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Panasonic DMR-E85H error U99
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timdf
Newbie
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1. November 2005 @ 12:19 |
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Been ok here for the past week or so - maybe it's been fixed ? Some sort of official communication from TVGoS would go down well, this thread could then be retired (till next time ?).
Tim
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TForce1
Junior Member
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1. November 2005 @ 13:27 |
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The primary point of contact at TV Guide, I beleive, is on vacation for another week. Hopefully, others have been working on it in the duration. I had that one U99 last week. I guess it was a fluke. When I got them before, it was an all day thing: i.e. I would cycle the power, get it going and within 2-60 minutes it would be back again. Here's hoping it's gone!
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Coyote24
Junior Member
1 product review
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1. November 2005 @ 16:42 |
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Bonus2
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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2. November 2005 @ 03:08 |
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I had suspected for a while that the cause of my U99s with my E85H were a combination of the TV Guide data stream (including the new ads) and power interruption or power surges. So I bought an Ultra/ULT31502/1000 VA 600 Watt UPS from Tiger Direct. On Mon evening, I plugged the UPS in for an hour to make certain it was fully charged (it actually came fully charged). Then in a very quick maneuver (about 2 to 5 seconds) I unplugged the E85H from the wall and plugged it in to the UPS. I right away got a please wait on the E85H screen then it powered up and I noticed that I had lost the ads but the program listings were still there. I decided to put it back in standby and wait to see if this power interruption would cause a U99. That night instead of going to the two channels it is supposed to go to for TV Guide data (4 local CBS and 53 MSNBC), it went to Ch 2 (local PBS) and other channels for data. Sure enough in the morning I had a U99. Thus for me, power interruptions do cause U99s. I then did the Ch-up Ch-down then unplug for 30 seconds. Today I now have 12 ads back and listings for 2 days and hopefully with my new UPS there will be no more U99s.
So as I look back I am now certain that the problems I had in mid Sept to the first week in October were caused by a power outage that took all of the data needed to download new information from memory and put me in a constant U99 error mode (had approximately 3 a day for 3 weeks).
Thanks to help from this forum, my fix was just the Ch-up Ch-down and then 30 seconds unplugged. Now with my new UPS I am certain I will be free of U99 problems. Otherwise I indeed feel that the E85H is one of the best units on the market. It seems to have some kind of filter that records clearer than the original cable broadcasts and SP recordings to DVD are extremely clear. I use it mostly for movies and now have over 300 movies on DVD. And the FR recording is terrific because many movies are just over 2 hours and the FR recordings in the 2 to 2.5 hour range are just about as clear as the SP DVD recordings.
Again thanks for all of you help and now I have a fully functional E85H.
Thanks
Bonus2
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Junior Member
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2. November 2005 @ 12:38 |
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FYI, Cheryl's note to me before her vacation said that she would be back tomorrow. I just dropped her a note to welcome her back and see if she has any updates to share.
Suburban Maryland - 20723
DMR-E500HS (mfg 8/2004)
Comcast Digital
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rekoj
Junior Member
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2. November 2005 @ 20:00 |
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Maybe I am lucky, because my TVGOS started to work fine last Saturday. I even didn't do any channel up/down reset after previous U99 errors (during the last week).
First, I had an option to choose between two lineups, then I have listings for SAT. And I have a lot of promotions. Later on, I had lisitngs for SAT, SUN and next SAT. And today, I have lisitngs for WED, THU and SAT, SUN, MON & TUE.
I have SC-HT1500 for 4 weeks, and it is the first time I can finally use timer recordings with TVGOS feature. It was really crazy to woke up every morning to U99.
I have only one problem - not all channel are listed - such as ch. 354 - Boomerang.
I keep my fingers crossed to last it.
ZIP 89145 - Las Vegas, NV,
Cox Communications with digital cable box.
