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Repairs for RCA UTVs

post #1 of 90
8/2/03 at 4:25am
Thread Starter 
Note: Several members have posted asking how to get UTVs repaired. Here's RCA's policy:

RCA does not repair them per se, but offers a swap-out program for $149.95. I don't have the phone number handy but start here:

http://www.ultimatetv.com/support.asp

The phone number has changed from the one listed, but you will get the new one when you call.

You have 2 options with them:

1) give them a credit card number and they will charge it $149.95 plus a $600 hold. They will ship the replacement UTV within a couple of days. On the side of the shipping box is a pre-paid UPS ground return label. When they get your old UTV back, they will release the $600 hold on the card. I think you have 10 days to get the old one delivered to them.

2) send your old UTV in first. They will only charge the $149.95 and not put the hold on your card. Note that this way takes 2-3 weeks.

The replacement UTV comes with a 90 day warranty, but no card, no remote, nothing else but a power cord. DirecTV will change your subscription for the old card to the new UTV with no problems.

I suspect that the replacements are re-furbs, although they look new. By the way, they are shipping with the 3.7 software already installed.

After my original post, a couple of members suggested adding info regarding DirecTV's protection plan and Sony repair service. Although I have not investigated either, here are the links to check out:

DirecTV's plan:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packag...ction_plan.jsp


Another member reported that Sony's charge for repair is $88.77 including shipping and tax. This is not a swap-out, but a repair. It looks like you can input the model number at the link below and obtain the repair cost:

http://www.sel.sony.com/service/plsql/rma.inquiry

or

http://products.sel.sony.com/SEL/service/
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post #2 of 90
8/2/03 at 9:11am
Sony has a flat rate repair service. It costs $88.77 including shipping and tax. They do actually repair your unit and send it back. My recorded shows came back on the disk. I guess it depends on the failure whether the disk gets re-imaged or not.

You can set up the entire repair through this link
Sony Repair

As much as I dislike the Sony unit vs the RCA, the repair cost difference is a nice upside to the Sony.
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post #3 of 90
8/18/03 at 11:43am
Truett Electronics says they will repair either the RCA or Sony model for a flat rate of $80 plus return shipping and they also claim 24 hour turn around. I have not used them yet, but I am probably going to send both my units (RCA and Sony) in for repair. I'll let the forum know the results.

Jay
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post #4 of 90
8/19/03 at 2:47pm
WoW! I've been looking everywhere for this capability. My RCA dwd490re is being shipped today. Thank you Thank you Thank you! I can not tell you how important this is. RCA will not take one once the case has been opened. AZBill
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post #5 of 90
8/23/03 at 5:09pm
The Truett Electronics link is dead of of 8:09 PM on 8-23-03.
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post #6 of 90
8/23/03 at 5:49pm
They can be reached by email at support@dssrepair.com. They repaired my unit and shipped it on Fri, I am waiting to get it back and check out before I say anything about the service. BTW - I made a mistake of shipping it overnight UPS, cost me $66. AZBill
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post #7 of 90
8/23/03 at 6:13pm
Quote:


Originally posted by austinsho
The Truett Electronics link is dead of of 8:09 PM on 8-23-03.

The link works for me at 9:12PM. Try this link it goes to the same site http://dssrepair.com/ .

Jay
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post #8 of 90
8/31/03 at 10:27am
azbill,

Website says $80 does not include cost of tuners. Get yours back yet?

Work OK?

What was cost with tuners?

Has anyone else used this service (dssrepair.com) yet? Work out OK?
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post #9 of 90
9/3/03 at 7:29am
I was out of town for a few days. Just installed the UTV last evening, it works. What they did I'm not sure, the tuners were ok though. The reader was broke, so I know they replaced it. It also had a resister or something burned out on the motherboard. I have asked them for an explanation of what they had to do to get it up. If there are any surprises I'll post it. The cost was $80 plus $18 for shipping. AZBill
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post #10 of 90
10/2/03 at 6:33am
Does anyone know how they handle UTV replacements when one has extended warranty and a DTV service plan? Supposed to be free replacement. Even without the warranty and plan, if I had to pay $150 for a rebuilt replacement, it might be just enought to push me over to the $99 DirecTivo offer that is going on right now, though I love my UTV and think it is superior to Tivo.
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post #11 of 90
10/27/03 at 9:08am
I just wanted to add that Truett Electronics no longer repairs the RCA DWD490RE.

That's too bad.
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post #12 of 90
10/31/03 at 12:12pm
Does anyone know how the DTV's Protection Plan works if you've put in a bigger drive and you need the unit fixed? Do you have to put the original drive back in? How can they tell if you've cracked the thing open?

