Problems with Thomson DTR6000AU

[Boomerang]

Hiya,

I'm onto my second Thomson DTR6000AU DVR unit already. Both have had problems recording, with image and sound becoming increasingly pixellated / broken until they are unwatcheable.

I rang Thomsom tech support and they provided the very helpful answer that this is a known problem, there is no solution but they are working on it. I was told there would be no benefit in swapping for a third model because it would have the same problem.

Apart from being flabergasted that Thomson is still actually selling these things knowing that they don't work, I figure (and the tech suggested) the problem is with the high bit rate of Australia digital TV when compared to Asian digital television - the unit can't read/write/decode the signal at the high speeds necessary. This is also probably the reason why it can't record 25 hours as advertised (there is another post to this effect - and if you read the specs for these DVRs most say 40GB = 22-25 hours, some (e.g. Strong) 12-15 hours. I figure the latter have been designed with the higher Australian bit rates in mind).

If this is the problem, I'm thinking the bottlneck may be with a slow HD, so I'm thinking of replacing the HD with a 200GB 7,600RPM 8MB cache PC drive (manual says you can do it, but voids the warranty). Does anyone else think this is likely to fix the problem? Has anyone replaced a Thomson HD? I've tried to see how fast the HD shipped with the unit is, but no-one reports these things (I'm figuring they put a fairly low spec HD in to save money).

The Thomson website is USELESS.

[tifino]

Hiya,

I'm onto my second Thomson DTR6000AU DVR unit already. Both have had problems recording, with image and sound becoming increasingly pixellated / broken until they are unwatcheable.

I rang Thomsom tech support and they provided the very helpful answer that this is a known problem, there is no solution but they are working on it. I was told there would be no benefit in swapping for a third model because it would have the same problem.

Apart from being flabergasted that Thomson is still actually selling these things knowing that they don't work, I figure (and the tech suggested) the problem is with the high bit rate of Australia digital TV when compared to Asian digital television - the unit can't read/write/decode the signal at the high speeds necessary. This is also probably the reason why it can't record 25 hours as advertised (there is another post to this effect - and if you read the specs for these DVRs most say 40GB = 22-25 hours, some (e.g. Strong) 12-15 hours. I figure the latter have been designed with the higher Australian bit rates in mind).

If this is the problem, I'm thinking the bottlneck may be with a slow HD, so I'm thinking of replacing the HD with a 200GB 7,600RPM 8MB cache PC drive (manual says you can do it, but voids the warranty). Does anyone else think this is likely to fix the problem? Has anyone replaced a Thomson HD? I've tried to see how fast the HD shipped with the unit is, but no-one reports these things (I'm figuring they put a fairly low spec HD in to save money).

The Thomson website is USELESS.

the thomson support site is at www.shriro.com where you can email enquiries.
Another site is www.ats.mel.net, which turns out to be where enquiries to shriro end up anyway

they are most helpful and you usually get your answer (and software updates) within a day.

[FreakyAye]

the reason about time is cause of the bitrate digital tv uses. On foxtel digital its about 3-3.8 i heard, on free to air channels it can vary, channel seven uses about 6.6+ and others hover around 4, while abc use lower ones like 2.5. Its a size raation thing. 40gb is the hdd space, digitv is transmitted in mBITS, 8 MBITS = 1 MBYTE, so 2 seconds of 4MBITS is 1 meg

[HansJoachim]

g'day-
the Hard Disk in my DTR6000AU is a stock-normal Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 40 GB (I'm using Barracudas a lot on my PC's+ I'm happy with them)
I am planning to replace it with a 120 GB once the warranty runs out

I'm having also the usual probs with the date- the box insists it's yesterday
gives the wrong EPG info, and titles timer recordings incorrectly
have given up to convince the box it's today; so what...
and it's not wrong info from the broadcasters- my Ikuzi box is fine!

what bugs me most is that my signal (usual strength: 87% from a UHF yagi with 7m high-grade coax) seems to suffer from extremely brief fading- reception is over 60km- never seen on analog signals; once that happens, the recording gets garbled and never recovers, a timer recording is ruined completely

I am recording all digital timer recordings in parallel in analog on a VCR...

Hans J.

[rjeeves33]

Hi

Did you manage to solve the unusable recording issue? My DTR6000 is displaying the same symptoms. I have upgraded to the latest Thomson Firmware and it still have the same problem. Once a recording starts to go bad it is bad until I throw the control across the room in anger :-(

Rob

[HansJoachim]

Rob-
short reply: no
once the disk recording loses sync (like from very minute fading), that's it.
the recording continues recording a few frames per minute until the end-
making the whole thing a very short experience

I have more or less given up, when I still do a timer recording, I record in parallel off-analog in mpeg-1 on a computer, or on S-VHS tape (for possible
later transfer to mpeg-1 or -2)

trouble is that I'm stuck with whatever format the station broadcasts, 3x4
or this 'almost wide-screen' format on analog stations

I'm very disappointed that nobody seems interested in the fading with DVB issue

hey- where did you get a Thomson firmware upgrade from?
did they fix at least this ludicrous clock problem?
(today is yesterday with a DTR6000AU)

Hans J.









