extremely frustrated with HD extender IR receiver

[KJake]

I'm going to avoid doing this for a while. My living room setup is driven by my Pronto (TSU7000), which seems to have enough strength to get the signal through. And the one in my bedroom has been OK as well - there's not a ton of room to move around in there and pretty much only use it in bed, so we're directly in front of the unit anyways.

Those LED covers look like a good idea though to cover up the hole.

[dvsing]

Originally Posted by SHS

Problem is your not thinking clearly Dan yes it dose what if the manufacturer decide fix them self and ask sagetv to do exchange and return them problem units back to them keep in mind that sagetv is not the manufacturer.
Guest what you done drill a hole in cover and guest that viod your warranty.

OK.. I GUESS I'm going to have to respond to this... =)

I'm really not one for flame wars, but I have to stick up for myself here, so I will attempt to do so in a clear and logical manner:

1) It is very unlikely that Sage is going to RMA all of the boxes it sold in the first round for a minor functional deficiency. In fact I'd say the chances of this happening are about 0%.

2) Yes, it voids my warranty. I said that straight up when I posted the step-by-step and I was thinking 100% clearly when I popped open the box. I (like many Sage TV fans) like to have things working just perfect, and if that involves an "unsupported" hardware, software, or mechanical hack somewhere, then so be it. If I wanted play "by the rules" I would have bought a Tivo. <shudder>

-Dan

[stefano540]

I bought a couple (got two HD extenders) of the "prisms" that are used to increase the acceptance angle of IR receivers, and stuck them right in front of the existing window. Didn't do anything other than slightly reduce the range.
The next step may be the hole in the plastic, and these are well suited to that operation, since the OD is 0.45" or approx 7/16".
I got these at Hometech Solutions in Cupertino, CA.
Good luck,
Stefano

[Fluffdaddy]

Thanks for saving me a few bucks on them "prisms".

[dvsing]

Originally Posted by stefano540

I bought a couple (got two HD extenders) of the "prisms" that are used to increase the acceptance angle of IR receivers, and stuck them right in front of the existing window. Didn't do anything other than slightly reduce the range.
The next step may be the hole in the plastic, and these are well suited to that operation, since the OD is 0.45" or approx 7/16".
I got these at Hometech Solutions in Cupertino, CA.
Good luck,
Stefano

Hometech Solutions eh? I happen to live in Cupertino too! I may be making a trip down there this afternoon. Good find.

-Dan

[stefano540]

Good luck with that! They couldn't find them originally, then looked up in the computer and found that they should have had 14 hanging around, looked some more and found 4, which I got (2 for Sage, 2 for the rest of my rigs).
When I left they were discussing where the other 10 might be...
Hopefully they found them !!!
Stefano

[nlancaster]

I have to stand up for myself as well.

This IR problem sucks!!!

There are 3 different people that use this extender in my living room all with our own favorite chairs. For me to use it from my chair I have to stick the remote way over to one side to get a straight shot into the HD extender to get it to work at all. And this is with a Harmony remote that has a very powerful IR transmitter. And even then we all have to hold the Key down long enough for the signal to get recieved by the HD extender. The remote that came with the unit is even worse from where I sit, totally unusable. Thank god I have a Harmony remote.

So dvsing is the first person to do anything about finding out what is wrong physically with the system and I believe he is right. I know a little about plastics and it does sound like the plastic used on the front of this unit is semi opaque to IR. Drilling out this plastic appears to solve all these problems.

So SageTV, Can we be told that drilling out the plastic will not void the warranty on the rest of the unit? Or do we need to send all these back so we can get units that work like a normal device. The only thing that has kept me from putting my MVP back in place is that this unit is HD. The problems with the IR receiving are a big problem.

Originally Posted by dvsing

** NOTE: Of course, I take no responsibility for anything that you may end up doing to your box. Following these instructions will void your warranty and probably permanently turn your shiny new STX-HD100 into a brick. Continue at your own risk!!

Follow this link to see step-by-step instructions for modifying the STX-HD100 for *much* improved IR reception:

http://www.sonicspike.net/pictures/albums/74

It looks like the tinted plastic on the front of the box isn't 100% transparent to IR (oops?).

-Dan

[MeInMaui]

Has everyone that is having IR problems filed support tickets? That's the only way to be sure Sage knows about the problem. And I imagine the more support tickets they get, the higher the priority will be to get it fixed.

