My HD200 punch list

[iammike]

First of all, before I start complaining, I'd like to say that my overall experience with the HD200 has been a good one. It's a very nice little box that can play an amazingly wide range of files with a very snappy interface. I purchased 2 of them and definitely don't regret it. That said, it's sort of like buying a new house. While I like them pretty well, there's a lot of nagging issues that need to be corrected. I just got finished submitting 3 support requests and just thought of a fourth I need to submit.

Okay, so here's my list:

1) The DTS sound issue reported in another thread. Both of my HD200's have this problem when playing back .mkv files.

2) When skipping backwards or forwards in a file, there's always about a second of audio stuttering before playback resumes normally. My HD100 doesn't do this.

3) One of my HD200's can be a real PITA when updating the firmware. Every time I do it, it will hang on the Sage logo when it comes back up. I have to fiddle with unplugging and replugging it in, performing the reset procedure detailed in the manual, switching to SD inputs, etc, for a good while before it will start working again.

4) The dreaded Sage exception error. I've tried pretty much every beta firmware released so far and with the exception of one, I've seen this issue. Once I play a file that gets the exception error, I have to unplug and replug the thing (i.e. power cycle) to get it to work again.

5) On previously saved YouTube videos, the hd200 is cutting off the video several seconds early. This doesn't happen with the hd100. Sage support has duplicated the problem and added it to the list of things to work on.

[tedson]

I see #2 all the time. If I fast forward, rewind, change channels, change chapters on a dvd. Anything that skips around causes a couple seconds of audio delay which is really annoying, and your right I don't see it on the HD-100.

[b-morgan]

Originally Posted by iammike

3) One of my HD200's can be a real PITA when updating the firmware. Every time I do it, it will hang on the Sage logo when it comes back up. I have to fiddle with unplugging and replugging it in, performing the reset procedure detailed in the manual, switching to SD inputs, etc, for a good while before it will start working again.

Mine just arrived this morning and it hung on the Sage logo after updating to the beta firmware released today. I'm hoping its not anything serious and that the next firmware update will behave normally.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by tedson

I see #2 all the time. If I fast forward, rewind, change channels, change chapters on a dvd. Anything that skips around causes a couple seconds of audio delay which is really annoying, and your right I don't see it on the HD-100.

I've been noticing the same audio stutter recently as well.

[iammike]

Originally Posted by b-morgan

Mine just arrived this morning and it hung on the Sage logo after updating to the beta firmware released today. I'm hoping its not anything serious and that the next firmware update will behave normally.

I got a reply on my support request for this. They suggested a different upgrade procedure where I download the firmware to my server rather than directly to my hd200. I'll try that on the next firmware upgrade and post my results.

[valnar]

I've had problems 1 - 3 myself, although for #3, it was my HD-100 that had the issue with the beta firmware. HDMI stopped working and I had to reset to a composite cable to get anything again. It's now back on the last release firmware and working. I have another HD100 and HD200 that upgraded to the beta firmware just fine.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by valnar

I've had problems 1 - 3 myself, although for #3, it was my HD-100 that had the issue with the beta firmware. HDMI stopped working and I had to reset to a composite cable to get anything again. It's now back on the last release firmware and working. I have another HD100 and HD200 that upgraded to the beta firmware just fine.

I filed a bug report for the same issue with the HD-100. No way no how was I able to get HDMI working again. I rolled back to the non-beta. They said they would look into it so please make sure to file a bug report.

Gerry

[iammike]

I'm happy to report that the combination of 6.5.5 and the 1223 firmware update appear to have corrected most of my issues. I'm still having some issues with a couple .mkv's with DTS but those may be due to the MKV encoding. Issue 2 appears to be resolved with 6.5.5 and issue 4 with the latest firmware. I haven't tried Sage's suggestion for upgrading firmware on my flakey hd200 yet. I'm going to wait until I have more time (I work tomorrow). All in all, I think they're getting pretty close now. Nice job Sage!

[iammike]

I thought I'd follow up with some more info in case others have similar problems. I'm still experiencing issue #3 however I've got a pretty solid procedure now for getting around it. After taking a firmware update, I'm consistently able to recover the hd200 by power cycling it with the ethernet cable unplugged. It takes a minute or so to come up, I guess because a driver has to time out waiting on the ethernet connection. After it's up, I can power off with the remote, plug in the ethernet cable, and then power back on with the remote.

Incidentally, it appears the issue with the firmware has to do with power cycling the box. I can replicate the same symptoms if I unplug and replug in the hd200. It locks up whenever the ethernet cable is plugged in and boots up fine with it unplugged. I'd guess I've either got a flaky ethernet port or the Sage ethernet drivers may have a minor bug.

I'm still experiencing issue #1 on some files. I've reported this to support and am waiting on further assistance.

[MCE-Refugee]

I too suffere the hanging at SageTV logo after firmware update. It was scarey the first couple of times as I thought that the box was bricked. I also get around it by powering on with the ethernet cable unplugged.

[metapath]

Hmmm, I see a "hang" at the Sage TV logo, too each time I update to a newer Beta. But I just wait (go off somewhere and so something else for perhaps 5 minutes) and when I return, all is well.

Just wondering how long you wait before you start unplugging things?

[iammike]

Originally Posted by metapath

Hmmm, I see a "hang" at the Sage TV logo, too each time I update to a newer Beta. But I just wait (go off somewhere and so something else for perhaps 5 minutes) and when I return, all is well.

Just wondering how long you wait before you start unplugging things?

I usually let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes, but have let it go for a couple hours before. It's definitely something odd about the one hd200, because my other one doesn't have any issue. The good one is usually back up and running the new firmware about 5 minutes after I tell it to do the download.

[metapath]

I updated again last night and paid attention. The "hang" at the SageTV logo was less than 20 seconds...seemed much faster than in the past...but again, perhaps I never really noticed. I agree you have a problem child there...

Edit: It just occurred to me that since only one device exhibits the problem, you might switch the two. Perhaps there's a network glitch (different hub?) that's causing the problem...not the HD-200 itself.

[iammike]

Originally Posted by metapath

Edit: It just occurred to me that since only one device exhibits the problem, you might switch the two. Perhaps there's a network glitch (different hub?) that's causing the problem...not the HD-200 itself.

Good suggestion! I'll have to double-check my connections, but I think they're on the same switch. It's worth a look though.

[iammike]

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think Sage may have fixed my power cycle issue with the firmware they released yesterday. My problem hd200 took the update without any problem last night. I can also unplug and replug the power without having to disconnect the ethernet cable.

Incidentally, I did check the cabling and it is connected to the same switch as my other hd200.