Philips/Pace HDT 8520 HD-PVR Master thread inc. Bug and Issues List [Part One]

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Hi

Hi Phil just tried standby recording and the red rec light is on and the red standby light is on. I have just turned receiver on and the recording has started. perhaps I have got lucky and got a half decent box. No disrespect to Ukraine where my box was made does yours come from there too

Yes the recording light does on, I've not noticed it recording where it hasn't.

The manufacturing is probably okay. If will not be the case you have a decent box, more the case you have been fortunate not to have fallen over any of the software bugs.

The majority of the problems are software issues. The trouble is, a lot of these are probably quite obscure problems, for example the recording light might fail only after the user has done a particular combination of things, so you get one person that always has the problem and the rest of us do not. It isn't because their box is faulty, it will be because they are doing a combination of things no one else is and triggering the bug. Also things like memory leaks take a time before they trigger a crash, so if you just jump into the EPG, set a few recordings then come out and standby, you don't have chance for the bug to surface. If you have had the box on for a few hours and have been scrolling back and forth around the EPG and jumping in out of menus, then you might get the box crashing completely, which happened to me.

This is why Beta testing typically involves a lot of people, in order to trap these kind of things, I suspect given the rush to the market and delays in manufacturing they haven't had time to do this, and so we are doing it. :facepalm: Although that doesn't explain the lack of functionality from Pace who boast they are the "worlds number one".

Regards

Phil
 
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Hi Phil I have a Sony home cinema with both coaxial and optical audio in. The coaxial is connected to the Philips and home cinema. I have a Techwood receiver with optical and I have connected that to the home cinema optical. My Sony TV has optical out also, but is not connected
 
After using this for just under a week I am getting more disappointed. Further probs over this weekend:

Pausing live TV causes the pause to jump back by as much as 25 minutes and using the jump forward and back buttons cease to work.

Sound goes to full when either switching on from standby or from radio to TV even though on screen indicator shows 60%.

I am also getting echo on BBC HD (more like talking down a long tube!) even through Panasonic TV via HDMI as supplied but looking at other post this might not be box fault.

Radio mutes for a couple of seconds every minute or so after being on for several hours.

Disappointed since my first post for this machine was very positive but it has gone down on something almost every day since. I've got 2 more days before the 7 day return period expires and if nothing improves then its going back. Pity really - it has the makings of a good product but looks like it's been launched in a hurry.
 
Hi Phil

Are all Freeview HD PVR's using the same STi7105 chip?

I ask because according to 'prof', when 'he' compared the Philips PQ against the Digital Stream, the Philips came out on top.

I believe the Sagem uses the STi7105 so would be interesting to compare the PQ with the Philips but not sure if it is available yet.
 
Hi

Hi Phil

Are all Freeview HD PVR's using the same STi7105 chip?

I ask because according to 'prof', when 'he' compared the Philips PQ against the Digital Stream, the Philips came out on top.

I believe the Sagem uses the STi7105 so would be interesting to compare the PQ with the Philips but not sure if it is available yet.

Not all boxes, but the Sagemcom does use it.

Freeview is all digital and the MPEG decoding is a mathematical process, so results should be similar especially when transferred by HDMI and so keeping everything in the digital domain. Different manufacturers may include different enhancements during the upscaling process such as contrast enhancement and sharpening that will give rise to visual differences, even using the same chips.

Still while I can't comment on the differences seen in the example you quote, I do know out of all the various Freeview set-top boxes, DVD Recorders and PVRs, whether connected by SCART or HDMI, there has been little difference in the picture quality in my opinion.

Regards

Phil
 
Hi

Hi Phil I have a Sony home cinema with both coaxial and optical audio in. The coaxial is connected to the Philips and home cinema. I have a Techwood receiver with optical and I have connected that to the home cinema optical. My Sony TV has optical out also, but is not connected

Thanks, you have confirmed the bug I have found then, I'll add a link to your post in the issues list.

Regards

Phil
 
Pausing live TV causes the pause to jump back by as much as 25 minutes and using the jump forward and back buttons cease to work
Sounds similar to problems I had Friday night, got very frustrated when using chase play after having paused a film on Film4 for 10 min while I answered the phone. Had that jump back, then when I tried to fast forward if I went above 4x strange things started to happened it kept jumping back something like 25 min as you say.

Will try to do some proper testing later so I can come up with a detailed description for the bugs list.

If pause play/chase play doesn't work right then this will probably be the last straw for me.
 
I just programme a scheduled recording from the EPG,and then place the unit in standby(red light on).
The red recording light more often than not does not illuminate.
I had assumed that this was a hardware,rather than a software,fault.
Why don't more people post reviews on Amazon UK?
Might shame Philips/Pace into issuing a public statement.
 
