HD300 - Operational Issues

[RonBoyd]

I received my HD300 a week or so ago. For about a week it operated as I expected it to -- a welcome improvement over the HD200.

Then it started to act peculiar. It would halt (like in Pause) when fast forwarding (during a recorded file or live TV, it didn't matter). No button (or combination) pushing, including Home or Back, had any effect -- the Power Button shut down the Unit but left the screen image intact. Rebooting (via unplugging) seemed to be the only solution.

Then it started to sometimes not startup -- I would start SageTV (v6.6) and then turn on the HD300 (with either Home or Power) and get nothing but a dark screen. No amount of rebooting, shutting down, or starting SageTV after powering up HD300 would make any difference. Then if I waited (to let my temper subside, perhaps), it would start up as expected when started in the normal manner and operate perfectly the rest of the evening. Or if I just left things as is (HD300 on and dark screen) it would --sometimes -- within the next 15-20 minutes simply and mysteriously startup as it should.

I notice that the unit is (IMO) overly warm, not hot exactly but still more warm than I would expect.

I am now back to using the HD200 while the HD300 sits off to the side. (I notice that I don't have to change any settings when switching between the two units -- is that normal?)

Finally my question: Is this something wrong with my unit or with all HD300s?

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by RonBoyd

I received my HD300 a week or so ago. For about a week it operated as I expected it to -- a welcome improvement over the HD200.

Then it started to act peculiar. It would halt (like in Pause) when fast forwarding (during a recorded file or live TV, it didn't matter). No button (or combination) pushing, including Home or Back, had any effect -- the Power Button shut down the Unit but left the screen image intact. Rebooting (via unplugging) seemed to be the only solution.

Then it started to sometimes not startup -- I would start SageTV (v6.6) and then turn on the HD300 (with either Home or Power) and get nothing but a dark screen. No amount of rebooting, shutting down, or starting SageTV after powering up HD300 would make any difference. Then if I waited (to let my temper subside, perhaps), it would start up as expected when started in the normal manner and operate perfectly the rest of the evening. Or if I just left things as is (HD300 on and dark screen) it would --sometimes -- within the next 15-20 minutes simply and mysteriously startup as it should.

I notice that the unit is (IMO) overly warm, not hot exactly but still more warm than I would expect.

I am now back to using the HD200 while the HD300 sits off to the side. (I notice that I don't have to change any settings when switching between the two units -- is that normal?)

Finally my question: Is this something wrong with my unit or with all HD300s?

Did you update the firmware on the HD300? Sounds like a lot of the issues I had (breifly) before I updated.....

And Sage tracks all extenders by their Mac Address, so as long as you do not destroy the client properties file for it (found in the SageTV folder under client folder), it will retain all settings for that particular extender.

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Did you update the firmware on the HD300?

Actually, I did it twice. Once during the initial setup and then again during a "Configuration Reset Procedure" (Page 11 of Manual) that I thought might fix the problem.

I hooked the HD300 back up and when I plugged it in (after starting SageTV), both the red and blue light came on -- the blue encircled by red -- and the screen remained dark. I rebooted, same effect. I rebooted, the third time, and only the blue light activated. A Sage TV Logo came on the screen for a few seconds (15?) and then the screen went dark. Five minutes later the "Main Menu" suddenly appeared. Going to "Setttings," I find that I am running Firmware v20100909-0. Clicking on "Update" gets me a message stating that I have the most recent Firmware.

[paulbeers]

Try the most recent Beta firmware. They fixed a lot of additional things in it (don't worry the Beta firmware is very stable). Type in BETA with the remote (2382) on the firmware update screen. You will see the title at the top to say something like "check for recent Beta firmware" or something.


I'm not saying it will fix your problem, but it is worth trying. Oh and if you don't like the beta for whatever reason, you can go back to the 20100909 firmware still.....

[RonBoyd]

Okay, I will try that... well, if I can get it up and running again.

When I went back to the TV, there was an image (several cheerleaders in white uniforms) -- I had left it with the "Main Menu" on screen. I pushed the "Enter" button on the remote and the Main Menu came back. I clicked on "Setting" and then on "System Information." The screen "froze" and has remained that way for five minutes now.

I notice that there is a red "Exclamation" icon in the upper right screen -- this was there before I believe... or at least I have seen it quite often. I can find nothing in the documentation that gives me a clue as to what it means. This is why I was going to "System Information."

[Codell]

Hello, Ron. I can't help with your HD300 problems, but the red exclamation icon in the upper right indicates that you have an unresolved scheduling conflict. If you resolve all your scheduling conflicts, the red exclamation mark will be replaced by a green check mark (within a yellow circle). If you have no scheduling conflicts, neither icon should appear. And if you find the icons annoying, I believe there is a way to turn certain icons off on a screen by screen basis, but I can't find that right now (and maybe that's available only in SageMC?).

Hope this helps.

Steve

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by Codell

Hello, Ron. I can't help with your HD300 problems, but the red exclamation icon in the upper right indicates that you have an unresolved scheduling conflict.

Thanks for responding. Yeah, I found out about the Scheduling Conflict... I was just so rattled by the main problem that everything became the "enemy," I guess.

Anyway, I installed the Beta Firmware and after three days, I am happy to report that everything is working as expected. And FWIW, HD300 is soooo much better than HD200 -- the picture and sound enhancement is outstanding.