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sfstan
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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3. November 2005 @ 02:18 |
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Bonus2. i too believe you and others are right about the combination of the loss of power and loss of listings and ads. i do not believe (or frankly remember) though that before aug/sept, that that was the case. something to do with the new software and loss of power seems to wipe out data (not hard drive) and requires a new download to get ads and a reset to get rid of u99s. i do not believe this is the way it should be. i do not have that kind of problem with tivo units when they lose power. with tivo i get a wait screen when it is powered up, i guess resets itself, but i do not lose any programming data. granted they are two different animals. the tivo unit receives it's listings through a phone line.
cheryl does not get back to work until tomorrow (the 4th) according to her out of office e-mail reply.
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shaolin00
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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4. November 2005 @ 07:14 |
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Has anyone heard from Cheryl or Panasonic about the progress of a fix?
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VideoBob
Member
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4. November 2005 @ 09:45 |
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I took a few days off to let those who have personal problems with me relax and chill out. I'm only interested in finding solutions--or at least reliable work-arounds--to these problems. I really don't care whether anyone accepts my input or not--it's freely given and can be just as freely ignored.
On Sunday (daylight savings time change day) the two TVGOS sytems at my other house either came back on or didn't turn off after a scheduled manual record with auto-off. I returned Wednesday to find them both on and three days' listings missing. The scheduled programing that used timers were recorded and the days that had already been filled in also recorded Guide+ Scheduled recordings. When it ran out of listings after three days (I was still recovering from leaving a DVD-RAM in overnight), it greyed out the listings and would not have recorded them, if I hadn't caught it just in time.
The clocks were a couple of minutes off on the Panny, and the RCA thought it was still Sunday the 31st until I Hard reset it. I noticed that the front panel of the Panny was three minutes faster than the time listed by TVGOS in the Guide+ window (and the front panel was correct). This persisted after two power cycles, but corrected itself after a soft reset/unplug.
This leads me to believe that I might have found the problem as to why (or at least the mechanism by which) some recordings fail after U99 recovery when you don't unplug the unit: the clocks lose synchronization, so the Panny looks for a program to record, but TVGOS still shows the last couple of minutes of the prior program (which has actually ended), so the record is aborted. To confirm this, the next time someone misses a recording, check the front panel time against the TVGOS time (upper left in the Guide+ Listings screen).
Both units are on a UPS, so I'll continue to attribute Sunday's glitch to some kind of time change/download mismatch unless I have reason to look elsewhere. Anyone else have timer or auto shut off problems on Sunday?
faure:
Newbie
Quote:
I tried your multilple power off-on. However, after the power cord pullout, the dvr tries to scan all the channels on the cable box (presumably foraging for programming data). SHould I let it finish (takes a LONG time) and only then power off and on again?
I really don't Know. I wasn't aware that it searched *anything* when it was fully powered up. How can it? If you are watching a show, it *shouldn't* change channels.
If, as I suspect, it only powers up into stand-by before searcing for data, then by all means, power it fully on (which I would think would stop the channel search) and then back off again. If you use timer recordings, the red clock should show in the control display.
Re: Hard Drive or RAM?
Quote:
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[VideoBob wrote]:2. This is just wrong, comprog. The data for the channel guide is unquestionably *NOT* being written to the hard disk. If it were, it would be persistant (survive crashes)--just like your recorded shows are. Panasonic has said that it is held in memory and, further, has said that in high-channel areas, the schedule will not populate fully, due to lack of space--unless you delete non-essential channels.
Sorry, Bob. I stand by my claim that the listings are stored on the hard drive. If you don't believe it, turn off the power to your unit(s) for a long period (20 or more minutes). You will find that the listings persist throughout the power outage. And, yes, I've familiar with battery backup of RAM and non-volatile storage in EEPROMs. I just don't believe that either technique is used in these recorders to store listings...
And I do believe they use something like battery-backed up CMOS RAM for persistant data. In the absence of actual data, either claim has merits and each could be wrong. We are simply following what we beileve based upon our own personal assesments.
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...But, if they were, the listings would persist through a power outage as well!
