Bell TV 9242 HD PVR Discussion thread - Page 128 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

AI63 · 2011-05-14, 09:19 AM

I have been using 9242 pvr for many years and have never had any audio/video issues to date. I discovered recently that PVR is deleting oldest content (80% content are movies - 20% are 30min weekly shows) rather than fail to record if memory approaches maximum (a few hrs left). Is this a normal feature? I have often had to delete content as memory approached limit but have never had recorded programs automatically dissappear. Does PVR automatically delete content after x number of years?

Princie1 · 2011-05-14, 10:40 AM

Are all of your recordings protected? If you don't protect them, the PVR will deleted the oldest unprotected event when it hits 20 minutes of HD left.

dirtroad · 2011-05-14, 12:33 PM

AI63, Yes it is normal for the PVR to delete as it needs space, and you can protect your recordings. If the PVR is full with "protected" recordings and you record additonal shows, those shows will be erased immediatly to make more room for future recordings, which defeats the purpose of the recording. Caution should also be used if you "protect" the new recordings too, as it may cause your PVR to start acting up. Your best bet is to get an EHD, and archive the recordings you want to keep.

ScaryBob · 2011-05-14, 12:47 PM

Like dirtroad says, archive shows that are to be kept to a USB external hard drive (EHD.) Just make sure the EHD is reliable first. The 9241 supports up to 2TB of external storage on one EHD. That's large enough for over two hundred hours of HD.

Princie1 · 2011-05-15, 01:47 AM

Hopefully this is the 9242 Lease to Own program Pinza has previously mentioned.

http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost...&postcount=618

dhmesa · 2011-05-16, 01:35 PM

I have several EHDs that I use with my 9242 and, as it only supports one EHD at a time , I have to move the USB cable from one drive to another to access the content. Very annoying.

So to ease the pain I thought of using a powered USB hub to connect several drives BUT only turn on one at a time. I have NOT been able to make this work. I tried three or four different HUBs and so far none work. The video and/or audio is choppy on playback.

Has anybody found a hub that does work ? Any particular brand ? Thanks.

ScaryBob · 2011-05-16, 04:20 PM

I had a USB hub working with the 9242 at one time. There was nothing special about the hub (which later turned out to not work properly on a PC.) I found it necessary to disconnect and reconnect each drive using the on screen dialogs that the 9242 provides. Otherwise, disk corruption is possible.

Stan Dev · 2011-05-17, 01:08 PM

ScaryBob: Are you talking about simply responding to the dialogs that pop up automatically when you plug/unplug or power-up/down the external disk, or are there menu commands to manually mount/unmount a disk? If the latter, where in the menu system are those commands?

Nuje · 2011-05-18, 01:37 AM

I just use a USB docking station. Slam in a bare drive, turn it on - there's your stuff.
Want something on a different drive? Power down, pop out drive 1, put in drive 2, power on. Done and done. Quick, easy, foolproof (so far; knock wood).

Edit:
Oops - posted a no-no of a link. Let's just say that NCIX and Thermaltake BlacX should lead you to an example.

ScaryBob · 2011-05-18, 05:09 AM

Responding to the dialogs.

xorbitman · 2011-05-18, 11:43 AM

Hi! I'm new to this forum. Is there a list of recommended EHDs for the 9242? My OS is up to date....

xorbitman · 2011-05-18, 12:29 PM

I have a list of IT approved external HDs.

tofinoguy · 2011-05-20, 08:03 AM

I've had my 9242 for about a year and a half and have had some very strange behaviour for the past couple of days.

Many (but not all) of my recordings have failed to record at all.
When I check the PVR history, those recordings say "Signal" rather than "Done" in the history.

The hard drive has plenty of space, and I confirmed that both tuners are functioning by testing PIP with no problems.

In order to try and narrow things down, here's the PVR history for the past few days:

Wednesday, May 18th
Modern Family - Stopped (Event stopped by STB reboot Start time 6:00pm - Time of reboot 6:06pm)
NHL Playoffs - Auto Tune - Done
HD-Modern Family - Signal (Signal Loss Detected Start Time 6:06pm Stop Time 6:31pm)
HD-Cougar Town - Signal Loss Detected
HD-Canadian Soccer - Signal Loss Detected Start Time 7:00pm AV Recorded 8:36pm Stop Time 8:38pm AV Stopped 8:38pm
HD- Happy Endings - Done Start Time 10:00pm
Swamp People - Done Start time 10:00pm **this recording does not show on my list of recordings - perhaps accidentally deleted during troubleshooting, but I don't remember seeing it at all
HD- Happy Endings - Done Start time 10:30pm
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganaza Done Start time 11:00pm

Thursday May 19th
South Park - Done Start time 1:00am
Dekadance - Done Start time 1:00pm
HD-The Office - Signal Loss Detected Start Time 6:00pm
HD-Parks & Recreation - Signal Loss Detected Start Time 7:00pm
HD-Parks & Recreation - Signal Loss Detected Start Time 7:30pm
HD-The Big Bang Thoery - Signal Loss Detected Start Time 8:00pm
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Signal Loss Detected Start Time 11:00pm

I wasn't home at the time but both days had clear weather.

Called Bell but all they could suggest was to reset the PVR.
The hard drive seems fine - I can play/pause/fast forward existing recordings as usual.
Any ideas what could be causing this?

