Thanks for your info. Anyway, already advertised often in many Astro channels these few days. The Ch 838 will be feed from ESPN 3D channel.

I read unconfirmed reports (including from some people who stay nearby the stadium who heard the rehearsals) that the Olympics Opening Ceremony will be based partly on Shakespeare literature and one event will be a "stunt" from James Bond performed by the present Bond actor, Daniel Craig. Hehe... will see whether this is true or not when the time comes.

As were broadcast by Astro a few times previously for selected live football matches, the 3D on Channel 838 will be in Side-By-Side 2 Half Frames format.

People with only 2D HDTV will see the 16:9 screen as 2 half-frames "joined" together, no 3D for Non-3D HDTVs.


* Sample only, picture not from Astro.

Here's a short explanation in sample frame pictures...


I don't know but I suspect the 3D screen for Ch 838 should be broadcast in 720p (progressive frames). I think the "stretching" of each left side and right side frames to 2 full frames is not possible on Interlaced frames from 1080i. I may be wrong about the 720p used for the Astro 3D TV channel.

Anyway, because of the stretching done to create 3D and 720p used, eventhough in HD, I do believe the picture quality from Astro Ch 838 will not be as good when compared to the other actual 1080i used for the other HD channels... especially affected will be the picture sharpness. Well, this is only my opinion because unfortunately I don't have a 3D HDTV to compare with my own eyes, hehehe.

Note: Astro HD channels only maximum 1080i, no 1080p.

I believe that the best qualty 3D will be from 3D blu-ray discs which used Active-Shutter 3D in actual 1080p which don't need any "stretching". However, not all 3D blu-rays in Active-Shutter format. The worst 3D blu-ray discs are those that used Anaglyph 3D (red and green or red and blue) which used "color" glasses but the advantage is that the 3D can be watched from Non-3D HDTVs.


ADDITION
To Chuppachop... any 3D channel for the London Olympics from Starhub ? The Astro Ch 838 in 3D is NOT permanent and will only "exist" for the London Olympic duration. Mmm... will Astro launch any permanent 3D HD channel in the near future ? I don't think so.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Jul 24 2012, 10:42 PM

Thanks. I have edited my earlier post to refer to chuppachop instead.

Sorry, I thought you are from Singapore, hehe.

So true and IF I am in the same position, I will also be joining you and throw away Assthrow too. Monopoly for more than 16 years will always put Malaysians in a terrible position with only ONE choice nationwide. I am not refering to people who have chosen <secret> maybe "illegal" methods.

If only I am staying in some location in KL which have Byond IPTV where I can at least get much faster broadband speeds, lol.

Is Jesse still sleeping or was it an accidental mistake, typo, which he did not notice ? Am I "missing" something here ?

Jesse used past tense so was ABN Cable TV already launched ? What ABN is he referring to ? Is it Asian Bohong Network ? Where and when was ABN launched and how much are the subscriptions, what packages are available and what pricing and what are the actual 100 cable TV channels that will be launched ?

Talking about visions, about how good is cable, about this and that info are actually USELESS for anyone who are interested to subscribe! Where did I go wrong in my internet search as I ABSOLUTELY could NOT find any info about what is really important to many interested people.... which actual location already have (and in future will have) ABN coverage... what are the actual packages and pricing... what decoder box used... will broadband be available (at what speeds) and how much are the pricing... and lots more questions.

I think that most people don't really care about ABN advertising their "stories" about ABN Academy, broadcast centre at Puchong Gateway, Time Telekom cables, Motorola Mobility, who are the Board of Directors, blah.. blah.. blah.... with more press releases, interviews, etc.

Whether its true or just rumours that ABN Cable TV services will be launched in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) of 2012 is useless without any details about what is actually "important" info that most potential customers want to know.

Eventhough ABN will not be nationwide for the present time, I do have hope for ABN to start as soon as possible in Klang Valley and a few other big cities so that ABN will at least give a little bit more competition to As*teruk. Any competition to the As*teruk stranglehold, no matter how small, will surely be good for consumers, including myself. Better and lower subscription rates with better and more cable TV channels will definitely bite the arrogant As*teruk a little bit. As*teruk has been "protected" by its exclusive Satellite TV channels license for far too long !

