I wish i had discovered this website before upgrading my whisper like pace 40gb sky+ box to the thunderous thompson sky+160.
I have since asked for a refund i'm so annoyed with it.
Thunderous? Hardly. I install these on a daily basis and I admit they do make a ticking noise when accessing the hard disc, but it's not noticeable when the volume is up. As for the fan noise, that's nothing really - you ought to hear my V2 Pace just now. The fan hasn't stopped since I upgraded the hard disc a year ago, and I think the bearing is on it's way out as it's very noticeable. The Thomson boxes are silent in comparison.
Just turn the TV up and you won't notice it.
It's all relative though Glen, if you have an open stand set up below your tv (no glass panels do dull the noise) and also if your comparing to what you had previous then to me it was thunderous.
My old Pace made not a sound and the Thomson was incredibly loud.
But since all that happened i have got a refund for the Thomson and i bought a Pace PVR3 from SimplyDigital and i'm very happy with it.
One final thing the noise of the fan was not drowned out by tv when set at it's usual volume.
Ok, maybe not the best way to start my first post but I have to say I think the Thomson box is noisy.
I had a PAce 40gb Sky+ box before, not a whimper, not a problem worked perfectly. However, I watch a lot of American Football (I am a Brit BTW) and like to record it and watch during the week. The 40GB box was too small so I upgraded to the 160GB.
The first box was installed and was so noisy I could hear it above the TV. I asked for a replacement and it was installed 5 days later. (This was about 10 months ago)
The new box is only slightly quieter. With the TV on you can't hear it but on a quiet scene, say a tense moment in a movie, all you can hear is the change in tone of the fan. It's a horrible noise.
Additionally, (and I know most people will not do this) when I record a progam over 4 hours long, like the American Football, the picture starts to freeze and then slip forward to catch up. This is especially true if you use the +30 FF function. If you restrict it to +12 then it's not so bad.
Basically I have had to change the way I use the machine to cut the noise. I sleep in the same room as the box and the only way to make it quiet enough to get some shuteye is to put it in standby.
When you do this the machine continues to whir away for about 30 seconds and then there is a loud clunk as the Hard Drive shuts off.
Personally, I think the Thomson box is utter junk, way below the smooth operation of the smaller PACE box. I do not have the technical expertise or time to install my own HD or fan so I live with it but please don't say "Turn the TV up" as a solution.
I paid good money for the box and expect it to be of the standard of the previous boxes. Will Sky allow this when they launch their HD Sky+ boxes later this year ? If they do there will be a lot of complaints. £800 on HDTV, If you HDTV, then its £500 for a decent surround sound system, then £150 to £200 for a box that buzzes like a beehive and spoils the whole effect.
This is not directed at anyone in particular but I just could not let that comment pass without putting my twopenneth in about the Thomson box, no hard feelings ?.
I have to agree with smegsta on all the points regarding the noise i too have to sleep with the sky box in my room and lets imagine you are recording something overnight how annoying will that be, then you could argue that Pvr's shouldn't be in bedrooms but the bedroom is where i get some peace and quiet to watch the tv that i want to watch.
Yeah, I agree - had a Thompson 80Gb box installed yesterday, my first Sky+ box... I can't believe how loud the fan is! It's on constantly, even when the box is in standby.
Going to be on the phone to Sky tomorrow insisting it's replaced with a Pace box, or I'll be cancelling my subscription...
I can't believe how loud the fan is! It's on constantly, even when the box is in standby.
Well the fan certaintly shouldnt be on constantly even if the box is on standby, that sounds like there is a fault with the box or the fan. I have a Thompson box for the record, and mine is fine when you put it into standby, the fan turns off.
I quite like my Thompson box now, I do notice the noise, but it doesnt seem as bad as it was when I first got it, and its been perfectly reliable so far so dont feel the need to change it now
I've had a 160Gb Sky+ for some time, having upgraded from a 40Gb Pace around 6 months ago.
