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HDPVR 630 - Version 04.06 Owners Discussion

134K views 539 replies 120 participants last post by  LONSat 
#1 ·
Starting the morning of Wednesday February 16, HDDSR 605 and HDPVR 630 receivers will begin to be updated from Current Version 00.13 to 04.06.

The overall usage and look/feel of the system is unchanged with this download. 04.06 includes a few new and updated features along with providing a more consistent and reliable experience.

We’ve prepared some FAQ and detailed information on this update.

When will I receive the update?
The upgrade will be deployed gradually starting the afternoon of February 15. When you see a “Target Version” on line I of System Status (OPTIONS 4-7), your receiver will be upgraded automatically around 2:10AM local time. The upgrade will occur regardless of whether the receiver is left on or off and should take less than an hour to complete.

If your receiver has not been targeted, it is not possible to force the update. All units will be targeted and upgraded over the coming days.

Will all my recordings and settings migrate to the new version?
Yes, with one exception:
- If upgrading from version 00.10, Channel Locks and Favourites lists will not migrate. Refrain from setting these until after the download.

After the download has occurred and the Guide has fully loaded, Check your PVR/Options menu to ensure all Recording Events have the expected “Next Recording” time. If they don’t, simply make a change in this menu and press EXIT to save. The receiver will replan and everything should be scheduled as expected. This will also happen automatically overnight.

What has changed with this download for the HDPVR 630?
Nearly all parts of the software have been refined for a smoother and more consistent experience. Highlights include:
  • Tuning Rebuild – Audio/video are now presented much faster when turning on the receiver, changing channels, or stopping PVR playback. Tuner lockup/phantom recordings have been eliminated.
  • HDD Space Remaining – In response to your feedback, we’ve added the disk remaining bar to the PVR List and PVR/Upcoming menus. The bar has been made more compact and is now colour coded depending on how full your hard drive is.
  • Parental Controls – The experience with Parental Controls enabled should be more stable, with occurrences of the “false PIN” screen reduced and no more “No Data” blocks for programs that cross the GMT boundary.
  • Guide changes – Channel lineup changes (like new channels being launched) will now appear within 60 minutes, or immediately by turning the receiver off and back on. A Front Panel Reset should no longer be required to fix missing or duplicated channels in your Guide.
  • LIVE and 3D programs now have an icon in the Guide. “Live” programs will now be included when selecting “Record new episodes”. Note that these icons do not appear in the full-screen INFO pages.
  • Search Enhancements – Interests Search genres are now sorted in correct alphabetical order when the language is set to French; Programs beginning with accented characters are no longer grouped at the bottom of the results list; and programs with accented characters can now be properly searched.
  • Tune in Satellite Signal – The OPTIONS 4-3-1 menu now provides signal level from both tuners, an indication of signal strength, satellite, modulation, and transponder ID for both tuners. If no background recording is taking place, some values will not be available. This menu is primarily for self installation/dish alignment and advanced troubleshooting. Audio will be lost when exiting the menu, change channels to resolve.
 
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#128 ·
Bizarre 630 Behaviour - Woke Up with No Picture

Hi,

Well, my 630 did something this morning I never saw before --

We got the firmware update on February 20. Everything seemed fine since then. Last night, we turned off the 630 like usual and went to bed. When we got up, I turned it on and there was no picture nor sound on the TV. At first, I thought I was on the wrong input on the TV, but I wasn't. I went to the input for the 530 and it seemed to be working fine. I think a channel was showing on the 630 display and when I tried to change it, it changed, but it took about 10 seconds in between -- like 280 was 2....8.....0...really slow.

I plugged the 630 in then to our other TV with component cables (it's plugged into the main TV via an HDMI cable). There was still no picture, but there was sound. There was nothing I could do as far as I could tell to generate a picture.

Anyway, not knowing what else to do, we unplugged it for five minutes. When it came back up, there was a picture again. It was on channel 299 and wouldn't move from there at all, no matter what. It wasn't possible to go into options, nothing. Also, on the TV, the display showed channel 299, but the display that normally disappeared after a few seconds wouldn't go away.

