Cyberhome DVD/RW nightmare

I loaded the new upgrade and the servo firmware update last night on my Cyberhome 1500 and all seemed fine. I know it worked because I went through setup and it asked me if I wanted the 12 or 24 hr clock. I chose 24. I set the timer to record a couple of programs, turned standby on, and went to bed. When I got up this AM, the DVD was in standby, but when I went to turn off standby, the recorder froze. It has the Cyberhome screen on the TV and Cyberhome is displayed in the LCD screen on the recorder, but no buttons work. I used the remote then used the manual controls but it is frozen solid. I shut the power off in the back a number of times, but when I turned it back on it was still locked. Any thoughts anyone? Has anybody else had problems going to and from standby since loading the new firmware. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Did you have a DVD in when you shut down for the night? I did that once and it locked up on me so bad I had to return the unit. I think there are some tricks to unlock it but I don't know what they are, sorry. The only "trick" I know is that I don't leave the Cyberhome overnight with a DVD in anymore. This kinda sucks for overnight timer recording.

 

Yes I had a dvd in the unit. I've done overnight recording before with no problems. The only thing I did differently was load the new upgrades last night.

 

Hi KOOLBREW,I read your post about upgradeing to the new firmware and went and tried a timer recording on mine.I just did a short recording of 15 minutes but did let it sit for about 30 minutes before I took it off standby and it worked as it should.I know that is not the same as letting the unit do its thing for a couple of hours and then stay in stanby the rest of the night but mine did work.Are you certain you applied the correct upgrade for X or P according to what is on the back of the unit?Also the servo upgrade must meet the specs that are mentioned in the instructions (must be U1229200301X OR HIGHER MUST NOT END WITH P) and the bottom numbers below this must be ( 116A or higher and must NOT start with S).If all of this was correct before you upgraded both firmwares it should work ok.I will do a timer recording at bedtime and let it sit overnight and report back tommorrow evening.BTW my unit is a USAX model.Later..
roothead.

 

Hey does anyone know how to use this recorder as a backup to remove recordings from your REPLAY TV. Can it be done and HOW????

 

Hey roothead, thanks for the reply. Yes I checked the specs for the upgrades and I was definitely within the parameters. I also have a usax model. I left my unit OFF for the whole night last night hoping that when I got up this morning it would miraculously be working again. But no such luck, it is still frozen. I will be waiting to hear how you make out leaving your unit in standby all night. I've emailed Cyberhome support but haven't got an answer. I guess I shouldn't hold my breath.

 

KOOLBREW,it might just be my good luck but I did a timer recording last night for 2 hrs 45 min. and this morning turned it off of standby and everything worked like it was supposed to.Disc read,played and ejected.I was useing a memorex dvd+rw.I might try it again tonight with a dvd+r.If this thing is going to screw up on me I want it to do it while there is still warranty involved.What is the mfd date on your recorder?I think mine was mfd. in November 2003.Not that it makes any difference just wondering if there could be a connection with the people that are haveing problems and the mfd. dates.

 

Well, roothead, it's a moot point now. I returned the unit to Wal-mart this afternoon. Reading the replies in this thread, I decided not to get a 1500 replacement unit because it's just a roll of the dice whether the next one would work. I don't want to spend the rest of my life going to and from Wal-mart. I know DVD recording is a new technology, and you have to expect some problems, but what really disappointed me was Cyberhome's lack of effort in helping me resolve the problem. I emailed them numerous times but they never responded. Once they got my money, I no longer existed. I liked the 1500 when it worked and if they would have worked with me, I would have put up with a lot. I'm going to stay subscribed to this thread while I decide what to do next. It's a great forum with a lot of people sincerely trying to help each other. Cyberhome, this is what tech support should be all about!!!

 

I hear ya KOOLBREW,if mine has as much as a hiccup it is gone.Money is too hard to work for to just end up wasteing it.I am going to keep with this thread as well and see how every one else's equpment holds up.Later.
roothead

 

KOOLBREW, exact same thing has happened to me. I've been doing a search on the web and found this forum. Sounds like there's no fix. I just emailed Cyberhome, I have received replies from them before. I'm still within 30 days at Walmart and am planning to exchange it. I had been happy with the unit so far. Knew I should have waited to let that firmware update age a little.

