Don't bother asking me how, but you will need to encode your DVD files as TP0 files and transfer them to the DS6200PVR folder containing your recordings via USB. You will then need to copy it to epg to make it visible as a recording.

I've had a brief crack at this, but the tricky bit seems to be figuring out the exact format recognised by the PVR. No problem in processing the DVD files into a transport stream (TP0) format using MPEG Streamclip or ProjectX. When the file is uploaded to the PVR it appears in the list (with some of the title garbled) but won't play.

I have uploaded the firmware and english version of usb Xdrive for this box to techos page. You can always find the link in my signature

I must be going blind, I can't find the instructions to do a firmware upgrade to this unit

Found it!


QUOTE(Whatgift @ May 13 2007, 11:58 PM)
I'll try to remember exactly what I did here for you:
1. Turn on PC and PVR
2. Attach a usb-to-serial cable from computer to PVR
3. Open firmware software on PC - make sure you download the very latest software (2.24) on the Homecast site, since it supports USB-serial cables. You should get a driver disc with your cable, you need to install it (I found with mine you need to plug the cable in BEFORE you install the driver).
4. Ensure that COM port is correct - it needs to be the same that your cable is set to (the drivers that come with the cable should give you the option of what com port to use, it will need to be COM1 or COM2 for the upgrade software. You may need to go to the Device Manager in Windows to change the setting - finding the driver for your cable under COM and LPT ports). You may need to go to the Device Manager in Windows to change the setting (finding the driver for your cable under COM and LPT ports).
To change the COM port in the upgrade software you may need to click PORT CLOSE first, then change the COM port.
5. Click on BROWSE and find the 1040a upgrade file you downloaded
6. Click START
7. Turn the PVR off and on (I seem to remember using the Hard-power switch on the back of the PVR, you could try the standby on the front as well)
IF everything is fine, the software should now indicate the update is taking place, and the PVR will show a rising number on the display (I believe it's a percentage complete display)
8. When it finishes, the PVR will reboot and then the software should state that it is finished (this may take a minute or two after PVR reaches 100 percent)
9. Disconnect cables
10. Use your upgraded PVR!

Hope this isn't too confusing for you!

This worked fine first time for me, hope it does for you as well.

Anybody had or heard about any issues with the remote? Ours has seemed to have died tonight. Changed batteries, reset box - nothing. I figure it must be the remote (and not the IR) because I see the IR light flash on the PVR when I point the DVD player remote at it. Just what I need, only had it a few weeks.

Cheers.

Sounds like your username has lived up to its promise

You are the first to report a failed remote (or possibly failed circuitry in the pvr if the IR receiver on the front flashes). I'd take the pvr back to Tandy or DSE and plug it in to see if one of their remote controls works on it, presuming they have any left. If it works, ask nicely to swap it

Hmmm, it's really weird. Today it is working again. Don't know what the problem was, I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Had something weird happen on Wednesday night. Timer recorded 3 1/2 hours on channel 9 from 7.30 and the details are right in the file list window but the channel 10 program guide was what was actually recorded!

Yeah I've had that happen to me too. Was a timer recording on 7 yet ending up recording the 10 program guide. I was switching between channels when it happened.

ok I've found another bug.

After timer recordings the unit doesnt go back into standby.

Not a biggy but it must use more power and its quite a bit noisier when on than my old Winnie single tuner PVR.

I've noticed that too.....I now use the sleep button to turn it off after the timer has finished if I'm taping something after I go to bed....not the friendliest solution but it works.

Thats a bummer.

I wonder if the firmware update fixes this.

That's interesting, I don't have that bug at all, timer recordings turn the unit on and off when necessary.

The problem comes if you do anything to the box while the recording is in progress (eg. change channel) - the unit then thinks you are watching TV using the box and won't turn it off after the timer recording finishes (which makes sense to me).
Where it becomes a problem is when the timer is still going after you've finished using the box, then it won't turn itself off. After all, how will the box know that you've finished watching television? If you attempt to turn it off, it will give you a warning message about the timer recording, and won't turn off after the timer has finished.