-- thx
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post #13 of 90
11/13/03 at 1:10pm
I have dealt with Thomson in Texas 580-883-2060 and have had two DWD490's replaced. The cost for this service is $75.00, they ship you one with a return label and you just send back the broken one.


Tom
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post #14 of 90
11/13/03 at 1:23pm
Just tried that number, it's no longer in service. Would appreciate any help.

AZBill
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post #15 of 90
12/1/03 at 11:31am
1 800 722 9599 or 1 580 634 0261
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post #16 of 90
12/14/03 at 3:42pm
I called Thompson and the cost to replace a unit was 149 + Taxes.. They informed me that unless it was still under warranty then a refurbished unit is 149 and not $75

Its only $75 if its under warranty

Thanks
Macusers
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post #17 of 90
1/18/04 at 3:11pm
Truett Electronics says they no longer repair Ultimate TVs due to the fact
that 95 percent of them are damaged in shipment because the circuit boards are so thin and flimsy. Just got an email from them yesterday.
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post #18 of 90
1/20/04 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
With new Tivos at under $200, looks more and more like it will soon be time to jump ship. I pre-ordered a HD Tivo this weekend (April delivery), so as my 4 UTVs die, I guess I will replace them with Tivos.

Funny, when I bought my first UTV, Tivo was nearly bankrupt, they only had promises of enabling the second tuner, and I decided to "trust" Microsoft. Their abandonment of a superior product to Tivo shows that that trust was grossly misplaced.
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post #19 of 90
1/20/04 at 10:25am
Hi,

So for those wanting UTVs till they MUST go to TIVO... they should consider the DTV Protection Plan.

Cost of replacements (UTV or Tivo) are covered in monthly fee.

1 year Commitment can be canceled for $10.

$6-8 a month protection fee. (after 30 blackout)
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post #20 of 90
1/23/04 at 9:47pm
Is there any place in Canada where you can get one fixed?
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post #21 of 90
2/3/04 at 7:32am
Not to use this forum for an ad, but CCS Corporation is always ready to fix UTV units.
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post #22 of 90
3/29/04 at 3:59pm
I sent my SAT-W60 to Sony for repair because of a failed tuner. Here's part of letter I got back:

We have received your Sony product for repair. This model is no longer available for repair or exchange. There aren't any replacements available. Sony needs a copy of your proof of purchase to refund your money for a buyback. If your unit is in full warranty you will receive a full refund. If your unit is out of warranty Sony will send you a Pro-Rated refund based on the age of your unit and the purchase price.

Basically, they said they wouldn't or couldn't repair it. While I am disappointed, I am glad that they will buy it back. I spoke with a rep and she said they really didn't need my original receipt and she told me that they were gonna cut a check for $200 and refund the $90 repair cost. Since most of these were going for about that price on ebay (perhaps a bit more), I wasn't too terribly disappointed.

Now to just get used to directivo.....
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post #23 of 90
4/14/04 at 8:07pm
Tuners also replaced at;
Suudio Sound Technology
201C Gates Rd
Little Ferry NJ 07643
Ph# 201 440 0888

Tuners are in stock and "While-you-wait" service is available.

Note: Presently they don't repair dead units or replace hard drives.
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post #24 of 90
4/19/04 at 9:13am
Quote:


Originally posted by N_Zim
Not to use this forum for an ad, but CCS Corporation is always ready to fix UTV units.

I will promote CCS as a great option for repairing UTVs. Just had one that died, total power loss, nothing would work when plugged in. Took it in on Monday around lunch, got it back about 48 hours later good as new. They repaired the power and tuners. $130. That price includes return freight. I live about 20 minutes away and did not utilize shipping.

www.ccscorporation.net/
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post #25 of 90
5/6/04 at 4:24pm
Just got both my UTV's back from CCS. They replace the tuners in both units. total turnaround time was 10 days. I bought them used and they never worked right but after finding this site and CCS life is great pip actually works now!
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post #26 of 90
5/11/04 at 8:29am
Quote:


Originally posted by LarryB153
Tuners also replaced at;
Suudio Sound Technology
201C Gates Rd
Little Ferry NJ 07643
Ph# 201 440 0888

Tuners are in stock and "While-you-wait" service is available.

Note: Presently they don't repair dead units or replace hard drives.

Thanks for the recommendation Larry! I drove from upstate NY to get my tuner chips fixed while I waited at SST in Little Ferry. It took a little over 1.5 hours, and cost me $98.

