anything to to do with resolving the "welcome" power on/off cycle problem. He is favouring a HDD issue (i.e. replace the HDD) but will speak to Sony for their take on the issue. I'll update if/when I hear any more on this.

Taking a look at the Engineering Channel Download Schedule there is a new download numbered V1.01.10 scheduled on Multiplex B between 23/07/07and 30/07/07 for the RDR-GXD360, RDR-HXD560, RDR-HXD860 and RDR-HXD1060.
This means leaving your box on Freeview channel 071 CBeebies for at least an hour during the day as already stated but what about channel 09 BBC4 also Multiplex B on during the evening ? .

If you prefer to wait till the weekend, then you can use as previously stated channel 001 BBC1 and I assume channels; 002 BBC2, 007 BBC3 & 080 BBC News24 .

Here is the link to see this weeks and this weekends Sony download schedule - http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/download_schedule.pl
Last edited by Schizoid Mike : 23-07-2007 at 18:54

The software Updated 860 has just gone into the same power-off, power-on, power-off loop even with the latest s/ware - so that wasn't the issue. That's both 860's failing in less than 24hrs.

Back to the dealer for a refund I think.