I guess it would be nice if you tried to turn the box OFF during timer recording, the box will then realise you're not using it any more and turn off after the timer recording.
That wouldn't work for me anyway, I use a Harmony Remote, and I actually rely on this feature to use the box in my remote activities.

Basically what I'm saying is if there is ANY user interaction with the box during a recording, the box will not turn off. It should work fine if you don't do anything during the recording.

Seagate 250gb and WD320gb works ok yahoo __foxxy

ST3160212ACE PATA 2mb Cache 7200 rpm Mebe I will try a 10000 rpm asp OH Crowy!~!!!

yep use the (X 1/2) button to the right of the play button

I don't see your point, ST3160212ACE is the model number of the original seagate 160gig drive. No matter, you need to fill what ever drive to more than 50% and play a long recording off the HDD to get the glitch issue we have seen in the WD model.

Hi

I've just got a DS6200PVR DSE for a bargain $280 from Dick Smith!! Other than the ABC is a crying shame there is no EPG from the commercial channels - and even the ABC's EPG is hit and miss - but its still much better than nothing.

Anyway!!

Just a few quick questions if you please:

1) can you set recordings on timer then put the machine on standby. Will the machine turn itself on, then off? Since I've been leaving the machine on all day and I dont like that.

2) I read that the machine records TP0 files? Is there a recommended product or freeware for a PC that will convert to a more windows format or indeed, a DVD format so it can be archived and played later on a DVD player.

3) I see that people are upgrading their software. Does this happen over the air, or do you have manually link to a pc and the net? How do you do this

4) What benefits do you get by upgrading the software?

5) Someone mentioned ICE epg in relation to the DSE box. Does it work?? Is there anyother solution?

thanks so much in advance


Jim

Yes you can.

It does turn itself on from standy but I've personally noticed it doesnt turn itself off. Others have said theirs do turn themselves off so maybe its a firmware difference.

Absolutely agree, as this is also what I've found. I don't think we're talking a bug here - more of a feature that can work for or against you.

2) You'll find a bit about this if you go back through the forum. It's not just a straight format transfer, and is a bit fiddly. One suggested method is in this post.
3) The firmware uploades from a PC to the unit via a serial (RS-232) port using a 'null modem' (crossover) cable. If you don't have a ye olde serial port on your PC/laptop, I guess you'll need to muck about with USB-serial converters.
4) There's no upgrade benefits that I've heard of. Oh, and most machines already have the latest firmware (1040A) as sold.

I don't know if this is already mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but while you're watching a program that is recording on the PVR, you can press the pause button to momentarily stop recording any ads then press pause again to restart recording after the ads are over. This is especially useful if you wish to keep the show for repeated playback later, rather than transfer it to a pc to edit, transfer back etc, given the the usb transfer rate is fairly dire. I'll admit it's time consuming to do this - while you can set bookmarks in a show later to skip the ads, this method doesn't require user intervention during playback.

All i need now is some extra time to watch the 15 or so hours of stuff recorded since i bought the thing. One thing i'll say is that i'll never use the vcr ever again. No great loss!

I'll try the scheduled recording thing with the PVR off tonite to see if mine will do an auto shutdown afterwards as I have firmware 1.03x. I usually power mine off manually every night due to having little ventilation in the cabinet and i don't want the PVR getting too hot (especially with summer coming).

The scheduled recording worked with the PVR turned off and also powered down afterwards.

I'd set it up to do a 5 minute timer recording, but only 4 minutes 40 seconds was recorded, so if you are going to use this "feature" i'd suggest setting the timer for 1 minute prior to when you need it to start.

Firmware version is 1.03.2A (out of the box, bought from Tandy last month)

thanks for the answers everyone - Im quite happy with the box, and my son now gets to watch some kids programmes on the ABC telly - he was missing a kids channel having got used to the BBC one in the Uk.

The only thing thats doing my head in is the EPG which was 30 mins out last night. I heard you can down load EPG data to the machine - but I think that's not possible. Is it?

thanks

Jim

Jim, you're thinking of IceTV but this PVR doesn't support it.

