ePVision PHD-VRX Owners Thread - Page 28

sorry if this is in the previous 26 pages of this thread. I have formatted my external drive for recording and timeshifting into ext2 as suggested here using the EaseUS partition master and that seems to work great. however, I am not sure what the best formatting is for a drive onto which I would like to transfer files from my windows machine and play with the phd-vrx. I'm not sure which utility to use to write to ext2 in windows and it doesn't seem like fat32 is recognized on my machine when I formatted the drive that way. what's the best solution?

Looking back, the only reported change in rev. VRX.242.22.22 seems to be some possible EPG improvement and file structure… I have extensive PC hardware background and find it strange that such a big difference in firmware revision umbers would have so little fixes/affect?

Perhaps they have done some significant core improvements/restructuring, and are waiting to see if VRX.242.22.22 revision creates any new problems before adding new fixes ;0)

FAT32 isn't a suitable option for many video files, as it has a filesize limit of 4 GB. Most HD broadcasts are 6 - 8 GB / hour, so they won't fit on FAT32. As for how to make Windows recognize Linux filesystems, it probably depends on which version of Windows you're running. IIRC Vista/7 have some native support for ext variants, whereas XP does not.

You have to consider the type of Company you're dealing with . . .

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1414002/epvision-phd-vrx-owners-thread/420#post_22190407

I just want to transfer files I have on my windows pc to an HDD and play them on the phd-vrx. What program should I use to get files on the ext2 HDD when in windows?

seems to be a little more difficult than that as far as I can tell. So I formatted the drive to ext2 using EaseUS partition master then used ext2fsd to mount and write to the drive. Everything appears fine in windows, but when I hook the HDD up to the DVR the machine doesn't recognize the drive. when I had formatted as Fat32 the DVR would see the drive but was unable to recognize the files I put on the HDD that were fine in wondows. Anybody else have any ideas?

I tried .avi files that worked with the dvr when put on a usb stick drive. the HDD was recognized previously when formatted as ext2 with EaseUS partition master to record tv but when I reformatted and transferred files with ext2fsd the drive was not recognized. perhaps there is something about transferring files with ext2fsd that affects it, though I can't imagine what. I will try to reformat, see if the dvr recognizes the drive before I use ext2fsd to transfer, then I will try some jpegs.

Sorry, I did use explorer to transfer the files once the drive was mounted. I used ext2fsd to mount the drive then transferred with explorer. anyway that process seemed to somehow make the drive unrecognized by the dvr. Or maybe not, I might be missing something.

The reason I want this to work is to be able to put a collection of movies on an HDD and have them at the ready to play on the dvr, but the interface between windows and the dvr is problematic.
Edited by drfreakypants - 10/30/12 at 9:30am

I don't accept machines not doing what I tell them, and I like to make them do what I tell them regardless of the effort on my part out of spite. it's a hobby.

I have had no problems copying recordings made on another device over to the PHD external harddrive using Windows Explorer.

I formatted the drive and installed the Linux drivers in Windows as per VideoBruce's instructions in page 1 of this thread.

The only issue I've run into is that the PHD device uses the EPG program title in the file name, and sometimes the file name will contain a colon (Example...Energy: Why and Where). Windows won't let you rename or move those files because the colon is an invalid character in a Windows file name.

I picked up my unit this week and I have experienced the following issues in addition to the ones described in the last 28 pages.

- Low HDMI output signal strength

Connecting the PHD-VRX to my projector with my exiting 50ft HDMI cable provided no signal. Tested again connecting a short 6ft Cable and was able to obtain a signal. All of my other HD sources (DVD player, Roku Box, PS3) have no issue with the 50ft run.

- navigating through various menus and features causes momentary signal loss.

Unfortunately for me this is a big issue, The only way I was able to get my projector to pick up the signal from the PHD-VRX via the 50ft HDMI cable was to run it through my 4X2 HDMI Matrix switch which I am assuming is somewhat acting as a signal booster. The problem with this is when I enter a menu, say to change the video display settings, the PHD-VRX will momentarily cut it's signal output causing the HDMI Matrix switch to drop down to the next port.

Anyone else experience these issues?

I agree a 50 foot run is really pushing it. If someone has to go that far they should look at HDMI Cables from Monoprice.com using RedMere® Technology.

