C-200 PSU failed again

[BladeZX]

My 2nd PSU (since the original) just failed in my C-200.
I am a little PO'd right now since the PSU did not even last a year. I just called PCH and they will not cover it and I have to purchase another one. This sucks because I am in Canada and shipping is more than the actual PSU cost.

I have a A-100 which has not caused me one issue.

I guess I am done with the C-200. I cannot keep buying PSUs for it as each one costs me about $60-70 each.

[halfelite]

pick up the pico, how many drives do you have connected to your pch

[BladeZX]

I use unraid towers with my PCH

I went out and bought another WD TV Live and it is working great. PCH will be sold cheap (just needs a PSU)

[clvk07]

(03-16-2012 12:40 AM)BladeZX Wrote:  I use unraid towers with my PCH

I went out and bought another WD TV Live and it is working great. PCH will be sold cheap (just needs a PSU)

Ye same happened to me. PSU gone after less than 2 years. Not only Syabas doesn't acknowledge the fault which is affecting hundreds of customers, but if you buy a new PSU it only gives few months of warranty. This issue was poorly handled by Syabas and it's management team and it really doesn't do any good to it's brand.

[BladeZX]

Yep... I am selling my C-200.
I already bought a WD TV Live. It is working great and it was only $30 more than a new PSU would end up costing me.

[chris57]

My PSU replacement has lasted since I got it a few years ago. You cannot generalize otherwise it makes you look foolish.

[BladeZX]

How does that make me look foolish. I am simply stating my experience with PCH customer service on my 3rd failed PSU. It is frustrating.

The fact that PCH will not acknowledge there is an issue with the C-200 and PSUs bothers me. If a bunch of people are having the same issue then that should raise concern. I called and they offered nothing to me other than "well you can buy another one"... That is great if I lived in the US but I do not and it costs about 65-70 to have another sent to me. I was not happy with their customer service in that they did not even offer anything else other than "buy a new one".

I own a A110 and it works fine and has worked fine for years but there is something not right about the C200. I will not buy another one from them because of this experience.

[Willem53]

must be a language thing... Chris said You cannot generalize otherwise it makes you look foolish.

He did not say you were generalizing, just that you can't.... but I could be wrong as English is not my native language

But we all agree that the first 6 months of the C200 the PSU was a piece of crap with cheap capacitors..
Second generation after 6 months was OK and I got one of those for replacement after my PSU sizzled out..

Frying 3 in a row is outside any statistical probability..... and if it was my setup would make me check the complete electrical of all connected devices.... and for spikes in my house wiring.
But as for any statistic there is always someone on the other side of the spectrum... sorry

[BladeZX]

I replaced my C200 PSU with a PICO 90watt PSU and it works perfectly. Powers both the hard drive and bluray player.

I really recommend you not waste your money on the PSU that PCH sells and buy the PICO

[sixfootgeek]

My C-200 PSU failed once and while I was waiting for a new one to come in I fixed the original by replacing the bloated caps, and kept it for backup. When the replacement came in it worked but when I initially turn it on the power button has to be pressed about 4 or 5 times and then it powers on. So I put the "fixed" supply back in and kept the new on as back up.

[gonzalu]

My C-200 just blew the PSU :-( This is totally unexpected and I was hoping that Popcornhour.com would have something about this on the home page or support page. I also expected the manufacturer to admit to the problem PSUs and offer free replacements ... I am sad this wasn't and does not seem to be so.

So, I was willing to just spend the money on "buying" a replacement and I find it is out of stock? This is really disappointing. I have probably convinced about 25 of my friends to ditch all sort of competing NMTs and buy one of the Popcorn Hour models. I am a huge supporter and also have contributed much time to the skins for YAMJ and testing of YAMJ etc.

I find this thread and it was not really sticky nor easy to find (searched for C-200 power supply) and note the tone from some to be defending the manufacturer. That is not really positive in any way. Imagine something much less happening to your car. You would be very upset and would expect good care from your manufacturer. There is simply no excuse for something to fail so quickly, have it be known to be faulty manufacturing and not take are of your customers. This does not build trust!

And no, I am not going to hack my unit with the PICO solution being proposed. Not really what I expected to do. I have many many products in my house all of which have power supplies of some sort and none have failed like this. One of my PC PSUs is actually over 15 years old and still working fine.

I am not really that upset even if my tone in the thread seems to be so... I am, however, extremely surprised and disappointed. The fact that I cannot even BUY a replacement is depressing.

Again, I repeat, if Panasonic or Sony had bad or breaking PSUs on their TVs, no consumer would stand for this and they would likely lose customer and market share. Reputation is one of the key components in economics.

Thanks for putting up with my rant What are my options in terms of scoring a PSU? I am not going to get the PICO and I don't need the C-300 yet... C-200 is working PERFECTLY for me otherwise.

[BanditRider]

Repair your PSU. It's cheaper than buying a replacement.

[gonzalu]

(04-09-2012 02:35 PM)BanditRider Wrote:  Repair your PSU. It's cheaper than buying a replacement.

Thank you but you really should read my post... your response is totally irrelevant, isn't it?

[BanditRider]

I didn't advise you to buy a Pico. Just have the bad capacitors replaced and you're done.

[gonzalu]

(04-10-2012 12:44 PM)BanditRider Wrote:  I didn't advise you to buy a Pico. Just have the bad capacitors replaced and you're done.

I know... what I want is either an admission and better handling of the situation by Syabas or a replacement part that is available... My days of electronic repair were over when I bought the PCH C-200. The A110 was a bit hobbyist in the setup, I guess, but the C-200 promised a better experience.

What's wrong with stocking replacement parts? I mean that would be better than nothing. I can complain about the problem but had I been able to buy the replacement part, I may have skipped the complaint.

There is simply no excuse and anyone who defends Syabas or PCH here is plainly blinded or otherwise working for them in some degree.

Think about it:

--I paid not $50, but over $300 for my device.
--It is not that old, not old enough for me to expect it failing like it did.
--Manufacturer and Distributor do not officially admit the problem on the sales pages that I could easily find
--A replacement part is not available for purchase readily
--Customer has a huge 3000+ movie, video and TV show collection which is rendered somewhat useless
--Customer has no other recourse than to rely on the community which is probably the best around.

I truly appreciate your help, really. But I want to complain about this problem and not get excuses... I have tried calling PCH and E-mailing them and still no response. This community site was the next best thing before I resort to Facebook and Twitter and Blogging and Google+