Have had my Wintal for a few days now and though I'm very happy with how it works am a bit concerned how hot it gets.
The heat doesnt seem to cause any problems but its a bit worrying and am wondering if they are all like this ?
Full Version: How hot does your Wintal PVR get?
DTV Forum Australia - Australia's Leading Digital TV and AV Forum > Digital TV Receivers & Related Products > PVRs, DVRs, HDD & DVD Recorders
QUOTE (guns1inger @ Apr 9 2005, 04:11 PM)
QUOTE (Neon Kitten @ Apr 9 2005, 03:52 PM)
What problems did it cause? And was your first Wintal running hot all the time, or only when the HDD was active?
Mine gets extremely hot to the touch when the HDD is running, and perhaps that might help explain the many problems that have been cropping up on my unit...
Mine gets extremely hot to the touch when the HDD is running, and perhaps that might help explain the many problems that have been cropping up on my unit...
Sounds like mine. The first unit would get so hot that you couldn't hold your hand against the case for very long. It was only during HDD use (record or playback). Channel 9 suffered the worst. I could record, but the audio would drop out constantly, loose sync, and the picture would occassionally show distortions. These distortions were different to the occassional breakup that comes from signal problems. Live viewing would be affected following HDD use until the unit cooled down. Again, primarily Channel 9 was affected.
I spent every night of my first week of ownership emailing back and forth with Wintal support. The tech I was in contact with was very helpful, and suggested a few things, but ultimately it became obvious it was the unit that was the problem. I went back to the seller, had them order a replacement (which took a further two weeks to arrive).
The replacement has none of these issues. The case gets slightly warmer during HDD use, but not what I would call hot. I can record any channel, and have no playback or audio issues.
If your symptoms sound similar to mine, I'd get in touch with Wintal first. They did offer for me to come to them to have it tested, however my local supplier was much closer and (mostly) happy to replace it. If yours isn't Wintal support seem pretty good.
As per above, other people have had similar issues. If it is getting HOT! then get it replaced. It will only lead to problems down the track and probably a very reduced lifespan (of the Wintal).
I'd disagree. Basically hard-drives run hot in general. If you're not experiencing any of the problems listed above then your box is probably fine - By the sounds of it Wintal would (rightly I believe) be reluctant to swap over a perfectly good machine just because it got hot.
Most manufacturers seem to have not included a fan with PVRs (presumably to reduce noise) but they have also done the sums and know that running the PVR as is, is not going to result in a flood of HD failure warrantee claims.
Anyway, I can say that a lot of Toppy owners share your concern (mine is generally to hot to place your hand on for an extended period) But most seem to have maximised ventilation and left it at that.
Regards
Peter Gillespie
Most manufacturers seem to have not included a fan with PVRs (presumably to reduce noise) but they have also done the sums and know that running the PVR as is, is not going to result in a flood of HD failure warrantee claims.
Anyway, I can say that a lot of Toppy owners share your concern (mine is generally to hot to place your hand on for an extended period) But most seem to have maximised ventilation and left it at that.
Regards
Peter Gillespie
QUOTE (squarei @ Apr 14 2005, 09:37 AM)
[As per above, other people have had similar issues. If it is getting HOT! then get it replaced. It will only lead to problems down the track and probably a very reduced lifespan (of the Wintal).
Thanks for that Squarei, I will take your advice.
I bought my unit from that Sydney ebay place but unfortunately I'm currently in Melbourne so dont know what to do.
ie. should I send back to Sydney or deal direct with Wintal in Melbourne, anybody know?
QUOTE (hustler @ Apr 14 2005, 10:32 AM)
I bought my unit from that Sydney ebay place but unfortunately I'm currently in Melbourne so dont know what to do.
ie. should I send back to Sydney or deal direct with Wintal in Melbourne, anybody know?
ie. should I send back to Sydney or deal direct with Wintal in Melbourne, anybody know?
The best idea would be to take it to Radio Parts in East Malvern or West Melbourne as they will test the unit and give you a new one if its faulty.
QUOTE (pgdownload @ Apr 14 2005, 09:53 AM)
I'd disagree. Basically hard-drives run hot in general. If you're not experiencing any of the problems listed above then your box is probably fine - By the sounds of it Wintal would (rightly I believe) be reluctant to swap over a perfectly good machine just because it got hot.
Most manufacturers seem to have not included a fan with PVRs (presumably to reduce noise) but they have also done the sums and know that running the PVR as is, is not going to result in a flood of HD failure warrantee claims.
Anyway, I can say that a lot of Toppy owners share your concern (mine is generally to hot to place your hand on for an extended period) But most seem to have maximised ventilation and left it at that.
Regards
Peter Gillespie
Most manufacturers seem to have not included a fan with PVRs (presumably to reduce noise) but they have also done the sums and know that running the PVR as is, is not going to result in a flood of HD failure warrantee claims.
Anyway, I can say that a lot of Toppy owners share your concern (mine is generally to hot to place your hand on for an extended period) But most seem to have maximised ventilation and left it at that.
Regards
Peter Gillespie
I don't see why a hard drive should run hot (by hot we are talking uncomfortable to the touch). My Wintal only gets warm after hours of recording. My external USB hard drive also only gets warm, even after hammering it during video editing (and the USB case doesn't have a fan). Perhaps it’s in a poorly ventilated area. The operating temperature of the Wintal drive should be between 5 and 55 degrees Celsius - its sounds that this particular Wintal is running hotter than this.
I understand what pgdownload is saying about all hard drives getting hot but ...
Why are only some Wintals' running hot when recording and not all of them?
There must be something wrong in some of the units shipping.
Why are only some Wintals' running hot when recording and not all of them?
There must be something wrong in some of the units shipping.
As he said the ventilation of the unit makes a big difference.
One of the better ways to test temperature is the length of time you can hold you hand/finger there. If you can't hold it there longer than a few seconds then it is over 60C. If you can hold it there without discomfort then its under that. Hard drives do get hot, especially with long times of being on. The best idea is good ventilation.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.