AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › HDTV Recorders › ePVision PHD-VRX Owners Thread
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

ePVision PHD-VRX Owners Thread - Page 30

post #871 of 1559
11/27/12 at 5:09am
Thread Starter 
Maybe the same who wrote this;
Quote:
So, the problem is when you start recording show about 1 or 2 hours, high spinning head, high speed motor and unbalanced ( not horizontally) internal disc inside HDD gradually cause mechanical failure.
wink.gif
(That was in post 364, back in July 7th)
Quote:
its rich features and flexibility
I have a 1TB hard drive connected and have recorded so many TV shows already
This product got so many bells and whistles.
very easy and intuitive to use
Smooth time-shifting and live pause.
Is he kidding? This looks like it came from Madison Ave.
Edited by videobruce - 11/27/12 at 5:15am
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #872 of 1559
11/27/12 at 7:38am
Every time I try to delete any of the "scheduled recordings" I get the message that says "this is in record schedule-please correct or delete"r something like that--it prevents deletimg the item from scheduled recordings list. This item is a real PIA and I am going to get a new 320GB magnavox series 53--it's really a shame that this company can't get their act straight--considering the input from users like us .
Reply
Reply
post #873 of 1559
11/27/12 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senior Citizen View Post

Every time I try to delete any of the "scheduled recordings" I get the message that says "this is in record schedule-please correct or delete"r something like that--it prevents deletimg the item from scheduled recordings list. This item is a real PIA and I am going to get a new 320GB magnavox series 53--it's really a shame that this company can't get their act straight--considering the input from users like us .

Consider that the entire Magnavox line is SD. They do work great, have some minor bugs, and I have two of them that I trust 100%.
Reply
Reply
post #874 of 1559
11/27/12 at 7:58am
When I look at the description of the Magnavox 320GB machine on the Walmart home page, it says faithful high definition--maybe they mean after the machine upconverts to hd--still, was glad to hear from you. Had a "freeze up" problem with a previously owned 513--it appears as though they have corrected it. Will order a new one and advise how it works. thanks AGAIN.
Reply
Reply
post #875 of 1559
11/27/12 at 8:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senior Citizen View Post

When I look at the description of the Magnavox 320GB machine on the Walmart home page, it says faithful high definition--maybe they mean after the machine upconverts to hd--still, was glad to hear from you. Had a "freeze up" problem with a previously owned 513--it appears as though they have corrected it. Will order a new one and advise how it works. thanks AGAIN.
Walmart is your best place to buy now, cheaper than Amazon and mostly free shipping. I never use analog, so no lockup issues. GET A SMALL UPS and avoid power issues. Yes, it does a great job of 1080p upconversion and you won't have a guide problem either.

Enough OT for today. You know where the thread lives.
Reply
Reply
post #876 of 1559
11/27/12 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Senior Citizen;
Go into "Upcoming Recordings" and press the 'red' button at the bottom of the remote. Then 'yes' on the confirmation box. If you don't want it to record, but want to leave it in the schedule, uncheck 'Active'.

Remember, this is "very easy and intuitive to use". biggrin.gif
Reply
Reply
post #877 of 1559
11/27/12 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by videobruce View Post

Need some reports from the others that use this on a regular basis.
On a separate note, check out the most recent review of this on Amazon. I wonder who wrote the script? wink.gif
http://www.amazon.com/1080p-Digital-Recorder-Receiver-Center/product-reviews/B008RHTXLA/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
There is a 2nd seller of these on Amazon. His price is $500. confused.gif
I sent a message to him regarding the price and here is his answer;
Maybe he knows something we don't? I think he might be waiting for some time.

Can I get his name? I will sell him mine for $400 right now and he can take the profit beyond. I'll even throw in an 80 GB HDD! Where do I find him? biggrin.gif If he acts today I will take off an additional 10% as a post Cyber Monday special! biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif
Reply
Reply
post #878 of 1559
11/28/12 at 2:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senior Citizen View Post

When I look at the description of the Magnavox 320GB machine on the Walmart home page, it says faithful high definition--maybe they mean after the machine upconverts to hd--

 

It might "upconvert", but it isn't HD.

