79 replies to this topic

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Feb 19 2009, 03:23 PM, said:

Thank you. I did receive an email from someone named Daniel Chen however there was nothing contained in the email. Not sure if this is the person you were refering to.

yes, just reply to his email and let him know you didn't get the attachment, at first he thought you had a hard drive issue, but I explained it to him last night, there may be an exe attached to the email which some email programs will block, if this is the case ask him to zip the file up for you, just let me know if you have any problems getting the firmware update

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Feb 19 2009, 02:58 PM, said:

yes, just reply to his email and let him know you didn't get the attachment, at first he thought you had a hard drive issue, but I explained it to him last night, there may be an exe attached to the email which some email programs will block, if this is the case ask him to zip the file up for you, just let me know if you have any problems getting the firmware update

Hey, thanks so much, I really appreciate your assistance. I will email him. Have a nice day.

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Feb 19 2009, 03:31 PM, said:

Hey, thanks so much, I really appreciate your assistance. I will email him. Have a nice day.

no problem

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Feb 19 2009, 05:23 PM, said:

no problem

Hi there again,
I still haven't received the firmware. Not sure if I'm just being too impatient but you said to let you know if I had problems getting it. I'm thinking that I may just be better off taking it back to Strathfields as it is only 6 months old and still under warranty. But if the firmware update is available I really would like to give that a try first.
Thanks for your assistance with this, I really do appreciate it.

Edited by Tinkerbel, 21 February 2009 - 10:34 PM.

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Feb 21 2009, 11:33 PM, said:

Hi there again,
I still haven't received the firmware.

Ok I'll follow up with him for you

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Feb 21 2009, 11:25 PM, said:

Ok I'll follow up with him for you

Cheers for that Jok11n, you're a legend!

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Feb 22 2009, 12:14 AM, said:

Cheers for that Jok11n, you're a legend!

don't know about that, anyway I've asked him to send me a copy also so in case you don't get it I'll have a copy I can send you

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Feb 19 2009, 03:31 PM, said:

Hey, thanks so much, I really appreciate your assistance. I will email him. Have a nice day.

I have sent it to you also just now just in case you didn't get it from him

[Starr]

I wish I had read this forum before buying my SDX-250P.  Like so many others, after a few months the hard drive on mine also shows as having 0MB available and I cannot use or reset it.  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Can it be fixed or is it better to just return it to Strathfield (if they are still operating) under warranty?

[jokiin]

Starr, on Feb 25 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

Can it be fixed or is it better to just return it to Strathfield (if they are still operating) under warranty?

return it, if they can't replace it with a new one insist on a refund

[Sportster883]

Does anyone know if the company that imported the XMS PVR's is still operating? I've been trying to contact them (phone & e-mail) for a few weeks about a warranty issue & they don't respond.

Thanx

[jokiin]

Sportster883, on Mar 7 2009, 08:16 AM, said:

Does anyone know if the company that imported the XMS PVR's is still operating? I've been trying to contact them (phone & e-mail) for a few weeks about a warranty issue & they don't respond.

Thanx

you need to go through Strathfield for the warranty

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Feb 23 2009, 02:45 PM, said:

I have sent it to you also just now just in case you didn't get it from him

Just had to fill you, pretty ironic actually. After all the hassle of getting the firmware I decided bugger paying $39 for the cable I needed, I would just take it back to Strathfields (plus didn't want the warranty to be voided if I did a firmware update). Anyway a few days before I was going to take it back, the hard drive started giving me issues. So I took it back and low and behold, the HD is stuffed. LOL. Anyway I'm currently waiting to see what stock arrives in this week or next but they have offered me my $$$ back as it is under warranty so I am thinking of putting this towards a TIVO.
Just thought I would give you an update.

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Mar 17 2009, 10:50 PM, said:

Just had to fill you, pretty ironic actually. After all the hassle of getting the firmware I decided bugger paying $39 for the cable I needed, I would just take it back to Strathfields (plus didn't want the warranty to be voided if I did a firmware update). Anyway a few days before I was going to take it back, the hard drive started giving me issues. So I took it back and low and behold, the HD is stuffed. LOL. Anyway I'm currently waiting to see what stock arrives in this week or next but they have offered me my $$$ back as it is under warranty so I am thinking of putting this towards a TIVO.
Just thought I would give you an update.

they wouldn't be getting any more of this model as there is none available so you will most likely be offered something else, but what, in this case perhaps just getting the refund is the better option as at least you can decide what to put the money towards

