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Pace Summit (DC758D) thread

430K views 890 replies 213 participants last post by  Brakner 
#1 · (Edited)
This thread is for discussion of the Pace Summit (DC758D).

Firmware Release Notes

User's Guide


FAQ:

1. How do I get into diagnostics?

To get to those diagnostics, press the power button, then press the select button within two seconds. To leave, press the power button.

2. How can I format the eSATA HDD?

While on the main diagnostics page (not the dashboard page), press

Repeat
MyDVR*
MyDVR*
MyDVR*
LIVE

*MyDVR may be LIST on your remote depending on your cable provider

this will bring up a screen where you can select the drive to format and subsequently format the drive. After a few seconds, the box will reboot. After reboot, the drive will be available for use (the format is a two phase process so the initial format GUI may appear to be very quick).

Be aware that formatting the drive can't be undone and you will lose all the content on the drive. Do not use this screen unless absolutely necessary.

3. What are the discrete Power On/Off codes?

* HEX 4A (0x4A) for Power On
* HEX 4B (0x4B) for Power Off


4. Why is TV Guide indicating that my disk is not full when its definitely not full?

This is a bug in the guide. Most of the time, the only way to resolve it is to reboot your box. Sometimes (but very rarely) if you delete a recording, it may recover and get out of the error state.

5. How do I get into Pace User Settings?

Press the Power Button on the remote and then Menu. This will allow you to change a variety of settings. Press the Power button to return to live TV.

6. What is the PowerMenu?

It is the same as Pace User Settings (older name for the same function).
 
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#434 ·
Our bad experience with the Summit continues. We have the Shaw PVR (Western Digital) and after a problem free period from Mar 11-25 we have had nothing but grief. Failed recordings on Mar 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31 mostly showing up as 1 minute recordings with nothing there. The tuner also auto-reset itself on Mar 26. We have yet to be able to record two programs at the same time, every time we have tried we had code NH and the whole system locks up, or one program fails to record. I have contacted tech support 3x in the last month, nothing really exceptional has happened obviously except that they reset the Summit remotely.

At this point, I am going to be a very difficult customer and demand that Shaw replace the Summit. I know there is not much hope of problem free at this point but at the same time I can only hope that new hardware might at least reduce the number of problems. Surely they do not have 100% problem rates with these units.

This is truly a frustrating experience, and I really think Shaw needs to step up here and either start replacing the Pace units with Motorola (they are still available at Future Shop or Best Buy)or start offering up some form of compensation such as free HD service or something.
 
#437 ·
At this point, I am going to be a very difficult customer and demand that Shaw replace the Summit. I know there is not much hope of problem free at this point but at the same time I can only hope that new hardware might at least reduce the number of problems. Surely they do not have 100% problem rates with these units.
100%? No. Anyone who's using this box without external hard drive (in single-tuner, non-PVR mode) does not have problem. In that configuration box works without issues. For the rest of us, there is always Mast ... err ... Shaw tech support. We ALL have problems. Period.
 
#435 ·
Shaw PVR Recording Interruptions

I think I have finally found the right thread to discuss my problems.

Posted in the Shaw Cable forum yesterday:

"Hi newbie here, first post.

I am using the Pace cable box with the PVR Expander.

The problem arises when I am recording a show (or two) and am watching a recorded show. When I finish watching the recorded show and delete the show, the show being recorded on the tuner that I exit to would get interrupted. The recording show would stop at that precise moment and start a new recording. However the recorded show up to the interruption would be inaccessible. Just wondering if anybody else is having the same problem.

One more note, sometimes I get a blue screen with a number to call and with a code NH.

I read on the future shop forum that this may be a data corruption issue with the external hard drive and maybe fixed with a reformat. However, this will cause all recorded shows to be erased.

Any comments or tips are welcomed. Thanks in advance."


After reading some of your problems on this thread, mine suddenly seems pale in comparison but frustrating nonetheless.
 
#436 ·
wilde321, what you describe is another case of the blank recording problem. The same thing happened to me last night. I was watching something I recorded, the 2nd tuner was recording a show and the main tuner was supposed to be recording but wasn't (only one recording light was on). Once I stopped playback the code NH error screen came up and it started recording the other show. You are right in your list of recordings there will then be 2 recordings of the interupted show, but the first one will be blank.

If you were not around it would have just been one blank recording.

That was the first time that had happened to me like that. Usually it is just the 2nd tuner not switching, so if you are there and hit the swap button you get the code NH error screen and it will start recording.
 
#438 ·
GumboKing, today something else happened. I was watching the Habs game live on TSN and press swap to take a peek at the show I am recording. As soon as I press swap, I get a message saying unable to process request and the show that I am recording was interrupted - same as before. It is almost as if the box sometimes can't handle your command and act up.
 
#439 ·
Was the red recording LED on? The typical problem with the Summit is not that it can't handle other tasks when it's properly recording a show, the problem is that the Summit will sometimes forget to start recording and only realizes the problem when you swap to the tuner that was supposed to be recording. After that, it gives you the error message and creates a fake "interrupted recording" before starting to actually record. The interrupted recording is blank because the Summit wasn't actually recording anything.
 
#444 ·
Last night was the worst night yet. Ghost recording with 24, Chuck and Spartacus: Blood and Sands, recording missed and recorded an hour for a 1/2 hour show, etc. I am getting seriously fed up. Talked to a tech who said that a firmware update will take place on Apr 16 and that some of these issues will be "addressed". Have a service call later this afternoon.
 
#445 ·
I have appointment scheduled for Friday. That will be third visit in 4 months. This time they will replace both box and external drive (expander). Acording to tech rep I talked to, update is coming but it will only address FastForward and FastRewind issues. If that's true I'm glad they have their priorities straight (NOT!). He said that recording issues affect only "small number of users".
 
