Info and forum posts by 'peja99'

RE: Mico DVD recorder error when using timer

If I remember correctly you have to enter the date first then cycle the repeat options via SELECT. Today it will default to a weekend date (SAT) which would explain the error message. Try changing the date to say 28 Feb and then press SELECT.

RE: Relisys RDVDR250 DVD Recorder £99 at Richer Sounds

Not the Relisys - I also returned mine to Staples. I was determined to like it, but the lack of a fan in such a slimline design led to serious overheating. It got too hot to place your hand on the right hand side, after a while the heat would spread to the left (where the processor and drive were situated), and this would introduce sound break up and eventually total loss of sound. A half hour program was OK but recording a film would portray this gradual breakdown as the heat increased. It also seems to use an odd disk format that was not recognised by some PC software. Playback also locked up on other players.

RE: Liteon 5005 TV interference when recording

This does not seem like a Pin 19 problem.

It sounds like you are getting some sort of electrical interference form the recorder. Recording would require extra power over playback, perhaps it also affects radios nearby? Maybe you have the recorder immediately under the TV - in which case trying it further away might help, or may at least help with diagnosing the problem.

RE: help philips 610

The firmware I updated from was BT1-1B-L2_140904, and I experienced no time jumps with that one and so I used it then for regular timed recordings from the internal tuner - however I did have other faults that prompted me to upgrade. I now rarely set the timer as the results are unpredicatable with a clock that may or may not be out by 30 minutes when it switches on. My signal comes from Hanington. I believe that the fault has only occurred whilst in standby, usually overnight.

I notified Philips about the problem immediately, they recognised the problem but said that they did not have a fix but would let me know if they developed one. Others seem to have been met with similar indifference, even though this severely undermines the purpose of a recorder.

The display fix you mention demonstrate how Philips seem to resolve problems. i.e. instead of correcting the problem and displaying mono or stereo where appropriate, they simply conceal the incorrect display of `mono` in order to hide the problem - leaving an inelegant gap in the display. A similar crude fix has been applied to the fan.

RE: help philips 610

Sorry - No Sky, but plenty of 30 minute jumps over the last 4 weeks. Also I have applied all available updates, and these jumps only started after applying the 18/10/04 update.

RE: help philips 610

I should take care, as I have applied each update and have found that the problems have grown and facilities have diminished. They have also just told me that they have no fix for the clock problem.

An easy fix might be to stop monitoring the input signal, which is presumably intended to keep the clock accurate. This would not be a proper fix, but would be a function removal similar to earlier fixes for the fan and the NICAM display.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 16th November 2004, 09:55

RE: help philips 610

Yes - but you are presumably not using the timer to record from the internal NICAM tuner, as that would depend on the aeriel (and consequently the time signal) being present. You would not therefore see the problem. Philips have now ackowledged that the problem exists, but they do not have a solution yet.

RE: help philips 610

It is almost certainly prompted by the information received through the tuner. I have regularly experienced this problem over the last 2 weeks. I tried a number of tests and noticed that the clock is obviously constantly checking itself - sometimes a minute will last 10 seconds, other times it may be say 90 seconds. A long minute occurs when a digibox is turned on down the line, a short minute may occur the second minute after the digibox is turned off. However it seems to have a problem updating itself after the 30 minute jump has occurred, which suggests some sort of fault has occured. I have also seen a jump of several hours.

In other words the clock seems to do some over-ambitious tricks, just like the earlier nonsense with the fan starting and stopping and slowng down (even when turned off). I see that some are swapping machines because of this, but this seems pointless as it seems to be a common but random problem that can be hidden by regularly switching off at the mains or by disconnecting the aeriel cable where it picks up the time signal from.

Th point is that the 610 is incorrectly handling the time signal, my other timers running off the same signal do not jump similarly when the 610 does. You have paid for a timer programmable NICAM tuner system, even if you choose not to use it now, and this does not work because of this problem.

RE: help philips 610

I do not think that there are any other threads that help to explain the TIMER jumps, and Philips have acknowledged but subsequently ignored my enquiries about this.

I also bought from Sainsbury`s. I have searched extensively but can no longer find it in stock to exchange. Customer Services tell me that it is obsolete and no longer stocked, and that they can not help or advise - it is up to the store who sold it to resolve. There is a circle of unhelpfulness evident between Sainsburys HQ, the store and Philips. I am also aware that machine swapping is unlikely to help as I now believe that it is the design that is faulty. Ultimately a refund is probably the only practical way to sort this out, but I would prefer a working recorder so will await further firmware updates first.

There is a lesson here though for anyone who is thinking about buying one and has not yet done so!

RE: help philips 610

It is apparent that are a number of issues with the 610, as has also been reported to be the case with their earlier recorders.

I have had several unexplained clock changes in the last week, so it is no longer safe to set up a TIMER recording.

My Recording LED has failed.

The machine regularly switches on for a couple of seconds, interupts the viewed program, and then shuts down. It also reacts to a variety of other remote controls.

Like you, I left a 2 hour TIMER recording running when I went to bed. When I got up 8 hours later it was still on and recording. Presumably it had locked up and was looping over the same section of disk. This will not have done the equipment`s longevity much good! It is clear to me that you can not confidently and reliably set up an unattended TIMER recording, as you have discovered also.

