I've never called in to report anything to StarChoice. I'm pretty sure they know I'm having problems. :-)

Hate to burst your bubble, but no they don't know you've been having problems -- they have no way of knowing when you reset your receiver like that (it's not as though you're doing a factory reset which would mandate a call to them to reauthorize the receiver).

The LNB only receives data -- no sending.

Just a quick comment.

Fist off, the warranty on the 530 is provided by Motorola. Motorola warranties DVR530 (DSR530) and all other *Choice equip. for one year. After the one year Star Choice is responsible for the charges associated with a replacement. Which, due to cost of acquisition and subsidy credits can cost *Choice over 1500 dollars per replacement.

The Multiple Receiver Warranty was designed to help off-set the cost of subsidy to *Choice. What I am saying is that *Choice pays well over 1000 dollars for the manufacture of each 530 receiver. For this reason *Choice has opted, at this time to not include the 530 in their standard warranty procedures. The legacy receivers (300s,400s and 920s [excluding the 317]) generally cost *choice notably less money per unit then the 530. On the business side of things it all just means that it costs too much money at this time for Star Choice to offer an official life-time warranty on the 530.

Phew... Now with that out of the way... When you call into *Choice with any issues regarding the 530 the agent will attempt, to the best of their ability, to rectify the issue as well as possible. It is true that the 530 is not a stable machine and can be buggy, but there are many other things that can also account for lock-ups. It is true that built in "debugging programs" if you well to self-correct issues such as over and under-tunning, packet loss and an amphorae of other things is not always the most effective. There are many outside things that can subsequently cause lock-ups, and process bottlenecking on the unit. This receiver needs a constant flow of 120 volts to be properly converted and to be able to properly support the different volt needs of the LNBF (antennae part of the dish). The past receivers only required at the maximum 18 volts to the LNBF. The dual tuner requires any combination of 18 and 13 volts - which is why rural people experience more issues than urban.

Yes there are many receivers that have died, but for the most part the agent should be able to detect that, and if you feel the contrary of the agents conclusion, you can call in for a second opinion: hopefully get a senior tech agent, or maybe one with more experience.

Sorry, I am ranting, that isn't my point. What I am trying to say, is that even though the warranty is not officially offered to customers - the agents are able to make decisions such as these at their own discretion. Agents that have been around for a while with these receivers will review your account standing, customer length, monthly charges, the amount you have called in regarding the receiver, and if there has been any replacements prior to the current issues. If things on the account are in your favor you will most likely get a replacement out of one year warranty as a discounted rate, just sipping charges, or if you are lucky a free replacement.

This is not at all policy, but is more a move of amnesty towards the customers, from the agents who understand the frustration and investment with and into the 530. As a side note: the majority of the 530 receivers out there, about 70 000, are not problem receivers - they have experienced intermittent lock-ups that were due to firmware issues, but not defective - easily corrected by a reset. Because of confidentiality I cannot discuss the actual fail-rates of the receivers, but please have faith when I assure that they are not above regular industry standards for electronic equipment.

It tends that when the receiver (530) starts going defective, they really start to "mess-up," this isn't surprising given the intricacy in the systems programming and circuitry: ie. fancier receiver = more things that can fail following a domino effect. On the other hand, many people who constantly have issues with receiver after receiver needs to take a look at cabling, power sources and the like. Generally most these people would discover things like the sat co-ax not being grounded, faulty wiring, poor power control to the equip (try a ups-uninterrupted power supply, or a power regulator/conditioner ), poor ventilation causing over heating, and environment issues like these. I admit that the software can cause the receiver go defective, it is rare. Normally, when they are torn open for repair it is something hardware that is related to these environment conditions: ie: tuner is burnt out, hard drive failure due to heat, and the such.

Now I am not saying that there are no issues, because there are - *choice has admitted it. Additionally, they are solving a majority of the software issues in the next code release. In addition, the receiver specific issues and failures are dealt with on a one to one level - in hopes to secure as much user-end operating conditions possible to rectify the issues - firmware updates and patches, customer education, and equip. durability. During this one on one the agent has the ability and discretion to charge or waive any fees associated with warranty policy. Stay calm and be understanding to the agent and things will work in your favor. As much as you want it working again on your side, *Choice doesn't want to just brush the issue off with a replacement - they want to know what is causing it. So, when the agent gets you to read numbers off the cable chassis, and asks about a glass door on the entertainment unit you will know why.

I have been a tech agent with *choice long enough to know what they are doing, and really understand the situation at hand. I assure you that the issues are all well documented and looked at. It is a priority at *choice, but unfortunately, as the saying goes: for any good thing, it takes time. I doubt that it would be accepted well if the next update wasn't solid. This is why there has been almost a year between updates. -The next one will be solid.