Hi

Did you manage to solve the unusable recording issue? My DTR6000 is displaying the same symptoms. I have upgraded to the latest Thomson Firmware and it still have the same problem. Once a recording starts to go bad it is bad until I throw the control across the room in anger :-(

Rob

[rjeeves33]

hi

It is very annoying. I'm going to sell my Thomson. It is not flexible enough to be a VCr replacement. As for the firmware version you can grab it from

Here are the instructions to download the patch from our Shriro website:

1. Click on http://www.shriro.com.au/Links.cfm?brandname=Thomson
2. Click on the "Thomson FTP Site" link to take you to a new window.

A pop up screen will ask you to type in the user name and password.
please use the following (click ok on errors that pop up):

tomguest (this is the username)
guest (this is the password)

click OK and you will be taken directly to the ftp site where you can download all the patches for our Set Top Boxes. The folder to download from is DTR6000AU Upgrade No.2

Hope this help you out.

Rob

[HansJoachim]

thanks a lot for the upgrade link

the other gripe I have with the DTR6000AU is that it has no S-video output;
fair enough, it has RGB, but my TV hasn't

the DTR6000AU is a classical case where a manufacturer has thrown a half-cooked item on the market
heck, I anticipated this, and could live with it, if there was any support worth the name
I expected a little bit more from a company like Thomson...
but here we go-
a product made in Korea, the program written in India, sold in Australia with a sticker of a French company
what can one expect?

(and I'm not talking about the "manual" yet...)

hans

[rjeeves33]

Yup - there's alway a price to pay when you buy into new technology and this half baked product is all but useless. I have lost faith in it as a recorder. Oh well, you live & learn. Hope the update fixes up some issues for you.

Rob

[HansJoachim]

I downloaded the patches/ upgrades

thanks again, Rob

will let you know how it goes

what I have yet to try is to take the analog video from the Thomson and put it into the analog input of my Pinnacle TV computer card, and record on the computer in MPEG-2 or -1

that's where the S-video would be nice to have- I tried every SCART adapter known to man, but S there ain't!

this analog recording could even be done in timer mode (the Pinnacle tuner program has a good timer, which is CORRECT. always)

being an analog input on the TV card, when fading occurs, it will only cause
a minor disruption on the recording, but it will carry on afterwards

hans

forget the HD recorder part...

[leotheliontamer]

Dear Rob,

Can you please suggest how I can remove the subtitles on the screen, it seems to stay there no matter what I do and I have pressed the button for subtitle or teletext but that is not help?

Kind regards,

Leo

[Bernd Felsche]

leotheliontamer <leotheliontamer.1bociy@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> writes:

>Dear Rob,

Why didn't you send him a message instead of posting?

>Can you please suggest how I can remove the subtitles on the screen, it
>seems to stay there no matter what I do and I have pressed the button
>for subtitle or teletext but that is not help?

As you didn't ask me, I won't tell you to press zero.
--
/"\ Bernd Felsche - Innovative Reckoning, Perth, Western Australia
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign | I'm a .signature virus!
X against HTML mail | Copy me into your ~/.signature
/ \ and postings | to help me spread!

[leotheliontamer]

Dear Bernd,

Thank you for the advice.

Kind regards,

Leo


leotheliontamer <leotheliontamer.1bociy@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> writes:

>Dear Rob,

Why didn't you send him a message instead of posting?

>Can you please suggest how I can remove the subtitles on the screen, it
>seems to stay there no matter what I do and I have pressed the button
>for subtitle or teletext but that is not help?

As you didn't ask me, I won't tell you to press zero.
--
/"\ Bernd Felsche - Innovative Reckoning, Perth, Western Australia
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign | I'm a .signature virus!
X against HTML mail | Copy me into your ~/.signature
/ \ and postings | to help me spread!

[shandor]

[QUOTE=HansJoachim]thanks a lot for the upgrade link

the other gripe I have with the DTR6000AU is that it has no S-video output;
fair enough, it has RGB, but my TV hasn't

I came looking for a way to get rid of those subtitles ........thanks for the help
However having just purchased my box I am very upset about what I have read here and how crappy the Thomson is........I've only done 2 recordings and only using the record button in real time with no problems.......
However I couldnt switch channels while it was recording to watch another TV program while it was recording? Is this possible? It seems ludicrous if it is not.........
I have a Thomson TV as well and it came with 3 SCART adaptors with S Video and RCA plugs on the other side ....so if you can hunt one down your in bussiness.....TNX again guys

[rjeeves33]

Hi mate.

You can't switch channels while the DTR6000 is recording as it ony has a single tuner. that means it can only decode on channel at a time. You could use the aerial loop to go to the TV to watch TV (this would however be non-digital) but at least you can switch channels.

