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

hi all,

i now have a Byond PVR set. If i bring my smard card and put it in astro decoder with no byond or PVR, can i still see my package (without HD of course)? Can?

Doubtfull,cos every smartcard is tied up to the respective decorder

Hey guys, I've been facing some problems with my Astro Beyond PVR since yesterday. My PVR is the external WD HDD type that comes with only 320GB of memory, not the built-in type.

All this while, my Astro Beyond was running on software Version 3 but luckily, there was no problem all this while. The problem started with a program that was scheduled to be recorded yesterday. Before I went out, the Astro was on Ch722. But as usual, by the time it was time for the recording on another channel to start, the channel was switched automatically and halfway through the recording, I came home and it was on the correct channel and the recording service was indeed running then.

However, when I wanted to watch the program I recorded last night, it appeared that it was broken and nothing was recorded. I tried to record another program again later last night but a similar thing happened. Before I switched to another channel, I checked if the program was successfully recorded and it did. But after I switched to another channel, suddenly the program I just recorded appeared to be broken, much to my surprise!

I recorded another program again just this evening and the same thing happened. Everything was fine. The recorded program was still there and was fine before I changed to another channel. But yet again, the recorded program appeared broken again after I switched to another channel.

Initially I thought it could be because of the software problem. Checked the system software and it was the on Version 3 which was released in 2010. So I set the STB on standby mode, went out a while and by the time I got home, it was upgraded to Version 7, Hybrid something. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem and to add salts to the wound, it appears that this recent update has a lot of problems. For instance, switching between different channels isn't that smooth than before. There were even a few times that the system stuck and I cannot switch to another channel or switch off the STB. So I ended up switching off the whole thing.

By the way, after the software update, the system is now running on 6.0.3.001.HYBRIDDVRLite.5B Jun 27 2012. Is your Astro Beyond software running on the same version as mine ? Any problem with it ? And any idea what could be causing all the broken recorded programs ? Thanks in advance

Yesterday Olympic is quite...something...

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.

Your posts are balanced and helpful from what I read. Just ignore the rare few who are just unfortunate. Peace

---

Added on August 8, 2012, 7:50 pmCould be the STB. Had my PVR version replaced due to what looked similar to your case after some lenghty discusssions with Astro technical people over the phone. It was the first PVR batch and seemed to had some defect which Astro is aware of but wont comment officially as I understand. So if you are on the first batch of Byond then its very probable. Push Astro to replace the STB. Its under warrant anyways

This post has been edited by XPS: Aug 8 2012, 07:53 PM

hello Jamesleetech..

I need some advice and I hope I can get it from u..

I am using Byond PVR..everyday from 2pm to around 7pm, some of my channels will be lost and out of service as if it was raining when in actual fact, its bright and sunny outside..some of the channels affected are TV3, Astro Warna and ESPNEWS to name a few..

As I have faced this problem before at my grandparents home, I know this is a dish alignment problem..at my grandparents home, the problem was that their dish was not properly mounted on to a concrete platform or wall..it was mounted onto the zink/genting on the roof and the way I fixed it myself was I put a piece of wood to help maintain the dish in its proper setting..once every 4-5 months, I would go up to the roof and fix the wood again and there would be no problem..

However, as for my dish at home, it is properly fitted like any Astro dish would to a wall/concrete..I have had this problem ever since the day I got my PVR installed back in April..

What I want to ask is, if I was to call Astro and ask for a technician to come and fix this problem, would they come? I once tried calling them and they tried to help me pout fix it by trying to remotely change the satellite settings and all..I trued but I knew it wouldnt work and it didnt..so would they come if I explained to then that my dish needed realigning? would they charge me for this? or should I go to a nearby Astro dealer and ask for their help?

My preferred choice would be for me to fix it myself..however, i do not know which part of the dish I should go and touch and fix..LNB or dish and if so, I dont know which position/angle it should be directed in..and I am scared that I would make things worse..

So what should I do? your advice and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance..

This post has been edited by dxjb: Aug 9 2012, 12:06 AM

Astro is giving away WD 320GB I Think for those with Beyond at RM80,just a question can we use this for our personal use or is it tied to astro only? Thanks.I am on SP 1 and one multi room ,the room is just beyond decorder,they called with the offer yesterday no further charges except rm80 for WDHD


This post has been edited by smileguy: Aug 9 2012, 06:17 AM

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

Astro should provide the PVR-Easi for FREE...

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

Anybody manage to get the PVR-Easi for free from Astro ?

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.

Speaking of which, i wonder what'll happen when b.yond 500GB PVR + PVR EASi combined...? And, does one can transfer files from (overload) 500GB PVR to EASi one?

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Aug 9 2012, 12:49 PM

Thanks James,very nice of u to share the info.well I wl never trust asstro,I rather get one myself!!!

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.

http://www.skyperfectv.co.jp/b-ray/ (record programme and burn into Bluray, i guess)

http://www.skyperfectv.co.jp/service/kiki/wr320p/index.html

(refering to SKYPerfect Japan PVR one)

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Aug 9 2012, 04:07 PM

My pleasure and you are welcome.

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