Here's a short interview with ABN CEO who talk so much but NOTHING about what we want to know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sMharBWOug

People like me from Pahang can only keep on dreaming for many many more years for something that may never become nationwide.

~~~ the clock is ticking away ~~~ tick, tock, tick, tock ~~~ June have gone and now July is about to end ~~~ August and September is coming and I suspect that everything will remain the same with NO "real good" news. Actually I already have some inside rumours which do NOT give me confidence. Can you imagine the broadcasting studio control centre... ???... since it is rumour from an inside person, I cannot give the details here because it may be false.

Will ABN succeed in providing that little bit of competition to As*teruk ? I don't know. I do NOT even know when ABN Cable TV will actually come !!! 2013 ? 2014 ?


Its true that broadcasts are filtered and time delayed.

However, most censorship are based generally on and include politics, religion, racial sensitivity and society customs. This happens especially for South-East Asian countries, including Singapore. I will not comment in full detail about our censorship situation because its out of topic here.

Anyway, I think that censorship will NOT be any issue for the London Olympics because I think there will not be any "sensitive" areas which need to be censored. Hehehe... probably when swimming athletes wear swimsuits that are "too" sexy and erotic may be censored ... or when 2 athletes are shown kissing too sexily in public may also be censored too. Of course we will not see anyone going to bed naked during the Olympics and any Bersih protests will also be blocked by the security there !! Hehe... the Olympic Games is supposed to be non-political.



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Jul 26 2012, 01:50 AM

When I posted my reply that "censorship will NOT be any issue for the London Olympics", I avoided mentioning the "Israel" matter so I actually expected someone to point this out. My reply to Qash-M was merely to point out that any censorship in Astro for the Games should only be very very minimal because the TV coverage is for a big international sports event, not a political event and not news of a Malaysian domestic event/incident.

You asked me whether its "shit" that the "hosts never say a word about Israel team at all"... I am chinese so my answer is actually no answer because it depends on who you ask !! No need to, because I believe you already know my answer. I will not debate on this but one thing I should mention is that the "host" is actually the RTM commentator sitting in the Beijing broadcast booth who was sent there to cover the opening ceremony in Malay commentary... and that person is a govt employee. In this case, its "commentary denial" with just silence. Note... the "hosts" are actually the Beijing Olympic Games Organising Committee. The host city was Beijing.

Chuppachop had earlier mentioned about Ginx HD which "should not be a censorship problem for Astro". Qash-M replied with... "censorship games. If Asthrow do this, it'll be EPIC failure. Just like their news channels, censored and delayed."

Of course I respect Qash-M right to give his own opinion and do agree with the censorship issues which actually cover a very wide area, including newspapers, but I will be out-of-topic if I comment too much about this here.

What I can at least mention here is that we should not think about whether Asthrow will be "EPIC" failure on the "censorship games" because its not necessary. As I mentioned before, not a censorship issue for the London Olympics. For me, only a "minor" annoyance even if "Israel" is completely not mentioned. When the time comes, just sit in front of the TV and enjoy the Games.

I tried to avoid mentioning "Israel" previously because this is a sensitive international political issue which not only include Malaysia, also involved many muslim and Arab countries. If really want to mention RTM "silence" when the Israel team parade is shown, how about mentioning on what happened in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt where that entire portion completely disappeared from their TV screens and replaced with advertisements ? What about the news of one Iranian athlete (who is supposed to compete with an Israeli athlete) and did not go with the rest of the Iranian athletes to London possibly to avoid "friction" ? How about the IOC President, Jacques Rocce, who have refused requests to give a 1 minute silence during the Opening Ceremony to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Munich 1972 Games massacre of Israelis ? I am already way out-of-topic here so its not necessary for me to continue further about the "Israel" censorship issue and the much more serious censorship of the Games in other countries.

Just relax and sit back to enjoy the Games from Astro Byond, Byond IPTV, MIO Cable TV, StarHub, etc. Forget about the real world issues that may cause censorship. I am anxiously waiting for the Opening Ceremony extravaganza at about 3 to 4 am 28-07-12 Malaysian time.

