Out of Warranty Repair on Rogers NextBox 3.0 in Vaughan, ON

[carriejoelle80]

Does anyone know where I can repair Rogers Nextbox 3.0 9865 HD PVR in Vaughan, ON? I found a place in Scarborough that will do it for $105 or less - but they are far and their hours aren't convenient for me at all. 

Help! My PVR no longer records full episodes, only a portion and I own the box. I've already had a truck roll, rebooted and a factory reset - and it has not improved it. Since I've paid off my box, I no longer have a warranty.

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[57]

The only one I know is the one in Scarborough:

http://thecsi.com/contact/index.html

If the box functions as a tuner but doesn't record well, you can consider swapping out the iHDD yourself.  Do you hear loud ticking sounds or something similar indicating a failing hard drive?  Does the unit record live TV OK?

https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/61-rogers-cable-tv-hd-pvr-discussion/211002-upgrade-replace-ihdd-98...

Just make sure it's not a signal problem at your home or in your neighbourhood.  See:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/TV/Nextbox-3-0-PVR-Skips-Recorded-Playback-Only/m-p/387839#M42...

[carriejoelle80]

The location and Scarborough you are referring to is the same one that I called today. They're quoting me based on Diagnostic and replacing the hardware. From the forms that I'm reading that you have provided most are saying my model shouldn't have hardware issues that it should be something to do with the signal. When I had the Rogers technician at my house, he checked my splitter in the basement and commented on how we already had the most advanced MoCA splitter for the home and the correct MoCA attachments for each box in my home on WHPVR. In your experience, would it be the hardware? Would I be wasting my time taking a day off work to bring it there? Is it as easy as the forums are saying to replace the hardware? And where would I buy the hardware for replacing if I went through the process of doing it ourselves. The last thing I want to do is make this box obsolete when it works for tuning into regular TV it's just the PVR that's giving us the issues.

[carriejoelle80]

The box just froze as I was watching it, and it started making a ticking sound at the freeze Mark which I guess is what you were asking me if I was making a noise previously. I let it sit there for a few minutes and started playing again. I'll have to check other the recording if it's doing the same thing. That being said what are your thoughts?

[57]

If you hear the clicking/ticking sound that is the head moving back and forth trying to read information from the drive. At some point it may "give up" and skip ahead and be able to find a readable part of the hard drive again.  I assume that it did this when you were watching a recording or pausing live TV as it shouldn't "freeze" when simply watching live TV, although you may hear the clicking/ticking as that live programme is always being recorded. 

In terms of which drive to purchase, see the last few posts in the thread link I already provided. The "Purple" or "Black" WD drives are typically best for this application.  Canada Computers is one place to purchase, although there are others.  The iHDD replacement process is not for technophobes, but can be done by patient, skilled amateurs.

You mention WHPVR. I have the following comments/questions.

1. Is this the only PVR in your WHPVR setup?

2. If you have another PVR you could use that for your recordings and access them from this PVR and the other boxes in your setup.

3. When you encounter the problem are you viewing the PVR directly or via another box in another location in the home?

4. Did you check your signal strength yourself?  

5. Since the PVR has been part of WHPVR and since these PVRs are now about 6 years old, it's certainly very possible that the iHDD is failing.  Many start to fail around 3-5 years with hard use.

6. You could consider purchasing another used 9865 from someplace like Kijiji, but who knows how well that will work out. If you decide to go that route, read the tips in the following post:

https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/37-rogers-cable-tv/64632-guidelines-selling-buying-used-rogers-term...

You could consider switching to IgniteTV, but read the threads on IgniteTV in this forum first as some people have some issues...

[carriejoelle80]

Hi there, in response to your questions please see below in red

1. Is this the only PVR in your WHPVR setup? this is our only PVR. I own an HD8600 and rent an HD 4xxx series.

2. If you have another PVR you could use that for your recordings and access them from this PVR and the other boxes in your setup. I thought my HD8600 was a PVR but apparently not.