Sorry guys, I just double checked the distance this morning and its 23 feet away so I am currently using a 30ft cable(it's been a few years since I dropped that hdmi cable).

One step ahead of you on the Monoprice RedMere cable... a 30 footer was ordered this morning. Will update on the results once I receive the order.

Just figured I would give potential PHD-VRX buyers a heads up on my issues.

turns out I had an intermittent cable and otherwise using ext2fsd to transfer files works fine. I was surprised that the HDD was not being recognized at all, but it was the usb cable issue.

The VRX.242.22.22 October 12 2012 firmware for the PHD-VRX has now been placed on their official website link under the “Details and firmware” section. They did a typo on the firmware release name on their website: It says VRX.242.20.22 however the PDF document correctly has it labeled as VRX.242.22.22.

http://www.epvision.com/HDTVSTB/phdvrxmain.htm

According to the following PDF link theses are the two issues that were fixed in the latest firmware release:

1. “STT packet for the clock correction”
2. “SPDIF output enabled during timeshifting and etc.”

http://www.epvision.com/HDTVSTB/Documents/PHD-VRX/PHD-VRXFirmwareUpgrade-VRX_242_22_22.pdf

I have been busy doing other things and have not had time to verify the above fixes. It sounds like some of the problems with using the optical output have been fixed. It would have been ideal if the HDMI output would have had a menu option to bitstream Dolby Digital AC3 which would solve the low audio problem some people are reporting when connecting directly to a HDTV. Right now the HDMI output converts all 1.0-5.1 Dolby Digital audio sources to 2.0 PCM, and the PCM is not fixed audio but variable. I do not think there is any plans to fix the HDMI audio issue, so one still needs to feed HDMI to their A/V receiver for video and then to get 1.0-5.1 Dolby Digital they are still required to feed optical SPDIF and combine it with the video from HDMI in order to bitstream that native Dolby Digital audio (that is if one is using a modern A/V receiver as a HDMI video switcher).
Edited by HDTV1080P24 - 11/2/12 at 3:10pm

Update:
The 30ft Monoprice RedMere cable solved the issue.

Just spent over 2 hours reading this thread and have a couple questions. I recently lost my home to foreclosure so now I'm renting a house that has cable tv included in the rent. I have a Samsung HLS6187 DLP and before I moved I got HD channels on Comcast cable. Now I have Metrocast and I get no channels above 76. We have a small Panasonic LCD in the bedroom that gets HD channels. I'm assuming its a tuner issue that my Samsung isn't getting the HD. Would this product allow me to view HD on my Samsung?

Next question. I have a spare PC that I could use as a HTPC after buying a tuner card. Do you all think this would be a better choice over the PHD-VRX? If so what would be a good card to buy? I was thinking maybe this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036 . My main things I'm trying to accomplish are getting HD and being able to record General Hospital for the wife.

I'm unemployed at the moment so I really don't have the cash to try different options and would appreciate any feedback and help you can give. TIA

If your cable is unencrypted and is viewable on your TV without a separate cable box and remote control from your cable company, you would be able to tune and record your cable channels with this DVR. If you can't view the channels with the TV's tuner, this won't be able to see them, either. It's worth noting that even if you don't have a cable box now, you may in the near future. Most cable companies are moving to encrypt even their basic tiers, making DVRs like this one useless for recording anything but OTA. If you have a decent antenna and live in an area with good reception, you could record HD OTA and watch it on either of your sets, but whether you get HD from cable depends on which level of service you have.

It’s a shame that they are not getting their act together, the product has promise but does not seem ready for prime time… my unit has some annoying problems, when I look at the guide and then exit it, it stays in preview mode i.e. little screen in bottom right corner, I have to cycle through V.MODE to get the picture back to 720P(I have old SONY 34” XBR Trinitron using HDMI), and it does not record my weekly shows, and won’t let me manually record them unless I delete the scheduled recording that is not recording them… also sometimes I get PBS on one tuner but not the other, and sometimes not at all but that could be an OTA problem :0(

If the product where better I would give it a positive comment on Amazon, as it is, I think I would just be shooting myself in the foot, if I gave it a negative rating… because fewer people would buy it and they would have less money and pressure to fix the problems…