I've come to like my Thomson now. I only paid $400 for it and I see it as a Digital Set-top box that can pause, timeshift live TV and record a few shows when I'm out. All my issues were actually due to poor reception and not the box. Sure it's no Toppy (best PVR on market) but it's less than half the price and alot better than a plain Set top box. My plan is to wait until the market matures and technology becomes cheper, purchase a Dual Tuner, something like the Toppy and move the Thompson into the bedroom.

[shandor]

Thanks rj
I'm very new to this technology and I guess I should have done my homework first. I only paid $350.00 for mine which sounds like a good price, so I guess I cant complain.
I'll do the DV box-video-tv loop and watch the other chanel in analoge as you suggested.
I havnt explored the DVbox-pc link yet....Is it worthwhile? I have a dv burner on my pc and was wondering how hard/possible/slow is it to transfer ,say a movie from the DV box to the pc ?
Also the firmware updates mentioned above, is this necessary and if so are there clear instructions in the folders as to how to do it?
Thanks again for your help........Kind regards......Shandor

[HansJoachim]

some recorder boxes are able to record whilst watching a different program on the same channel, which here in Oz would only currently apply to SBS, as there are no alternative programs on any other channel

of course, this could be blocked by the Thomson software, but my understanding is that this feature is part of the standard

Hans



Hi mate.

You can't switch channels while the DTR6000 is recording as it ony has a single tuner. that means it can only decode on channel at a time. You could use the aerial loop to go to the TV to watch TV (this would however be non-digital) but at least you can switch channels.

I've come to like my Thomson now. I only paid $400 for it and I see it as a Digital Set-top box that can pause, timeshift live TV and record a few shows when I'm out. All my issues were actually due to poor reception and not the box. Sure it's no Toppy (best PVR on market) but it's less than half the price and alot better than a plain Set top box. My plan is to wait until the market matures and technology becomes cheper, purchase a Dual Tuner, something like the Toppy and move the Thompson into the bedroom.

[HansJoachim]

Shandor-
for DVD recording/ burning, I suggest the following:
connect the analog (RCA) output from your DTR6000AU to the 'analog in' of a DIGITAL camcorder (D8 or DVCam), and provided the camcorder can do this (many can do analog to digital conversion), connect the digital out from the camcorder to the 'firewire/ i-link' input of your computer
run Moviemaker (comes with Windows XP), or Pinnacle Studio 9, etc., and record, take out commercials, whatever, and burn to DVD
if your camcorder can't do analog to digital conversion 'on the fly', you might need an external box, perhaps even an analog tuner card might do the trick, if it can do mpeg-2 encoding- needs a 'beefy' computer (2 GHZ +)

Hans




I have a dv burner on my pc and was wondering how hard/possible/slow is it to transfer ,say a movie from the DV box to the pc ?
Also the firmware updates mentioned above, is this necessary and if so are there clear instructions in the folders as to how to do it?
Thanks again for your help........Kind regards......Shandor[/QUOTE]

[HansJoachim]

Shandor-
the problem is not the SCART connector, but none of them carries a 'S' (component) signal
- at least not in a standard configuration :)
all S (4-pin mini DIN) to SCART adapters only work one way and are meant for a TV with SCART only inputs, even when they switch in/ out- that applies to the RCA (composite) socket only!
ah, the wonders of adapters and standardisation...

Hans






I have a Thomson TV as well and it came with 3 SCART adaptors with S Video and RCA plugs on the other side ....so if you can hunt one down your in bussiness.....TNX again guys[/QUOTE]

[tony_h]

"HansJoachim" <HansJoachim.1d2blm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:HansJoachim.1d2blm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Shandor-
> the problem is not the SCART connector, but none of them carries a 'S'
> (component) signal
> - at least not in a standard configuration :)
> all S (4-pin mini DIN) to SCART adapters only work one way and are
> meant for a TV with SCART only inputs, even when they switch in/ out-
> that applies to the RCA (composite) socket only!
> ah, the wonders of adapters and standardisation...


That is very wrong! If the STB you are plugging it into supports SVIDEO
out (or Y/C) on the SCART, then setting the switch to OUT will work fine.
But of course the box MUST support choosing SVIDEO in the menu system.
Obviously if a TV supports SVIDEO via SCART, then a box must be able to send
SVIDEO via SCART too!
The TV will receive chrominance on pin15 (used as Red in RGB too), and
luminance in on pin 20. The STB sends chrominance on pin15(R), and
luminance out on pin19. The in/out switch on one of those adapters swaps
whether the luminance (and composite if you only run a single AV composite
cable connection) is on pin19 or pin20. Hence why having the switch the
wrong way ends up with no image.

http://www.hardwarebook.net/connector/av/scart.html

Regards
Tony
--
http://tonyspage.abock.de for some Topfield info including turning those
recordings into DVDs, adding features with the open source TAP environment
etc...