It is hard to understand why Philips put out equipment with so may obvious basic problems. For example, the fan in the 610 contined to run in a complicated manner even when the machine was switched off and cold. This was daft and it has since been corrected by a firmware update, but why put it out like that in the first place?

I have asked for Philips` advice about the TIMER problems but they have not responded.

RE: Noisy DVDR610

The noise comes from the fan, which originally continued to run even when in standby. The latest firmware update seems to fix this - but BEWARE as the firmware updates seem to reduce the functionality and I, at least, have had a series of problems since updating. Philips do not document the firmware effects and do not seem to be interested when things go wrong.

RE: Philips 610 & the new update

This fault is a bit of a disaster if you do TIMER programming. I have had this 30 minute jump 3 times in the last week, but the last jump was several hours out affecting the hours and the minutes. I contacted Philips but they have failed to respond. The supplier (Sainsburys) is also disinterested, claiming that they no longer stock it and so can not exchange.

I also think I have lost a red LED that I thought appeared when recording (in the centre of the button). Maybe it was never there...

Not one of by better purchases, though the bits that work are good and the tuner is far superior to that in the Mico.

RE: DVD to TV help

The TV is auto-switching to the external DVD channel, prompted by a voltage sent via the scart cable. On many DVD players this voltage is still sent when the player is switched off and in `standby`.

Switching off the player at the mains should overcome this, though also check with the TV manual for a button on the TV remote to toggle external mode on and off.

This item was edited on Friday, 5th November 2004, 15:15

RE: Philips 610 & the new update

The detailed info in the banner was removed in the first firmware update. The information previously was unreliable, but rather than fix it it was presumably easier to conceal the info so the errors could not be seen!

nb PDC did not seem to work correctly, anyway. On some PDC channels a message showed long after the timed recording had completed, suggesting that the PDC signal had not been picked up. I gave up using this feature.

I can not get to the bottom of the clock error problems. It is now consistently 30 minutes ahead (to the second) each morning. Nor does it seem to correct itself from the TV signal (as it seems to at other times). Once it is manually corrected it updates correctly for the rest of the day. The error can not be produced manually by setting various times and dates, and Philips have not replied to me. Does anyone know where it gets it time from when it updates automatically?

This item was edited on Thursday, 4th November 2004, 12:42

RE: Philips 610 & the new update

My clock problems have continued. I see it has an unexplained feature called Smart clock. SInce the end of BST I find that the clock is out each morning. Entering the correct details seems to correct it, but it fails again at some point, screwing up the timer recordings. The last 2 mornings have shown a gain of 30 minutes, accurate to the second,

Anybody else seen this?

RE: Philips 610 & the new update

I lost 30 minutes on mine! Had to manually enter the time again to correct it.

RE: Philips DVDR610 funnies

I do not think that the fan problems will be solved by swapping the unit - I suspect that it is a design fault. It is easy to get the impression that it is OK, but the fan occasionally fails to turn on or off - and then stays in the incorrect state until you reset it by unplugging or replace the disk. If you leave a RW disk in the tray for a few days sooner or later the fan will fail to start up and it will not recover on startup or timer records, resulting in the case becoming hot. Similarly, the fan occasionally stays on permanently even when in standby. The problem is concealed if you often replace disks in the tray, as this resets it - the link here is presumably something to do with ensuring that dust is not drawn onto the laser by the fan. The problem here is if you were away for a few days and left it to do extended timer recordings, I suspect that the fan would lock off sooner or later and get very hot as nobody would be opening the tray.

I also have occasional random startups and shutdowns - often linked to switching the TV or some other unit in the chain. Timer recordings also fail occasionally - I have noticed that this has occurred a couple of times when it is the first recording on the disk.

The widescreen switching fault is consistent. The internal tuner supplies 4/3 pictures, and linked digibox gives widescreen. These modes are immediately reversed when I switch between the 2 via the TV/DVD button and then fails to recover short of a swich-off, giving stretched digibox pictures and squashed internal pictures.

I have not tried to swap it as the mostly consistent nature of these problems make me believe that these are firmware/design faults, and I might end up with a real problem. I have also noticed several similar references from others.

I am unimpressed by the way that they `fixed` the audio banner. Removing the incorrect text is OK but it looks scrappy to have made a hole in the background as well.

RE: Philips DVDR610 funnies

Tried the upgrade. Only obvious difference is that the channel banner has been crudely carved up in order to hide the audio status - i.e. it still does not show NICAM correctly.

I notice that my fan operates erratically. It often fails to start up during a timed recording, causing a build-up of heat. Sometimes it remains on when the unit is in standby. Once this occurs it remains either on or off until the disk tray is opened - this seems to reset it, but switching on or off does not.

Also noticed that the widescreen switching gets immediately confused by using the TV/DVD external source switching - with all modes becoming reversed both from the anlogue tuner and from external sources.

Anybody else experiencing similar problems. Its hard to assess whether these are isolated faults or whether they arise from poor firmware. Neither problems were affected by the upgrade.

RE: MiCO Diamante/Celo80 DVD Players £19.99- Sainsburys

Anyone know which branches these are in?

I have been looking for one, but they are either out of stock or asking £40.