Panasonic DVD recorders Favourites Editor

oldtimer2

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Last month, February 2015, avforums had a thread about a shared fault we had all experienced with our various Panasonic DVD recorders, dating from mid-January. This involved a page headed 'Favourites Editor' replacing timed recordings for the duration of the scheduled programme on our DVD recorders. Also since mid-January there had been an increased experience of U80 and U81 error messages on the DVD recorder. milkjester, BobCharHeatand, Emjay111 and I (oldtimer2) contributed to this forum. At least three of us have contacted Panasonic about the problem, as Gavtech suggested, but the forum now appears to have been pulled - at least I can't find the thread again on avforums.
I should just like to know if the recommendations from Panasonic Support have solved the problems experienced by others. In their email to me, Panasonic Customer Service stated that they were "trying to develop a firmware update to address the matter" concerning the Favourites Editor screen. I have done all the detaching of aerial and mains supply for 28 hours, going back to Factory Settings and retuning etc. that Panasonic recommended. Neither of my units is coming up with the Favourites Editor page now, and the EX773 appears to be behaving normally, touch wood, but the EX83 is a pain - U80 and U81 errors messages now appear frequently, whenever the Direct Navigator, Guide or Function Menu keys are pressed on the handset. These U80 and 81 messages also come up at the start time of timed recording, resulting in missing the early minutes of the recording. Very annoying!
 
There is a scheduled download, starting today ( depending on model - See here for the schedule) to fix this problem.

It is possible that the U80 / 81 errors are due to another problem - You will have to wait until the update has occurred to see if those problems remain.
 
Thank you, Gavtech. My Pana EX773EB and EX83EB DVD recorders are both scheduled for Freeview downloads on Monday,16/3, so I hope that will do the trick!
 
Hi Gavtech. We are still getting the errors so hopefully this update would do the trick. Being an OAP and not very up on these matters I hope you can answer a couple of questions.
Freeview downloads playing this week on PSB1 What is PSB1 ??
Is this an Automatic Update, like the program guide updates?
Or, do I need to do anything on our units to enable the Update downloads ?

On a previous subject my login procedure is still not right, looks like I am stuck with it!
 
Hi Gavtech. We are still getting the errors so hopefully this update would do the trick. Being an OAP and not very up on these matters I hope you can answer a couple of questions.
Freeview downloads playing this week on PSB1 What is PSB1 ??
Is this an Automatic Update, like the program guide updates?
Or, do I need to do anything on our units to enable the Update downloads ?
PSB1 stands for 'Public Service Broadcasting Multiplex 1' which is the digital mutliplex that carries all the main BBC channels.

The process should be automatic and you may get an onscreen message with guidance.. or it may happen overnight. For more information see page 78 of your manual, under the heading 'Software Update' ( ...assuming your model is the EX83)

Note the following:

An update will take approximately 60 minutes. While the update is in progress, “SW-DL” appears on the unit’s display. (i.e. SoftWare DownLoad)
You cannot operate the unit until the update is complete.
Removing the AC mains lead while the update is in progress may damage the unit.


I would advise all onlookers to check that their machine has updated before the scheduled download ceases being broadcast.
On a previous subject my login procedure is still not right, looks like I am stuck with it!

I will try to look further into this problem.
 
Hi Gavtech.

Thank you for your reply.

Thought this may fix the problem but it did not, at least on one machine anyway. I manually updated and noted the eventual message that my software was up to date, I then tried to change drive from DVD to HDD and the message about the disk not recognised and may have a problem then U81 appeared! Oh well, back to the drawing board….

Is there a way to check which software version you have? Thinking of my other unit in case that one causes me more problems.....


Good luck with the login problem, its one I have never come across before. The home page ’login or register’ button just shows the grey box with 3 sequential lights and then……….. nothing!


Regards


Alan.
 
The U81 error can be caused by a couple of things. None of which are firmware related.

The most common cause is a defective regulator IC and some capacitors. This is a very cost effective repair to undertake, as the components are very low price.

The other cause of the U81 error, although this tends to manifest itself as a permanent U81 error, rather than intermittent, is a defective Back End PCB.

This is a small plug-in module that often fails with a short circuit on one of its supply rails. It's an un-repairable module, so replacement is the only cure. When I was last repairing these, the Back End PCB direct from Panasonic was horrendously expensive, and on some models, no longer available.

So - if the problem is intermittent, but getting worse - there is a good chance its repairable for not a great deal of money.

Cheers,

MJ
 

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