Had one swapped out already (HDD failed), but the noise on both is around the same (exactly as described by Smegsta), so I put it down to the manufacturer and the Sky engineer confirmed this saying that the Thomson boxes are the worst and that I would have been better sticking to my Pace and changing the HDD.
I've still got my 40Gb Pace and have now got a 250Gb Samsung SpinPoint ready to upgrade it.
Just a thought before I do. Has anyone tested a Samsung HDD in the Thomson Sky+160 and does it solve any of the problems (OK I may need to swap the fans as well to eliminate that noise).
The worrying thought at the moment is that as far as I'm aware, Thomson are the only manufacturer making the Sky+HD boxes. Let's hope they've improved.
Funnily enough i put the samsung in my box today,
first thoughts are yes its quieter for 'whining noise' but its the clicking that annoys me its still there even with the samsung.
Some people say turn IR off but thats what i got sky + for amongst other reasons.
I did some experiments when the drive is screwed in the clicking noise is louder when its loose its not so loud, when its not in the tray you can hardly hear it.
This could be vibration of the disk to the tray??
I had a really noisy fan in the Thomson box and it drove me mad. I replaced with it with a 50mm Rasurbo fan that I purchased from Quiet PC.com for approx £7. It was the quietest I could find at 22db. Its been running for 2 weeks now and you can now hear a pin drop in my lounge. It's pretty easy to install, all you need is a magnetic screwdriver (as the screws that hold the hard disk bracket are recessed) and a soldering iron to splice the cables with the fan. Approx time 30 mins. I found a web site below that gives good instructions as to how to get to the fan.
I had a really noisy fan in the Thomson box and it drove me mad. I replaced with it with a 50mm Rasurbo fan that I purchased from Quiet PC.com for approx £7. It was the quietest I could find at 22db. Its been running for 2 weeks now and you can now hear a pin drop in my lounge. It's pretty easy to install, all you need is a magnetic screwdriver (as the screws that hold the hard disk bracket are recessed) and a soldering iron to splice the cables with the fan. Approx time 30 mins. I found a web site below that gives good instructions as to how to get to the fan.
Am wondering, Ewan - do you have a Thomson PVR3, or the 160+ that is described in the link?
I'd like to do the same with my PVR3 having finally replaced the Amstrad it is a joy to use apart from the whirring...
The link describes a 40mm fan - but the one you used was 50mm - is that correct?
I've just replaced my fan with the Asaka one suggested by 5KY. Very simple to do if you're happy using a soldering iron to switch over the cable and connector from the old fan. You need to drill out two of the corner holes to 5mm to use the original retaining screws though - well worth the effort as box is now silent.
I posted a while back , saying I thought my 160+ was about 10x more noisy than my V1 pace; And at the time it was keeping me awake (living room not to far from bedroom).
Since then I have swapped out the standard 160hd with an newer Maxtor model (still a 160gb drive) and while it is still noisy in operation, it does not make the scratching noise (thought I had rats!) while it is recording (all the time if Instant rewind is on). Thus it is now live-able. I wish I had known about the noise issue before buying as I really would not have bothered!
I'm sure there are quieter drives out there , and I'm not sure if I can hear the fan noise ?
Comments
Thunderous? Hardly. I install these on a daily basis and I admit they do make a ticking noise when accessing the hard disc, but it's not noticeable when the volume is up. As for the fan noise, that's nothing really - you ought to hear my V2 Pace just now. The fan hasn't stopped since I upgraded the hard disc a year ago, and I think the bearing is on it's way out as it's very noticeable. The Thomson boxes are silent in comparison.
Just turn the TV up and you won't notice it.
My old Pace made not a sound and the Thomson was incredibly loud.
But since all that happened i have got a refund for the Thomson and i bought a Pace PVR3 from SimplyDigital and i'm very happy with it.
One final thing the noise of the fan was not drowned out by tv when set at it's usual volume.
I had a PAce 40gb Sky+ box before, not a whimper, not a problem worked perfectly. However, I watch a lot of American Football (I am a Brit BTW) and like to record it and watch during the week. The 40GB box was too small so I upgraded to the 160GB.
