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Panasonic DMR-HS2 Drive Noise

795 Views 18 Replies 13 Participants Last post by jbedy, Dec 19, 2002

sprocto4

Discussion Starter · Nov 19, 2002

I am trying to get a sense for the drive noise levels people are experiencing with the DMR-HS2 . I really like the unit, but the drive noise is a real problem. It is very clearly audible from 16 feet away. I am considering an exchange, but want to have at least some confidence that it is isolated to a few bad units and not the norm.

I have a manufactured date of August.

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1 - 19 of 19 Posts

AngryofMayfair

· #2 · Nov 19, 2002

Mine is so quiet I can't hear anything other than the ocassional 'click' from the HDD which is random and maybe every 30 secs or so. That's in a silent room - once I have a reasonable volume on the TV then there is nothing audible from the HS2.

There is also a very slight noise from the rear fan but it runs very slow that it really can't be heard normally.

The HS2 in the showroom had a continuous but very slight HDD whine but again couldn't be heard above any program volume. My HDD seems to not have any whine unless you sit less than 2ft in front of it.

What sort of noise is yours making? I have heard reports on other forums of excessive HDD noise but so far I can't say the occasional click concerns me, in fact it is far quieter than my JVC SVHS VCR

Is your HS2 well ventilated? Perhaps the noise you hear is the rear fan that (AFAIK) speeds up if the HS2 gets hot...

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sprocto4

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 19, 2002

As soon as I turn it on I hear the drive spin up and a few clicks as the head bangs around a little. I only hear the read / write noise at statup, no big deal. It's a high pitched whine the entire time the unit is on. The fan is really quiet. I can only hear it when I put my ear up to it.

For comparison, I have an RCA Ultimate TV PVR that I can barely hear at all, even up close. I would say it's louder that most of the current PC hard drives I use.

Angry -

What's your manufactured date?

greenwing

· #4 · Nov 19, 2002

No unusual noises in my HS2...

Bladerunner8801

· #5 · Nov 20, 2002

I just replaced the internal HDD for one that was quieter, in my case a Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB 7200 RPM, THE HS2 Drive is now in my PC as a slave drive. obviously there is a warranty problem if somthing goes wrong although if your careful with the installation no one will know.

Dale.

sprocto4

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 20, 2002

Certainly something I am not willing to do on a $1000 piece of hardware. I have noticed other artifacs in the picture that exist is all quality modes that I find unacceptable as well. She's a going back I'm afraid!

A 53" HDTV leaves no room for quality errors. Yo can see them all. I have watched too much good HD at this point and DVD quality images are becomming a bare minimum. I sometimes ponder and think I was happier thinking DVD was the best my TV could look!

I really just want to time shift HD from D* and OTA. I will try to be patient and wait for a real solution to arrive that won't break the bank.

JustinCheckin

· #7 · Nov 20, 2002

My 2 month old HS2 whines with the familiar rotation hum (Maxtor drive inside). I was quite annoyed with it at the start but now I think my ears have adjusted to it and just blocks it out somehow.

I'm happy the HDD is incorporated into it but the noise tradeoff is a bit disconcerting for the unadjusted. If that is a problem for anyone, I suggest just sticking with the non-HD version E30 and use DVD-RAM...

Bullett

· #8 · Nov 20, 2002

Hey since you are swapping the drives out, has anyone tried to install a larger drive?

Felgar

· #9 · Nov 20, 2002

My HS2 has the high-piched whine too. It is definately the drive, and definately much louder than my PC drives. But when I close the glass doors on the entertainment unit and set the tv at even a minimal volume, then it can't be heard.

GummySprocket

· #10 · Dec 11, 2002

I just bought one of these Panasonic DMR-HS2 units myself, and it exhibited the loud, high-pitched whine described. Loud enough to hear over the television volume, and very annoying. This particular unit was marked as made in October 2002. Anyway, I found it completely unacceptable for a $900 piece of equipment.

I took it back and exchanged it for another. And even though it had just arrived off the truck at the store, this new DMR-HS2 was marked as made in August 2002, and is much more quiet.

Just speculation, but perhaps Panasonic is having some quality control issues getting these out before the holidays.

AngryofMayfair

· #11 · Dec 11, 2002

There does seem to be a big variation in HDD noise levels - there are lots of reports of unnaceptable noise whereas my HS2 and a friends HS2 are almost silent...

I would say that if you can hear it over the TV volume then you have a valid case to exchange it.

It reminds me of my very first Panasonic purchase back in '89 - a S-VHS-C camcorder - the head whine from my first one was totally unnaceptable but the next one out of the box was almost silent...

bmohar

· #12 · Dec 19, 2002

Bladerunner8801....

You've replaced the HD in the DMR-HS2?

Is this a straight forward task? Any gotchas?

I'd like to dump a larger HD into mine. I had assumed that it would be as easy as installing a drive and then formatting it in the DMR-HS2.

Any advise would be much appreciated.

All...

My DMR-HS2 whines very loudly.

Thanks,

Bill

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DigitalAddict

· #13 · Dec 19, 2002

bmohar,

You can find the answer to your question with more detail in another thread. The quick answer is :

Yes, it's easy to replace. No, it will recognize the larger drive but can only format it to 40GB as that is the max the firmware allows for.

bmohar

· #14 · Dec 19, 2002

DigitalAddict....

Thanks for the reply. and OUCH. That seems to be a design oversight.

Has anyone determined that this is only a firmware issue? I don't suspect that Panna has any intent on supporting upgrades.

I suspect it is what it is. If the drive fails I can replace it myself but I'm limmited to 40G.

Thanks for the info.

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jgarth

· #15 · Dec 19, 2002

My HS2 is virtualy silent, if you have one that has audible noise from more than 5 ft away, I suggest you return it since something is wrong with th HD.

zorinlynx

· #16 · Dec 19, 2002

My DMR-HS2 has a high pitched hard drive whine but it's very quiet. I hear replacing the drive is easy if it gets noisy a few years into the future, but for now I'm okay.

If you got a noisy one, replace it for two reasons... Not just the noise, but also because if a drive is noisy when brand new, it is more likely to have a bearing failure at some point in the future. This means any programs you have on your machine go to bit heaven.

It's probably a good idea to back up anything you really like to DVD-R/RAM; hard drives can fail at any time.

jbedy

· #17 · Dec 19, 2002

My HS2 is virtually silent.......fact that I'm half deaf may have something to do with it though..........

jbedy

· #18 · Dec 19, 2002

My HS2 is virtually silent.......fact that I'm half deaf may have something to do with it though..........

jbedy

· #19 · Dec 19, 2002

Did I hiccup?

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

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