[allaboutmojo]

I am currently leaving my cable box on 24/7 because my Replaytv cannot turn it on. I was wondering if it woudl be OK to leave my ReplayTV on 24/7 so that no one has to turn anything on except for the TV and change input signal to see what to watch,e tc.


Just a thought.


Big J

 

[MrFussy]

Big J,


Apart from the odd reboot, my RTV has not been turned off almost since I got it. I'm working on the principle that the worst thing you can do to a hard drive to shorten its life is to turn it off. I leave my digital cable box on pretty much all the time, too. No problems yet, but fingers still crossed.


Tim W.

 

[allaboutmojo]

Thanks...so far One vote for YES (OK to keep it on all the time)

 

[Ace987]

I think your going to find that everyone leaves their ReplayTV and cable box (or Satellite receiver) on ALL the time. The only time I turn my machines off is during big power failures (have UPS for the small ones), moving the machine and upgrading the drive.


There really is no reason to turn your machine off at night. Besides, the only real way to turn them off is to pull the plug (same thing goes for most cable boxes). Obviously, if they were meant to be turned off, there would be a real on/off switch.

 

[icecow]

I leave mine on most of the time, but semi-avoid leaving the unit paused on 'live' tv (which is usually heavily delayed when I do it).


The real question is:

"Do I know how to replace a harddrive if neccary?"


If the answer is 'yes' then you don't have a heck of alot to worry about at all. By the time it goes out, a 300 gig drive will go for $80


cow

 

[bakerzdosen]

It's my understanding that the power button only controls the video out (and the blue laser on the 5000 series). If that's what you're talking about, there isn't much difference between on and off. If you're talking about pulling the plug on them, well, I wouldn't do that...


I have two next to one another, and one is always on because I'm too lazy to figure out the jp1 stuff...

 

[RalphWonderLama]

I don't leave my cable box on since I don't have one...


But I do leave my ReplayTV (5504) plugged in and thus on. If the ReplayTV is plugged in, it is ON, but not sending out video (except for Ethernet). When I hit the power button on the remote, the ReplayTV takes over my cable connection.

Just think of it as the modern VCR that doesn't blink "12:00."



The VCR is on because you can clearly see the blinking 12:00; but it usually is not actively doing anything but annoying you with that darn blinking 12:00. But if you have your VCR programmed (and clock set) it will kick itself on to record show at the time specified for the duration specified.


Cheers.

 

[bakerzdosen]

OK, I haven't extensively researched this, and I don't want to flat out say you're wrong, but this is where I got that from and it would seem to disagree with you:
http://www.replayfaqs.com/Detail_FAQ...CITGEOXXRRSDRB

Quote:

jleavens writes: Yes, the power button will have no effect on IVS transfers, either coming or going. In fact, the power button really only turns the video output on and off on the unit, as well as it will stop accepting remote commands. Everything else functions pretty much the same.

I did forget the remote commands line item.

 

[HawksRCool]

maybe I'm the odd ball (again), but when I'm doing a DVArchie transfer my downloads will go faster if I turn the power off on my replay.


Anyone else??

 

[Ace987]

Quote:

Originally posted by HawksRCool maybe I'm the odd ball (again), but when I'm doing a DVArchie transfer my downloads will go faster if I turn the power off on my replay. Anyone else??

I'm not sure if you can say the download will go faster. The real answer is that it CAN go faster without making your Replay unstable. I'm not a real big DVArchive user, but I know the Replay becomes unstable when you try to go over a certain speed. When the Replay is off, less functions are going on which means the processor can give more horsepower to IHVS (which is what DVArchive is using to extract shows). Also, transferring shows while the unit is not recording something help speed you up.


I guess in short the answer is yes

 

[slprp1]

I can say this with total confidence (not bragging, mind you!). Insofar as the 5000 series is concerned, the (so-called) power button simply shuts down the video output (obviously, the blue LED as well). I find that, unlike earlier series units that left the video output live, this is a handy feature if you were to use an automated a/v switch (such as the Sony unit), since the switch senses the last item to be in use and automaticallly switches in sequence (a cool feature!).

Uh-oh! Am I sooo lazy that I can't push device keys on my remote?


Back to the hard drive running 24/7 (which it absolutely does on the 5000). I am not so comfortable with this! Personally, I don't think current hard drives are all that reliable long term (hence maxtor's new ONE year warranty-not too cool, maxtor!).


Any comments on the 24/7 spinning of a new 7200rpm (large) drive?

I would appreciate some feedback! -THANKS-

 

[RalphWonderLama]

I think the FAQ addresses that question, but I reserve the right to be wrong.


While downloading two different streams at the same time and trying to navigate the menus, I can state that menu navigation is VERY VERY VERY VERY SLOW! When I turned off the unit, I unplugged my hub to free up some CPU cycles so I would get the cable feed back.