I am watching and recording the Grand Prix with the hdt8520 and noticed that rec light had gone off. Checked it out and found it had stopped recording after 1hr 16 mins aprroximately the same time as another recording has started. Is this another bug for Phil
 
Hi

These are issues relating to the Philips Freeview HD PVR HDT8520.

The list of issues are growing, please note this is no way a bash Philips/Pace thread. I like others have currently spent £300 on this box and really think it is worth trying to get the manufacturer to look into these issues and bugs, otherwise it is going back for a refund.

back

We have had the Philips HDT8520 for 3 days and although in general the picture quality is superb :))) both on SD and HD there are some bugs that we are finding very irritating and I wonder if anyone else has experienced these also?

1) Selecting a programme from the EPG to record the schedule shows the correct item and time/date for the recording. Within a day or so the item is shown has having had its recording schedule automatically re-scheduled for a different day/time. The resulting recording is randomly late starting, or the incorrect duration. :mad:

2) Selecting a programme from the EPG to record is scheduled correctly but when the programme has been recorded it begins later then the start of the programme so the first section is missing. eg one of the half hour programmes that was recorded in fact was only 15 minutes and started half way through the programme! :mad:

3) Selecting a programme from one of the HD channels to record gives occasionally two different scheduled recordings - one on the HD channel, and the same programme on an SD channel! :mad: Weird.

All of the above have happened on more than one occasion!

Has anyone else seen these, and are these a manifestation of a different bug already included in the bug list??

Thanks
Mike
 
Hello

Yes it's version 2.11, loader version 1.13. Did a restore but to no effect.
 
Hi

We have had the Philips HDT8520 for 3 days and although in general the picture quality is superb :))) both on SD and HD there are some bugs that we are finding very irritating and I wonder if anyone else has experienced these also?

1) Selecting a programme from the EPG to record the schedule shows the correct item and time/date for the recording. Within a day or so the item is shown has having had its recording schedule automatically re-scheduled for a different day/time. The resulting recording is randomly late starting, or the incorrect duration. :mad:

2) Selecting a programme from the EPG to record is scheduled correctly but when the programme has been recorded it begins later then the start of the programme so the first section is missing. eg one of the half hour programmes that was recorded in fact was only 15 minutes and started half way through the programme! :mad:

3) Selecting a programme from one of the HD channels to record gives occasionally two different scheduled recordings - one on the HD channel, and the same programme on an SD channel! :mad: Weird.

All of the above have happened on more than one occasion!

Has anyone else seen these, and are these a manifestation of a different bug already included in the bug list??

Thanks
Mike

Yes I think you are seeing a few issues that we have already on the bug list. One is we don't have an option not to use 'accurate recording' which you are finding inaccurate, like a lot of people, as this relies on the broadcaster sending the correctly timed signals, and often they don't. What we really need is the option not to use accurate recording but padding.

There may be other bugs relating to how the box copes with two programs that overlap in the schedule, and it might be incorrectly truncating one recording when another starts rather than using the second tuner. With accurate recording often causing truncated recordings as well it will probably take a lot of investigation and trial and error for the problem to be replicated but I'm sure over time a pattern will emerge.

The selecting of one program then getting others selected and things being rescheduled again we have in the bug list. In many ways it is good that if you select to record a program that is repeated a hundred times on +1 channels etc, that these are flagged also in the guide, so when you browse the guide, you can see you are recording it. The problem is they are flagged in the same way rather than perhaps highlighted in a different colour, and the message that the program has been rescheduled is wrong and misleading, it should perhaps say, "you have an alternative showing of this program set to record at 17:30 on ITV1". Still usability are not something Pace seem to have concentrated on, and the fact these other instances are highlighted might well be a bug and it wasn't the intention at all to highlight other instances so you knew you were recording at least one of them.

The setting of a HD program also seems to flag the equivalent SD recording usually like the above saying it has been "rescheduled". I've also seen it when setting an SD program it has instead selected the HD program. Again not sure if this by design or a bug, or is due to how the programs are linked by the EPG data.

Again in many ways automatically selecting the HD version is nice as you might not realise that program was in HD, but also this could cause problems, i.e. what if your HD reception isn't perfect and so you are avoiding HD and would rather have the SD version. Or due to copy protection you want the SD version to copy off onto USB, not that this is supported by the Pace currently and may never will.

Hopefully we will get some feedback from Pace on Tuesday on these and other issues.

Regards

Phil
 
I've seen the same issues that Mike has described above. The most prevalent for me is the third issue, where a HD channel recording will cause the same programme to be recorded on the accompanying SD channel.

Philips, where is our firmware update?! ;-)
 
Hi

Hello

Yes it's version 2.11, loader version 1.13. Did a restore but to no effect.

