Cyberhome DVD/RW nightmare

About the generic Sonic +R's.............

Could not find ANY +R's in town, so decided to play with the generics again.....They work now ok IF you do not let them record to end of disc. Burned 3, and as long as I don't let them run out, all is ok, and they play on the Sony..........go figure!

Bob

 

Well folks, here is MY final report....after 2 days of constant testing...

My 3rd CyberHome 1500 replacement does this:

1. Now, the +RW included discs sometimes skip after almost an hour, and always toward the end of disc, just like the other unit. The skipping points are random, and not always in the same place. Flashing the firmware with the updates did not help. These discs will play in my Sony, but also skip randomly. The temperature of the discs seems to be irrelevant.

2. A rented DVD displayed the "reading" mode like forever! Disc was stuck! By powering up and down, etc., I was able to coax the disc from the drawer

2. This unit also suffers from low audio from the onboard tuner, but somewhat worse that the other one! Substantial high frequency loss, too.

I am NOT going back to Wal-Mart for another...this one is going back for repair or replacement via RMA to CyberHome. I refuse to give up on CyberHome, and I really like these units. I will keep trying until I get one that works! I am so familiar now with the 1500, that I think I could operate it and the remote blindfolded!

Cheers!

 

I too purchased the cyberhome 1500. Had to return the first one after it went crazy on me. This unit seems to be working fine but I have a question. I am receording vhs tapes (commercial type) and have a macro remover installed in between the vcr and the cyberhome. Disks record and play fine but is there any way to connect so that when playing dvd back on my Apex dvd player, the sound can go through my stereo speakers instead of through the TV? My set up with cyberhome unit, vcr, and small tv only allows me to use 2 of the RCA jacks (red not used). Could this be the problem? DVD as I said plays fine through TV speakers but would prefer stereo speaker sound. Any help would be appreciated. As you can tell, I am not electronic knowlegable. Thanks

 

Renderman: Been reading your posts. How hot are the discs when ejected from your unit(s)? Discs from my unit are very warm...almost hot, even after sitting overnight in a powered down unit.

I picked this unit at Walmart 2 weeks ago. Door on mine was stuck with excess cement preventing the door from freely opening. I had to scrape the excess glue off to use the unit.

Unit makes excellent recordings in HQ and SP modes. I use it to back stuff off my Tivo. I noticed that the HQ mode is a constant bitrate of about 9.3 mb/sec while SP uses a variable bitrate averaging about 5 mb/sec (2 - 9 mb/sec fluctuations).

I don't like the 2400 hour 'military time' clock. I also don't like the fact that the unit doesn't power down after inactivity. Yes, there's a setting for this in the Setup menu but it doesn't work.

I guess I'll keep the unit since it's working OK for my purpose. It does have alot of rough edges though.

I forgot to mention, I've got the unit on a diet of Memorex 2.4x rewriteables. Got them real cheap at CompUSA about a month ago (planning ahead) just under $25 for 25.

 

Hey QED:

Overall, the unit I presently have runs cooler than the second one. However, the discs DO get quite warm. I suspect that poor performance from generic discs might be heat related. In my experience with electronics, heat causes instability and eventual breakdown. This theory does not explain skipping on the CH +RW's though...AND always in the HQ mode.

I ordered some high dollar Maxell +R's to test when I get another unit from CH.

Early on, in the computer capture of video, pushing the data rate higher that the HD can handle, caused dropped frames or skipping and stutter, similar to my disc skipping problem. Perhaps the sustained data rate becomes too high for the unit to handle, especially when hot and in the HQ mode?
This, in combination with perhaps borderline or low quality electronics, and there you have it....NOT GOOD.
They may be giving us an excellent picture, but at the expense of playback instability and performance....downside of this may be the skipping? Just a guess, that's all.

Earlier this evening, I packed up unit #3 ready for UPS on Monday! My B***h list is right on top, where they can't miss it!

ain't this forum great?? we all suffer together!

renderman

 

Renderman -- FYI, if you don't already have one, you'll need an RMA # to return to Cyberhome. Last yr I returned two CHDVD-500's to them and their turnaround time was excellent. I did not receive the same units back, however, units I did receive appeared to be new, yet older manufacture dates. Units sent back to me worked fine. I sent them back because they'd lose video synch whenever there'd be a bright flash in a scene...momentary loss of synch but annoying enough to return.

