V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

I have a V+ HD box that only has 16 hours left of hard drive space left. I have only got about 12 hours of recorded material so should have 65 hours left. If I delete an hours worth of material 4 hours is replaced. Any ideas to try and sort this out before the dreaded numerous calls to customer service ? :(

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

are the recordings HD or SD ,Hd recordings will take up a lot more room on the HD

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

As Marty says the time left is based on SD recordings but HD takes up 4 times the space

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

They are mainly HD. Hadn't thought of that ! Thinking about it some of the SD ones of an hour add 2 hours back when deleted whilst the HD ones of an hour add 4 hours back when deleted.

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

The time left will be rounding up / down to an hour's approximation based on SD content. But because of recording methods the amouont of space needed for different types of programme can differ a little, depending on it's content, just the same as two one page documents might have different file sizes.

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Thanx for the quick replies :) As they say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Happy New Year :)

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Slight update. I had a HD programme that was recorded which was an hour and a half long. When this was deleted 11 hours returned to my hard drive space ! A normal CH4 programme of an hour was also deleted and this put back 3 hours of hard drive space. I appreciate that HD programmes take up more space but 7x as much - Not sure this is right as Im sure it never used to be this much :( Plus the normal CH4 programme of an hour should of really just of took up 1 hour space :(

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

There's a known bug with the Samsung V+ software where it sometimes displays an incorrect time remaining. Seems to get confused over the length of time to allocate to HD recordings when calculating the amount of (SD) time remaining.
A quick way to check is to record a few minutes of any SD programme then delete the recording - that seems to force a re-calculation and you get the right number.

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

I too have a Samsung V+ box giving problems.
After contacting Virginmedia today, I can confirm they say that HD recordings take 4 times as much recording space an SD. My concern is that the recording time left is often incorrectly shown. I recorded a program of 63 mins which only played for 35mins.(It showed as 63min recording). A later program did not record at all despite showing a record time of 35mins. The red bar at the top of the screen was still showing 27hrs remaining. Virginmedia were adamant that I was out of recording time, and after their reboot of my machine, this was confirmed, with drive state 'critical' showing. So why the error? Virgin said it was due to the microprocessor getting confused, and they recommend disconnecting from the mains once a week or at least every 10 days to reset everything. They say there is nothing wrong with the box. As a qualified electronics engineer, I would say there IS something wrong, either with the hardware or the software, and to expect their customers to 'reboot' their equipment weekly is just rediculous.
I also have a 'deletion' problem - despite repeated deleting, 'The Apprentice' keeps on returning. Virgin do know of this problem, and will be issuing a software update sometime!!!! In the meantime, as I still have 10 months to run on my contract, I will keep on unplugging my box, although I am going to see if I have any redress under the 'sale of goods act' in that the box is not suitable for the purpose it was sold (Rented). Jeff

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Jeffsm7 - I have the same issues.

My time left jumps around like a kangaroo. I have 36 hrs left then I delete one program and have 45 hrs left then I record something else and have 48 hrs left... I have unplugged my box once a week to try and refresh it.

Also I have a recording of Due South that keeps coming back as Now and 0:00 even though i keep on deleting it - and for a bit before the last reset some of my programmes were 'partially recorded' although i seemed to have got most of the programme, although a few had 0:00 times and wouldn't play.

My hardware version is SMT3110C
My Software version is UK4_V_01_P12DN_S_s3110

One more question - what's this £30 credit I have?!?!

Thanks
Helen

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

The unpredictable fuel gauge is a known software problem on the Samsung V+. It should be fixed by the next software update.

You would have to reformat the hard drive to get rid of Due South. Probably better just to ignore it.

The credit limit was designed to prevent you overspending on pay-per-view purchases, but it isn't used any more. The limit is now held in the billing system.

ps. Welcome to the forum!

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Why would VM quote the recording times as SD hours when it is a HD box??:confused:

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

A question we all ask ourselves...

All I can add is because the software it runs is donkey's years old, and they haven't bothered to change it

Although why it never had provision to account for HD recording times in the first place is beyond me - when the V+ (TVDrive) launched it was HD capable so it's not as if the software was nicked from an old non-HD PVR (AFAIK ntl / Telewest never released a SD-only PVR - happy to be corrected if thats incorrect)

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Thank you spiderplant - that's all very useful info! are the updates OTA or do we have to do something?

Overall I'm very happy with the V+ box and virgin service so far. I dare say I prefer it to Sky+ now i'm used to it - although I'm not wowed by the quality compared to Sky - but maybe that's my setup. I remember thinking HD looked more impressive via Sky compared to SD.

Thanks again!

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

I never had the problem with my SA V+ boxes - it seems to just plague the Samsung.
Having said that, it's a minor inconvenience if you force it to do a re-calc like I suggested earlier (record a few seconds of SD then delete it).

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

I have the same problem as all the other Samsung users with another slightly annoying quirk.

Sometimes when I delete a recording, the time left will actually go down instead of up.

Think I'll try the weekly reboot until the update is applied.

There's mention of reformatting the drive - how do you do that please?

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

Having just read a few replies to this ongoing media box problem, I would just like to say that I do not think its a minor problem.
Both my wife and I feel we cannot rely on the V+ box to record our programmes. So much so, that my wife now records on our Panasonic freeview HD recorder whenever possible.
As well as 'The Apprentice' we now have a film that didn't record (0.00 mins) but keeps on reappearing despite deleting it.
I am yet to be convinced that an update will cure these problems, but will have to wait and see.
I am also coming around to my wifes view that 'tapes were better'. At least you can see what you are getting. If the HD fails, you have little chance of recovery. With a tape, there was always hope.
Incidentaly, we are both engineers in the broadcast industry, but still prefer analogue signals as there are still some problems with digital processing, mainly with 'solarisation'. I have to say, the deffinition in HD though is stunning on a good display!

Re: V+ Hard drive time left problem
 

OTA. They will just happen. Not for a while, though,

No need to reboot. Just do as nialli suggests - make a short recording then delete it. This will correct the gauge. I wouldn't recommend reformatting for this, either. (Though if you really want to, follow the link in my sig for instructions)

You have a different problem, and that would need a reformat. It's unlikely to be fixed by new software.