Hi all

After isolating my channel 10 audio dropout to my 7200 I remembered the problems started after upgrading to version 2.4.

Has anybody got a copy of the earlier 2.2 or even the original 1.6 firmware?

Mine is holding tune on channel 62 (10) for about an hour before drifting...and deve loping dropouts. It might be a hardware issue but I'm looking to try going back a step with the firmware.

Cheers

W.

Funny that... i had been running the 1.0 firmware for about a year with minor channel 10 audio glitches....

I updated to the latest 2.4 version about a week ago and channel 10 is almost unwatchable now..... the audio dropout glitches are all but constant....

Has anybody encourtered big problems with ch 10 audio...???? is it just the transmission, the philips box or something buggy with the latest firmware...??

I too would be interested in a copy of an earlier version to try....

Cheers...

We also have Ch10 audio dropouts continually on the 7200. have searched the internet, but this thread is the first identifying that the problem is not specifically isolated to my set up...
not sure of the firmware - how do i tell?
I have considered resetting all channels to see if Ch10 needs a reset to fix the problems. Interestingly, it is on Ch 1. Ch 10 and Ch 12, so the SD is also doing it!!

Yes the dropouts are across all three channels on the Ten frequency. My teac box (which is on a loop thru and in theory has a lower signal level) has no problems at all. Thats leading me to suspect the 7200. Problem seemed to start after firmware upgrade.


W.

my mother also has the 7200...hers is doing it as well.....

For the record...im in Adelaide so i dont know if it is city specific.....

My mother is on firmware 1.0.... i am on firmware 2.4.... and they both seemed as bad as each other...so im thinking if its not the transmission, and im sure its not the firmware as far as i know,,,then there is def a fault with the 7200 regarding ch 10....

My mother also noted, which was around the time i noticed too.... that it coincided with the big launch of 10hd... i dunno if its changed in the last 4 weeks.... but it was around 4 weeks ago it started....

Anyone else...?

p.s go through your menu options and in the system info somewhere it will display what hardware and what firmware you are using....

I am also experiencing audio dropout with this box on Ten (original 1.6 firmware) try doing a rescan it will fix the problem for a few hours then it starts again ( audio dropout), another rescan fixes the problem.

Thats exactly what mine does.

W.

yes. I agree. this all started when 10 went to full HD a few weeks ago, but curiously, in Melbourne, affects ALL of the ch10 frequencies - both the new Hd but also basic SD (ch10 digital)

anyone contacted Phillips?

I have just purchased a DTR-7200

What does firmware v2.4 actually do, and do I need it? I have v2.2 MKII

Unfortuanately I dont have a HD tv yet so I am using the svideo 576i video out.

I have an issue if I set the box to letter box for SD, SD channels are fine, however HD channels jitter slightly. When I set the box to "widescreen", both SD and HD channels are fine however as expected 16x9 transmissions are stretched on my 4x3 set. Am I doing something wrong? Is the jitter a TV issue? Will a firmware upgrade help fix it?

I am also curious about HD resolution settings. I understand you can set the box component/hmdi to 576p, 720p and 1080i. Is upscaling to 1080i deleterious to PQ? Rather than upscale to 1080i, can you set the box to send the native format subject to transmission and let the TV automatically adjust to resolution needed, and if so which is better?

hi all

How are your boxes now? I've had 24hrs of stability on Ten....the first time since all this started. Nothing obvious has changed. I'll keep you informed.

Cheers
W.

ps. zaphrat....Firmware fixes a few bugs...search the 7200 on this forum and you'll find more details. I doubt any of the bugs would affect you..they seem HDMI/DVI related. The jitter sounds like your TV...not firmware issue. Best I've found is to set the box to 1080i output for everything...my LCD seems to prefer this to running the native resoluton.

after a re-scan mine too settled down had next to minimal sound glitches... i think my mothers did as well....

I cant help by monitoring it anymore though....i bought a beyonwiz dpp1 pvr 3 days ago and am using that now ( for the record, that was always a planned upgrade and not because of the suddenly new sound glithes in the 7200... )

I had 1 years use out of the 7200 so i cant complain....it was the best picture going around from all my months of research.... and im sure the re-scanning will clear the sound dropouts when it arises....

I am on "software 2.2" and "hardware 1.6". dropouts stil exist..

Ok...back to dropouts and rubbish. What i have found is that a power off/on restores function and lasts a bit longer than a re-scan.

Time to talk to Phillips though.

Cheers

W

Hi All,

I have 2.2 firmware and now lost TEN programme list. The dropouts are too common.

Cheers
Struggo

I have just contacted Philips and they are going to look into it. They said that a few people have complained about this problem and a service manager is going to look into it

I have been using FW V2.4 successfully since May 2007, without issues.