Reply
Reply
post #879 of 1559
11/28/12 at 4:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Can I get his name? I will sell him mine for $400 right now and he can take the profit beyond.
Here is his 'storefront', let us know how you make out;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/shops/storefront/index.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sellerID=A3SCAJ160QNFK


BTW, that Funai (Maggy brand) will upconvert from the HDMI out, but not from the component out which is only the native 480i DVD resolution.
Reply
Reply
post #880 of 1559
11/29/12 at 2:16pm
I'm a bit curiuos to those with this unit, if you connect a SNES to the composite port, is the output via HDMI smooth framerate? I've got the 8VX, and the scaling seems to cause dropped frames, which are unbearable and very noticible in Super Mario.
Reply
Reply
post #881 of 1559
12/5/12 at 10:44am
I just bought the PHD-VRX system and have had it for two days, it seems the remote locks up after about a minute of non usage and then I need to reboot my system to get the control back, it is odd that the power button on the remote still works..., any one else have this issue, am I setting it up wrong... I searched your thread and found nothing that describes the problem I am seeing. Thanks in advance...
Reply
Reply
post #882 of 1559
12/5/12 at 2:36pm
I returned the product back to ePboards. I had to pay for shipping AND had to take a 15% restocking charge. Return the product within 30 days to avoid this--It is a real shame that they can't take VIDEO BRUCE'S suggestions. I just got the Magnavox 533H 320gb. It doesn't have a HI-DEF tuner/recorder but it does upscale to 1080. It does NOT record 2 programs at the same time. It does not have a USB input. It does do all the recordings that I set it up for and it is only $228 at Walmart on line--ship to store. They have really improved this over the 513H as they gort rid of many bugs. The only thing that they could have done better is to record in HD with an HD tuner and add a USB port that can play back assorted media--movies, pics, etc. You can watch the first part of a program that you are recording while it is recording-(nice if you get home early). You can record one program while watching another. All in all, I will get a dvd player with a USB input--they are about $40 at Best Buy- this will take care of what I want. It's too bad ePVision can't get it together.
Reply
Reply
post #883 of 1559
12/6/12 at 5:33am
Thread Starter 
jimdenver;
Details; what are you doing at the time you realize you lost control of the unit? Changing channels, watching live TV, recording, scanning through the Guide? Do you have a external HDD connected?
What are your sources; OTA, CATV or both?

Senior Citizen;
Out of curiosity, what were the real 'deal breakers' for you?
Be sure you add a review for this at Amazon.
Funai/Magnavox should enter the 21st century and at least provide HD capability for the tuner. I assume the reason that it is not a HD recorder is all the paranoia over HD recording of anything. This has handcuffed all of us consumers to a point, no DVR (including TiVo) does a proper/complete/no issue job with what should be a straight forward process; timeshifting a TV program.
Reply
Reply
post #884 of 1559
12/6/12 at 1:27pm
Greetings from a new AVS member. I found this thread today after struggling through various issues with my recently purchased PHD-VRX. I've been using the PHD-VRX for a few weeks to get used to it before I finally cut the cable. My biggest issue right now is trying to get my wife to use it smile.gif

Has anyone else experienced problems with scheduled recordings stopping early or not starting at all? Recordings seem to stop early when I'm using the unit to watch TV on the other tuner or watching a recorded show. I have tried recording with two different WD USB drives (1 TB and 500GB) both formated to ext2 and found the same issue. It's really frustrating to find a 30 minute or 1 hour recording where the second half is missing. I've also had weekly scheduled recordings that didn't start at all with no indication that there was a problem.

Thanks to the member that posted about the audio limitations of the HDMI connection (it was probably videobruce). You confirmed what I had already suspected. I'll need to change my setup tonight to run a new HDMI connection direct to the TV so I can run the audio through the optical cable to my receiver.
Reply
Reply
post #885 of 1559
12/6/12 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
flash0552; Welcome.
Are these 3.5" externally powered drives or 2.5" internally powered (from the DVR)?
These recordings that don't start. What state is the DVR in? Standby, powered up, but not in use or actually in use, with possible user interaction (changing channels, menu access or playback)?
Quote:
Thanks to the member that posted about the audio limitations of the HDMI connection (it was probably videobruce).
Not me, it was HDTV1080p.
Quote:
My biggest issue right now is trying to get my wife to use it
Good luck with that one. Let us know how that works out, maybe I can get mine to do the same. wink.gif
Reply
Reply
post #886 of 1559
12/6/12 at 3:16pm
Welcome to the PHD-VRX problem area. Yes, I have had the same problem regading short timed recordings. It appears as tho the internal programming is set up to record on the hour and/or half hour. There are just too many goofy problems with this unit. Bruce seems to have a real good handle on all the troubles he has run into. I sent my unit back--all I had to do was pay the shippiong (appx $14.00 )and take 15% restocking charge beacause I had the unit over 30 days. Good Luck. Their ideas are great but they lose something when they try to implement them in the unit programming. I went out and got me Magnavox 533 with 320gb drive--not hd but it does work well. I am going to buy a cheap dvd player that has a USB bus thaty will play assorted video inputs. I like the fact that a thumb drive can be used on the original unit-and that it would record in hd. After that, it's all junk.
Reply
Reply
post #887 of 1559
12/7/12 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by videobruce View Post

flash0552; Welcome.
Are these 3.5" externally powered drives or 2.5" internally powered (from the DVR)?
These recordings that don't start. What state is the DVR in? Standby, powered up, but not in use or actually in use, with possible user interaction (changing channels, menu access or playback)?