Yea... hehehe... not everyone can. I have to drink more hot cappucino or coffee to stay awake tomorrow.

I have drawn a graphic which explains how to properly connect the HDMI cables since you have a Home Theatre System....


Well.... if possible.... connect as recommended in my graphic above. If your "home theater system" don't have any HDMI Input, then you are forced to connect Byond HDMI Out directly to your HDTV sooooo.... no Dolby 5.1 for you from your HDTV... just change back to "Stereo (Analogue and Digital)"... or hehehe, just buy a new better HDTV with proper built-in decoders... bank akaun manyak manyak sakit loh !

I don't know what "home theater system" you have so I assume that you have a good quality system which include an Amplifier/Receiver with a few HDMI Inputs and 6 separate speakers. Some budget or cheaper systems have very limited features so some don't have any HDMI Input.



To Fubar20... thanks for refering to my previous post.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Jul 27 2012, 09:43 PM

Hehe... yea... forgot about the co-axial connection. Thanks for your compliments and for mentioning the alternative connection.

I hope Horseman HT system don't have the same "connection problem" with no HDMI input, only have Optical/SPDIF Input, no Co-Axial Input... as I have explained in previous posts for cheaper budget HTIB systems.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Jul 27 2012, 10:26 PM

I think you connected your Byond box to 2 different HD TVs. Your question have been answered by me and others in this thread before.



The Byond box Digital Audio Output settings...

1) Dolby Digital 5.1 (Digital Only)
Byond HDMI Output and Co-Axial Output : YES got audio for ALL HD and SD Channels

Byond RCA (Yellow, White) Output : NO audio output for ALL HD Channels. YES, got analog audio for ALL SD Channels.

2) Stereo (Analog and Digital)
Byond HDMI, Co-Axial and RCA (Yellow, White) Outputs : YES got audio for ALL HD and SD Channels

To use setting (1) to get audio for all HD and SD channels from 1 Byond box to 2 HDTVs, must use HDMI splitter with 1-to-2 HDMI output and repeater/booster with IR relay. This question (including what HDMI splitters/repeaters to use) have already been answered here a few times before, so search this thread on your own. I am a bit tired and lazy to repeat and repeat here the same answers.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 7 2012, 12:49 AM

Actually not really trouble for me... mmm... not angry at you... you got headache, so some out-of-topic explanation on why I also got headache too (inside spoilers)...


I assume that you connected your 2 Byond boxes directly to the different HD TVs so no amplifier used. Since you can play DTS/DD from bluray players to both TVs by direct HDMI connection, then I would think that both TVs also have built-in DTS/DD decoders.

To 100% make sure that your Panasonic TV support decoding DD, change Byond to any HD channels... check got TV sound or not. Then change Byond to any SD channel... check got TV sound or not. If got sound when changed to Byond HD and SD channels, then your Panasonic TV support DD audio from HDMI. I want to know from you 100% answer for this test first.

Next...

Check your Bluray Player settings. For my Sony BDP-S360, if its Audio Dolby Digital and DTS settings was set to "Downmix PCM", the BD player is actually outputing DD audio as "Stereo PCM" audio (HDMI Out) so ALL HD TVs got sound so... if your Pana TV don't have built-in DD decoder, still got sound. Different BD Players have slightly different audio settings but you should know what I mean. Check also if Audio (HDMI) is set to "Auto", not "2ch PCM".

If BD Player audio settings are different, then change to these...
Audio (HDMI) ... to "Auto", not 2ch PCM.
Dolby Digital ... to "Dolby Digital", not Downmix PCM.
DTS ... to "DTS", not Downmix PCM.

Then test with a DVD or BD disc (which have DD audio track) with your BD Player to the Pana TV to see if got sound from TV or not. If no sound, then your TV don't have builtin DD decoder. Actually you can find out from the Pana TV Manual about whether got built-in DD decoder or not. I searched the web and cannot find your Pana TV Manual to check.

Your Panasonic TV have at least 2 HDMI Inputs, should be more. Ok... I assume you connect your Bluray Player to your Pana HDMI 1 and the Byond to Pana HDMI 2. Switch this by pulling out the HDMI cable at the Pana TV (don't pull from Byond or BD Player)... so now connect your Bluray Player to your Pana HDMI 2 and the Byond to HDMI 1.

After switching HDMI connections, test the audio from Byond and see if got sound from your Pana HDTV. Then test with your Bluray Player. Let me know the result.

I have reasons for such "tests".

1) To make sure if HDMI cable itself have "problem" or not.
2) To make sure your Panasonic TV support DD audio from its HDMI Inputs.
3) I am not sure but I "heard" that some HDTVs accept audio from HDMI 1 ONLY so no audio from the TV other HDMI 2 and 3 inputs. Switching the HDMI cable connections will test this since its just a "simple" cable change-over.