ScaryBob · 2011-05-20, 08:16 AM

Could be a signal problem if the dish is misaligned or a switch/LNB/cable is failing. Have you checked the signal strength on the channels that didn't record? I would also unplug the 9242 for 5 minutes to do a full hardware reset.

dirtroad · 2011-05-20, 03:35 PM

Check signal strength on both tuners. Tuner 2 is the default for recordings, and I suspect something has happened to that feed. Maybe a loose or bad connection.
When doing the signal strength check with the 9242, you can toggle between, Tuner 1 and 2, Satellite 91 and 82, along with all the transponders, and also view your "check switch" to see what it is showing. Should be all green, it will help pinpoint where the problem is.

2011-05-14, 09:19 AM	#1906
AI63 Rookie Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 12	9242 deleting oldest content I have been using 9242 pvr for many years and have never had any audio/video issues to date. I discovered recently that PVR is deleting oldest content (80% content are movies - 20% are 30min weekly shows) rather than fail to record if memory approaches maximum (a few hrs left). Is this a normal feature? I have often had to delete content as memory approached limit but have never had recorded programs automatically dissappear. Does PVR automatically delete content after x number of years?

2011-05-14, 12:47 PM	#1909
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Like dirtroad says, archive shows that are to be kept to a USB external hard drive (EHD.) Just make sure the EHD is reliable first. The 9241 supports up to 2TB of external storage on one EHD. That's large enough for over two hundred hours of HD. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2011-05-15, 01:47 AM	#1910
Princie1 Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 91	Possible 9242 Lease to Own Update Hopefully this is the 9242 Lease to Own program Pinza has previously mentioned. http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost...&postcount=618

2011-05-16, 04:20 PM	#1912
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	I had a USB hub working with the 9242 at one time. There was nothing special about the hub (which later turned out to not work properly on a PC.) I found it necessary to disconnect and reconnect each drive using the on screen dialogs that the 9242 provides. Otherwise, disk corruption is possible. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2011-05-18, 05:09 AM	#1915
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Responding to the dialogs. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2011-05-14, 10:40 AM	#1907
Princie1 Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 91	Are all of your recordings protected? If you don't protect them, the PVR will deleted the oldest unprotected event when it hits 20 minutes of HD left.

2011-05-14, 12:33 PM	#1908
dirtroad Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 891	AI63, Yes it is normal for the PVR to delete as it needs space, and you can protect your recordings. If the PVR is full with "protected" recordings and you record additonal shows, those shows will be erased immediatly to make more room for future recordings, which defeats the purpose of the recording. Caution should also be used if you "protect" the new recordings too, as it may cause your PVR to start acting up. Your best bet is to get an EHD, and archive the recordings you want to keep.

2011-05-16, 01:35 PM	#1911
dhmesa Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	I have several EHDs that I use with my 9242 and, as it only supports one EHD at a time , I have to move the USB cable from one drive to another to access the content. Very annoying. So to ease the pain I thought of using a powered USB hub to connect several drives BUT only turn on one at a time. I have NOT been able to make this work. I tried three or four different HUBs and so far none work. The video and/or audio is choppy on playback. Has anybody found a hub that does work ? Any particular brand ? Thanks.

2011-05-17, 01:08 PM	#1913
Stan Dev Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: West Vancouver Posts: 350	ScaryBob: Are you talking about simply responding to the dialogs that pop up automatically when you plug/unplug or power-up/down the external disk, or are there menu commands to manually mount/unmount a disk? If the latter, where in the menu system are those commands?

2011-05-18, 01:37 AM	#1914
Nuje Veteran Join Date: May 2002 Location: A charted un-desert isle Posts: 2,465	I just use a USB docking station. Slam in a bare drive, turn it on - there's your stuff. Want something on a different drive? Power down, pop out drive 1, put in drive 2, power on. Done and done. Quick, easy, foolproof (so far; knock wood). Edit: Oops - posted a no-no of a link. Let's just say that NCIX and Thermaltake BlacX should lead you to an example.

2011-05-18, 11:43 AM	#1916
xorbitman Rookie Join Date: May 2011 Location: Montreal Posts: 8	Iomega select ehd archived recordings just disappeared. Hi! I'm new to this forum. Is there a list of recommended EHDs for the 9242? My OS is up to date.... Last edited by xorbitman; 2011-05-18 at 09:46 PM.

2011-05-18, 12:29 PM	#1917
xorbitman Rookie Join Date: May 2011 Location: Montreal Posts: 8	I have a list of IT approved external HDs. Last edited by xorbitman; 2011-05-18 at 09:47 PM.

2011-05-20, 08:16 AM	#1919
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Could be a signal problem if the dish is misaligned or a switch/LNB/cable is failing. Have you checked the signal strength on the channels that didn't record? I would also unplug the 9242 for 5 minutes to do a full hardware reset. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2011-05-20, 03:35 PM	#1920
dirtroad Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 891	Check signal strength on both tuners. Tuner 2 is the default for recordings, and I suspect something has happened to that feed. Maybe a loose or bad connection. When doing the signal strength check with the 9242, you can toggle between, Tuner 1 and 2, Satellite 91 and 82, along with all the transponders, and also view your "check switch" to see what it is showing. Should be all green, it will help pinpoint where the problem is.

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