Yes, they would--and mine do. I believe that the loss is not due to the lack of power, but the lack of proper power-loss/shutdwn routines (or sufficient backup power to complete them). I have *properly* shut the machine down (Soft reset *without* plugging it back in) and then moved it across town to my other house. It was off for half a day and when I plugged it back on, the clock was correct *before* I hooked up any input OR powered it up. That indicates a long-term battery to keep the clock running. The current time was *certainly* not kept on the hard disk. When I did power it up, all of my listings were still there, and for the three days before I hooked up the cable, they simply didn't load any new data.
Most CMOS memory require less power in stand-by than a running clock *IF* they are set to stanby and all write control lines disabled *BEFORE* VCC (main power) is removed. I once used a tantalum capacitor as a "battery" to hold data in CMOS memory for 48 hours in the event of power loss in one design, so I know it can be done.
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So, your argument that the listings are not stored on the hard drive based on no persistence -- a wrong assumption -- is completely invalid.
Actually, if you read it again, you will see that I was referring to persstance through *crashes*--not through normal removal of power. To lose data on the hard drive, you have to be in WRITE mode at the microsecond of the crash. For the last few decades, almost every drive ever made has an automatic shut-down feature that removes write current *immediately* upon any glitch in main drive power--and long before normal logical functions shut down. This is why drives are *usually* reliable trhough power losses.
On the other hand, unless the Panny engineers included a *hardware* safety triggered by low power, they would rely on the processor to set up and administer going into stand-by mode--which is *not* a reliable way to handle the process (but *IS* the cheaper way). A guess: This is most likely what Panny did--and why the CMOS RAM fails to maintain persistance *sometimes*. It would also explain why different units in different configurations have different results IN THIS AREA--but *NO ONE* has reported loss of saved titles except those who unplug the drive.
shaolin00:
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Not exactly, it would still crash the unit if it was on the HDD or not IMO given the current programming.
Crash, perhaps, but if it were o the drive, it *should* still be recoverable *AND* the crash should not destroy more than a single sector (or at most cluster) of date. This is another reason why I think none (or very little) of the *system* data is on the drive.
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The information that you were given from Panasonic, was it given by a engineer or by tech support personnel?
It was on the phone, months ago, after I had been passed around a bit, so I really can't say for sure. It *was* someone fairly well up the food chain.
Quote:
The crash looks to me, takes place due to a corrupted download.
I think that is one thing we can all agree on: *MANY* of the crashes (I personally do not believe all of them) are triggered by corrupted , conflicting, or otherwise incompatible downloads.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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Coyote24
Junior Member
1 product review
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4. November 2005 @ 16:47 |
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No problems here with the time change on Sunday other than taking a glitch in the listings (next Monday, which was "day 8", didn't download, so it should tonight when it's "day 3"). I didn't record on Sunday after 10PM. Next Thursday is also missing, which should fill in by Tuesday. Odd that I'm seeing these glitches in the listings; my channels are pared down and the unit is in standby from 11PM until 9AM every day. I can live with these "8th day" timeouts or non-downloads as they're corrected when they become "day 3."
Interesting about the time-synch observation, VideoBob.
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acmetoyz
Newbie
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4. November 2005 @ 18:50 |
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Update from OKC (73034). As of Fri evening (11/04), still no U99s or other glitches on my E85H since the "OKC fix" took effect at my house with listing updates starting 19 days ago on 10/16. I have fully populated listings for the next 8 days plus promo ads.
Have recorded several hours of programs per day & filled up the disc a couple of times to the point of needing to erase some things. Frequently watch one previously-recorded program while recording another simultaneously. Many programs are set up for ?weekly? repeat, and have gone through this cycle once or twice without intervention and have all of them showing up to be recorded over the next 8 days (not grayed out). Often record things back-to-back (yes, it misses a few seconds at the end of one or the start of another, but works as described). Records correctly according to times shown in listings. (I wish that the listings could comprehend that some shows start at 1 minute after the hour, but oh well.)