So then I did the front button reset. And when it came back up, it was working fine. Everything's there on the playlist and it even started recording a timer recording at 10am on its own.

Honestly, I thought I saw just about everything after the issues I had in prior times with the 530, but this was *really* weird. I don't know what to think. I know it wasn't a power surge as it's plugged into a voltage regulator, which was actually recommended by technical escalation. Anyway, was it some weird signal or something? Did anyone else experience something like this?

The Hans
 
#137 ·
Hi,
no picture nor sound on the TV.

The Hans
Same here last night. no picture and intermittent sound. it would give audio for a few seconds and then nothing. Not sure how it started I just got the call to come up to investigate. Thought the same as The Hans made sure TV was on correct input. it was. so I tried changing channels, going to the guide menus etc and no response. did a front pannel reset and it came back fine. first time this has happened it was reasonably stable before the update. I just hope it was a one off and wont become an issue.
 
#129 ·
We have had that same thing happen at least twice with our 630 but that was prior to the Update. A soft front button reset returned the machine to working order on both occasions. Has not happened since the update. Maybe it is an uncommon glitch that the update did not address.
Lester
 
#131 ·
No pic or sound

qoute: Well, my 630 did something this morning I never saw before --
We got the firmware update on February 20. Everything seemed fine since then. Last night, we turned off the 630 like usual and went to bed. When we got up, I turned it on and there was no picture nor sound on the TV. At first, I thought I was on the wrong input on the TV, but I wasn't. I went to the input for the 530 and it seemed to be working fine. I think a channel was showing on the 630 display and when I tried to change it, it changed, but it took about 10 seconds in between -- like 280 was 2....8.....0...really slow.


Mine did the same thing this morning. Power light came on, but no pic or sound. I could change channels, but still no pic or sound. Checked the input setting on tv, no problem. Hooked component cables up to another tv input, still no pic or sound. Pressed and held the power button on for 10 sec on the receiver, and all went back to normal. Go figure. Watched the news for an hour, then turned everything off. 6 hours later, turned the 630 on, and again, same dam problem. Power light on indicating power to receiver, but no pic or sound. wtf??? Twice in one day????? Fixed it again by pressing power button down for 10 seconds, then everything came back to normal. (unit is at new firmware 4.06) Not a very good start with new "tested" firmware.
 
#132 ·
Mine did the same thing this morning. Power light came on, but no pic or sound

Now I'm afraid to turn my 630 off.....

I did notice pixilation on a show that I recorded Tuesday night on Global SD.. (okay, it was Glee, alright?). There was a second recording taking place at the same time (NCIS) that I haven't viewed yet. The night was incredibly clear so weather should not have been a factor. Maybe I just need to avoid Global Toronto.

Has NOBODY else experienced the black screen of death while fast forwarding through commercial breaks? OR lost their progress bar until resetting?
 
#133 ·
Pixilization/fracturing

It wasn't just global toronto with this problem i had it on channels 76,77,177and 111 yesterday. The weather was clear in my area as well so weather at the receiving end was not the problem. As noted previously in another log this problem appears to be cyclical in nature. For the week or so befor i got the 410 upgrade there was very little of this problem. I hope it does't take SD as long to solve this problem because my patience is wearing very thin.
 
#136 · (Edited)
Locked Tuner

I had an interesting thing happen last night.

We were watching a "catch up" recording of American Idol, but when the time hit 8pm when the live show should have ended, the red tuner light stayed on.

We continued watching the Idol recording until it finished without a problem.

However, at about 9pm the tuner light went off. There was nothing on the PVR list that was recording while the red light was on, and no recordings suddenly appeared after 9pm.

It seems there may be some programming in place to detect a locked tuner and reset it?

(running 4.06)
 
#138 ·
630 died .. after upgrade?

I have a funny feeling that my 630 received the update last night because when I went to watch Idol, I had a black screen and sound only. The recording scheduled for 8pm never happened, and only a power reset this am brought the 630 back to life. Luckily I had a 2nd HD receiver to watch the show, and my 10 year old DVD recorder to catch it. That's right, the 10 year old machine still works but the 1 month old 630 already croaked.