I'm using 2.5" internally powered drives. When the recordings didn't start (it happened again last night) the PVR was on and I think it was even set on the same channel where the recording was supposed to start.
I also had to manually restart one of the recordings last night but when I checked the playback later it was so completely choppy that I just deleted it.
Edited by flash0552 - 12/7/12 at 1:28pm
Reply
Reply
post #888 of 1559
12/7/12 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdenver View Post

I just bought the PHD-VRX system and have had it for two days, it seems the remote locks up after about a minute of non usage and then I need to reboot my system to get the control back, it is odd that the power button on the remote still works..., any one else have this issue, am I setting it up wrong... I searched your thread and found nothing that describes the problem I am seeing. Thanks in advance...
I had exactly the same problem with my first unit and was advised by epvision to return it. I should have noted the serial number ........
Reply
Reply
post #889 of 1559
12/7/12 at 4:04pm
Prior to returning my unit, I had the problem of the unit display showing "rec" but nothing was recorded. The unit itself powers the external drivee. The unit repeatedly failed to record or failed to fully record. This is for info only--I've had the unit indicating recording on "2" and "1" at the same time--which I programmed--but again there was nothing recorded.
Reply
Reply
post #890 of 1559
12/9/12 at 4:26am
It looks like a MAJOR update is now available.
Reply
Reply
post #891 of 1559
12/9/12 at 4:52am
Thread Starter 
flash0552;
Have you confirmed the HDD was spinning? Are you using a single or double USB cable (the 2nd connection just for power) into the DVR? Do you have another external enclosure and/or HDD you could try?
If you do "timeshifting" does it record?
Reply
Reply
post #892 of 1559
12/9/12 at 5:00am
Thread Starter 
DB100; Looks as I have "been asleep at the switch" frown.gif
Quote:
Firmware Ver. VRX.242.23.36:
 Adding a new “ Recordings”section for dedicated TV Shows Playback
 Yellow Hot key for directly accessing Recordings Playback
 Resume playback from the previous viewing point
 Ability to sort out TV programs in “ Recordings”section by time, title and channel#
 Now can display closed caption (CC) during TV shows playback.
 Adding different forward skip and backward skip durations (20, 30, 60, 120 sec.)
 Adding more FF and RWD speed options (x2, x4, x8, x16, x32, x64, x128, x256)
 Timeshift buffer durations are changed to 5 min (default), 30min, 1hr, 2hr, and 4hr.
 USB Pop Up screen when USB connected now can be set ON (default) or OFF.
 Optional channel video lock or unlock(default) during Guide screen channel browsing
 Unify time format to 12-hr AM/PM format
 Release “ PHD-VRX TV Show Playback Features Guide”for new features

It also looks like I might actually have to reduce the laundry list. By a number of major issue no less. eek.gif

'Firmware' link is here.
"Playback Features Guide" is here.

.
Edited by videobruce - 12/9/12 at 5:42am
Reply
Reply
post #893 of 1559
12/9/12 at 8:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DB100 View Post

It looks like a MAJOR update is now available.

Thanks for the update! (Hadn't noticed). Here's hopin we will continue to see this moving in the right direction!
Reply
Reply
post #894 of 1559
12/9/12 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by videobruce View Post

DB100; Looks as I have "been asleep at the switch" frown.gif
It also looks like I might actually have to reduce the laundry list. By a number of major issue no less. eek.gif
'Firmware' link is here.
"Playback Features Guide" is here.
.

Looks good. But since they added CC to recording, I wonder if DD5.1 over HDMI works? That should be a good, easy test.
Reply
Reply
post #895 of 1559
12/9/12 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
But since they added CC to recording, I wonder if DD5.1 over HDMI works?
I don't see the connection. confused.gif
Reply
Reply
post #896 of 1559
12/9/12 at 11:35am
Thread Starter 
The following are what I have found so far on the firmware changes: 242.23.36:

