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All posts by Peter Simpson

Below are all of Peter Simpson's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.


Hi,

Post this morning's Midhurst changes my old Pioneer DVR-LX61D now only sees 25 channels (was 140+) whereas my Panasonic DMR-BWT720 and TV (connected to the same aerial) see 140+ each.

I've cleared the Pioneer channel memory and the stations just seem to be from PSB1. I'm also not sure that this PSB1 is from Midhurst because we are getting occasional video corruption, which was never the case before.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Peter

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Hi,

Well some pluses and minuses. I eventually got the DVR-LX61D working with a retune the following morning and that seems to be back to normal now.

Unfortunately my Panasonic DMR-BWT720 now has a Guide recording issue. Guide recording works fine for all multiplexes except PSB3 / BBCB where the HD channels live.

I can receive the programs fine and their entries appear fine in the EPG.However, when it comes to record time the recorder gets stuck with a "Pause" status and never starts recording. The machine isn't locked up it just won't record the programme.

This also applies to Channel 45 Film 4+1 which isn't HD but is on the BBCB multiplex.

I've reset the recorder to factory defaults and also tried just tuning in the channels transmitted on channel 58 so that the Guide information must have come from this channel but the problem persists.

Is anyone else seeing this problem or can anyone suggest a way forward?

Many Thanks, Peter

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Peter Simpson: I've just found that I can't even do an instant recording on the BBCB multiplex channels. The recording simply never starts and sits in the paused state until the specified end time at which it "stops" recording.

Do I now have to buy another recorder?

Regards, Peter

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Joe B: thanks Joe, sorry you've got the same problem. I heard from Panasonic support yesterday that they are aware of the problem and that I should wait a while for the "transmission to stabilise". Apparently Panasonic recorders are prone to this and its happened before on some transmitters sending COM7 and COM8.

Hopefully it will be fixed soon, I'll also post when I find it's working again. Regards Peter

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Les Allwood: Hi Les, I have the same problem and my guess is that you have a Panasonic recorder.
Panasonic are aware and I was advised to wait for the "signal to stabilise".

Other people have also been affected on the Midhurst transmitter and also some on different transmitters.

On other fora I've seen posts reporting that it can take many weeks to get fixed.

I'm not sure my patience will last that long!

Regards Peter.

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Michael:
Hi Michael,
We are now almost a month after the Midhurst frequency changes that triggered this issue and its still not clear who is accountable for fixing this. In my case it has rendered a 400 device useless for recording HD - which was why I bought it in the first place!

Panasonic are not being helpful - they know about the issue but won't say what is the fundamental cause or how it can be worked round. There may be some kind of limit to what can be done with the recorder hardware or with the machine's firmware or Panasonic may have lost the capability to update the firmware.

In any case they aren't prepared to do anything to fix the machine and I suspect are replying on Freeview data providers or distributors to work round the issue, which seems to be taking time. It's deeply disappointing that no-one will publicly take ownership and provide a fix timeline.

Regards, Peter - Frustrated of Horsham!

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Charles:

Hi Charles,

I've just done a complete channel clear out and re-tune on my Panasonic but still have the issue. I also had a look on the DigitalUK site but couldn't see any events scheduled for 18th April at Midhurst although there were events at other transmitters that were due to come into effect today.

Regards, Peter

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Pete Forman:

Hi Pete,

I had the response below from Panasonic last Friday, 26th April. I'm going to ask for a fix timeline but don't expect to hear anything specific!

Regards, Peter

Panasonic Response:

"In response, please note that due to the complexity of this case, the situation is still being investigated . Please rest assured that as soon as we have a solution, we will contact you back. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter."

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Pete Forman:

Hi Pete,

Yes I saw that post and similar ones that seem to have popped up from time to time. My guess is that there is a hardware limitation or flaw in the Panasonic firmware that is triggered by revised data being received from Freeview.

I suspect that Panasonic don't have control of this data and need to lobby someone to have it made Panasonic friendly. I suspect that this is why the problem just goes away of its own accord when whoever it is fixes the data stream. I'd be surprised if the data change had to coincide with a channel frequency change to come into effect.

No reply to my chase mail so far, I'll post here if I get anything hopeful.

I think it would be very good for everyone affected to actively lobby Panasonic about this issue, it's been a month now and the official line is that they are still "analysing the problem" - not good enough in my view!

Regards, Peter

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Michael:

Hi Michael,

Likewise, I've just received a further mail from Panasonic support saying that they are still investigating the non-recording problem. Also that they don't have a timeline for a fix or any information that they are prepared to release as to what the cause is or what the fix is likely to be.

Regards, Peter

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