Remember, my suggestions may not prove anything and may not solve your no audio problem from your Byond HDMI to your Panasonic HD TV... so my tests are just my way of using the process of elimination of possible causes. After all such "possible causes" have been ruled out, then try to find out other possible causes such as switching the Byond box together with smartcard (connected to Sony HDTV) to the Pana HD TV.

If still cannot find out after testing in every possible way, then you can look for any person in your location who is "expert" to come to your place. OR call Astro CS for help and they may send a technical support person to visit you.

I am just an enthusiast so actually not a seefood (I mean sifu).



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 8 2012, 12:36 PM

To everyone here.

Before I continue, I know that I am totally out-of-topic here so my sincere apologies to everyone here.

Because it started when I replied to Logit85 post in this thread (Post #2087), I would like everyone here to know why I am getting a terrible headache.

Please refer to my reply which started the "problem" I got from Logit85...
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=2114557&st=2080&p=52627804&#entry52627804

After I replied to Logit85, he sent me more pms with many questions which I answered until "saya tak boleh tahan lagi" and have decided to stop answering him.

Actually I tried to avoid it BUT he still continued spamming me with pms SO I have now made a complaint and reported to Admin.

I have always been very polite in all my comments and replies to people here. I have always tried my best to try to help people with what little I know, and volunteered spending my own free time out of my sincere kindness to offer help with answers. I believe I have tried my best to help many people who sent me PMs and from many people's posts here. I have never and will never lose my temper and have never use bad language on anyone.

DO I really deserve such bad spams from such inconsiderate person ?

I really tried my best to avoid mentioning "Logit85" here but he still continued his antics.

For full details of my complaint to Admin, refer here (if not removed)...
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f=2&t=795681&st=300#entry53678929

If anyone come across "Logit85" post here or anywhere again, please take note of what happened to me BEFORE anyone answers his questions.

I am not employed by Lowyat.net or Astro or anyone here so I believe I have the right to choose NOT to answer anyone's questions. Sorry for being sarcastic but this is fact, so nobody should blame anyone for NOT answering anyone's questions.

LATEST : As I was typing, I received reply from Admin on my complaint and will wait for further response. My thanks and appreciation to Admin for the super fast reply.

NOTE
Except for Logit85 and his many "ID Names", IF anyone here feels that I should NOT post this here, please let me know and I will edit and delete all my comments in this post here. Again, my apologies. I just want to show my frustration here so I do hope everyone can understand.

Wow ! You are so direct by refering directly to me for my "advice". Actually other people here can also give you the same and probably much better advice to you.

Many people used the acronym "PVR" (Personal Video Recorder) which can cause confusion because both the 2 types of boxes, Byond box and Byond PVR also have recording function. I want to be sure about this before I explain "why" later in this post.



As shown from the above picture (inside spoiler), I assume that you are using the Byond PVR (with internal 500GB harddisk).

Anyway, so you have recently installed the Byond PVR in April 2012 at your home. New subscriber account or upgrade to PVR ?

When you say that "some channels" are affected, that means NOT all the channels. Did you subscribe to Superpack or only just the "HD Service" ? If you have HD service, does ALL the SD channels have the same problem or only occur for ALL the HD channels ?

You named a few channels such as "TV3, Astro Warna and ESPNEWS" so there are some channels that never have this problem ?

IF this always happened to some specific channels, not others, then I am guessing that your Byond PVR may have some internal faults which is causing this. Yes, misaligned LNB or poor cable connection can cause reception interruptions or failure BUT this should happen randomly and not just pick some channels to fail in reception... either ALMOST ALL HD channels or ALMOST ALL SD/HD channels would be affected... sometimes ch 101, sometimes ch 102, sometimes ch 310 and not just constantly for TV3 ch 103 and so forth.

What about the Byond PVR recording ? Any problems playing recorded channels ? If playback of recorded videos have corruption, serious noise appearing, jerky video motion then you can also point your finger to probably "some fault" in your Byond PVR which may include problems with the internal harddisk too. So you can also report this too, when you phone to Astro Cust Supp.

Astro Terms And Conditions For Subscribers With Byond & Byond PVR Decoder Boxes
Previously, before Byond/Byond PVR was launched, subscribers "purchase" the old Astro DMT boxes so these units are the personal properties of subscribers except for the smartcard.

