[SA8300_Owner]

Hello,

I bought a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR last Christmas(09) at Best Buy. Recently, my recorded tv shows when played back are stuttered. The video gets jumbled, scences are skipped etc, where do I get this serviced? Do I bring it back to Best Buy? If not, how do I service this now if I only have the manufacturer's warranty. Have other users experienced this? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stilgar]

Jumble/Stutters etc may have more to do with signal strength than a hardware issue. The problem can most likely be fixed with a visit by a tech. If it turns out to be a hardware issue, at least the STBs come with 2 year warranty, so you should be ok.

Either way, you should start by calling Rogers.

 

[57]

Here's the FAQ on checking Signal, rebooting, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719

Here's a post useful for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

 

[SA8300_Owner]

Thank-you Stilgar & 57 for the replies.

I spoke to Rogers and he claimed that my signal strength was ok. I verified this myself, and everything is in range based on the link provided below. I performed a cold reboot, waited for 30 mins, recorded a station in HD(502, one time recording), played it back and the playback was perfect.

I'll wait for my wife to do more testing as she has all her shows PVRd and scheduled. I'm not totally convinced yet, but this looks good so far.

If this indeed is the problem(reboots required), I'll perform a warm reboot once a month for maintenance.

Thanks again, if I still have problems I'll let you guys know.

 

[John Koenig]

Kind of late in the game but the funny thing is, I had to go through google to get to this thread!!! OK, please don't flame me for lack of reading the gazillion posts on the SA8300HD but one (otherwise pristine looking unit) was just given to me and I had it authorized on Videotron. Of course, I'm posting because I'm having the eternal issue of PVR functions not working.

Now I did read the Hugh and 57 links to servicing the SA units but nothing stands out in the way of dealing with a drive that is still powering up but just not working (display indicates "PVR FUNCTIONS NOT AVAILABLE"). I have read (some) about the SARA and linux tweaks that allow you to pluck a new eSATA drive inside the unit. But before I can get to even considering that, is there a common-man way I could troubleshoot this thing ???

Could I connect the unit to a PC (or use some key combination) to force a self-format of the drive. Doing so would certainly not make things worse as nothing works to begin with. The cable box portion of the unit works fine though and we can tune around SD/HD just fine.

Thanks guys, CM.

 

[57]

Here's the FAQ on internal drives. Yours is probably shot. You can try it on a PC.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=15719

You can also try a "format" per the following FAQ:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719 Last resort, bottom of post 1.

 

[John Koenig]

Thanks kindly 57. These are very good leads for me to start with.

 

[Mr.Nobody]

channelmaster, if the internal re-format doesn't work and you decide to pull the drive out and put it in a PC, if it's a WD drive, it's a good idea to run their Data LifeGuard Diagnostic utility and do a Quick & Extended test
link: http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=606&sid=3&lang=en

I recently had an issue with my PVR after a power failure and had to pull the (user upgraded) drive out as the PVR would not boot up. The WD utility reported that it failed both the Quick & Extended tests. However, after using the utility to "Write Zeros" all over the drive, the PVR finally was able to format the drive and operate without issue.

My drive, purchased from a computer store earlier this year, was under warranty and WD has sent me a replacement. I'm guessing the 8300HD is older than 2 years and the drive in your unit may be out of warranty, but a serial # check on WDC.com http://support.wdc.com/warranty/index_end.asp?lang=en is definitely worth a look.

 

[John Koenig]

We'll do. Big THX!