Is it supposed to be as noisy?

mearnsbull · 29-01-2007, 12:16

Hi,

Got my TVDrive installed on saturday - loving it so far but have encountered a couple of problems.

Can't seem to copy to my DVD recorder unless I actually watch the programme i'm copying (probably something to do with my HDMI cable or scarts so I'll have a look for this on the forum for some advice).

But my main concern is the noise the machine makes - I've heard other people being unhappy about the noise but my machine makes one hell of a noise from what i presume are the fans. It's a bit like watching a DVD on an old laptop (it can get so loud that I have to turn the TV volume up). The noise doesn't sound as if anythings rubbing against something it shouldn't and it immediatly stops if i give the box a wee nudge (only for it to start up again 10mins later. Surely this can't be right? Is it a case of phoning up for an engineer?

nefu · 29-01-2007, 12:48

My TVDrive is pretty quiet, can't hear any fans, just the odd bit of hard disk activity, so it seems like yours might be duff!

Stephen · 29-01-2007, 13:09

Mine isn't silent but its not too noisy either.

To try and solve your issues with backing up your recordings how have you got the TV drive connected and what other connections have you got to and from the TV Drive?

mearnsbull · 29-01-2007, 14:11

I've just phone customer services and I was transferred to India where they guy told me that I should turn down the tvdrive volume and turn up my Tv volume???

I've got a HDMI connection and a scart connection but until I get home from work I won't be able to check the above or where the connections are going to / from

Stephen · 29-01-2007, 14:26

Ok if you have HDMI then you no longer need the scart connected. The only scart should be going from the TV Drive's lower scart into the DVD Recorder. Then if you go to the menu option to back up recordings it should output to the DVD recorder.

No idea what that person you spoke to in India was talking about.

Ruck and Maul · 29-01-2007, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by mearnsbull

I've just phone customer services and I was transferred to India where they guy told me that I should turn down the tvdrive volume and turn up my Tv volume???

I've got a HDMI connection and a scart connection but until I get home from work I won't be able to check the above or where the connections are going to / from

Oh gawd!
why did he ask you to do that?!
that's what we're meant to ask if it's a normal stb but it doesn't apply to the TVDrive because it doesn't have volume control!
It could be something loose in there, mine sounds like a tinny whistling noise does yours?

mearnsbull · 30-01-2007, 09:02

Got home last night to try the volume thing???? that the bloke from India recommended - but my pictrure was blank but the sound was OK. Then the picture would flicker on for about 1 second out of every 15.

I checked all my connections but the problem still continued. Then I changed the settings from HDMI back to scart (which took me ages because I could only see the screen once every 15 seconds) but the problem still continued.

I gave NTL a phone and during the 23 minutes that I was on hold I heard a recorded message (more than once) telling me that picture loss could sometimes be caused due to lack of box ventilation, my box is well ventilated so maybe my extremely noisy box is a faulty fan which isn't cooling down the tvdrive sufficiantly??????

Anyway I finally spoke to someone and they're sending an engineer out on Friday. After the phone call I tried unplugging the system for 5 minutes turned it back on and to my surprise it was working fine????????. The noise even seemed to be at the correct level???????

I'll check it again tonight!!!

Stephen · 30-01-2007, 10:28

When you were using the HDMI did you still have the scart going from the box to your TV? If you did then that is the probable cause of the picture problem. Unplug the scart if you are connecting by HDMI.

rdhw · 30-01-2007, 11:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by mearnsbull

maybe my extremely noisy box is a faulty fan which isn't cooling down the tvdrive sufficiantly??????

There is no fan in the TVDrive. If you hear any mechanical noise from it, it is likely the hard disk making the noise.

---------- Post added at 12:09 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthYoda

When you were using the HDMI did you still have the scart going from the box to your TV? If you did then that is the probable cause of the picture problem. Unplug the scart if you are connecting by HDMI.

I cannot think of any scientific reason why simultaneous connection of both SCART and HDMI cables should be the cause of any problem. I have that configuration myself without any issue.

ShadowTD · 30-01-2007, 15:01

I have found my TVDrive to be a little noisier than Sky+ in standby (wtf *is* the box doing when it's supposed to be turned off??

) but no nosier than Sky+ when powered up.

The *stupid* thing is the standby light - keeps the living room lit up at night...

mearnsbull · 31-01-2007, 07:48

Got home last night and everything was working as it should???

The box is making the proper hard drive noise?

The picture is perfect and i changed the scart cable from the top to the bottom slot on the tvdrive so I can now copy direct to my dvd recorder whilst watching other programmes.

So at the minute everything is good - but i'm not holding my breath lol

JG3870 · 31-01-2007, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadowTD

I have found my TVDrive to be a little noisier than Sky+ in standby (wtf *is* the box doing when it's supposed to be turned off??

) but no nosier than Sky+ when powered up.

The *stupid* thing is the standby light - keeps the living room lit up at night...

The hard drive should powerdown when put into standby after a few minutes which makes the unit silent, if you press "reset" on the front of the box the next time you put your TV Drive into standby the hard drive should powerdown.

scoobydoo[uk] · 01-02-2007, 13:51

Mine started to make a terrible noise after id had it for almost the day!. Found out though it was vibrations, the case was vibrating like crazy making a awful noise. Ive rested the box on some pads now and pressed the sides of the case, which seems to have stopped it at the moment.

Apart from that its virtually silent, the harddisk is even quiet too.

Guy T · 03-02-2007, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by JG3870

The hard drive should powerdown when put into standby after a few minutes which makes the unit silent, if you press "reset" on the front of the box the next time you put your TV Drive into standby the hard drive should powerdown.

I had a tvdrive installed on Thursday and it hasn't powered down the drive since installation - I was under the impression it would stop on standby and during the sleep periods when inactive - the drive can still be heard on standby and it was still running at 3am this morning - should this not be the case then???

Redjay1 · 04-02-2007, 15:48

My V+ box is noisy too.

There is a constant whirring noise which does sound like a fan (its actually not disimilar to the noise a fridge makes!?). If it is the harddrive, it hasnt powered down once since it was installed yesterday. Even if I leave the box in standby overnight, the whirring continues.

Its getting quite irritating, its as loud as the fan on my PC which is very distracting when the tv is turned off.

Is this normal????