AFAIK, according to the Astro terms & conditions for subscribers who have Byond/Byond PVR installed, Astro is to provide all the necessary satellite device and accessories to enable the subscriber to receive the subscribed TV, Radio and Interactive Services during the period upon which the said subscription is still active and not suspended or terminated due to various reasons.

That means the Byond PVR and smartcard installed at your home is NOT your personal property so, under the subscriber's terms, Astro have the responsibility to make sure that there is NO disruption to its satellite services to you as a paying subscriber. As long as you pay any due monthly subscriptions on time, you have the ABSOLUTE right to demand that Astro send someone to come to your home to properly fix your problem until there is 100% no disruption in the subscribed TV and Radio channels. Hehe... except for "occassional rain fade" during heavy thunderstorms which is already mentioned in Astro's terms.

Based on what you have explained in your post, and although I am not sure because I cannot come to your home to check... I would suspect and point my finger to "some fault or problem" with your Byond PVR box. Anyway, please do not rule out the unlikely possibility that the cause could also be due to cables, alignment, connections and others.

Whatever the actual cause or causes of your problem, I do agree with you that the best solution is to persuade or "force" Astro Cust Supp to send someone to personally come to your place to fix your problem once and for all.

However...

Before you make the phone call, I suggest that you write down on a piece of paper the following checklist...

1) Go to the Byond PVT installation settings to check the "Signal Level" which is shown as numbers. For me is about 222. Write down the level number and the time, also note the weather such as cloudy, sunny, etc. Do many such checks at different times and different days and write them all to paper.

2) When problem occur, write down which actual channels got "lost reception" and which channels never got problem.

3) Check and write down your Byond PVR software version... should be Version 7.0s AND go to "System Versions" to check and write the full version number... for me with Byond (non PVR) the latest is 6.0.3.001.HYBRIDDVRLite.5B Jun 27 2012. Also, write down the smartcard number. If your PVR is still the old Version 3.0s, then you must update it... just switch off power (not standby)... wait a few minutes... switch on power and wait... don't touch anything... auto update will start.. wait until the PVR display the correct time... then check if your problem still occur or not.

4) Even if your PVR have the correct software version, try switch off power and then switch back on. Previously it happened once to my Byond where my TV screen shows only a tiny long screen, not 1080i... switching to standby did not correct it so I completely switched off and then no more problem, weird !! I believe that you have done the power off which did not fix problem. Also write this down.

5) Check all the cable connections at the Byond PVR, TV and Amplifier (if used), including the satellite cable to Byond PVR, to make sure that its tight and not loose. If possible, change cables such as the HDMI, Component Video, or RCA cables to make sure that its not caused by the cable.

6) Switch the Byond PVR to standby, remove the smartcard and clean the SIM area with slightly moist clean cotton cloth. Use only clean water, do not use any chemicals or cleaning agents. Insert the smartcard back and test your Byond PVR again.

Why did I ask you to write down the checklist ? Because I expect these are what the Support person will ask you to check when you phoned... so be prepared before the support person ask you to do "this and that" which is "standard procedure" so don't waste time on the phone and immediately let that person know what you have already done. Hehe... play psychology by showing that you know a lot because you wil be surprised that the support person will not try to bully you and think that you are knowledgeable.

Never, never touch anything at the LNB at the satelite dish or the cable connected to the PVR... to avoid the support person giving excuse to charge you service fee because of "tampering by unauthorised person". Even if you did it... ssssh... keep quiet about it so don't show your honesty lah.

During your phone call to Astro Cust Supp, always clearly say that you NEVER touch anything and never moved the Byond PVR location. Just mention that you only check the PVR connection to make sure its not loose and have never pull out the satellite cable at the Byond PVR. Also let the person know that you know that ONLY Astro Cust Supp is authorised to touch the LNB at the dish so you dare NOT call any other person to fix any problems. Just say that "I am not stupid to call others when I can call you lah !"