3. When you encounter the problem are you viewing the PVR directly or via another box in another location in the home? I tested last night and directly from the PVR it skipped forward like mentioned previously when I left it. When I watched on a diff tv attached it didn't seem to always skip forward.

4. Did you check your signal strength yourself?  How do I do that? The tech showed me on his computer that it was GREEN coming in...I don't know how to check on my own.

5. Since the PVR has been part of WHPVR and since these PVRs are now about 6 years old, it's certainly very possible that the iHDD is failing.  Many start to fail around 3-5 years with hard use. Its about 2.5 years old - about 6 months past paying it off.

If swapping out is going to be expensive - then I would look at probably returning my rental HD box and swapping it for a PVR. It will cost me though $20 more a month than I'm paying because of discounts falling off when making account changes instead of the $12 extra a month I should be paying. My friend offered me her old 8642 but I don't know the quality of it. It would save me money by taking the $12 rental fee off since you no longer have to rent at least one box - but I would also loose my discount - so I would only be saving maybe $4 a month. From my understanding Ignite will cost me a lot more to get three tvs on. Yes only $5 for each additional TV but the programming and the box are a lot more. The voice activated feature is also a deterrent with two young kids! lol - I really don't need my tv turning onto sesame street all day.

[57]

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@carriejoelle80 wrote:

2. If you have another PVR you could use that for your recordings and access them from this PVR and the other boxes in your setup. I thought my HD8600 was a PVR but apparently not.

4. Did you check your signal strength yourself?  How do I do that? The tech showed me on his computer that it was GREEN coming in...I don't know how to check on my own.

5. Since the PVR has been part of WHPVR and since these PVRs are now about 6 years old, it's certainly very possible that the iHDD is failing.  Many start to fail around 3-5 years with hard use. Its about 2.5 years old - about 6 months past paying it off.

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2. The 8600 is a "hobbled" 8642 which no longer acts as a PVR.

4. See the following link:

https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/30-57s-home-theatre-faqs/17719-57-faq-tips-sa-cisco-stbs-also-pace....

" For 9865 (NextBox 3.0) & 8642 (NB2.0) & 4642 with latest firmware, tune to a channel and using the remote:
1) Press and hold the Exit key for two seconds until the power LED flashes on the front panel of the PVR
2) In quick succession, press the down arrow button twice, then press the 2 button. This will get you into the diagnostics section where you can browse all kinds of information.  Press Exit to leave diagnostics.

On Summary page 1 of 8, The "Power" should be between -10 and +10, with zero being about optimum (for digital stations). If the level is below -10, you'll see the number change to "orange" for "warning".   On the same page is the Signal/Noise ratio. The S/N ratio is good if it’s at about 35 dB or higher, although a good HD signal can be received with slightly lower numbers. If your S/N is around 30-32 (or less) though, that could be a source of problems."

5. Look at the bottom of the 9865.  You'll see a manufacturing date there.  It's probably 5-6 years old.  I also thought the "rent to buy" was 3 years...

[carriejoelle80]

Thank you when I will check this out tonight! 

Out of curiosity would this be the correct WD purple hard drive to get? It says Surveilance which is confusing....but Amazon has it for what I believe is a great price compared to what Canada Computers sells its for.

https://www.amazon.com/Purple-1TB-Surveillance-Hard-Drive/dp/B072L175ZW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=western+...

[57]

The link you provided is US$ (Amazon.com, not ca.).  The CC price is therefore the same and you get a warranty and can take it back, etc.

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=569_15_1086_210_212&item_id=108364

Here's the explanation of the purple drives for DVRs, etc:

https://storageservers.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/difference-between-a-normal-hard-drive-and-surveilla...

Note that when checking your SS/SNR try a few different channels from low to high numbers.

[carriejoelle80]

Ok so i checked the signal and power and all are within the normal range. I also checked the manufacturer's data and its 2014! I feel so duped! Glad to know that the surveillance one is what I need so I will either get from CC or Amazon. CC said they would install it for me for $30 but my IT at work is willing to do for me too so I'm guessing a bottle of something might be good payment lol or we do ourselves. Thank you so much!