[A-110] Firmware 01-17-090201-15-POP-403 (02.04.2009)

[Zeiram]

(05-09-2009 08:55 PM)uralrider750 Wrote:  In the UK we have some thing called, TRADE STANDARDS ACT 1979 and sale of good act. Where goods have to be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose. I have updated the firm wear, all went well, the rebooted to be greeted with a screen asking to update the nmt aps, and alas that’s where it all went wrong . with usb or direct download all I get is “invalid sor****reboot” ???Crap
This is where the above act comes in, It’s under 12 months old, send it back and let them fix it or have my cash back ? What do you all think? Has any one a better idea ?

Did you bother trying to restore the default firmware? It might have been a corrupt file download that caused the problem in the first place.

Restore Firmware

I would also point out that buying from the manufacturer you knew in advance that the product was still in development. This is what I call a "tinker" box because it requires some technical skills to operate as well as update/modify/alter the internal system. This is not an idiot-proof box. If you want idiot-proof then buy AppleTV.

[markb]

(05-07-2009 02:37 PM)florian_cj Wrote:  We don't need a firmware release every one or two months. We need a firmware release per year, but without bugs!

That's rediculous. If you get a firmware once per year it will just have many more bugs and you'll have to live with them much longer. "Release early, release often" should be the mantra. The developers get immediate feedback and bugs are easier to correlate with small incremental changes.

I'm new to the PH (A110) and this is my first post here. I am very disappointed in the performance and functionality of this over-hyped and expensive device. It needs better firmware and more releases.

[uralrider750]

Yes all that and more, Today I removed the hard drive and rebooted it, ran it then shut it down, replaced the hard drive, rebooted, then reformatted and reloaded the NMT ap,
OK, now it all work’s, but I have lost all the videos ect saved to the drive?
Happy? not quite, but near enough,
As for it being a tinker box, well at the price of some £250+ for what looks like £35 of hardware, a sata drive enclosure with a small pcb, I would like it to work reliably?
Regards Ural.R

[Zeiram]

(05-10-2009 01:06 PM)uralrider750 Wrote:  Yes all that and more, Today I removed the hard drive and rebooted it, ran it then shut it down, replaced the hard drive, rebooted, then reformatted and reloaded the NMT ap,
OK, now it all work’s, but I have lost all the videos ect saved to the drive?
Happy? not quite, but near enough,

If you installed under "Typical" setting in the first place there shouldn't be a need to reformat. All you needed to do was overwrite the firmware and/or NMT apps. From the forum posts I have read no reformat is needed if precautions are taken. That said, keep a backup of your files. This is common sense. A hardware failure could occur any time locking you out of your files.

Quote:As for it being a tinker box, well at the price of some £250+ for what looks like £35 of hardware, a sata drive enclosure with a small pcb, I would like it to work reliably?
Regards Ural.R

I guess there's no pleasing some people. I enjoy the challenge of new technology. If you wanted a non-tinker box then you should have invested in the $1000+ media players. Keep in mind that for that price you get limited format support, limited open source development, and limited ability to tweak the system to your exact liking. That's the cost of idiot-proof.

[dh2005]

uralrider750;

I quit the law four years ago, but I used to be a litigator and I studied consumer protection as an undergraduate. And I don't think you'll have any joy from the legal angle.

The legislation you're referring to is the Sale of Goods Act 1979. It no longer requires that goods be of merchantable quality, but now provides that they be of satisfactory quality (it changed in 1994) - here's the definition:

"Goods will be of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory. It is a relative standard dependant on matters such as price and description. Aspects of quality include durability, safety, appearance, and freedom from minor defects." (emphasis added)

Your complaint seemed to be (correct me if I've misread it...), "I've run into a firmware error that I don't know how to resolve. I want a refund". The law's view would almost certainly be, "if you wanted something as easy-to-use as a media PC, that's what you should've bought". And media PCs aren't exactly a pushover to setup either, as many users around here will testify.

The NMT is a hobbyist technology project for many of us. And anybody with any sense will tell you that people without a willingness to experiment shouldn't buy one. They require perseverance. If you really can't be bothered with that, by all means try to get your money back from the supplier, but I think the better option for you is to sell it on eBay.