1a. Media Player has a fourth category; "Recordings" specifically for recordings made from the DVR. Any old recordings that are listed under "Video" will not show here, but will still be available under Video.
1b. Added direct access to this new "Recordings" screen using the yellow button on the remote. But, if you want to access one of the other screens, you must exit Media Player and re-enter as before. Unlike entering MP directly, returning exits you completely.
1c. All new recordings will show in both screens; Video & Record.
1d. The delete function isn't available in the "Video" screen anymore, so all old recordings can not be deleted from the Menu.
1e. Finally, you have the ability to resume from where you left off on playback. A Dialog box pops up with the default choice to resume. Unfortunately, there is no 'global' menu setting for this. I insisted on this last spring when I was testing. I think it would make more sense if this was a "Settings" entry in the main menu instead of a popup box when you select a recording to play.
1f. When in Media Player, using the new "Recordings" screen, the issue with the video settings not "sticking" doesn't apply. You don't have to click on every entry that was changed for them to take effect. But, it still remains under the old "Video" screen.

2. Ability to sort recordings in the added category "Recordings".by time, title or name. "Time descend" seems to make the most sense since recordings that don't have PSIP data will only be that silly 'cryptic' number that is hard to read.

3. Closed Captions are now able to be recorded and play backed.

4. "Skip" forward and back of 20 seconds is now adjustable adding 30, 60 & 120 seconds. When they added the 'skip' function las t spring that I suggested, I added that additional times were needed. 60 seconds forward & 20 seconds back makes the most sense.

5. Timeshift has been expanded adding two & four hours.

6. Annoying USB popup at power up can now be disabled by a menu entry.

7. Added "EPG Tuning Mode" option. Changing channels in the Guide is over twice as fast (1.5 seconds) when the preview window is locked vs when it is unlocked (4 seconds). I timed it. Whatever channel you are on, when locked (set to off) the preview window will not change. This function is misnamed. It should be named "Lock preview window". BUT, if you haven't accessed every channel by manually changing channels before you enter the Guide, if this setting is "off" , the Guide will not show any listings except for the station you were on when powered up.
7b. The issue with the Guide freezing on non receivable channels (no reception) appears to have been improved, but not completely fixed. With 'on the cliff' stations that are not receivable at the time for any reason, the Guide still hangs causing you to exit and re-enter the Guide.

8a. Time format is now 12 hr.
8b There now seems to be problems with the clock and the time listings in the Guide with some CATV systems. The listings start out in my case, four hours in the future, not at the present time. Manual time setting solves the clock changing time, but not the listings, omitting the first three hours of programs.This needs to be confirmed.

9. The incorrect file size in Media Player has been corrected, showing the correct file size. At least it isn't some fixed number anymore.

10. Unneeded fast forward and reverse speeds have been added. The existing choices were ok. The sample rate is so poor (choppy video), even with the audio set to PCM, the FF & Rew scan is mostly useless.



(Updated with other fixes & new issues)
Edited by videobruce - 12/20/12 at 7:03am
Reply
Reply
post #897 of 1559
12/9/12 at 11:37am
I must say I'm poised to be pleasantly surprised, at least if VRX owners can confirm that any of these fixes work. Being able to resume playback and view closed captions is a nice addition to the unit's feature set.
Reply
Reply
post #898 of 1559
12/9/12 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by videobruce View Post

7a. Added "EPG Tuning Mode" option. Changing channels in the Guide is over twice as fast with the added preview window lock (which is misnamed). Whichever channel you are on will not change in the preview window.
BUT,if you haven't accessed every channel by manually changing channels before you enter the Guide if this setting is "off" , the Guide will not show any listings. (This has to be confirmed).

I can confirm this is the case. Wasn't sure why I was getting only some listings. After reading videobruce's post, I accessed each channel and then went back into the EPG and had complete listings. I wonder if this means I will have to scroll all channels occasionally, or this is a one time requirement.
Reply
Reply
post #899 of 1559
12/9/12 at 1:03pm
I bought one of these for my Mom for the holidays before I found this thread. It looks good so far. The advice on formatting a linux partition is great stuff. I sort of like having an external drive. It makes it easier to troubleshoot.

We trashed two of the Dish PVR OTA machines. That really stunk. I like that this is a new product with what looks like continuing support - at least for a while.

I did the latest firmware update and ran a few recording tests. Seems good.

The only weird thing is the PQ is noticeable worse than my regular DVR. I don't think that will be that big a deal for my Mom;s smaller TV (and older eyes) though.

For those guys who don't like it, is there another no-fee two tuner HD DVR around? I was going to try a USB OTA to a computer, but this is a lot cleaner.
Reply
Reply
post #900 of 1559
12/9/12 at 1:37pm
The CM-7400 and TViX M6620N are pretty much the only alternatives to this, aside from trying to find a used DTVPal or CM-7000.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: HDTV Recorders

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › HDTV Recorders › ePVision PHD-VRX Owners Thread