SKY + Box going wrong, What are the options??

[Thaiman]

Peeps, my + box has some problem with sound breaking up, more noticeably when one channel is recording while watching another.

Is it fixable? no let change the question to Would it be worth my while to get another one? My is 4 years old with 20 g Hard drive space.

and which is the best place to buy one? (I do know my way around Ebay but Which models?)

I would like something call "TV on demand" function, whatever that is! which I have seen advertise on sky lately.

cheers

E.P.

 

[Thaiman]

Oops wrong section!

Power people...could you move this to the right section please?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi It sounds as though the HHD may be on its way out.

Before you replae the disk or box have you checked the signal? You may find that if there is a problem with one of the cables running froim the dish or with the LNB if the signal on the second line is low when you record on one and wach the second you will get low signal.

if you go into the sevices menu > system setup > signal test the strength should be at least half/three quarters the way up and signal quality should be at least half way on both channels. this is just a rough guide but if either channelk is very low it may be the cause of your troubles.

You can also try swapping the dish cables around at the back of the box and see if you start getting the problem when you are just whatrching this would be an idication of signal problems.

If the signa;l looks fine then i would guess that the hard drive is on its way out. I know that it is possible to replace the drives on these i have seen some boxes with upgraded HDD but i have heard that they need to be drives by a specific manufacturer (maybe Maxtor?), If you do a google search i'm sure that you will find some answers

Failing the above Ebay is probably your best bet for finding a replacement box. any box will work just fine but the later models PVR3 will have larger capacity HDD and are a little more reliable/responsive.

You will probably find that Pace models are favoured over the amstrad boxes but i never particurly found one manufacturer to be more reliable than the other.

Bear in mind also that Sky + HD boxes can be found on ebay at reasonable prices too if you have a HD tv this may be the way to go I have heard that sky no longer charge any extra for the hd channels either(was £10 if i remember correctly). But i would check with them to see if this is the case.

If you do replace the box connect all the cables exept the power cable then hold down the backup button and connect the power cable keep holding the backup button and you should gett a message on screen saying updating system software. this will ensure the box is up to date.

Lastly you will need to call sky and get your viewing cared paired to the new box.

Hope this helps in some way

Marticus

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Wishful thinking but the HD charge is still applicable. £10 for the HD mix over and above any Sky mix/premium channel options you may have.

Perhaps the charge will be dropped soon?

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Thaiman]

Marticus:

Hope this helps in some way

Marticus

Thank for a such details reply, I will do all of that (well apart from get a HD box, I mean how good you want Phil Mitchel to look on TV anyway )

thx again bud.

 

[Anonymous]

Lol i think ol' Phil is beyond the help of even the best TV's

It good to know i can help and that my two years of working for sky wheren't a complete waste.

anyway let us know how you get on or if you get stuck just ask

Glad to help

Marticus

 

[fatboyslimfast]

You could always try to do a full reset on the box - it will wipe the HDD, but also make sure it has the best chance of working.

Press Settings on your remote, then press 401 Select, and you will enter the installer's menu.

From there, go to the bottom option (full system reset) - NOTE: THIS WILL ERASE ALL YOUR RECORDED PROGRAMMES.

It might do the job, if the hard disk's file system is very fragmented...