I have just re-tested channels 20,31,70,90 and 12 and in Perth as of 10:15am on 3 Jan 2008, there are neither audio nor video
drop outs using this version of firmware V2.4 (and HW v1.6)

Perth, Australia

I contacted Philips on Friday. They provided me the 2.4 Software. Downloaded, and have run Ch 1, 10, and 12 (ie all Ch 10) all day today with no dropouts on audio. Problem appears to be fixed.
Software 2.4
Hardware 1.6

Keep us informed over the next few days...I would be very interested to see if your firmware copy fixes the problem. May be there was a duff upgrade out there.


W.

According to Philips V2.2 was the last version of firmware that fixed any reception issues. V2.3 and V2.4 only had a few minor adjustments of features. So I have no idea why V2.4 would be fixing your problem

Do you know what these fetures are ? I am using 2.2 and do not want to risk upgrading unless there is something I would be using.

thank-you

I was not told what these features were but I was told they were very monor changes. I would not send your box in for V2.4

I have; Software Version : PHL1.0
Hardware Version : Rev1.6

One thing I've noticed, is that doing a Now & Next seems to agrevate the problem.

Also - where can I get my hands on firmware V2.4, and whatever utility is used to load it?

Cheers!

SME

an update to my previous posts.
upgrade to 2.4 has NOT fixed the problem.. On sunday after the upgrade I believed there was a 100% improvement, as I did not see/hear audio dropouts. I ran the STB for 12 hours as a trial. However, last night (Monday) the problem was as bad as ever on each Ch 10 signal (1, 10 and 12 Melbourne).
I have reported back to Philips Tech Support, and they are continuing to investigate.

Have confidence! They are sure to isolate the problem!

I am in Melbourne. Don't know if this has any impact.

I have been using the 7200 for a little over 14 months now. S/W ver PHL1.1 and H/W Ver Rev1.6.

Since Channel 10 have done their "Full HD" thang, I've been getting MUCH more audio drop outs than I used too. It's getting to the point where 10 is almost unwatchable.

I've also had problems virtually since day one with 9 HD where certain programs will only play a single audio channel through the centre speaker (Pioneer 5.1 system). If I watch SD, then audio works fine.

Maybe I'm lazy but it's taken me this long to start looking into it. I found that Philips will pick my STB up and upgrade the firmware but hell, I'm more than capable of doing that myself if they supplied it to me. From what I'm reading here, I shouldn't do anything though, problems are still happening.....

Please Philips, extract the digit and get it sorted.

Any advise welcomed.

G.

Just call Philips, ask for "technical support", then select "option 3" and George will (should) answer the phone. Explain your issue. He will send you the update files. use a Serial 9pin connection from PC to STB and follow the instructions. He will also confirm that they are trying to replicate the problem and will confirm that he will get back to you when they have a solution. Have patience... It may time time, but i am confident it will be fixed.. Having said that, the more that call them, the better our chances of a permanent fix...

Thanks for the feedback. Philips are going to email me the latest firmware which I am told will fix my Channel 9 problem but not the Channel 10 problem. They are still working on the Channel 10 problem which they are unable to reproduce at the moment. They have declined my offer of doing a swap with them so that they can use my STB for testing (apparantly have one available already).

I have also requested to be kept in the loop via email of the progress of resolution. Any feedback I do recieve, I will continue to post here.

Thanks to all who have kept this going. Phillips do seem genuinely interested and hopefully we will get an outcome soon.

Cheers
W.

Has anyone heard anything yet from Philips?

No thanks to Phillips using a last century 9 pin aptly named RS 232 C port for firmware upgrades, it is impossible to find a cable with 9 pins on one end & 15 pins on the other which is required for 21st century laptops.

PHILLIPS please note 9 pin cables are not compatible with laptops.

Probably lucky you didn't find a cable, you'd be plugging the serial port of the STB into the Video output of your laptop. Most STB's use 9pin serial ports for programming.

Yes, I'd agree though, serial programming is getting harder with modern PC's.

- Rob.

People experiencing audio problems, which audio output are you using? The all in one HDMI, optical digital out to an amplifier or the stereo analogue out? And also which locations are haveing these problem or is it an Australia wide problem?



What firmware version will / did you get which supposedly fixes some of the problems? Is it newer than the v2.4 that has already been floating around for a while?




You need to find a desktop computer with a serial port and use a standard serial cable to upgrade the firmware. Alternatively if you only have the laptop without a serial port. you can buy a USB to Serial converter. That will allow you to use the laptop to perform the upgrade. But the easiest and cheapest option would be to find a desktop and use the serial port.

Thanks for your help with the cable clarification, I am using Optical Digital out.

Audio problem on both HDMI and analogue....v2.4 firmware. Central Coast NSW

W.

I've tried RCA out (stereo), HDMI, and Digital Coax. All have the same problem.

I've tried RCA out (stereo), HDMI, and Digital Coax. All have the same problem. Philips never got back to me with any updates either....