My story, late last night, 11:30pm, I upgraded to version U0226200401X firmware and server firmware version 128a. Everything seemed to go fine. System reset and showed the correct version numbers. I played a few DVDs, CDs, etc. to see what changed. I didnt re-enter any timed recordings. Put the unit into standby. This morning, powered it back on, screen displays Cyberhome logo, display says 'Cyberhome' but the unit is otherwise totally locked up. No button works, with particular emphasis on eject. I want my DVD back!

FYI: I have been using timed recordings very extensively over the month that I've had the unit and had never run into a problem.

 

I figured out the pattern to the problem. Turning on and off the unit enough times it eventually started up and was able to read the DVD.

The failure scenario is, put in a DVD+RW written with the previous firmware versions. But the unit in standby. Powerup. Unit will be locked up. I haven't figured out the pattern, but it maybe possible to get it to read the DVD by powering off and on via the back panel switch. This does NOT work reliably.

Putting into standby with any other type of DVD in the drive seems to work fine and not cause the problem. It looks like its something about how the DVD was written with the older firmware that causes this version to crash as it reads the DVD.

 

dmelgar,that's EXACTLY what happened to me. Do you remember how many times you powered off and on in the back before it "unfroze"? I know I did it about 6 or seven ti,es with no luck. It seems like upi and I are the only ones that this has happened to. Did you hear from Cyberhome yet? It's been about 3 days since I emailed them about this problem and over a week since I emailed them about another problem. If you hear anything from them, please post. I really loked the 1500 and since I took it back to Walmart the other day, I've done a lot if Internet research on DVD recorders, and the 1500 is the ONLY one that has all the features I want at an inexpensive price. I'm even willing to spend an extra $100 if I could find the right model, but everything I looked ay had flaws I wasn't willing to live with. Walmart had an APEX DRX-9000 for the same price as the CH but when I got home and reaad reviews on it, I found it's a piece of crap. Maybe CH will come up with a firmware update to resolve this problem in which case I will go right back to Walmart. Keep me informed if find any additional info on this problem and I will do the same. Thanks for the post!

 

I powered on/off maybe 5-10 times with the DVD that was in there. I kept holding each key thinking that's what would do it, but now I think its random and didn't have anything to do with pressing a key while powering up.

I then felt brave and tried a music CD. Standby, powered up, it was ok. Then I tried a different DVD+RW written with the previous firmware. Again it hung. But this time it took me maybe 30 times powering off and on before it worked. I was really thinking that I'd never be able to get it out again.

I've been able to downgrade it back to the previous firmware level and everything is back to normal.

Does anyone know if this firmware upgrade helps any with the tuner low volume and reduced highs issue? I was thinking of returning to Walmart to get a newer unit, but the unit they had was 2 months older than the one I have.

I emailed Cyberhome today (Saturday). I don't really expect an answer until midweek at the soonest.

I've emailed Cyberhome twice before, mostly complaining about lack of some features (random mp3 plag & iso mpeg support). They responded both times. I'll post if/when I hear anything.

 

dmelgar,what steps did you take to downgrade the firmware?If I start haveing the locking up problem I will downgrade mine.I have not put a dvd in that was recorded with the old firmware and put it on standby but I have viewed the recording with no problem.I will just pull the disk and remember to not put the unit in standby with a previously recorded disk in it.Maybe cyberhome will come out with an upgrade to fix this but I am going to be sceptical about applying another firmware to this unit.I do believe in if it aint broke don't fix it.Later..
roothead

 

might as well add my 2 cents. maybe it'll help someone.

i saw this recorder at wal mart for $248 while my dad and i were goofing around one day. i commented taht i'd like to get a recorder on day and he offered to put it on lay away and pay it off for me. now i'm a 27 year old married man with a full time job and i support myself complete, but i thought about the fact that i wanted a recorder and here's my old man offering to pay for it. why not?

so i read up on it while i was waiting to get it out and i was a little worried. on this forum and a couple others it got mixed reviews from different users. i figured that since i was able to learn more about the recorder before i got it everything would probably be fine. and luckily i was right.