I believe the Support person have been trained to inform you that there will be service charge/fee for sending someone to fix your problem IF it was found that the problem was caused by you. Don't worry about this. Then answer... "yes, reasonable to charge me if my fault BUT I think it will be very unfair to charge me if NOT my fault ! I never dare to touch anything at the dish. I should not be blamed for wind and rain that cause problem... I cannot be blamed for using the Byond PVR to watch non-stop 6 hours everyday until it burnt or spoilt because nobody told me that I cannot watch for long hours ! Nobody told me that your Byond PVR is poor quality that cannot "tahan lama" for long hours of watching satellite channels !" Be polite and no need to shout, just be firm and show that you know your rights that Astro must make sure that subscribers can receive channels without problems because the Byond PVR is the propertyof Astro. Clearly say that... "Astro have to prove that the fault is caused by me before charging any service fee... IF I am charged anything when its not my fault, then its unfair and I will immediately terminate my account and make a phone call complaint to 1 800 18 2222 !". That is what I mean by being firm, polite and no bad language used, hehe.

I think I have given enough info for you to be prepared on how to tackle the support person so its up to you now. Remember, I may not be right in everything so use your common sense when you call Astro Cust Supp.

I mentioned at the start of this post about Byond or Byond PVR.

If you have upgraded from the old Astro box or Byond box TO Byond PVR box, you need to know the following when installation upgrade was done...

1) The old smaller dish and LNB must be replaced with a new grey dish (slightly larger than the old Astro dish) and a new LNB. Check if this was done. Smaller dish can cause poorer reception signal... all the HD channels are more sensitive to drop in signal level.

2) The Byond PVR have 2 tuners so it use 2 Inputs from the LNB. Not recommended to use satellite cable splitter (1 in, 2 out) to connect 1 single cable from LNB to the 2 Sat Inputs of Byond PVR ! My friend who is an Astro installer did tell me that he was sent to fix many installers mistakes by using cable splitters. Check this... if wrongly done... also inform Astro to correct this !

Sample splitter (inside spoiler)...

There are installers who used such splitters from the LNB to split to 2 cables and then connect to the 2 inputs of the Byond PVR ! Yes, it can be used in this way BUT this will cause signal strength level problems. There are also LAZY and irresponsible Astro installers who used back the old LNB, did not want to do extra work, and just used cable splitters near the Byond PVR to finish the job !

The old Single Output LNB must be changed to the new Dual Output or Quad Output LNB. If Quad LNB is used, it allows a maximum of 4 cables to be connected to it.

Picture shows the dark grey dish and my Quad LNB installed (inside spoiler)...

For proper installation of your Byond PVR... a proper slightly larger grey dish to be used... and 2 separate cables must be directly connected from the Byond PVR to the Quad LNB. Don't use any splitter to the LNB. You did not mention this so check this and let me know whether your cable installation is correct or not.

3) If possible, old satellite cables should be replaced since new cables are supplied FOC (I think about 30metres) for the upgrade so why not completely change the cabling to new ones during installation upgrade ? Depending on how long the old satellite cables have been used, sometimes years of "wear and tear" can cause signal fluctuations or signal drop. When I upgraded my old Astro box to Byond (non PVR) in 2010, my installer friend completely change the entire cabling since he told me that its included free for 30m. Mmm... my old cables was already about 14 years old ! My installer friend also told me that there were a few persons who have cables which was slightly eaten by rats which exposed the copper inside but not broken so causing weird signal problems, hehe.

Again... as usual.... sorry for being too loooong in my reply.

I am not sure if I made any mistakes here... so... if anyone here find any mistakes or anything that I failed to mention... please correct me. Its okay, I don't mind as I also learn from my mistakes too. Thanks.

Its actually the PVR EASi external USB Harddisk. At RM 80 for this is cheap or not will depend on the current prices for the standard external USB 2.5 in harddisks. Nowadays, I think its getting harder to find 320GB capacities for external 2.5 in harddisks where the 500GB ones are more common now.


I have previously posted the PVR EASi internal pictures a few months ago in this thread.

Yes, you can use the PVR EASi exactly like a normal External Harddisk for the computer using USB 2.0 connection. Yes, I "borrowed" a unit from "someone" and actually plugged it to my computer USB port to test.

You need to partition it using Windows and then format it as NTFS partition. Worked... copied large video files to it, played with TotalMedia Theatre 5... then deleted it.

Warning... if already formatted using the Byond box and have files inside... need to repartition it BUT all the Byond protected files will be destroyed !!