Happily watching DTV with two functional tuners,
-OH-
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post #27 of 90
6/21/04 at 3:03pm
Quote:


Originally posted by Gboch
Just got both my UTV's back from CCS. They replace the tuners in both units. total turnaround time was 10 days. I bought them used and they never worked right but after finding this site and CCS life is great pip actually works now!

Both tuners failed in my UTV about 10 days ago. I read up on CCS Corp. and then sent them my box. They replaced the tuner chips, and upgraded my HD. I had my unit back and running in 4 business days. I highly recommend them for any UTV repair. GREAT JOB GUYS!
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post #28 of 90
7/10/04 at 7:39pm
Quote:


Originally posted by N_Zim
Not to use this forum for an ad, but CCS Corporation is always ready to fix UTV units.

Quote:


Originally posted by jlambrig
I will promote CCS as a great option for repairing UTVs. Just had one that died, total power loss, nothing would work when plugged in. Took it in on Monday around lunch, got it back about 48 hours later good as new. They repaired the power and tuners. $130. That price includes return freight. I live about 20 minutes away and did not utilize shipping.

www.ccscorporation.net/

Quote:


Originally posted by Gboch
Just got both my UTV's back from CCS. They replace the tuners in both units. total turnaround time was 10 days. I bought them used and they never worked right but after finding this site and CCS life is great pip actually works now!

Quote:


Originally posted by jaytbird
Both tuners failed in my UTV about 10 days ago. I read up on CCS Corp. and then sent them my box. They replaced the tuner chips, and upgraded my HD. I had my unit back and running in 4 business days. I highly recommend them for any UTV repair. GREAT JOB GUYS!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I also HIGHLY recommend CCS Corporation for any repairs that you may need done to your UTV’s. I just got my unit back from them. They replaced both tuner chips, upgraded my hard drive to a 120gig (100 hours), AND they were able to transfer all of my shows and settings from my old hard drive to my new hard drive. They even took the time to call me to let me know that my unit was done , that everything was working properly without any problems and also gave me a tracking number. They did an excellent job and were very professional about everything. Again, I HIGHLY recommend them.

Also wanted to say thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my many questions that I’ve posted on here. You have all been a big help!

Thanks again!
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post #29 of 90
8/4/04 at 5:30pm
I will add another strong endorsement for CCS. I just had them replace both MAX2104's in 2 UTVs.

Another advantage of CCS is that they will replace BOTH tuner chips. Since we know these tuners are time bombs, it makes no sense to go through
the hassle and expense of replacing only one tuner. Murphy's law says the 2nd tuner will fail one day after your 3 month Sony warranty expires.

Another CCS advantage: based on my experience and what I've read here, they really know what they are doing. Tuner replacement seems liek a pretty delicate repair job, and I would not trust a random tech at Sony to do the job right.

Side note: We "switched" to DirecTivo after the first UTV tuner went bad. After 3 months with Tivo my wife and I decided we wanted our UTVs back badly enough to pay for the repairs and the extra $5/month. Am selling the Tivos. Back to UTV now and very happy about it.

Another side note: a HUGE thanks to NLogN et. al. for leading the charge to root cause the tuner failures and the necessary fix.
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post #30 of 90
8/5/04 at 11:23am
Quote:
Well, I just got an RCA back from them today, and they did NOT replace both 2104s. Did you call them and ASK them to change both 2104s? Just wondering...

Yes. Because one of the UTVs I sent was functioning perfectly fine, I needed to tell them exactly what I wanted done. So I called and got an e-mail address.

In fact, here is the e-mail I sent to Nick at CCS (Nick Zimmerman [ccscorp@ccrtc.com]):

Quote:
Hi Nick:

I own 2 Sony UTVs. One of the tuners on one box has
gone bad, and I know that it is just a matter of time
on the others. As you probably know, the UltimateTVs
were shipped with defective MAX2104 chips.

I would like to have both MAX2104 chips replace on 2
UTV boxes. This is all I want done, no other repairs
are necessary. Can you do this for less than $260
($130 x 2)?

Sony will repair these for a flat rate of $82, but I'd
rather send them to you, because I believe you guys
would do a better job and do exactly what I want.

Please let me know, thanks,

They gave me a quote of less than $260, but not by much. It was enough to get me to send the boxes to CCS rather than Sony. I was hesitant to post this, because I thought about it and figured these guys are not getting rich off repair jobs like this. I hate to see everybody out there trying to nickle and dime them to death. I don't have any affiliation with this company.

IF you have more than one UTV, and all you want done is the tuner chips swapped out, then try sending Nick a note. If it's just one box then I don't think it's worth it for anybody to try this.
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