I called tech support, they said don't worry about it. Hmmm, a $400 piece of equipment only a month old died and I shouldn't worry about it. Maybe I'll worry about it next time it doesn't record a show and switch to Bell as much as I hate their customer service, their equipment choices seem better, and do support External HDD's. Or maybe I'll just turf satellite all together, get an HD antena and save about $1,000/yr. Now that sounds like a good idea.

Now that Starchoice is Shaw ... I wonder how long before they just go the way of that other hi-def format that isn't blu-ray.

If they want happy customers ... they should allow people to control when their updates occurr ... because as anyone in software knows, not every upgrade is 'bug-free' and we should have a choice when we upgrade.
 
#139 ·
CompEng

I dont think your 630 has died. I think it is just needs a reboot. As posted here numourous times, the reboot will/should restore any problems after the upgrade. I think the analogy was to a windows machine, they often need a system restart after an upgrade.
 
#142 ·
Only speaking for myself with this black screen and no sound, I don't know if the analogy to the Windows computer is really applicable. For me, this happened three days after the upgrade. It seems like a bit of a coincidence that more than one person has this same problem. Particularly when the problem didn't occur prior to the upgrade.

What I'm curious to know is, how the people with this black screen/no picture thing got the upgrade. I forced it after seeing it in the target section. I wonder if others forced the upgrade and if this is something we have in common, relative to this issue I mean.

The Hans
 
#140 ·
I'm not a big fan of the comparison to a windows computer. The combinations and permutations of hardware and software is astronomical on a computure. In comparison, the PVR is a simple device with fixed hardware, controlled software and limited input from owners. A reboot once every couple of months I'm okay with but not to the frequency experienced here by many. I don't have to reboot my computer daily just to keep it operational. My point is that the PVR is a controlled environment. There shouldn't be the number of problems we've seen on this board and a reboot really isn't a solution.

Now having said that, the last few weeks before I got the 4.06 upgrade I had taken to rebooting as I walked out the door in the morning and even then I missed the occasional recording. I've stopped that since I received the upgrade on Monday and so far haven't missed a recording. There are still a few glitchs but this seems to be a better firmware version than .13. Lets hope SC can up the frequency of firmware patchs and solve some of these outstanding issues. Other vendors with similar technology seem to be able to do so.
 
#144 ·
I do not disagree- I was only reinforcing what had previously been stated here.

I 'forced' my download after i was targeted, and since I have had a stable (fingers crossed) machine. Over the past couple of days I have recorded on both tuners in HD simultaneously, while playing from the disk with no issues. It does seem more stable than before. I cannot speak to the 'black screen' issue, but could it be an hdmi handshake after the upgrade?
 
#141 ·
jamesgoodchild, I agree. I have had computers run for long periods of time without incident. 99% of the time, the problems occur after an update or new piece of software.

A PVR should run incident free for long periods of time without rebooting since, as you note, the software is stable and usage is limited.

Having said that, a firmware update is a significant change so a complete reboot is not unreasonable and probably desirable.
 
#182 ·
Completely agree as well. Industry computers run 24/7 for months with no reboots. And are usually rebooted everytime software is updated significantly, sometimes even for minor updates. It's painfully obvious that the Shaw PVRs have serious problems that they are working to address.

Hence notifying customers about when upgrades occur would be a good idea. Otherwise, it seems that the old receiver and an old DVD recorder are a more reliable time shift option. Just no HD. They will learn the hard way if the problem isn't fixed ... customers will leave. simple.
 
#148 ·
I have two 630's. The first one took the update a week ago, and hasn't seen a hickup since, but the second one had the problem. On another note, I currently have them side by side... has anyone noticed that the clocks don't sync? One will be ahead of the other by up to 15 seconds, then eventually they will reverse.????
 
#149 ·
I guess if it just happens the once, it's no biggie. But one of the other posters commented that it happened more than once. I couldn't find the post, but it was something like he/she had the black screen/no sound, fixed it, watched TV for a while, turned the 630 off, then it happened again when he/she turned on the 630 again.

Also -- and maybe someone more technical could comment -- does it actually make sense that it directly relates to the download of the firmware and the need of the internal workings to update when the problem occurs happens a few days later? I'm just crossing my fingers that it doesn't happen again...
 
