Thomson DTI-2300/2305: Unresolved problems
I started this thread to see if anyone has any information about the many problems the box has. Thomson's replies to e-mails are useless, and since August the updates have done little to fix the problems.
Issues I have noticed:
1) Encrypted channels (Top Up TV channels) freeze occasionally for a few seconds. With the SDN TUTV channels the screen goes black, and the picture returns in about 5 seconds. With the other TUTV channels, the picture freezes for a few seconds, then returns. The difference is probably due to SDN having many streams crammed in. This is not reception related (experienced it from 3 transmitters and no other channels are affected) and has only occured since the last update to the box (December 2004)
2) The Now/Next EPG doesn't work when you press up and an MHEG application has loaded in the background (a well documented bug - been around since August). 8 Months later and no fix.
3) The 7 Day EPG is erratic, sometimes it shows listings from the next day instead of the current day, sometimes nothing shows up.
4) MHEG is very slow, the Thomson DTI-1000 which has a much better EPG and seems to work correctly is much faster than the DTI-2300.
I'm sure I have missed some, hopefully others can contribute.
Thomson has given many updates to the other products they have released, it seems that the DTI-2300 is neglected. Sometimes it makes me want to get rid of TUTV and have my DTI-1000 back on this TV.
Issues I have noticed:
1) Encrypted channels (Top Up TV channels) freeze occasionally for a few seconds. With the SDN TUTV channels the screen goes black, and the picture returns in about 5 seconds. With the other TUTV channels, the picture freezes for a few seconds, then returns. The difference is probably due to SDN having many streams crammed in. This is not reception related (experienced it from 3 transmitters and no other channels are affected) and has only occured since the last update to the box (December 2004)
2) The Now/Next EPG doesn't work when you press up and an MHEG application has loaded in the background (a well documented bug - been around since August). 8 Months later and no fix.
3) The 7 Day EPG is erratic, sometimes it shows listings from the next day instead of the current day, sometimes nothing shows up.
4) MHEG is very slow, the Thomson DTI-1000 which has a much better EPG and seems to work correctly is much faster than the DTI-2300.
I'm sure I have missed some, hopefully others can contribute.
Thomson has given many updates to the other products they have released, it seems that the DTI-2300 is neglected. Sometimes it makes me want to get rid of TUTV and have my DTI-1000 back on this TV.
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Comments
1 or 2 second pause usually happens on UKTV Gold,
EPG does suck:
Am i right in saying the EPG data is got when you turn to the channel, not prior to doing anything (like on my old panny TUCT-20 on which epg was spot on). Hopefully the next software update will fix this and make the epg download a periodic thing rather than an on-demand (and usually late) download of the data. the epg doesnt show incorrect days though afaik????
Apart from these 2 niggles the box is superb, if the epg is sorted out it would be a great box.
Any1 else?????
EDIT:: MHEG i only have trouble on Teletext Channel 9, BBCi is fine, quick as could be, so are yooplay games and The Hits Interactive.
<RANT>
It seems that Thomson never read Digitalspy forums, even though I think a number of people have told them about the issues raised here. Please correct me if I am wrong on that point - perhaps Thomson ARE reading the forums but don't regard the bugs we mention as "showstoppers".
8 months to do a test-and-fix of bugs they have known about for 8 months is terrible. If we'd had those kinds of outstanding issues in the products whose firmware I used to help write and test, the test and coding teams would've been in a lot of hot water, and the company might have gone under.
They have to face the reality that these days consumers expect bug-free firmware in their home entertaintment devices. Of course, we know that this is impossible, since no software is 100% bug-free, but consumers should at least have the right to expect their home entertainment devices to function in the way the manuals have them to expect them to.
So anyway.. here's a fairly comprehensive list of things that Thomson should read asap!
Thomson, also.. please.. please.. please.. get yourselves a decent website please. You are not doing you or your customers any favours by having such a difficult to use site which seems to deny you even make DTT set-top boxes. News/firmware update schedules, manuals, etc.. would make things a lot easier for your customers and for you.
</RANT>
http://www.thomson.net/EN/Home/MiniSites/BAP/Terrestrial/ModelDetail.html?category=Ter_Operators%20Products&model=DTI%202300
GOOD WORK SHERLOCK, i cant believe theyve finally got a page on it!!!! All ive usually seen is a link to the DTI1000 page, i see there is little in the way of specs, online manuals etc... still, nice hunting there sir, eyes of the eagle and all that (reference to bravestar if anyone remembers it
Now all they have to do is expand upon the info given, like most of the other DTT receiver manufacturers
When I switched mine on at about 7.10pm it announced it had found an upgrade. About 20 minutes later it said that the upgrade was complete and it's now showing as version 6.01.18, but I'm sure it was version 6.01.21 before (although I didn't write it down to check against, unfortunately, but I know it definitely ended in .21). Can someone confirm if this IS the latest version? Thanks.
This version didn't change much anyway: Minor MHEG fixes and updated Mediaguard libraries.
Strange that my box found the updae last night then. And since it updated I've found that the picture has started freezing for a second or two at a time, particularly on E4. Very peculiar!
TUTV said it was pulled in an e-mail from their CS (although they do make stuff up).
Probably because the BBC Engineering channel has a licence which it can use for all of the downloads it does, but SDN doesn't so Thomson has got a licence to keep DTI 2300 updates broadcasting constantly.
I wish my thomson would die I'm fed up waiting on this update to solve the problems it probably won't solve them anyway.
Could you let the forum know how you get on with the echostar 105T and give us your veiw on it's quality EPG etc, I quite like the look of it and I know echostar make great satellite recievers but I have no info on this box
Thank's
Although I have heard the Echostar has a few issues (not just the size) and is not as good as the T-101 (FTA only).
Maybe this one is that bug ridden its taking months to sort out? Yes i do own one and yes it does get right on my tits.
I think we should take them back to the shop and get our money back as Thompson could not care less as long as the money keeps coming in and as for the magazines awarding it best performer in their tests are these guy's who test them blind or what ? or just please to take the money.
i posted on here yesterday because i purchased a fusion top-up tv box that basically failed after about 5 mins. anyway i took it back today and they exchanged it for the thomson model.
so far i have no major issues with it (only been on for about 10 mins though) but it worked straight out of the box, perfect picture on all channels and i don't seem to be getting the interference as motorcycles drive past as i did with my ex-on digital nokia box!
my only gripes (so far) are: as i flick up/down through channels i get this blue box saying "data services loading please wait" - what's that all about? also the guide is incredibly slow to load and the remote is pretty tacky and badly laid out.
apart from that... seems to work, so far....
It does have some bugs in the software, but for watching tv with it I am very happy
Once you get to know some of the quirks it has its not a bad box
Quirks? You could work for Thomson!
Since when has having slow MHEG, an unusable EPG and the freezing of encrypted channels been a quirk?
He He, No I dont work for them
MHEG is slow , but I dont use it too often
EPG - Dont use, Now/Next is fine because I allways put it on before I flick through the channels (doing this allways give the correct info)
I dont get freezing of encrypted channels (occasionaly It tells me I dont have rights to access them, twice a month at most, but putting into standby and back solves this)