[Starr]

jok11n, on Feb 25 2009, 11:19 PM, said:

return it, if they can't replace it with a new one insist on a refund

Rather than mess around with trying to find a fix for my XMS I just returned it to Strathfield.  The trouble is the store I bought it from five months ago has since closed down and two other stores I approached said they were just franchises and had no authority to do anything with it.  I finally found a non-franchise Strathfield and they said they did not have that unit in stock nor do they expect to get any more.  They said that if I really wanted it replaced they could locate one in an Adelaide store for an extra $150 - as I bought mine on sale apparently.  With no replacement available I asked for a refund - which they flatly refused.  I subsequently had a chat with the ACCC and they said any refunds depend on the wording of their warranty, however as I had already returned the unit to the store by then I no longer had a warranty to look at.  In the end I opted for a Strathfield credit voucher.

As it appears I have to buy some other set-top-box/PVR from Strathfield does anyone have any recomendations on models that might be more reliable.  As far as I can tell they also sell Topfield & DigiCrystal - neither of which I am familiar with.  While my TV is a CRT and thus unable to benefit from HD, if I get a HD set-top-box would that at least get me two or three additional chanels (while hoping that one day I may get a HD TV)?

[jokiin]

Starr, on Mar 18 2009, 11:19 PM, said:

They said that if I really wanted it replaced they could locate one in an Adelaide store for an extra $150 - as I bought mine on sale apparently.

were they talking about a different model perhaps?, they can't change you more to replace the unit with the same model, doesn't matter what you paid for it, there's a thread in here somewhere about consumer law, I'd suggest you have a read through it and get yourself familiar with your rights

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Mar 19 2009, 10:30 AM, said:

were they talking about a different model perhaps?, they can't change you more to replace the unit with the same model, doesn't matter what you paid for it, there's a thread in here somewhere about consumer law, I'd suggest you have a read through it and get yourself familiar with your rights

With Reference to the extra $150..... I purchased my unit from an Adelaide store, Modbury to be exact, back on 22/07/08 and paid a total of $194.95 for mine. I'm not sure what you originally paid for your unit but to ask for an extra $150 seems extremely exuberant. Just thought this might assist you.

Good luck sorting the problem out.

[Tinkerbel]

jok11n, on Mar 17 2009, 11:51 PM, said:

they wouldn't be getting any more of this model as there is none available so you will most likely be offered something else, but what, in this case perhaps just getting the refund is the better option as at least you can decide what to put the money towards

Thanks for the advice. I am going to look at a High Definition PVR (as I am hopefully updating to a LCD TV this year). Would like to spend between $500 & $700 but am getting really confused about what to buy. Have looked at YESS, TOPFIELD, TIVO, HOMECAST & MEDIASTAR but not sure which direction to head in. I have looked at various threads in this forum but now just confused. Any advice from you would be greatly appreciated as you seem to know what you are talking about.
Cheers.

[jokiin]

Tinkerbel, on Mar 19 2009, 12:52 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice. I am going to look at a High Definition PVR (as I am hopefully updating to a LCD TV this year). Would like to spend between $500 & $700 but am getting really confused about what to buy. Have looked at YESS, TOPFIELD, TIVO, HOMECAST & MEDIASTAR but not sure which direction to head in. I have looked at various threads in this forum but now just confused. Any advice from you would be greatly appreciated as you seem to know what you are talking about.
Cheers.

I think any of the models you have listed would be fine, depends on your budget and what features you want I guess as to which would best suit your needs

[Starr]

Tinkerbel, on Mar 19 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

With Reference to the extra $150..... I purchased my unit from an Adelaide store, Modbury to be exact, back on 22/07/08 and paid a total of $194.95 for mine. I'm not sure what you originally paid for your unit but to ask for an extra $150 seems extremely exuberant. Just thought this might assist you.

Good luck sorting the problem out.

Thanks for the replys.

The model offered me was the same as I had.  When I bought my XMS it was $129, presumably because the Sydney city store was closing down and they wanted to get rid of stock.  The old price sticker on the box showed something like $300 and this is presumably what they were talking about when they were telling me about the non-sale unit located in a store in Adelaide.

I'll probably check my local Strathfield store this comming week to see if they have any other set-top box/PVR units that I can use my credit voucher on.  When I visited the store a couple of weeks ago they had next to no PVR's.  More then likely I'll end up spending a bit more money to get something more reliable, though I don't know what brand/unit to buy.  While I would would be happy to have something like a TIVO it just seems like a lot on money to spend so my son can watch his kid shows and fill up the hard drive with Ben-10 & Simpsons cartoons.  Digicrystal seems to have a few interesting products on their web site.