Your concerns do not go unnoticed and the issues, as far as the calling in, is on a one on one basis for a reason - and again, depending on all "Dependants" on the account, things will normally work in a way which is acceptable to the client.

Sorry about any grammar mistakes; up too late to really be effective at proofreading.

The next one will be solid

Thank you Zeusus for the very insightful post.

Now the million dollar question... When is the next code update?

Just a quick comment.

I had to read it 3 times just to get all of the points you made.

Thanks

I can support most of what was said, but take exception in just a couple of trivial areas.
First, your cost is way to high and I won't disclose the actual value which I know having seen the P.O.'s go by.
But you point is still made.

2ndly, 13/18 VDC from the tuners is no different than any other because the units support stacked and non-stacked arrangements.
All the differs is some additional load for the 2nd tuner and the hard drive, for which the power supply was spec'd for.

And here 's a personal observastion on my 530.
Whiel it has behaved like the masses very well, I have been able to improve it robustness to essentially 100% (Seriously) by installing a 120MM thermal controlled case fan overtop of the power supply to exhaust excess heat due to it being contained in a equipment rack, albiet with 6" ov top clearance and 2" on each side, it does appear to help.
It also lower the disk temp by ~ 10 C.

I also found and replaced/repaired 1 bad coax connector that caused failed recordings, audio drops and picture blackouts and artifacts on recorded programs. I could never figure this out as live was alwats fine until I swapped cables.
I use a dual stacked to a 2x4 multiswitch.
Once I did that, I found the unit to be faultless (lucky me!)

And speaking of the new guide, when the hell will I see my friggin' work?

Just a quick comment.

Zeusus,

Thanks for the post. I too have had to read your posting multiple times to get all the information contained in it!

I've had a 530 since last August just after CC came out. I've had some challenges (soft resets required) but overall I'm happy with it.

Rob

Hate to burst your bubble, but no they don't know you've been having problems -- they have no way of knowing when you reset your receiver like that (it's not as though you're doing a factory reset which would mandate a call to them to reauthorize the receiver).

The LNB only receives data -- no sending.
I was simply stating that many people are having issues, and I'm almost 100% sure my issues are software related, therefore my calling in at this point would be unproductive for both of us.

When the new software update comes out, then I'll start to bitch if it doesn't work. And if that doesn't happen in the next three months, then I'll start calling in just to get some notes on my account before my warranty expires.

Why am I so sure it's software related?
1. If I reset it goes away for another two weeks. If it was hardware then it would likely still have problems.
2. My unit is not enclosed in any way, I have high signal strength, and no other electrical devices in the house have any issues. Other PVRs I have used worked just fine under the same circumstances. There are no power filters on my coax lines.
3. I'm a software developer (25 years) and my gut feeling is that it looks like a software problem.
4. Someone who obviously has some knowledge of this machine just stated that this product has software issues.

Basically, what happens is that every couple of weeks the screen starts to pixelate. Rebooting fixes it. If I leave it, the pixellation gets worse and the sound starts to drop out until its unbearable. If it was hardware, such as overheating, then rebooting wouldn't make a difference.

I have an investment in this machine, and I like dealing with StarChoice despite the problems I'm having with this machine. I am confident that if my machine gets worse, then StarChoice will resolve the issue amicably. I don't need to vent at them - I'm just trying to be patient until they can work out the problems. Like everyone, I wish it wasn't taking so long, though.

If I'm wrong, then I won't be here next February. I have options, and I vote with my feet. That's how I got here. :-)

I have received my replacement unit loaded with version CE.

So, it seems to be a NEW unit, not a refurb. It came with a new remote and everything else.

Quite the novel...

You actually summed up most of what I was saying. I should clarify what I meant by talking about the tuners. It is not that they are different then the past tuners, it is, as you say because there are two tuners. This requires more from the power supply; both the internal capacitors, and the external 120V outlet. Sorry for any confusion.

I talk as much as I type, so from some of the comments on the boards I am sure some of you have talked with me. Heh :).

Nonetheless one last comment. As stated in the boards the 8PSK will be introduced in early August. The receivers (505 and 530s) will not be ready for this without the new code. Star Choice has already confirmed the comming 2 French HD channels in july will be in the new format.

Perhaps this gives an estimate of when the new code will be released. That is all I can say regarding it - helping put together public information. :)

Thank you Zeusus!!