A downloadable EPG would round out this wonderful machine IMO

With usb connectivity we just need to convince the gods to supply a firmware supporting external EPG date (icetv, freeepg etc).

Knew it - you get nowt for free in this life -

I was just about to write to Ice and ask. Though its strange that, with the usb connectivity - this isnt the case, that you can download the info.

So - we're left holding our breath for this so called "future" vapourware epg that was mentioned in a press report for free tv - but will probably just be Tivo anyway from seven??

who are these gods we need to convice ;-) :ph34r:

-----

Some DSE stores claim this unit to be Topfield, what Topfields involvement is/was I don't know, however the OEM is the Homecast. I’d start with DSE then Topfield then Homecast Australia then Homecast Germany. Someone surely has the software development tools chains for this unit.

While you're at it, ask the gods to at least double the amount of timers for the unit! 10 is simply not enough...

I sent an email to support@digitalpg.com.au (as per the info that came with the pvr) regarding some audio issues I had and the reply I got back (eventually) came from bw@beyonwiz.com.au.. Figure that one out!

Is there a connection between topfield & beyonwiz?

Edit: I notice that www.digitalpg.com.au has been updated. looks like they support/supply all of the above brands. (still a pretty useless website though.)

An update to my above post, this drive is still completely reliable no issues what so ever so far. Even though there were minor physical differences between the original drive and the replacement I started to think that there must be more to the story than that. Recently several of these units, all with WD drives, came into my workshop I decided to compare the drives with my replacement one. I long suspected the original drives were set differently to one straight off the shelf. I used featuretool, a free hdd manipulation tool. I found the only difference was the replacement drive had acoustic management disabled, whilst the original had it enabled at level 128. Now all PATA Western Digital, Maxtor and IBM/Hitachi drives have adjustable acoustic management capability but all PATA Seagate drives do not. I used featuretool to disable acoustic management on the HDDs in the units I was working on and, unbelievably, absolutely non of the WD problems have arisen in a little over 2 weeks testing.

What can I say techo - you're a legend. You appear to have done what was needed by those in a better position to do so - namely the Homecast OEM folks, DSE, Topfield service etc.
I'l have a go at this. Even if it doesn't work out you have my gratitute for persisting with the problem. Brilliant!
- I assume you've used the freebie Hitachi Feature Tool utility?

Ok so looks like I was right then!

Well there you go, a prophetic post indeed! Good stuff.
I didn't even own one of these gadgets back then. I should have searched back, taken the clue and checked it out. Ah well. Sure does show the value of these forums though.

No worries 101! And hats off to Techo for actually trying it out! So now there is a fix for owners with WD drives

I've owned one of these for a month or so and it hasn't missed a beat, everything just works as it should.

Nevertherless I couldnt resist upgrading to the latest firmware but only having a Vista laptop at home without a serial port I was a tad hesitant

But I needn't have worried, it all worked first go with no problems


http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z93/pep...de/IMG_9653.jpg

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If whoever makes this box comes up with a HD version I would buy it without hesitation.

I've now done this and the results are very encouraging: the 'audio stuttering when dropping back to play' problem has disappeared, and there's been no playback lockups so far. Time will tell.

For any other folks with WD drives that want to have a go, it's quite easy, but here's a few observations:
- The free Hitachi Feature Tool can create a bootable floppy, but there's also an ISO image available so you can make a bootable CD with Nero or whatever.
- You'll need to configure the drive jumpers so it's recognized by the PC's BIOS. That is, they should be set to Master or Slave to allow for any existing drives in the PC (as you normally would when connecting any drive).
- My WD drive had the Cable Select jumper in place, which stopped the PC recognizing the drive. Just remove it, then replace when you're finished.
- With the Acoustic Management disabled, the drive does not seem any noisier, even with lots of seeking action going on.

Was off to DSE today to look for a new DVD player. Thought I'd drop in here as I hadn't been around for a while.

Noticed this thread , rang Tandy but they didn't have any units in store.

Went down to Dick Smith and asked about the units. None on the shelf but they had 4 out the back, all refurb units.