Aloha,
Mike

[hemicuda]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

Has everyone that is having IR problems filed support tickets?

filed mine yesterday. The IR and a squirrelly back-skip seem to be my biggest issues at the moment.

[nlancaster]

Yes, I filed a support ticket right after the post above. Just cut and pasted the post and a link to this thread into the support ticket.

[dvsing]

Just wanted to post an update. I've had my two HD100's drilled out for a few days now and since the mod I have not had a single remote control consistency issue. I'm using Logitech Harmony 550's with them (I had to pick a similar device and learn most of the codes since it appears the STX-HD100 is not yet in Logitech's database).

Out of curiosity, who else has done this and what were your results?

-Dan

[95TBird]

Yep, Filed a support ticket...

They can't fix what they dont know about !!!

Oh & Dan the STX-HD100 IS in the Logitech Database. look under Set Top Boxes \ SageTV \ STX-HD100

I set My 680 up 2 days ago

[Fluffdaddy]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

Has everyone that is having IR problems filed support tickets?

Aloha,
Mike

Thanks, I never that about doing so, I was just going to eat it.


support ticket..........Done

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by dvsing

Just wanted to post an update. I've had my two HD100's drilled out for a few days now and since the mod I have not had a single remote control consistency issue. I'm using Logitech Harmony 550's with them (I had to pick a similar device and learn most of the codes since it appears the STX-HD100 is not yet in Logitech's database).

Out of curiosity, who else has done this and what were your results?

-Dan

I haven't done the mod yet, but was thinking "Why not just drill a hole in the panel" after seeing people say that the front bezel wasn't transparent enough, then I saw your post.
My remote troubles are very minor. I have a fairly small living room and the HD Extender remote works better than the remote on my Roku Photobridge which is what I was using in the living room to view my HD recordings before getting the Hd Extender. With the Roku you'd get better response if you "punch remoted", i.e. quickly pushed the remote towards the Roku as you punched the button.

I haven't tried that with the HD Extender because for me it's not missing many button presses. True, you do have to have a fairly good line of sight to the HD Extender, no sitting it on the coffee table and pressing it from there.

A question/suggestion for people having troubles. Is your AV rack one with smoked glass doors? Mine is, and I had remote troubles with virtually all of my AV equipment with the doors closed. Opening the doors gave great remote response. Doors are now removed giving my AV equipment a nice clear view.

If I do start having more issues, or become unsatisfied with the few misses I now have and don't see Sage offering a fix I will drill out my front bezel. I'll probably start with a smaller hole and work my way up in stages to 3/8" if necessary

Also, I'm just curious why you waited so long to post the fix? Must have been something in the NDA since it appears you've had the unit for quite some time. " This page last modified: April 23, 2004" (on all your pictures)

[bialio]

I got tired of the IR issue, so I went in and drilled out one of my HD extenders. I used a 1/4" bit (instead of the proscribed 3/8") and it works perfectly now. I can point the remote in just about any direction and it still gets read.

Thanks dvsing for pioneering the way.

I filed a support ticket on this, and the response I got was "we can't do anything, but there's a thread on the forums about drilling a hole"

btl.

[hemicuda]

what they sent me....

"Concerning the IR issue. We're currently talking with the manufacturer to find out if there's any option we have for repairing the units that have already shipped; but such solution does not seem likely."

decisions... decisions...

[flavius]

All of a sudden the fact that Sage is out of stock seems like good news

[zoso]

Originally Posted by hemicuda

what they sent me....

"Concerning the IR issue. We're currently talking with the manufacturer to find out if there's any option we have for repairing the units that have already shipped; but such solution does not seem likely."

decisions... decisions...

If they are going to say that, then the least they can do is not void the warranty for those that decide to make their IR function at an acceptable level by drilling a hole.

[flavius]

What is the warranty? Like three month?

[Polycron]

Here was the response I received on my trouble ticket regarding the IR issue:

"We won't have a fix for this unfortunately."

I have to agree, this is VERY unfortunate.

Hard to believe that a little thing like an IR window was obviously screwed up on what I consider an otherwise spectacular product. I guess the question now is whether to kill the warranty or not since it doesn't appear a fix is going to be coming out.