After you have partitioned and formatted the PVR EASi using the computer... and you want to use it back for the Byond recording... then should use Windows to delete the partition first. Hehe... I deleted the partition before I returned it after borrowing it to test.

CAUTION... usually no problems because most computer USB 2.0 port supply 5.0 V at 500mA which is enough to power the PVR EASi but if you hear noise from the unit after plugging it to the computer USB port... then quickly disconnect it and use USB cable splitter (1 to 2) where you can use to connect to 2 computer USB ports... one for power and another for data.

NOTE : The Byond recorded video files inside are encrypted with protection and an unknown codec is used to encode the video files so I could not find any software codec that can decode such files with *.STR extension... not MKV, not AVI, not MPG, etc.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 9 2012, 07:25 AM

Yeah, I absolutely agree because Astro already charged us when subscribed to Superpack or Recording Service.

For FREE ? You mean F R E E ? I am sure everyone wants it FOC for people with Superpack and Recording Service. Not sure but I heard of someone from Jerantut, Pahang who got it for free after complaining that he searched everywhere and could not find the WD My Passport AV 320GB Ext. HDD to buy BUT it was during the first two weeks that the PVR EASi was relaunched many months ago.

Now we can only hope for FOC because I don't think it will happen... anyway, I could be wrong, hehe.

When the PVR EASi is plugged to the USB port of Byond PVR, you cannot copy files from the Byond PVR internal 500GB harddisk >> to >> the PVR EASi external harddisk.

Two reasons...

1) Hehe... Astro NEVER want people to copy the video files from the Byond PVR internal harddisk to any external USB harddisk. So... there is NO "COPY" command choice to select in the Byond PVR Home Menu to do it. TV broadcasters from TVB, Fox, HBO, and others ALL want to protect their copyrights to program materials. Even the DVDs and Blu-rays disc have AACS Copy Protection which block copying of its files to the computer harddisk so that is why we need to use ripping computer software such as AnyDVD HD to remove the Copy Protection. Of course Astro will NOT put such software inside Byond PVR ! I hate those BIG COMPANIES in the Movie/TV industries who demand too strict anti-piracy controls. In my opinion, I believe that we have the right to keep a backup copy as a legal subscriber to recording service.

2) The Byond PVR don't allow "copying" but let's assume that you can copy the recorded video files out to the PVR EASi... its still useless to do it because you cannot play the files which are encrypted with protection and are also encoded with special codec. The video files are not the commonly used ones such as MKV, MPEG, AVI, QuickTime, etc... so the mediaplayers such as Dune HD, AC Ryan players or computer mediaplayers don't have the proper codec to decode the Byond video files.

I have asked my Astro installer friend about whether we can plug the PVR EASi to the USB port of Byond PVR box and also use it as second harddisk for recording... and this means a total of 820GB capacity which will increase the total recordng time.

My friend told me that "technically" we can add the PVR EASi as additional harddisk to the Byond PVR box for recording BUT... he strongly said... BUT this is unofficial info from Astro who said that there may be some minor software issues have not been fixed yet. My friend personally have NOT actually test it yet. Don't blame me IF anything goes wrong which caused the recorded files in the Byond PVR internal harddisk to be deleted or failed to play.

My pleasure and you are welcome.

Well... its your choice to "get one yourself".

I would like to suggest that you check the replacement Byond PVR to make sure everything work properly BEFORE the installer leave, including making a short PVR recording and then test playback. Check the Signal Level is NOT too low, don't just accept it and do NOT believe the installer who may give excuses that for Byond PVR is normal for very low signal levels. If the Signal Level is about 100 only (for good weather), then don't allow installer to leave until he/she corrected this to higher signal level.

If software is not the latest, immediately ask the installer to update for you and then test everything. No need to do it yourself after he/she left. If it is possible, make sure the LNB is properly held tightly on the clamp holder so you must tell the installer to be absolutely sure that its not loose to avoid calling Astro again after a short time. Tell the installer that it happened many times to a few of your friends which caused so much inconvenience and you will also be frustrated again if mis-alignment happen to you only after a few weeks.

The installer will give you a service form to sign after completing job. Make sure his/her name and phone details is written on the copy he/she gave you. If he/she did not give you a copy, then you must always write down his/her name and phone number so that you can complain to Astro with his/her details if problems happened again (maybe in a few weeks time) because of poor installation.