I'm thinking of returning my CHDVR-1500 today. CompUSA has the Liteon-5001 on sale for $250 (stock #309011). I've read fairly good reviews on it and I think the warranty is better (1 full yr parts AND labor). I'll update later. Of course, I hate CompUSA's return policy/restock fees, so that's what's holding me back at this moment.

 

Forgot to mention. CompUSA also has the Memorex 2.4x DVD +RW rewriteables (stock #307170) on sale again this week but a little bit more than the last time. They're going for $26.99 for a 25 pack spindle this week. These work great in my Cyberhome 1500.

 

Hey QED,

Yes indeed, I did get a RMA from CyberHome. I got it the hard way.....I earned it!

Thanks for the media tip...I will go in that direction.

Renderman

 

My tale of woe at CompUSA. Arrived 10 minutes after opening to pick up a Liteon LVW-5001 on sale for $249.99. No boxes out on sales floor...I'm told their "in the cage in the back" and the manager has to get one out. My patience is sorely tried after asking 4 Red Shirts to get one. Finally, after 40 minutes one is bought out and placed up at the register for me. I get to checkout and upon examining the box it has been poorly taped/re-taped closed...I smell return all over it. At this point I was seeing red. I left empty handed. I hate CompUSA anyway. The liteon weighs less than 6lbs and felt like lite-weight crap. I'll think I'll stick with the Cyberhome.

 

I would stick with the Cyberhome over the Lite-On. They're not made all that well, and they have worse user interface. I like a number of things about the Cyberhome besides the sturdy feel, cool look, and intuitive button placement. The unit records as SOON as you press record (excellent for getting the first few seconds every time ;-) Excellent reproduction of color VHS at SP, and sometimes LP depending on the source (cartoons seem to lose something at LP, so I stick with SP). Excellent reproduction of black-and-white at LP and sometimes EP, saving me room on DVD's. I haven't noticed any loss of volume between original VHS and copy DVD, as some people have explained-- I route the Cyberhome Out (using RCA, not S-Video or Composite) to the VCR in, and then the VCR out back to the Cyberhome In (I use the front RCA's). I monitor on TV by connecting a cable line from the VCR to the TV. When I do A-B test between VHS and Cyberhome copy, the volume seems about the same. I still have an issue with a certain percentage of DVD+R's not finalizing, but I have an e-mail into Cyberhome on this-- it may just be the expected fatality rate of media used in this fledgling technology. I have used so far Maxell DVD+R-- no coasters, but a couple of non-finals. I have also used eBay-bought generic DVD+R's with good results-- 1 coaster out of 20 used, with some non-finals. I'm now using Memorex DVD+RW, purchased at OfficeMax for 1.99...I wanted the real-deal jewel cases because the cheap ones scratch your discs. Anyway, if anyone knows any solution to getting my non-finals "final", I'll love ya forever.

 

Gee....I keep checking on my ready-to-ship box to CH. I can't wait to go down to UPS, and get 'er outta here!

About the remote....if you're like me, you find yourself toggling back and forth to DV/Live in, up to setup, back to DV/Live in, and so on. Know what I
mean? 'Ya gotta shift lots of gears to get where you wanna go. Doin it in the dark is like forget it! Remote is too long and bulky, huh? Major buttons should be larger and linked closely together in my opinion. Yeah too, forget using the buttons on the unit's dashboard without some illumination in the dark! Some cool leds for the panel buttons would be nice. I know.......it ain't never gonna happen at this price.