I advised that Tandy had for $199 they reckon they couldn't match. I'd rung Tandy before and they didn't have any in stock :-(


I asked if I could plug one in and see what it could do. While I'm playing with ( I had to set it all up the guy in there knew nothing !! ) I notice a dent on the case and point this out to the sales guy. He goes off and rings Tandy to check their price as I asked if they'd price match.

He comes back and says because it's a refurb and has a dent in the case I can have for $179.

Bargain, straight on the credit card.

I've had a quick play and compared to my old Legend ( 1 1/2 channel), it's pretty comparible except you can't pre name your recordings.

Only issue I've found so far is that PIP seems to crash the system.

The refurb notice says that they've upgraded the firmware. It shows 1.04.1A. Is this the latest . ???? References on this thread show 1.04.0A ??

This unit has a WD drive in it.

Does anyone have PIP workign in this combination ???

Further feedback as it gets used more :-)


All up for $179 I ain't complaining.

Pepito where did you get the upgrade from and what did it improve? thanks

Nice one Techo!!

So if I return my unit to have the pausing fixed will they apply this fix? Alternately do you think they will still honor the warranty if I do it myself?

Bit of a hassle but I'm sure I could manage to put the HDD into a PC to apply the "fix". I dont suppose it is possible over USB..


Thanks again to techo for providing the info - I was just about to go buy a 500GB WD AV drive ($170) and see if that worked.

Cheers
D

Don't know if it's bad form to quote yourself but.......

After playing with for a couple of hours last night, two major issues:

1. Pressing the PIP did "Green Screen" and lock up the unit
2. A playback last night did lock ( and consequently stuff the rest of the recording....Wife NOT happy )

I returned it this morning, I've spend about 1/2 hour testing a replacement unit in the store. It's a real worry when you know more about these things than the sales staff

This unit has the WD drive and has 1.04.0A Firmware.

I've just disabled the Acoustic Management ( had to do it at work as all I have is Notebooks ) and will let you know the outcome when I get home and have a play with tonight .

I have 1.04.0A for dl at my page. Follow the link in my signature

Thanks Techo

Don't think anyone has had success in getting the service agent to sort out the freezing problem, thus far. Most folks have either returned the unit to DSE, swapped it for one with a Seagate drive, or just put up with the problem (like me…).
Readers of this forum are aware of the potential fix, but who knows if the service guys even care that such a forum exists. Whoops, I guess that's a bit of a giveaway that I'm unimpressed with the response from DSE etc about this problem.

Regarding the warranty issues, I can pass on that the unit is not 'sealed' so you can just take out the screws & open the lid. Take care not to damage anything and it should be fine.

Fraid you need to put the drive in a PC to do the job (no USB access). But, surely there's a friendly computer geek (or self-declared expert) you can call on to do the job? I thought everyone knew one or two of those.

Even though it will cost alittle more than $170, may I suggest this hdd. Some PC hardware suppliers are quoting about $240 for those but should suit this PVR well.

Another quick update.

As mentioned yesterday, turned the Acoustic Management off on my WD drive.

Last night on playback ( under 1 hour ) ( one in "chase' and one on prerecorded ), system locked up for about 30 sec on both playbacks :-(

Look like I'll look at getting a bigger Seagate drive.

Cheers.

Hokay

Just rang Digital Product Group in regards to this issue.

The technician I got was aware of the problem of the WD hard drives and I was advised that they had a new Firmware that was supposed to fix the problem but only made it a little better ( e.g. rather than freeze within 1/2 hour would freeze within 1 1/2 hours. This is rev 1.04.1A . He also said that they've reported this back and that another firmware was forthcoming to hopefully fix this issue.

He's sending me the 1A update ( I'm pretty sure the version on this site is still only the 0A ) and I'll post it here when I get it.

Maybe the combo of 1A and the power management will fix the issue.......fingers crossed

Sounds like at least they're working on it.

Nice one - cheers


Well that just about seals it for me also! Might give it a try but I'll be ready to upgrade..


thanks techo - that's the drive I was looking at getting for $170. Checkout www.staticice.com.au

Cheers