# Well, another 921 bites the dust!!!



## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Thank heavens it happened in August as all I lost was couple of Queer Eye episodes, but I turned on my 921 last night to discover that all my recordings were gone. I unplugged my receiver and tried to restart it but all I heard was a click-tik sound from the hard disk which kept repeating. Then the lights started rotating red, blue, yellow, red, blue, yellow, etc..... I call tech support and answer the prompts, which take me through the typical "I'm a mentally challenged customer" prompts which assume that "I" must have screwed something up. Finally after about 6 minutes of voicemail hell, it puts me through to live tech support. He tries the obvious fixes, but I tell him that we can reboot til the cows come home, but the clicking sound from the hard drive tell me that it is dead and "ain't coming back". In contrast to other times in the past, they tell me that he can't set up the replacement order himself. Huh? He tells me to unplug the receiver.....

They tell me that someone will call me back within "the next 48 hours". Alrighty then, time to catch up on some DVDs......

This morning I get a call at 9:30. He once again assumes I'm a moron and wants me to plug it in again, while he walks me through some obvious fixes. I tell him that I've fixed this thing 2 dozen times over the last two years and I KNOW when it is an unfixable hardware problem. He makes me try 3-4 times and wastes 10 minutes before he finally agrees that we have to swap it out. I wisecrack that I've had nothing but problems and is there a way they can give me a reconditioned 942 instead? Sure,.... if I want to pay $650 bucks for it. Um, no thanks. I try the sob story about lost recordings (ZSRs, 24 hours early timers, take your pick).... I deride the POS software job Eldon has done in that every release brings more problems then when I started, but he assures me that it is "stable now". Um, OK.

"I'll put through the order now. You should have it Tuesday or Wednesday". Ah, the perils of having your hard drive die on a Friday night. 5 days with no HD, and no offer for a credit or anything. My track record of one major problem a season continues, but I refuse to upgrade to a 942 with Mpeg 4 coming and no upgrade plans announced. At least I still have my $1.99 extended warranty (which they have since raised 200%, but which I am still grandfathered).

Oh well, one of the original 921s (with the never enabled firewire ports on the rear still mocking me), will be swapped out. Maybe the newer machine will be less buggy, we shall see. Until then I'll be unwrapping those DVDs I've been buying but haven't watched yet......


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

You should try BlockBuster's $25 monthly flat rate rental package. Last month I rented $185 worth of DVD's for $25. I had Hollywood video's deal too but they make you wait for 3-4 months for the new releases to be on the free list so I switched to blockbuster. Besides their store is just around the corner from me so I get by there every day. What a deal!


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

I just can't get into renting DVDs. They cost me about $15 at Best Buy (+I get 3% more back via their reward zone program) and I can always get $4 back for them at the local GameStop if they stink. I wind up becoming the lending library for my friends and family. 

I normally only buy movies I think I will watch more than once, or that others in my family will like. Otherwise I just wait for the film to hit HBO/Showtime/Starz and then record it on my PVR.


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## Raymond Simonian (Nov 22, 2002)

I just checked by bill to see if my $1.99 extended warranty is in affect; it is. I also have one of the first 921s that were produced. I purchased it in January of 2004. 

Don, did you watch the $185.00 worth of DVDs that you rented or did you....file them??? Smile.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

File them? You have to return them to Blockbuster or they get billed as a purchase to your credit card! And, yes, I smile when I don't have to shell out $8 in rental fees and sales tax every time I pick up two DVD's


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Actually, if my DVR HAD to die, I couldn't pick a more opportune time. I've finished watching all of 2004-2005 archived shows, and just a few summer originals were lost (My son was devastated that he lost both seasons of the Cartoon Network Clone Wars that he had protected, but we got the DVD for the first season, and the second one is due before Ep. 3 hits DVD in November).

I've been watching the Charmed TV Box set (halfway through season 1 - season 2 hits stores Tuesday). I've also got Highlander - The Immortal Collection beckoning me (All 7 seasons of the TV show for $229 vs. $70 each season... NICE) .


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## Raymond Simonian (Nov 22, 2002)

DonLandis said:


> File them? You have to return them to Blockbuster or they get billed as a purchase to your credit card! And, yes, I smile when I don't have to shell out $8 in rental fees and sales tax every time I pick up two DVD's


That is a lot of DVD's to watch in a month. Perhaps I will phrase it another way, May be you decided to "put them on the back burner"

Perhaps I am projecting too much. Just trying to get a little laugh.


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## Raymond Simonian (Nov 22, 2002)

BobMurdoch said:


> Thank heavens it happened in August as all I lost was couple of Queer Eye episodes, but I turned on my 921 last night to discover that all my recordings were gone. I unplugged my receiver and tried to restart it but all I heard was a click-tik sound from the hard disk which kept repeating. Then the lights started rotating red, blue, yellow, red, blue, yellow, etc..... I call tech support and answer the prompts, which take me through the typical "I'm a mentally challenged customer" prompts which assume that "I" must have screwed something up. Finally after about 6 minutes of voicemail hell, it puts me through to live tech support. He tries the obvious fixes, but I tell him that we can reboot til the cows come home, but the clicking sound from the hard drive tell me that it is dead and "ain't coming back". In contrast to other times in the past, they tell me that he can't set up the replacement order himself. Huh? He tells me to unplug the receiver.....
> 
> They tell me that someone will call me back within "the next 48 hours". Alrighty then, time to catch up on some DVDs......
> 
> ...


Did you get a replacement for the 921. New or refurbished? How is it working?


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## leemathre (Sep 25, 2003)

The first 921 that I bought in January of 2004 is still going strong, but the second one that I bought just a few months ago had a tuner go out. Just got the replacement on Friday and got it activated on Saturday. This refurbished model which is an HEED instead of HECD seems to do a better job of picking up OTA signals. So far, this one is doing well.


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## Raymond Simonian (Nov 22, 2002)

leemathre said:


> The first 921 that I bought in January of 2004 is still going strong, but the second one that I bought just a few months ago had a tuner go out. Just got the replacement on Friday and got it activated on Saturday. This refurbished model which is an HEED instead of HECD seems to do a better job of picking up OTA signals. So far, this one is doing well.


The first one I bought in January 2004 is still going strong also.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Raymond Simonian said:


> Did you get a replacement for the 921. New or refurbished? How is it working?


It's "working" fine in that about a dozen timers have fired. No ZSRs or other maladies yet, but it will get a trial by fire in about two weeks when the fall shows start to come back.

I did get a refurb (it said so on the plastic wrapper it came in......)

Other than the lost time without HD or satellite TV on that TV, my out of pocket costs (other than the $1.99 per month warranty)?...... Zero. They paid the freight both ways and swapped my receiver. I wish they would build a more stable receiver, but I've got no beef with their extended warranty plan.....


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## Jon Spackman (Feb 7, 2005)

they do its called the 942


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

...and it's obsolete next year with Mpeg4 coming...... After spending $1000 on a 921, I wasn't in the mood to drop $650 on a receiver that will get used for less than a year (I'll get about 2 years out of the 921 at least... I've had one since 1/04)


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## Raymond Simonian (Nov 22, 2002)

BobMurdoch said:


> ...and it's obsolete next year with Mpeg4 coming...... After spending $1000 on a 921, I wasn't in the mood to drop $650 on a receiver that will get used for less than a year (I'll get about 2 years out of the 921 at least... I've had one since 1/04)


Its incouraging to me to hear that it is working well. Never no when it will happen to my original 921, also purchased in Jan 2004.

I'm with you. Not getting any new receivers until the MPEG4.


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