Have made several DVD-R dubbings, but have never left a disc in afterwards and have never recorded directly to DVD.
Always have the unit protected by UPS and have gone through some short power outages.
I think it is definitely time for Cheryl to declare this ?test? a success and to roll it out nationwide. She could not have easily diagnosed the root cause without the help of many people on this forum.
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sfstan
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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5. November 2005 @ 02:23 |
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has anyone heard from or been able to contact cheryl?
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MastaZorg
Suspended permanently
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5. November 2005 @ 10:02 |
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GREETINGS EARTHLINGS
WE HAVE NOW TAKEN OVER YOUR WEBSITE
YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
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Moderator
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5. November 2005 @ 11:56 |
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trust me, you will regret this
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. November 2005 @ 12:22 |
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He will regret it Lethal
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faure
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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5. November 2005 @ 23:55 |
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VideoBob,
The red clock is showing on the E85 display (indicating I programmed the dvr for timer recording). The machine is changing the channels. Is that considered StandBy? I have not gotten ANY TVGOS data for weeks, and the AutoClock and AutoChannel setup are grayed out.
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wotever
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. November 2005 @ 15:26 |
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dmr eh50 after reset on thursday nite no u99 since then, lets hope its fixed.
zipcode 30655 georgia
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drsparc
Newbie
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7. November 2005 @ 08:33 |
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After weeks of not having a U99, I ran into one on Friday during the day. This may be unrelated as it behaved differently than before. Previously, when I had a U99, a power up and "self check" would clear up the problem until the next TVGOS update.
This time, after the self check, it would stay on a PPS station for a a few minutes and then go to the TV-guide screen. And then in 10 minutes it would U99 agian... whith the system still running. I tried self checking a few times and it didn't clear up. One time it went thtough the initialization screens (what is your zip code, etc)... and then showed my full listings (i.e. didn't wait 24+ hours). So I did the up/down reset thing and unplugged the unit for a few minutes. It returned to factory settings and cleared up the problem.
I have been having another problem that could have put my system into a weird state. Since recording on my current batch of DVD-R disks from TDK, the system crashes if I try and add a name to the disk. I don't know how the disk would matter, but I can see how the system state could be screwed up after a crash.
BTW, I wasn't recording on the DVD-R or even had one in the drive at the time of the U99 on Friday. The system was working OK on Thursday night. Recorded some shows properly on the HD on Friday morning. It happened in the afternoon on Friday. I'm not sure if I was scheduled to be recording then or not.
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Junior Member
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7. November 2005 @ 09:19 |
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I was out of town last week. When I got back, I had full listings for 7 days, but my "Host Channel" was set to channel 0 and so far it hasn't been able to recover from that. (Since we have a lot of programs scheduled for through Thursday, I'm letting it ride for now.)
On Sunday morning it got off to a bad start on a recording (even though it had already done one successful recording that morning); the red RECORD light just kept blinking in Stand-By but it never started to record. After a cancelling the non-recording (stop - enter) everything looked good. However, after putting it in standby, all the HDD recorded content disappeared out of the Direct Navigator. Then after a soft-reset (power button for 10 seconds) and unplugging for a couple minutes, everything showed up again.
But no U99's throughout all of this.
Suburban Maryland - 20723
DMR-E500HS (mfg 8/2004)
Comcast Digital
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Coyote24
Junior Member
1 product review
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7. November 2005 @ 09:31 |
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Skatter21: I think this is a variant of the "phantom record" VideoBob and others mentioned previously. I've had the same thing happen months ago, with the disappearing HDD recordings and all. Seems to be a glitch with this machine. VideoBob brought up an interesting theory about the broadcast time-signal not synching with TVGOS and causing problems...perhaps this is what happened?
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Junior Member
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7. November 2005 @ 09:44 |
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Coyote24,
I think you're right. And I saw that the time was out of synch with Comcast by more than 1 minute yesterday. (I have checked my cable box from Comcast with Naval Observatory time in the past and it's right on every time.)