;)

I am using my old DSR 401 with an HDD 200 HD Decoder , as a back up to my fickle 530 . I paid about $ 400 for the 401 and arround $ 500 for the HDD 200 Decoder ( by GE ) . With taxes , total arround $ 1,000 .
I got a phone call from a SC operator telling me that because they have decided to now use a new format ( 8PSK ) both of these units will not work on *C any more . When I spend the $ 1,000 on these units there was no mention or even a hint to suggest that these units will become useless scrap in the near future.
I was now told to spend an other $ 100 to buy an other receiver from them making it a total of $ 1,100 plus the $ 700 ( at F Shop ) for my first 530 and an other $ 700 at F Shop for the second one 18 months later ( my warranty had just run out and I did not know about SC sending free units at the time )
That makes it a total of $ 2,500 !! ( I have bought cars for less)
People are getting 530's shipped for free several times in a row ; why wouldn't I get a replacement receiver for free also ? especially after they themselves have made them unservicable by switching to a new transmition format .
I wonder if the new receiver comes with a jar of Vaseline ??
How good / reliable are the 501's anyway ? will I be getting Double trouble combined with my 530 ??
Any comments ??

Wow seems like the 530 problems still persisit. Thank you everybody for all the information!

1st, you 401 will still work for SD.
2nd, you get to keep the 200 and can sell it tot he 4DTV crowd.
3rd, technology doesn't stand still, do you still bemoan that you had to fork out for a new colour TV after you paid good money for your first Black and White?
4th, it's unfortunate you didn't read here about the free or near free replacements, I think I would have put up a bit of a fuiss with *c and not just rolled over at FS for another one. Did you speak to *C?
5th, they are NOT unservicable due to a new format, the DSR505 and 530 are READY for the new 8PSK format.

If you stilll have the dead 530, call them and tell them you want it replaced and have a spare for another room or sell the other new one if this one ships with CE code indicating it's the latest H/W.

X-Ray dude, check back after the new code comes out.
It was a bit premature to make such an assumption based on the post.
BTW, how is the super improved V149 working out, I hear it's a major step backwards, how typical.

Arr my friend I have no problems at all with my service, working like a top. Arr why are u so angry? My previous post was simple not baiting not looking for a fight, now yours is another story.;)

I paid about $ 400 for the 401 and arround $ 500 for the HDD 200 Decoder ( by GE ) . With taxes , total arround $ 1,000 .

I am shocked that you paid so much for these items. At the time, a 401 or a 405 was retailing at around $150. The 201 decoder retailed at $399. I still have my 201 sitting in a box, hoping one day someone will offer a few dollars for it (I just don't know where to post that stuff and I hate E-Bay). I now have three 505's. Two, I paid $99 and one at $129 with 20 PPV. When was the last time you upgraded your computer?

Arr why are u so angry?
Not me! Just thought you might have been taking a poke at the fact that *c has been dragging their heels on the next code.
While the current code is very usable, it's been out so darn long, that I thought maybe it was a cheap swipe.
As was my comment about v149 old friend.
I was mused to read that your latest seems to have taken a downward turn for the worst, but since yours is working fine, then it's likely that most CC/CE users here are also fine.

I hope after they deliver the new code and the new HD programming, they can win back some defectors from the dark side.

It's pretty easy to say they still have problems when they haven't released anything to fix things yet. That's all, no worries. :p

My second 530 died over the weekend after about a year. Same problem as my first with cycling lights and not starting up. My first one lasted a year also. I had to unplug it to move some furniture and it wouldn't start up again. Tried for a few hours to get it to boot with no luck.

The most aggravation came when the CSR wouldn't replace it but insisted on sending someone out to make sure it's the receiver. (What else could it be?!)
So now I will probably wait a few extra days for him to come and then for a replacement receiver to be shipped. Total waste of time and their money paying the service person.

Anyone else experienced this?

aqualine, perhaps the following post (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=507201&postcount=43) from ARR may help. It helped me.


I did get some advice that may help some others whose units are stuck in a startup loop or otherwise unresponsive.
Use a hair dryer to gently heat up the main processor chips inside.
It seems there is a cold boot bug in some units and the proc. needs to come up to temperature, which is why after so many reboots it start to work. This tip came from *C internal at a very high technical level.

Of course, use at your own risj, but it seem reasonable.


But then again, since *C already has a visit scheduled, they may want a look at your setup.

No it is definitely dead as a doornail. I've tried to boot it up for hours at a time and it stayed on to warm up for hours. I was hoping to get it running to video tape a few of the recorded shows, but no luck.

Still no word from the repair person who is supposed to show up either. We don't live close to one, so I imagine this will take some time to fix.