One thing that I'm still not clear on.  If I buy a HD set-top-box will it work on my CRT TV?  Yes I know I won't get a HD picture but will there be anything displayed at all? I thought that by getting a HD decoder unit it would give me a few extra HD channels on top of the SD channels, but then I don't know if the HD unit even picks up the SD channels though I assume so as the HD TV tuner in my computer does.  A search of the internet leaves me no wiser and even the people in the store have different conflicting opinions.

Any advice from someone with experience HD set-top-boxes, or with an opinion on Topfield vs Digicrystal would be appreciated.

[Tinkerbel]

Starr, on Mar 21 2009, 07:38 AM, said:

Thanks for the replys.

The model offered me was the same as I had.  When I bought my XMS it was $129, presumably because the Sydney city store was closing down and they wanted to get rid of stock.  The old price sticker on the box showed something like $300 and this is presumably what they were talking about when they were telling me about the non-sale unit located in a store in Adelaide.

I'll probably check my local Strathfield store this comming week to see if they have any other set-top box/PVR units that I can use my credit voucher on.  When I visited the store a couple of weeks ago they had next to no PVR's.  More then likely I'll end up spending a bit more money to get something more reliable, though I don't know what brand/unit to buy.  While I would would be happy to have something like a TIVO it just seems like a lot on money to spend so my son can watch his kid shows and fill up the hard drive with Ben-10 & Simpsons cartoons.  Digicrystal seems to have a few interesting products on their web site.

One thing that I'm still not clear on.  If I buy a HD set-top-box will it work on my CRT TV?  Yes I know I won't get a HD picture but will there be anything displayed at all? I thought that by getting a HD decoder unit it would give me a few extra HD channels on top of the SD channels, but then I don't know if the HD unit even picks up the SD channels though I assume so as the HD TV tuner in my computer does.  A search of the internet leaves me no wiser and even the people in the store have different conflicting opinions.

Any advice from someone with experience HD set-top-boxes, or with an opinion on Topfield vs Digicrystal would be appreciated.

I assume the old saying 'You get what you pay for' really does come into play here. I have researched this quite a bit as I don't have a lot of money to spend but I want something that will do the job and also last the distance. I thought I had settled on the TIVO but then after researching it a bit more, decided not to go for that. After speaking to the lovely people at my local Strathfield store I am now going to get the DigiCrystal 9750. Firstly because the person I spoke to has one himself and said it hasn't skipped a beat, secondly it has a 250GB HD as compared to 160GB on the TIVO and thirdly he said he would sell it to me for $399 which was the winning factor. Now I just have to wait until more stock arrives, and the wait is killing me!!!!!
So my advice is to shop around if it is price that concerns you or reasearch on forums if it is features you are after. Believe me it is confusing but you just need to decide what is important to you.
Hope this helps.

[jokiin]

Starr, on Mar 21 2009, 08:08 AM, said:

One thing that I'm still not clear on.  If I buy a HD set-top-box will it work on my CRT TV?

all of the HD boxes are also capable of sending a signal that can display on a standard definition television such as your CRT

[wabster]

I guess there will be more like me, but I too have purchased the XMS SDX-250P, but from Deals Direct, not Strathfield.

I bought it last October 2008, and it worked fine from then till about 3 weeks ago when it started to do odd things to recordings, like crosslink two programs recorded so they showed the same program, and I lost one.

Now it won't record off standby which renders it useless, as that is why I bought the darned thing, to record while I was away, not home to press a record button :-)

And I also get the dreaded Omb free/used problems too, though at present it IS reformatting.

I have emailed Deals Direct and asked for instruction on how to get the thing seen to or replaced. Haven't yet broached the refund option.

Anyone know who is the importer, or their rep, as I figure I'll probably end up dealing with them at some stage though Deals Direct is pretty good with these things.

Cheerz Wabster.

[diesel]

Get a refund a go for something like this Toppy for only $219

[wabster]

diesel, on Apr 8 2009, 09:54 PM, said:

Get a refund a go for something like this Toppy for only $219

Thanks for the tip on a replacement.  Is it getting good reviews? Or few bad ones?

I have to work through the process with Deals Direct.

I think I have to give them the opportunity to repair/replace the machine before I can demand a refund.

But as I've said above, they have been pretty good with these things in the past,

Cheerz Wabster