Suburban Maryland - 20723
DMR-E500HS (mfg 8/2004)
Comcast Digital
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Mossler
Junior Member
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7. November 2005 @ 13:52 |
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Hey everyone I just thought I would share some good news that I just got from Cheryl.
Here's her message:
I thought I would pass
along
the information I have regarding the U99 problem. You should no longer
see
this. Please let me know if the U99 pops up again.
Panasonic recorders can display a U99 for a multitude of errors. In
other
words, it is a generic error displayed when the unit is unable to
process
anything, regardless of whether it is processing TV Guide data or doing
something else. Therefore we cannot guarantee you will never see a U99
on
your Panasonic unit in the future.
However there was a software change that was deployed on our side a few
weeks ago that would have caused your unit to have seen repetitive U99
errors. The software had various fixes to known issues on the
equipment on
our side, intended to improve our data delivery.
Panasonic units did not exhibit any problem during the multi-month
testing
of our software in our labs.
Once you and others started reporting this error as occurring
repetitively,
we had multiple senior engineers both from Panasonic and from TV Guide
On
Screen looking into what would cause this issue.
We've identified the problem and as of 2 weeks ago and started rolling
back
our change nationwide. Most of the country had been rolled back as of
Oct.
21st.
We sincerely apologize for this major inconvenience. You should not
see any
new U99's as a result of our previous change.
Thanks,
Cheryl
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beckmen
Newbie
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7. November 2005 @ 15:20 |
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So, should I re-initialize and go back to using TVGOS now? Is it safe?
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soju
Junior Member
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7. November 2005 @ 16:31 |
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Quote:
drsparc
Newbie
7. November 2005 @ 13:33
I have been having another problem that could have put my system into a weird state. Since recording on my current batch of DVD-R disks from TDK, the system crashes if I try and add a name to the disk. I don't know how the disk would matter, but I can see how the system state could be screwed up after a crash.
BTW, I wasn't recording on the DVD-R or even had one in the drive at the time of the U99 on Friday. The system was working OK on Thursday night. Recorded some shows properly on the HD on Friday morning. It happened in the afternoon on Friday. I'm not sure if I was scheduled to be recording then or not.
drsparc, I encountered the same thing early Sunday morning (3am)......trying to Dub/finalize using Comp USA DVD-R, which in the past has been consistently the most reliable on this recorder. Crash after crash and finally gave up!
When I got up and tried later - about 10am, it seemed like all was back to normal and I dubbed/finalized with no problems! In the meantime, my spindle of ruined DVDs continues to reach the 50 mark!!!
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Coyote24
Junior Member
1 product review
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7. November 2005 @ 16:46 |
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soju: FYI, there is some brief discussion about DVD brands and their relative success/failure rates at the very beginning of this thread (around page 6). Personally, I've used Memorex spindle DVD-Rs and Verbaitm Digital Movie DVD-Rs with no problems. Perhaps DVD-R compatibility with Panasonic units is/should be moved to a new thread?
drsparc, soju: Just a suggestion: have you ever flashed the firmware on your unit? drsparc's DVD-R problem might be similar to the HDD divide software issue that was resolved with the new firmware. Usually new firmware also addresses DVD compatibilitiy issues too (at least on computer DVD drives), so...?
Skatter21, VideoBob: I have a camera taking photos every minute of my VCR clock (updated by cable signal), a clock radio, and my Panasonic unit, and they have all stayed pretty much in synch with each other for the past 3 weeks, so if there's a time discrepancy with the Panny that causes a problem, hopefully I'll "catch" it.
It would have been nice if Cheryl had given even a GENERAL description of the "problem" with their "software change" (of "a few weeks ago"?! I'd think it was deployed in Aug/Sept!)...but in the grand scheme of things, I suppose there's nothing the end user could do even with knowledge of the nature of the problem.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2005 @ 17:17
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