From my work, if you run your network I/O hard, it tends to kill your other I/Os. I am a bit surpised that ReplayTV does not have the remote at a higher level than the Ethernet. (No proof, but I would kick ethernet down to the if you have spare cycles level. Again my evidence is while ReplayTV is running like mad, the remote takes a long time to do anything.)


If the unit is off, but still plugged in, then the unit dials/connects home, listens to the Ethernet port, and still knows when your next record time is. It has to be on to do all those things.


Cheers

 

[TheDreamer]

Yeah...my first ReplayTV has pretty much been on 24/7 for almost a year now....and all the others have been on continuously as well.


The few power outages that I've had were short enough that my UPS kept everything running. So the only off times were when I move unit(s) as I occasionally needed to rearrange things when I added another ReplayTV to my setup.


Incidentally...the cable box is also on 24/7....worse the video output is always active (confuses my auto a/v switchers) its 'off' state means send a black video image out instead. So, I don't know why it couldn't just be 'on' all the time....


Incidentally, the SA8000 DVR is even noisier regardless of the 'on'/'off' state...namely because it continues to buffer live TV, even when 'off'...and there's no fan in the machine.


The Dreamer

 

[SkiTyke]

While it's true that the ReplayTV is always on, the "power" switch on the front does more than turn off the video output. Unless you're displaying specific menus on the RTV, it is buffering the video stream for you to pause/replay, so it's recording the entire time the "power" switch is on.


Some people have reported problems as the buffer fills (it's circular so it won't "run out"). Looking at it from a computer point of view, I prefer not to have a file continuously being written because the potential is higher for problems from, say, a power glitch.


I have no such concerns about a cable box or external HDTV tuner, but I generally turn off the RTV when the TV is off.

 

[allaboutmojo]

Skityke's comment is exactly what I was worried about....when it is on it is recording all the time. When it is Off, it is not recording.


any more comments/insight to this issue?

 

[leesweet]

This conversation always needs to have 'off' and 'on' defined'. If 'off' means 'no blue light', then what SkiTyke says is correct. It's not really great to have the harddrive reading/writing all the time. Having the RTV itself powered on (which it is all the time) is not a bad thing. I've got PCs on UPS's that have been running for years without problems. They aren't actually doing a lot, but having harddrives spining? Not a problem. Actively read/write all the time? Not a good idea, especially if you aren't watching the TV, why bother.


The other reason (semi-asked in other threads) to not spin the harddrive down when 'not used' is to not have to spin it up when starting a recording (the whole (well, one) point of an RTV). Remember, most failures occur on startup, not while running!


My bottom line: four RTVs, always 'running', 'blue light on' only when viewing that unit. Never a problem.


(And, my sat boxes are all on all the time, of course. No problems with them, either. No moving parts, of course, there!)

 

[Jeff D]

I will back up the others that said it...


Power off (yeah right), ok Blue LED off give you two things:

1) no video output

2) no encoding of the input feed.


So, you do actually get a benefit to turning the unit "off", of course the HD is still spinning and lots of other things, net traffic, IR monitor, etc are all still running.


The no-encoding is the biggest saver of CPU cycles and internal transfers from disk to ram for streaming.


There is a big difffernce between "on" and "off". That said if you have only one replay and don't use DVA then there should be no reason you'd need to turn it off, except to save a bit of electricity.


All my replays are always off when not in use. There's no fear about leaving them on, it's just the blue LED is annoying to me. I will keep me up at night with the bedroom replay (of course the fan ain't quiet, but that I can seem to block out).

 

[melduforx]

Quote:

Originally posted by leesweet My bottom line: four RTVs, always 'running', 'blue light on' only when viewing that unit. Never a problem.

I second this.


Turn off the dang units when you aren't using them! ("Off" being defined as blue light off.)


If you have your Replay tuned to a channel and leave it on all the time, it is constantly encoding/decoding. Turning it off stops this process (and lots of unnecessary reads/writes to the HD.)


You don't really save any "startup" time by leaving them with the blue light on all the time. Plus, the Replay remote has that handy Replay Power On button right next to the TV Power On button. Since you need the Replay remote to do anything at all with the Replay, you've got the power in your hands to turn it on.


As far as leaving your satellite/cable box on all the time, go for it.

 

[RalphWonderLama]

I guess we might have to be very specific.


There is ReplayTV ON where you can use the remote. The video is controlled by ReplayTV. Network activity can occur as well but be c-c-c-c-c-careful-l-l-l. Since the machine might j-j-j-j-jitter due to the network activity.


There is ReplayTV OFF where it still records shows but is looking only for the

remote ON command. The video is pass thru. In addition...

When the ReplayTV is OFF but plugged in, it still records show (Red light), can respond to network/dial up activity.


When the ReplayTV is unplugged all bets are off. If it still works without power, I can only suggest an exorcism.


Cheers.

 

[Bobcrane]

We often forget to kill ole' blue throughout the day, we just shut the TV off.


At night, there is no forgetting. You lay down in bed and you wonder what a 1000 watt blue halogen bulb is doing turned on in the hallway and you realize it is the Replay at the other end of the house.