#150 ·
I don't know if this has been identified or confirmed by anyone else but I tried the options,4,3,1 just to check this out and when I exited out I no longer had any audio. I shut the box off and on to no avail. I had to hold the front power button in for 15-20sec than my audio came back to normal. Very annoying
 
#151 ·
With regard to the time remaining on the hard drive, a simple calculation will give you that. Since it holds about 45 hours of HD, that is 4.5 hours for every 10% left. My hard drive now is 79% full so there is about 20% free or 9 hours of HD recording room left. I think the ratio is 4 times for SD so that would be 36 hours. Since as SD Support mentioned, time left is only approximate and will vary with the programming, that rough calculation is good enough.

That this is the case is proven by the fact that 79% of 45 is 35.55 and I actually have 37 hours and 40 minutes of HD programming recorded.
 
#154 ·
New firmware, crashed while I was watching a recording of The Office. I was watching about 5 mins behind real-time. Had to reboot.

Crashed earlier in the day during playback of a recording, and crashed once while first accessing a recording from the PVR list.

I might have a lemon....
 
#155 ·
Watching CSI at 7 last night on CTV Ottawa and it started pixilating, so I switched over to CTV Toronto and the problem cleared up. At 8:30 while watching Hot in Cleveland on the same channel, our timer to record another show kicked in, the the pixilation started again. Not constant... just annoying.

Now it COULD have been weather related... or not.
 
#156 ·
Since receiving the update, I have done my best to cause a reboot or freeze-up. So far I haven't been able to do it.

While watching I have constantly, played with the PVR options, scrolled through all the menu items, added new recording events, changed the priority of upcoming events, deleted events, in short do anything I can to overload the memory of the unit. None of these things has caused a problem.

There are tweaks and enhancements that need to be done yet, which others have pointed out, but my 630 appears to be very stable with this update.
 
#157 ·
My Earlier Post in the Owners forum

630 reboots if you channel up or down quickly
630 reboots randomly with out touching the remote
Rewind live tv doesn't work
One button record does not work
Programmed record does not work

Audio drops when switching from an HD to SD channel and from a SD to a HD channel using HDMI connection to the TV with latest Toshiba firmware installed.

My ellictical dish has a 4 line LNB and I am using the 4 to 8 multiplexer that I bought from SD.


I am pleased to advise that since the 4.06 firmware was down loaded I have experienced none of the problems listed above. I also appreciate that the the delay time when you channel up or down has been virtually eliminated.

Now all wee need is for Shaw to solve the pixilation issue and activate the front port so that we can add a larger hard drive and this unit will actually be what we were all expecting and promised.
 
#159 ·
SD_630:

You say the time is accurate based on the current transponder clock. Is it possible that the (many) transponders have differing time settings? Or that the two satellites have different times (if the transponder times are set from a master satellite clock)?

I notice that the 630 often tunes a program and starts to record about a minute before the network starts the desired program, and about a minute is lost at the end of the scheduled recording. I don't use start early/end late settings.
 
#160 ·
Hi MSM,

Yes, that's absolutely possible. I believe they're all brought back into sync periodically.

Outside of that, keep in mind that not all networks start their programs exactly "on time" for a few different reasons. If you're noticing a pattern, use the Start Early/End Late padding to ensure you don't miss anything.
 
#161 ·
Ever since my 630 was updated with the 4.06 I have been only able to get every other channel and then I have to do a crazy channel change combination to get the other half of channel. For instance will only get 280,282,284 etc... change the channel to 600,403,603 and then I only get 281,283 etc... I am also getting the recording and pixel problems too.
I was wondering is there a simple fix for this or something that requires me calling SD?
 
#162 ·
smp said:
Problem still exists.
Well, when you come out of watching a recorded show, it may or may not highlight the the show you were just watching depending on background activity. too bad, not terrible.
Yeah, if you record new shows it pushes the currently watched one down. Not so much a problem, moreso you just being nitpicky ;) I would consider this a low priority and would rather have them working on better things like how well they've done the tuners this time around.

So, in short, working as intended, or annoyance, not broken.
 
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