RDR-HXD870 firmware update stuck: what to do???

[niicko]

Hi

I also have the 'update sticking', 'EPG knackered' and 'no live output' problems but, after managing to reset etc. and select line input to stop the update sticking each time, I tried a maybe-long-overdue firmware update to 1.70, to see if that would cure the problem.

I followed Sony's instructions to the letter but, unfortunately, after stage 1 (LOAD > DISC-DWLD) took a couple of minutes or less, and DOWNLOAD-2, DOWNLOAD-3 and DOWNLOAD-4 took not much longer, I still have DOWNLOAD-5 displayed and an open disc-drawer (and still powered on) after almost an hour!

Trouble is, Sony don't seem to give contingency-instructions unless an error is displayed - so whatever do I do now?  I don't want to take the wrong action and completely ruin the recorder (if indeed the process hasn't already done so).

Please can anybody in-the-know shed some light on this and tell me what I can do to save the unit?

[CaptainAmerica]

what I get from this is that when I use the outside Aerial and get about 154 Channels some of them maybe broadcasting a corrupt signal EPG that could be affecting my machine. And that when I just use a standard RF Cable as an Aerial it picks up half the channels but it does not pick up the corrupt broadcast channels so sails through the regular EPG updates no problem. Of course thats only speculation. 

[Mooly01]

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@CaptainAmerica wrote:

ok Mooly01 I have looked at the signal strengh/quality before. I have gone into it again with my outside aerial plugged in this is what I get for ch29, ch31, ch32, ch34 and ch37 all 100% signal quality and 100% Signal Strength.

In addition I get ch21,ch24,ch27 all signal quality 100%. But of course as always when the next update happens in the morning it will get stuck again guaranteed. Thanks for your time on this

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Those low channel numbers assuming you are on the main Winter Hill transmitter look like 'unwanted' relay channels. They can cause issues with timer recordings from the EPG at the recorder picks up wrong start/stop times and details but I've not heard of them causing corruption like you have. That is a problem I have experienced in the past but the move of Winter Hill to Group A (the lower end of the band) a year or two back solved that issue. I was always getting Moel-Y- Parc in Wales causing this problem and sometimes breaking through. 

Difficult to diagnose tbh. Again, I'm assuming the aerial is not a communal system where it may be picking up 'everything'.

And the Firmware really is showing as the 1:70 version and nothing earlier?

Only suggestions would be to try the recorder on another aerial system (if possible) or you could try some attenuators in the aerial lead. 

The big big problem with the 870 series is that they scan for channels in the background when in standby and you have no way of manually ignoring or deleting unwanted ones. Yes you can remove them from the channel lineup and seemingly edit them out but it doesn't stop the background scanning.

An attenuator might be worth trying but its very very much a case of trial and error and the values needed might be far higher than you imagine. My aerial setup (which is a Group A log periodic aerial) will stand up to 18db and more of attenuation which is a massive amount.

[Mooly01]

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@sheneker wrote:

Apologies for butting-in, but I've got a couple of these machines and have been trying to upgrade their firmware without any success.

I downloaded the files (SR07S166.MEM and SR07S170.MEM) onto a disc, but I clearly haven't got the correct format, as the machines don't recognise the newer firmware versions on the disc and just sit there doing nothing.

I've asked Sony, but all they do is to quote the website instructions verbatim: "Burn the update file onto a new blank CD-R disc or completely erased CD-RW disc using disc-at-once mode and ISO 9660 CD-ROM file system format". 

It's the "disc-at-once mode and ISO 9660 CD-ROM file system format" that I don't understand.  They presumably have as much of a clue as I do (i.e. none).

Are there instructions for nit-wits published anywhere, that I might be able to follow and which work?

Also, for those who have done this successfully, can one upgrade the firmware without affecting the recorded material on the HDD, or should one archive that before upgrading the machine firmware?

Apologies for diverting attention from the main topic.

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Have you tried this:

Solved: Re: Hard disk RDR-HXD870 lost digital channels - Sony

[Mooly01]

And the material on the HDD is unaffected. Nothing you can do as a user can erase/delete the content or format the HDD. 

[MellowNoma]

What difference does not having the aerial connected make?

Other than it not picking up any Freeview channels, so I cannot add them to my EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) to be able to watch any channels as I should be able to do!

I appreciate some community members have made some suggestions, but SONY's staff should be on this community forum, as it is hosted by them, and make some apology and commitment to their customers to rectify this issue with a permanent solution, even though the hardware (Freeview receiver) I believe was made by Pioneer, but it needs a permanent replacement part or a permanent software fix as this is totally unacceptable.