Hey QED,

I've read posts on other forums (I'm sure you have, too), and many folks also complain of skipping, stutter, error messages, no disc, etc. Could it be that a better quality burner is the major fix for the 1500? I guess a guy just couldn't change it out, as it is probably proprietary? Maybe what they use, also generates too much heat? Poor longetivity? Another guess, of course.

renderman

 

I thought about opening the Cybie 1500 up to see what's inside. I think I read somewhere (maybe the forums over on nerd-out.com) that the 1500 has a regular old DVD +RW drive in it. I know the Liteon has a liteon 411 DVD +/-RW inside it from the Liteon Corporate forums http://220.130.29.146/ikonboard.cgi?s=12c4fa472b4c16b307da6d474fffc9f5;act=SC;c=2 One of these days I'm gonna rip the cover off to see whats inside. If the drive can be swapped out that'd be a nice plus (in case the original drive bites the dust).

A big part of my interest in the Liteon 5001 was the possibility it might get hacked firmware to 'upgrade' it to a dual format recorder. Liteon has a dual format model (LVW-5005) about to be released and the Liteon forum members are theorizing it might be a simple firmware hack to upgrade the 5001 to a 5005. The Liteon group seem much more into hacking their boxes than Cyberhome users. Probably because Liteon drives have such an avid following amongst those of who like cheap but good performing products.

 

This is stupid question perhaps.....?

Does the 1500 have a BIOS like a pc motherboard? When we update firmware, are we flashing the BIOS in the unit? Here is the stupid part....Is there any type of embedded software that operates this recorder? If so,
could it simply be buggy like some computer applications? What kind of chip do they use?
Anybody...............?

 

I can see why Cyberhome doesn't answer emails quickly.All of us are having problems,just think how many others have been exposed,buying their units at Walmart.I have put in all the upgrades on Cyberhome's website.I returned the unit to Walmart that locked-up with the DVD inside.The new unit is operating ok so far.I had trouble using Sony DVD+R media.It burns the first item on the disc fine,then it can't read anything after that.Sony is not mentioned in the compatability list.With all the trouble concerning the 1500 units,I suspect at some time Walmart is going to get tired of taking them back and stop selling them.Our Walmart doe not have any other brand of stand -alone recorder so far.

 

hellllllp. Im looking for a cheap macro workaround here for my new 1500.

I ran my Zenith 5 disc straight to the 1500...cp flashed on the bottom right part of the screen.

Hooked up my old, bout 5 yrs, zenith vcr to hopefully "run interferance"...cp flashed and ended my "backup"...dammit

email directly to

glynnw @ charter.net

... just take out the spaces

peace

 

Hello, I just had a pretty good experience with Cyberhome tech support. I have only been able to tune channel 5 and 6 The got back to me in about 12 hours 6am on a Holiday.. a couple of e-mails back and forth and here it is Monday Evening and I am recording off of other channels. Thanks Irwin..

The problem was in the firmware. They sent me a beta version (not on web yet) and it instantly fixed the problem.

If you are having this issue.. do not return your unit.. send tech support an e-mail and they will hook you up.. Its an HRC/IRC issue..

Good Luck ( I love my Cyberhome 1500 So far!!)

 

Hey daverudy,
Any idea if the upgrade will help finalizing work any more consistently?

 

dont know yet.. only know for sure it corrects tuner issues with cable.. very nice picture now. They do have an upgrade on their website that I did first. one is firmware and the other is for the servo. they servo one is supposed to help with compatability issues I think..
You can get the upgrade at : ( User manuals too)

http://www.cyberhome.com/downloads.asp?Product=1500

Leave your e-mail and I will send the beta firmware to you if you want it..

 

Daverudy,

Thanks for your post reguarding your tuner problem, and how it was resolved. I've posted to this forum several times regarding my tuner problem which is Identical to what you experienced. The tuner is the only problem I have with my 2500. I've emailed & called Cyberhome on several instances and only got a pap reply stating to check my tuner settings even after I stated that I was certain that my settings in the set up were correct.

I'll cyberhome another go, & I not expecting much since their response is horrible.

Is it possible for you to PM me the beta firmware patch for the tuner? BTW My tuner is an "x" designated tuner.
Any help would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks,

Ken Langley (k_DVD_K)

 

Update. I just burned a DVD+R Maxell with my 1500 (beta firmware) it played great in both my computers and a 34.00 Coby DVD player I picked up at Fry's today.. I am ahappy camper. Keep your chin up folks I think this firmware may help some of your problems..