Have basically stopped watching Channel 10 now.

This is the man to contact,

Bevan Aitken
National Service Network Manager

Philips Consumer Electronics
a division of Philips Electronics Australia Limited
Level 1, 65 Epping Rd
North Ryde NSW 2113

Ph: +61 2 9947 0047
Fax: +61 2 9947 0065
Email: bevan.aitken@philips.com

Surely this is a signal strength issue ?

In Melbourne (with full signal strength) my DTR 7200 is bulletproof. No signs of audio dropout or anything.

Doug, not saying you are wrong, because clearly you need strong signal, however, this problem is certainly apparent on my 7200. I thought it was bullet proof until 10 went full HD (well, lets just say they promoted their HD channel differently). to clarify whether you are on to something, can I suggest that both you and I reply with our 'strength' indicators from the CH10, Ch10 SD and Ch10 HD, and for good measure, the same for Ch7 (which never appears to have the problem). This might assist in ensuring that as a team, we go with the same issue to Philips.
I shall post mine tonight. Others, please feel free to contribute..
Bill

My DTR 7200 has a software version of PHL 2.4 and hardware version: rev 1.6.

I have a dedicated digital antenna installed by a professional, with quad screened coax running directly to the STB.

My signal quality for all the channels is maxed out.

My signal strength hovers fairly consistently halfway between the line and the maximum.

I use HDMI for video and optical for audio.

I'm in Brisbane and get regular dropouts on Channel 10 and Channel 9's HD channel; and the lip sync for Channel 9's is way off.

At the moment there's no point using it.

that e-mail address just bounces.

He must have moved on bevan.aitken@philips.com.

Try philips_1062437@philips-customercare.com


Technology Care Centre
Philips Consumer Electronics, Sydney, Australia
Level 1, 65 Epping Road,
NORTH RYDE NSW 2113
Ph: 1300 363 391

Cheers
Struggo

"The e-mail address you used is not supervised." Thanks anyway.

try pceinfo.australia@philips.com

this was the australian email address from which i received the software upgrade - a very helpful customer care person... treat with respect! good luck

Is version 2.4 the latest available firmware at the moment?

Well I've been trying to upgrade the firmware to 2.4 without much luck.

I bought a Belkin USB to RS-232 cable, installed it and the updated VISTA driver for it from the Belkin site and downloaded and installed Hyper Term for VISTA. I then ran Hyper Term and set it up as per the instructions from Philips and connected to the STB. It connects fine and shows the STB info as per the instructions from Philips but when I select Transfer - Send File and point it at the new firmware.bin file and click send nothing happens.

The send screen opens but there is no activity at all. I'm at a loss currently and looking for suggestions. I'm getting my wife to pick up a different USB to RS-232 cable from Jaycar this afternoon and I will give that a go but other than that working I think I will have to send the two 7200's I have into Philips and let them do the upgrade.

New Panel, AVR, Speakers etc etc etc ae arriving in a couple of weeks and I would like to have both boxes upgraded before then so I can use the HDMI out on them to connect to the two Plasmas.

Cheers Al

I've had troubles when converting between USB and serial ports as well. The cheaper ones don't seem to have enough power, because if I use a separate power supply all is well. I now use a Keyspan converter with my Pronto remote and it works well, but it was about 60 bucks.

I wouldn't be too concerned about trying to upgrade to 2.4 though, I have it, and still get heaps of sound dropouts.

Well I got it to work using Absolute Telnet app instead of Hyper Trminal but the 7200 is reporting that the file is "Incorrect Version or Damaged File"

Bill can you send the file again to me and maybe zip it up before you send it?

Cheers Al

I will send it again Al, but to be honest, I used the file as sent to me by Philips, and used their instructions, which used HyperTerminal, but I specifically used the connection cable stipulated (serial output), not USB, etc. I suspect the USB connection is the problem. You may note that in an earlier post another member queried why Philips still required serial connection as only older desktops have it, and no notebooks have required outlet..

I seem to recall that i did have a similar 'error' message the first time, but when I specifically followed the instructions, all went to plan.. i can only ensure it is very sensitive to all outside influences (other programs open, not having STB box off when starting, etc)

email coming through in next 5 mins.
regards
Bill

Thanks Bill, I am keeping an eye out for it. I have an old XP box pcked up in the garage with a com port on it, if it doesnt work this time I will go and buy an RS-232 cable tomorrow and fire up the old box and try that.

Cheers Al

Success!!!


I got the RS-232 cable today from QLD cables in Milton for 8 bucks and set-up the old XP box that has a Com port and hyper terminal. Took about a minute to do each box and worked perfectly.

If anyone in Brisbane wants their DTR 7200 upgraded drop me a PM and I'll send you my number and we can arrange a time for you to come over with the unit. I'm on the north side of Brisbane near Albany Creek.

Cheers Al