i've had it for just over a week now and i'm pleased so far. record quality on sp(2 hour) setting is perfect. i have my vcr hooked up as the tuner, so volume is fine. i'm burning on memorex +rw discs and they work great. one thing i have noticd that others commented on is the compaitibility issue. when you are done with the disc and use the make compatible function i realized it can take a while. i think it depends on the length of the recording and how many chapters are in it. i transferred some old home movies a few nights ago and added almost 40 chapters. it took about 10 minutes to finish the make compatible function. another recording with 14 chapters took about 5 minutes. the way that the recorder shows this function on screen can be confusing. when you choose the option to make compatible the word edit will appear for a few seconds and the edit menu will stay on the screen. when it's finished the edit menu will go away, you'll hear an audible popping sound once, and and the main play menu will become accessible again. only then is it finished.

what i am doing is recording to +rw, ripping with dvd decrypter to my hd, adding menus and reauthoring with tmpgenc dvd autor, and then burning to +r with my pc recorder. this process works like a dream for me.

i've noticed what others said about not being able to play discs recorded on the cyberhome in other standalone players. i have the same issue. the good news is that this is not just on this recorder. i have a few other discs recorded on different brand recorders and the same thing happens. they play on my pc, but not my apex. this seems to be a general issue with standalone recorders right now. if you do like i am and reauthor on a pc it will solve these issues. the home movies i reauthored play fine on any player that reads +r discs. i also copied the same movies on a -r for my dad's player and it's fine.

overall i'm very happy. for $250 this is a great deal. and if someone else pays for it like mine it's a REALLY good deal. one of the main cons to this recorder for some people would be that it doesn't have a firewire connection for digital camcorders. i don't have one myself, so it's not really an issue for me.

 

Yesterday, Saturday, HSN's Special Value was CyberHome DVD Recorder, Model CH-DVD-1500S for $244, with a $25 mail-in rebate, and 4 easy payments. I ordered that, along with the CyberHome 10-pack DVD+RW Disks in Movie Boxes. I was on the QVC's Waitlist for a GO Video combo DVD Recordable/VCR for about $500 approx., which I canceled after ordering this one. I figured for a $300 savings, I could hook up my own VCR. Now, after reading your many posts, I'm wondering if I made a mistake? Several listeners called during the presentations, asking if it was the same machine that was sold in November. They said it was the same machine, but had been updated with easier, more user friendly functions. My main intent is to use this machine, along with my Sony VCR, to transfer all those half empty VHS tapes stacked up in my closet, onto a DVD disk. Does anyone have this model 1500S? Also, has anyone hooked this machine up to a receiver? We have a Sony Home Theater system.

 

What does it take to get help from Cyberhome ? I sent them an email about the DVD+R disc burning in the 1500 and then it can't recognize the disc.I received a short email that said to do all the upgrades.That unit is new and it has the ability to edit title on DVD+R discs right out of the box.I only did the servo upgrade.It has only done the not recognize problem once.I emailed them again to see what they thought it was and have not heard back in over 3 weeks.Walmart may be the only relief if this happens again. Our Walmart has a 90 day garantee on the Cyberhome units they sell and they have plenty of them.
It appears these units Walmart sells have different degrees of firmware and playability issues.I just hate to keep taking them back constantly.Cyberhome doesn't want to help in real time and Walmart gets to take back the defective units bought there. Makes me wonder how long it will go on.

 

what kind of +r discs are you using? the cyberhome records at 2.4x and the maxell discs i bought have a warning label that reading or writing errors may occur in 2.4x recorders. maybe this could be the problem?

 

Im having a problem with recording on Riket DVD+R's is anyone having the same problem. I will record the movie and you can see that the movie is recorded on the disc but when i put it back in the CyberHome 1500 it will not play......Please write back. Thanks Adambomb

 

i'm really not sure. like i said, maybe they have a problem with the 2.4x recording speed. then only +r discs i have used so far are maxell 4x and they have that warning about using them in recorders that write and 2.4x. i haven't recorded any +r discs in my cyberhome either. i record on +rw, rip to my hd, and reauthor them.