#447 ·
I had my service call today and according to the tech that my tech talked to - the firmware update will address the blank recording issues. So I am going to keep my fingers crossed for that update (supposedly on the 14th this month). If that doesn't solve the issues, my tech said the only other option is to will replace both the box and the harddrive.
 
#452 ·
We'll I've been following this thread since December, as I've been wanted to pickup a PVR. I typically look for reviews and general feedback about a product line before making larger purchases like this.

So, after all this time watching waiting to see if a solution to your guy's problems comes out I've decided it's no longer worth waiting for. I'm not spending my money on Pace's garbage, and I'm going to pickup one of the Motorolla boxes while I still can...

Thanks for all the info on this thread, and I hope you guys do get your fix sometime soon.
 
#454 ·
I've noticed in the last few weeks my recordings seem to be failing on tuner 2 when they are both high definition channels. I wonder if my problem could be due to poor signal strength.
I have 1 splitter so I can record 2 digital channels and watch an analogue channel at the same time. The pass-through option is useless to me, since it doesn't work when the box is turned on.
I haven't changed my cabling since I hooked the box up, except to test the signal strength.

Here is my signal strength with no splitter:


Here is my signal strength with a splitter:


In the first few months the only problem I had was disk full error, occurring every few weeks with the disk only being 5-25% full.
Power cycling the Pace box and Vantec enclosure would always resolve this problem.
I did notice that the disk full error seemed to occur more often, once we activated my Motorola DCT 6200, which we don't use.
I even tried running a defrag and full scan disk, from the Pace disk maintenance screen. It made no difference.
I wonder if it would help to disconnect the extra Motorola box? I did look at the diagnostic screen and it doesn't seem to make any difference if it is connected or not.

Is my signal strength normal? It seems to average about 50-100 short term errors when both channels are on high def. I get one third as many errors when I don't use a splitter.
 
#456 ·
That's strange 75391.
If I have bypass turned off, it displays the channel the PVR is set to on the TV coax connection. If I enable bypass, it shows snow when the PVR is on, but the TV displays the regular channels, on the coax connection when the PVR is turned off.
This is using a component connection on Input 1 of the TV and a coax connection on input 2 of the TV.
 
#457 ·
With bypass on, when box is off I can see any analog channel I'm subscribed to on TV via coax. Once I turn box on, TV has to be on channel 3 to se what channel is tuned on the box. Any other channel on TV produces "snow".

Shaw tech came yesterday to replace both Summit and WD Expander, as promissed. He showed up only with my account history in his hand. He wanted to see recording problem for himself. If that was possible, I guess, even Pace would find fix for it by now.

He was reluctant to replace box because that would be my 4th box in less than a year. After short argument he went back to his truck and brought back brand new in the box Pace Summit, but not expander. After quick disconnet old/connect new and call to Shaw tech centre, box was up and running.

One thing I noticed is that hardware revision on this box is 2, while it was 1 on all the previous boxes I had (you can see that in one of diagnostics screens). Also, signal levels shown on new box are much higher than before. OOB is -8, while IB1 and IB2 are between -1 and -3. Also, all fields are green (GOOD or YES).

So, I'm ready for next week firmware update. If that doesn't fix recording problems I will push for Motorola box (it still says in my file with them that they agreed to swap Pace for Moto - it's just that Motorola's are hard to find).
 
#461 ·
Roastbeef, this is partially described in item 1 of post 1 of this thread.
1. How do I get into diagnostics?

To get to those diagnostics, press the power button, then press the select button within two seconds. To leave, press the power button.
Ensure that the Summit is ON, then press the Power Button on the remote (or main unit) and then press OK/Select within about two seconds. The Diagnostic Dashboard is the first screen that you see. Press left arrow to see the Diagnostics Main Menu. Press left arrow again to return from the Diagnostics Main Menu to the Diagnostic Dashboard. Press the Power button again to leave.

(Aside: Entering 82 followed by OK/Select takes you into the new(er) HDD Diagnostics screens. This option doesn't appear on the Diagnostics Main Menu.Pressing Exit takes you back to the Diagnostics Main Menu.)
 
#463 ·
Close to another firmware update promise....hmmm......we will see. None the less I am having an interesting time with the blank recording issue that came up unexpectedly for me.

What was puzzling me was why did my unit work just fine for two months? (no blank recordings)

I thought maybe Shaw changed something, but the threads here would surely have exposed that.

So I started thinking "what settings did I change recently?"............just one that I could think of....about a month ago I fiddled with the front panel setting to show CLOCK rather than the default CHANNEL NUMBER.

I set the panel back to default channel number about 32 hours ago and set up more than a dozen random 30 minute future recordings.

So far not one of them has given me a blank recording.

Has anyone else with this problem changed the front panel to CLOCK?
 
#464 ·
Several of us suspect it has something to do with disk file fragmentation. When enough programs have been recorded and deleted, recorded and deleted the hard disk space and the files on it become fragmented. Or some underlying file system tables become corrupted. Or the moon is full. We really don't know but don't believe that it is anything that we did.

As for the front panel. I have, frequently, had at least three variants of the blank recordings (more details also in the Aspen thread) and my front panel has been set to the default (channel number) all this time.
 
#465 ·
Mine has been set to the default channel display since day 1 and has had the recording problems.

Other fixes that did not work:
1) Hanging a Rabbit's Foot off the Hard Drive case
2) Sacrificing old printers to the Electrical Blue Smoke Demons
3) Exorcism - "The power of Christ compels you to record!"

Hopefully the firmware update works so that I can cancel the appointment with the Feng Shui master.:rolleyes:
 
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