[tvsteve]

This is my first post here and I must say the A-110 I recieved last Friday does work as advertised. Yes, you do need computer skills and I had no trouble setting it up, updating firmware and applications and yesterday streamed NASA HD video from my C band dish over my network to the PCH and watched the liftoff on my 42" plasma TV. Plays everything I can throw at it, AVI, DVD's, 1080P mkv movies, no studder, clean audio, just no problems. Even shot a few NBZ files at Usenet and came back to find downloaded, unpacked files to watch. Wow!!!

Steve

[jak456]

(05-12-2009 05:56 PM)dh2005 Wrote:  uralrider750;
The NMT is a hobbyist technology project for many of us. And anybody with any sense will tell you that people without a willingness to experiment shouldn't buy one. They require perseverance.

Hmmm, not sure I saw such a disclaimer on pack or in any official PCH material when I bought mine. Let's be clear, the PCH is sold like any other AV equipment and the average consumer expects those to work without the need for tweaking it, computer skills or knowledge about this forum as a source of assistance.

I like my PCH A110 a lot but I can understand that some folks are upset about it not being foolproof.

[chris57]

The PCH is not sold like any other piece of AV kit ive bought.

The PCH is a mix of an AV piece of kit and a PC bit of kit. It is called a Networked Media Tank so there is an expectation that you should know at least how to operate a network. If you can do that and know what your AV settings should be by reading your Tv manual, AV manuals and the NMT WIKI then you will be fine.

[dh2005]

jak456;

Sure, but what if the "average consumer" can't work out how to program an AV multi-remote? Does the "average consumer" have an automatic legal entitlement to return it and ask for a refund? That person should've read reviews, visited online AV forums and inquired as to its useability before buying it. Then perhaps he would've been told, "these things require prior knowledge of AV multi-remotes. If it's your first, get a friend to set it up for you"... and what is an "average consumer", anyway?! A total, total moron who can't follow the NMT Quickstart Guide to this forum? Where all of his startup questions can be answered.

Where should the line be drawn? Should every piece of electronics come with its own engineer?! Someone who'll bring it to your house, set it up for you, then live in your garage just in case you spill beer on it...?!

I hate modernity's obsession with making consumer electronics idiot-proof. It's made consumers lazy. Sure, equipment sholdn't be needlessly difficult to use, but some technologies are complicated. If Syabas had integrated a more powerful processor, with a prettier UI, a keyboard and a mouse etc. then, yeah, the NMT would probably be easier to use. But it would also cost more money. And for those of us willing to experiement a little, having the choice to make that monetary saving is much appreciated.

After a couple of weeks of effort, I got my head around the NMT without being a computer genius. It just takes patience. And, as I've said, almost anybody who's got one of these will tell the uninitiated, "they're great, but they can be time-consuming".

I don't mean to be unkind, but I really don't have much sympathy. The information's out there. All a person needs to do is look.

[jak456]

(05-13-2009 09:25 AM)chris57 Wrote:  The PCH is not sold like any other piece of AV kit ive bought.

Yeah, well that is exactly my point ! Any other AV piece I have at home works without me having to read formus and Wikis even the ones that have a developer community associated therewith (eg, Topfield Sat Receivers).

Anyway, this is off-topic, thus that is it from my side.

[jackadam]

A firmware ruining the working of my PCH isn't very succesful. Is it possible to roll back without the use of a USB stick - but with the use of the internal HD?

[McOrmick]

If your PCH breaks down most of the times it is your fault, not the PCHs. I've had the device for 6 months now ... and NEVER had any issues whatsoever. Read the Wiki, use common sense. Trace back your own faults. Time to close this thread. All update issues have been answered. Use the search.

Time to focus on firmware improvements. What's going on? No status updates since February. What is Syabas doing a.t.m?

[Face]

Werner has recently posted in the A100 version of this thread that a small bug fix release may be available this or next week

[werner]

yes same also for A-110, its really an small bugfix release only hdd format fix and an m2ts fix.

Regards,
Werner

[Face]

(05-15-2009 08:49 AM)werner Wrote:  yes same also for A-110, its really an small bugfix release only hdd format fix and an m2ts fix.

Regards,
Werner

Werner,

Does the m2ts fix resolve the stuttering issues at 23.976fps that affects some Blu-Ray m2ts files like Casino Royale, Cars, Zulu, etc that play fine at 60Hz? I really hope so :-) Then just the DTS audio drop-out fix.

Cheers,

Face