Same software version so I would arrange to have it exchanged, it shouldn't take several seconds to see the guide. When you press the guide button it should appear immediately, although if you haven't had the box on long, the actual programs in the guide may take several minutes before all 8 days are populate.

Regards

Phil
 
Hi

I've seen the same issues that Mike has described above. The most prevalent for me is the third issue, where a HD channel recording will cause the same programme to be recorded on the accompanying SD channel.

Philips, where is our firmware update?! ;-)

So do you actually get both the SD and the HD version recorded?

Regards

Phil
 
Yes, I do. On my system this issue is reproducible 100% of the time, so I would expect it is something that can be fixed pretty easily.
 
Hi

Yes, I do. On my system this issue is reproducible 100% of the time, so I would expect it is something that can be fixed pretty easily.

Not so easy they couldn't fix if the launch though :(

I'll give it a go, definitely another for the bug list then :facepalm:.

Regards

Phil
 
I'm wondering whether to get my exchanged now seeing as no one else seems to complain that the picture is a little bit too light. Can anyone else confirm this? Menus look fine but SD and HD brightness seems a little too high washing blacks out a little.

May phone Philips and Comet Monday. Main problem for me as it simply doesn't "sit" right with everything thing else and hard to adjust the TV settings to compensate.
 
Hi

Yes, I do. On my system this issue is reproducible 100% of the time, so I would expect it is something that can be fixed pretty easily.

Yet more bugs.

Turned on just now to try the above and I've got the problem where the Volume control and Mute has stopped working, i.e. no on screen graphics and nothing happens. Edit: Ah this is because I changed audio out to Dolby which seem to disable the volume and mute controls, added to bug list.

Okay more idiosyncrasies:

Trying to replicate the above:

1) I select Country File which is on BBC HD and BBC1, if I answer to record as a series, no rescheduling takes place, and which ever one I selected to record is shown as the instance to record, i.e. just one selected in the guide.

2) If I select Country File and go for just recording that one program, so not the series, it now shows both the SD and HD version selected in the EPG with the BBC1 version having the "This has been rescheduled" message.

No consistency or rhyme or reason for the differences.

What option have you selected (series or single program) where both have been recorded? I've only used the single option for HD programs so far and only get the HD version recorded.

I'm wondering whether to get my exchanged now seeing as no one else seems to complain that the picture is a little bit too light. Can anyone else confirm this? Menus look fine but SD and HD brightness seems a little too high washing blacks out a little.

May phone Philips and Comet Monday. Main problem for me as it simply doesn't "sit" right with everything thing else and hard to adjust the TV settings to compensate.

No not noticed a problem with with brightness, but like I mentioned before my TV probably isn't calibrated in a way that makes it obvious.

It doesn't sound like a faulty box. It is hard to imagine with it all being digital what fault would slightly change the black level and I'd put money on any replacement being the same, still worth a try I suppose.

Regards

Phil
 
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mike.cloaked Before returning my box I unfortunately had all the timer scheduling issues you've described and I'll be interested to hear if these two show up on your box:

1) I found setting a one off recording - not series - also selected the programme on +1 channels (IE: Frazier on channel 4 also selected it on 4+1 and 4HD). They were shown as being re-scheduled but would recorded.

2) Scheduling a future series timer would also pick up programmes before the date you set (IE: I set the Menatlist -season 2 on FIVE for the coming Friday and it picked up the repeats of the previous epsode on Five USA before the Friday). As above they all would record.
 
I'm wondering whether to get my exchanged now seeing as no one else seems to complain that the picture is a little bit too light. Can anyone else confirm this? Menus look fine but SD and HD brightness seems a little too high washing blacks out a little.

May phone Philips and Comet Monday. Main problem for me as it simply doesn't "sit" right with everything thing else and hard to adjust the TV settings to compensate.

The one good thing about this box when I had it was the excellent picture quality on HD and SD. I have all my equipment connected via my amp to HDMI-1 and have had no reason to adjust the settings.

I know what you mean though as I had this problem with a Humax box finding the TV settings on HDMI-1 weren't right. One way around it is to connect to HDMI-2 and adjust that to suit the boxes output :smashin:
 
The one good thing about this box when I had it was the excellent picture quality on HD and SD. I have all my equipment connected via my amp to HDMI-1 and have had no reason to adjust the settings.

I know what you mean though as I had this problem with a Humax box finding the TV settings on HDMI-1 weren't right. One way around it is to connect to HDMI-2 and adjust that to suit the boxes output :smashin:

Thing is to try and compensate for the poor black level messes up the dynamic range of thr picture making it look a bit murky and not vibrant.

Will have a word with both companies to see if I can try another...if not...and I don't really want to...it's going back for good
 
I found that the simultaneous recording issue would happen for both single and series link recordings.
 
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