[richardtallent]

After almost two years of stellar service, my Replay 2020 appears to have given up the ghost, I believe due to brownout issues I've been having lately with my air conditioner.


I came back home tonight to a black screen but the green "power" light on. Soft boots, hard boots, and combinations thereof seem only to result in the first "Please Wait a Few Moments..." dialog. I can't hear the hard drive spinning at all, but the power light is coming on.


FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN PUTTING OFF A UPS/SURGE PROTECTOR: DON'T! I was "just about" to buy one, knowing that my Replay (at $700 when I first got it) was worth more than most of my computer equipment put together. I don't know for sure that the A/C problem did the RTV in, but it has been serious enough to dim half the house and make my Kenwood receiver and CallerTV reset many times when it cycles on (one down side of living in a 70-year-old house with old wiring and no time to fix it).


If this is "lights out" on my unit, I don't know how we'll survive until we can get a 4040 ordered and shipped to us. I don't even know how to watch normal TV anymore...


If anyone has *any* ideas, please reply! I'll call SONIC|blue tomorrow for tech support or an RMA, but it's no longer under warranty, so I don't know what they can do or how much it'll cost me. I'm hoping it may be as simple as the +/- 12VDC portion of the power supply being bad. If the problem is worse and it is gone for good, I just hope that the 4000 series will ship when they said it would or sooner. Funny, I wasn't planning to get one, but the alternative of being without it suddenly justifies the cost.

Update: Left it unplugged for about 30 minutes, plugged it back in, and (low and behond) the hard drive spun up. Another soft boot (first boot played live but wouldn't respond to commands) and I'm back in business. The only thing I can figure is overheating--out weather here has been hot to cold, so the thermostat settings have been all over the place trying to keep up.


This does not change the fact that (a) an electrician will be here this week to fix the problem, (b) that's much cheaper than a new Replay, and (c) I'm still going to invest in another UPS (BTW, got a great little CyberPower 650SL at Circuit City for computer for under $100, will get another for Replay, receiver, and DISH).

 

[sparrent]

Glad to here your Replay is working again. Don't know what I would do without mine. This confirms the fact we need a UPS and a backup drive. After you get the UPS the next thing you want to do is backup the drive.

 

[greganderson9]

BAckup Backup Backup !!!


I have the original Replay drive in a bag (a new 100Gb 7200rpm is in my unit). It is backed up on my PC hard drive, and I have 2 cdr's made just in case. The backup is only 300Mb and just takes a few minutes for peace of mind.


Can't do without my ShowStopper.


Greg

 

[toots]

My "2060" (long-time readers will recall it being maybe the 6th or 7th successfully hacked unit, done before we'd even written a utility to do it) seems to be CTD.


The Maxtor drive is getting rockier and rockier by the day, and the built-in tuner's audio is getting weaker as well. When I switch from programs recorded directly off-cable (using the 2020's tuner) to programs recorded via decoder box (connected using A/V inputs to the 2020), I routinely blast my neighbors out of the building as I scramble for the remote to turn the dang thing down about 20 db.


Sounds like a ducky time to order that 4080. In the mean time, I guess I'll have to go back into the setup and force it to record everything through the cable box.


Curious - my bedroom TV set's tuner just went south, too. It only works off A/V inputs now.


I must have bad tuner karma or something.

 

[Jon J]

Doctor Toots: What influenced your decision to go with the larger HD rather than "upgrade" a smaller??

 

[toots]

I'm not sure I understand the question.

 

[BaysideBas]

Jon, at this point we have no way of knowing how the RTV4K will be upgradable, or even if they will be upgradeable at all.

 

[toots]

Oh, yeah, if the question is why choose the 4080 over the 4040 and an upgrade hack:


1) Because I got a deal on the 4080, and I just can't resist a "deal" even if it isn't that much of a deal.


2) Because if SB is going to sell a unit that fits my needs, I'd prefer to get the official unit, even if I could hack something for less money. You know, warrantee, support, all that


3) Because there have been some indications that the existing hacks won't immediately work with the 4000 series, and I'd rather have something working now


Whether I will ultimately get into hacking 4000 series units - well, I won't say right now simply because I really don't know if I want to yet.


I s'pose at some point, it might be irresistable to take a peek under the hood, though.

 

[Jon J]

That was my question. Sorry I wasn't clearer.


I've heard of some current customers receiving e-mails with ugrade offers. Guess they lost my address.

 

[toots]

Yeah, I'd pretty well given up on getting an e-mail, too. Mine finally came this week, with the same "buy now, pay in May" promotional code that's been posted elsewhere in this forum.