For other members who asked: I too am on the Winter Hill (Greater Manchester/Lancashire) transmitter / mast

[MellowNoma]

My reply above was as a reply to:

HannahEd01  

Specialist 

3 weeks ago

Hey MellowNoma, let me just start by saying that this is a user based community, you can reach out to Sony here: https://bit.ly/3S7Vlue.

Regarding your issue, have you tried tuning without the aerial, then with? Or reset? 

As I said above if I've no aerial plugged in then how do I add the EPG info, or must this be done as a separate addition/process once the factory r eset has been successfully completed?

[Mooly01]

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@MellowNoma wrote:

What difference does not having the aerial connected make?

Other than it not picking up any Freeview channels, so I cannot add them to my EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) to be able to watch any channels as I should be able to do!

I appreciate some community members have made some suggestions, but SONY's staff should be on this community forum, as it is hosted by them, and make some apology and commitment to their customers to rectify this issue with a permanent solution, even though the hardware (Freeview receiver) I believe was made by Pioneer, but it needs a permanent replacement part or a permanent software fix as this is totally unacceptable.

For other members who asked: I too am on the Winter Hill (Greater Manchester/Lancashire) transmitter / mast

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Tuning with no aerial fully clears any channel placeholders. This can not always be guaranteed on many products.

This thread seems to have wandered into different sub topics. Firmware is the 'operating system' the item uses and that hasn't been updated for many many years. It will not be updated again as the machines are way past their sell by date. They are long out of any support that could reasonably be expected.   

If you are running 1:70 firmware than that's as good as it gets. Issues of the EPG causing issues are something else.

You CAN turn OFF auto checking for firmware in the menus which tbh is something I have done years ago.  

[MellowNoma]

Mooly01

Contributor

5 minutes ago

@MellowNoma wrote:

What difference does not having the aerial connected make?

Other than it not picking up any Freeview channels, so I cannot add them to my EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) to be able to watch any channels as I should be able to do!

I appreciate some community members have made some suggestions, but SONY's staff should be on this community forum, as it is hosted by them, and make some apology and commitment to their customers to rectify this issue with a permanent solution, even though the hardware (Freeview receiver) I believe was made by Pioneer, but it needs a permanent replacement part or a permanent software fix as this is totally unacceptable.

For other members who asked: I too am on the Winter Hill (Greater Manchester/Lancashire) transmitter / mast

Tuning with no aerial fully clears any channel placeholders. This can not always be guaranteed on many products.

This thread seems to have wandered into different sub topics. Firmware is the 'operating system' the item uses and that hasn't been updated for many many years. It will not be updated again as the machines are way past their sell by date. They are long out of any support that could reasonably be expected.   

If you are running 1:70 firmware than that's as good as it gets. Issues of the EPG causing issues are something else.

You CAN turn OFF auto checking for firmware in the menus which tbh is something I have done years ago.  

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Reply by MellowNoma

I have installed Firmware update v1.70, but this does not seem to be the issue, it is the Freeview receiver that is incapable of doing what should be reasonably expected of it, as it just gets corrupted whenever there's an update which is seemingly at least twice a day, so it cannot be avoided from being banjaxed by the hardware not working as it should do.

I have never known the Update option to turn on or off the Firmware updates, as the Firmware Updates had to be downloaded specifically from SONY's website and 'burned' to a CD/RW. I only know of turning off/on the Software Updates, which as far as I have experienced made no difference at all, as those seem to relate to the Freeview software updates which just do their 'thing' as and when they feel like doing, and messing up a system that works one day, and is then made totally inoperable the same day or the day after - something that SONY ought to be ashamed of inflicting, and not fixing permanently, on their many customers that this hardware 'bug' has affected, for far too long!

[Mooly01]

The option in the system menu is to turn off OAD's (over air downloads) but these finished over a decade ago. I only mentioned it because I have that setting set to off on mine.

I really don't know what to suggest. We all seem to be on Winter Hill in this thread and all I can say is my two 870's are fine. A few weeks ago I even did a factory reset on one (in repsonse to one of these threads) just to check that it all set up correctly again and it did.

The only other thing I can suggest is that you enter the reset mode by pressing and holding Stop and then pressing Power. The machine goes into standby. At that point remove power, perhaps overnight. When powered up again it should enter OOB (out of box) state and go through the full normal setup procedure.

[Mooly01]

I'm just trying a factory reset now on my second 870. Reset done, all tuned in. All settings at default this time. 154 services found, 5 duplicates removed. Will see what happens at 2pm.

(I skipped the analogue tuning option and also made sure to select Guide+ Digital)