The first box was installed and was so noisy I could hear it above the TV. I asked for a replacement and it was installed 5 days later. (This was about 10 months ago)
The new box is only slightly quieter. With the TV on you can't hear it but on a quiet scene, say a tense moment in a movie, all you can hear is the change in tone of the fan. It's a horrible noise.
Additionally, (and I know most people will not do this) when I record a progam over 4 hours long, like the American Football, the picture starts to freeze and then slip forward to catch up. This is especially true if you use the +30 FF function. If you restrict it to +12 then it's not so bad.
Basically I have had to change the way I use the machine to cut the noise. I sleep in the same room as the box and the only way to make it quiet enough to get some shuteye is to put it in standby.
When you do this the machine continues to whir away for about 30 seconds and then there is a loud clunk as the Hard Drive shuts off.
Personally, I think the Thomson box is utter junk, way below the smooth operation of the smaller PACE box. I do not have the technical expertise or time to install my own HD or fan so I live with it but please don't say "Turn the TV up" as a solution.
I paid good money for the box and expect it to be of the standard of the previous boxes. Will Sky allow this when they launch their HD Sky+ boxes later this year ? If they do there will be a lot of complaints. £800 on HDTV, If you HDTV, then its £500 for a decent surround sound system, then £150 to £200 for a box that buzzes like a beehive and spoils the whole effect.
This is not directed at anyone in particular but I just could not let that comment pass without putting my twopenneth in about the Thomson box, no hard feelings ?.
:eek:
Going to be on the phone to Sky tomorrow insisting it's replaced with a Pace box, or I'll be cancelling my subscription...
Well the fan certaintly shouldnt be on constantly even if the box is on standby, that sounds like there is a fault with the box or the fan. I have a Thompson box for the record, and mine is fine when you put it into standby, the fan turns off.
I quite like my Thompson box now, I do notice the noise, but it doesnt seem as bad as it was when I first got it, and its been perfectly reliable so far so dont feel the need to change it now
Had one swapped out already (HDD failed), but the noise on both is around the same (exactly as described by Smegsta), so I put it down to the manufacturer and the Sky engineer confirmed this saying that the Thomson boxes are the worst and that I would have been better sticking to my Pace and changing the HDD.
I've still got my 40Gb Pace and have now got a 250Gb Samsung SpinPoint ready to upgrade it.
Just a thought before I do. Has anyone tested a Samsung HDD in the Thomson Sky+160 and does it solve any of the problems (OK I may need to swap the fans as well to eliminate that noise).
The worrying thought at the moment is that as far as I'm aware, Thomson are the only manufacturer making the Sky+HD boxes. Let's hope they've improved.
first thoughts are yes its quieter for 'whining noise' but its the clicking that annoys me its still there even with the samsung.
Some people say turn IR off but thats what i got sky + for amongst other reasons.
I did some experiments when the drive is screwed in the clicking noise is louder when its loose its not so loud, when its not in the tray you can hardly hear it.
This could be vibration of the disk to the tray??
My Amstrad V2 was a blessing compared to the 160
Im in 2 minds to send the samsung back.
Is there a quiet drive out there?
http://www.epicycle.org.uk/technical/skyplus160.htm
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/casefans/fan-40-50
Am wondering, Ewan - do you have a Thomson PVR3, or the 160+ that is described in the link?
I'd like to do the same with my PVR3 having finally replaced the Amstrad it is a joy to use apart from the whirring...
The link describes a 40mm fan - but the one you used was 50mm - is that correct?
Since then I have swapped out the standard 160hd with an newer Maxtor model (still a 160gb drive) and while it is still noisy in operation, it does not make the scratching noise (thought I had rats!) while it is recording (all the time if Instant rewind is on). Thus it is now live-able. I wish I had known about the noise issue before buying as I really would not have bothered!
I'm sure there are quieter drives out there , and I'm not sure if I can hear the fan noise ?
Greg