Problems Playing Files

sog123 · Post by **sog123** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 16:01

I have had a Beyonwiz H1 for a few months and I can say that I am less than happy with it.

I get the following error message every time I play a file from Disk and then stop the file by pressing the stop button.

"Access Error"
"Temporarily not accessible"

At this point the Beyonwiz crashes and is no longer usable and I have to press the standby button, wait, and then press the on button.

The Beyonwiz then instructs me that my haddrive is possiblly damaged and that I need to check the harddrive.

This is the process I need to go through every time I start and then subsequently stop playing and file.

It is really annoying!

I anyone has ideas then please let me know,

prl · Post by **prl** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 16:20

Hi, sog123, welcome to the forum.

Is it one particular file that causes this problem, or all files you try to play? Playing corrupted media files can sometimes make Beyonwiz devices behave erattically.

Are the files that cause problems all a particular type of media file?

What firmware version are you using?

Do you disconnect the USB drive without first using the RED button for Detach?

Do you follow the exact order for the Detach operation (press RED, disconnect drive, press Yes)?

The product's name is Beyonwiz, not Beyonwiz.

jillybean · Post by **jillybean** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 17:34

I believe I have the same problem with my H1.

My setup: (latest firmware)
Externally powered usb hard drive connected as my recording drive.
Second portable hard drive (NTFS format) with .ts, .rec, .iso, .mpg and dvd .vob files on it - can play files from this but have sog123's problem when I stop them.

Can't remember if I tried all of them - I think I gave up after trying .ts, .mpg and maybe an .iso (plus it was too much trouble to have to connect/disconnect from the back of the beyonwiz as the drive wouldn't work on anything but the short cable that came with it).

With this error you don't get the chance to "detach" the USB drive as you are in a continual "Temporarily not available - Dismiss" loop. Only way to recover is to switch off (which is even more of a pita as you lose your Ice EPG until the next fetch).

I have transferred one of the smaller .ts files to the "recording" drive and have no problems playing/stopping it from there.

Jill

peteru · Post by **peteru** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 08:43

It sounds like you are using USB bus powered drives, rather than drives that have their own power supply.

If so, the problem is with the drives - they use more power than the USB2.0 specification allows and therefore become unreliable.

Paul55 · Post by **Paul55** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 17:46

peteru wrote:It sounds like you are using USB bus powered drives, rather than drives that have their own power supply.

If so, the problem is with the drives - they use more power than the USB2.0 specification allows and therefore become unreliable.

If you are using 'non-powered' drives, it may (should) have come with a Y cable that allows you to use an extra USB port to supply the extra power required. AFAIK, these have provided a solution to others.
You may as well use the second port on your H1 as BW haven't seen fit to allow the use of 2 external USB drives - even though their product advertising says you can

prl · Post by **prl** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 21:30

Paul55 wrote:...
You may as well use the second port on your H1 as BW haven't seen fit to allow the use of 2 external USB drives - even though their product advertising says you can

I have used two powered drives on my DP-H1. There are problems with copying between a H1 recording drive and a second drive, but the drives are recognised and navigable.

jillybean · Post by **jillybean** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 06:59

Would a non-powered drive connected to a powered usb hub be the equivalent of using a powered drive?

I considered doing it this way previously to get around the difficulty of plugging/unplugging my portable drive's short usb cable into the back of the H1, but hadn't got around to pulling my computer out to try with the hub I have tucked in behind it.

Jill

peteru · Post by **peteru** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 09:47

A hub that fully conforms to USB2.0 specifications would not provide any more power per-port than the Beyonwiz does. However, you are on the right track. You can use a powered hub and plug a Y-cable into two ports on the hub. This way, the hub will provide more power to the HDD.

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:44

sog123 wrote:I have had a Beyonwiz H1 for a few months and I can say that I am less than happy with it.

I get the following error message every time I play a file from Disk and then stop the file by pressing the stop button.

"Access Error"
"Temporarily not accessible"

At this point the Beyonwiz crashes and is no longer usable and I have to press the standby button, wait, and then press the on button.

The Beyonwiz then instructs me that my haddrive is possiblly damaged and that I need to check the harddrive.

This is the process I need to go through every time I start and then subsequently stop playing and file.

It is really annoying!

I anyone has ideas then please let me know,

I get the same issue with my H1. I have two external drives - one formatted to record programs - it is in Wiz format. The other is in an external enclosure. It is a sata drive and formatted NTFS. When I play a program from the NTFS drive I get the errors reported above. I press the power off on the H1 and wait for a minute or so and it turns off. When I turn it on, the H1 then says there is possible HDD damage and it needs to be checked. In both cases, the drives are external powered. The one for recording is a Freeagent. The other is a WD in an enclosure. I suspect that the problem is the file system on the WD (NTFS) which the H1 does not much like. Apart from that, I am happy with it. I will buy a WD TV or a popcorn to play my downloaded avi files and be my music tank. But it would be good for Beyonwiz to fix this issue.

prl · Post by **prl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:15

It would be useful if either you or sog answered the questions I asked earlier in the topic

prl wrote:Is it one particular file that causes this problem, or all files you try to play? Playing corrupted media files can sometimes make Beyonwiz devices behave erattically.

Are the files that cause problems all a particular type of media file?

What firmware version are you using?

It's also possible that these problems may be related to the issues with copying between drives on the DP-H1 that I mentioned above.

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 17:02

prl wrote:It would be useful if either you or sog answered the questions I asked earlier in the topic
prl wrote:Is it one particular file that causes this problem, or all files you try to play? Playing corrupted media files can sometimes make Beyonwiz devices behave erattically.

Are the files that cause problems all a particular type of media file?

What firmware version are you using?
It's also possible that these problems may be related to the issues with copying between drives on the DP-H1 that I mentioned above.

Hi there - sorry - I missed your questions.
Is one issue causing the problem? Answer: No. All files. ISO files, avi, mpeg. It is to do with the NTFS formatted drive. The drive used for recording - and formatted by the beyonwiz - does not cause the problem.
Are all the files of one type? No.
Firmware version: the most recent.
This is not about copying from drive to drive. Rather it is that the H1 spits the dummy when playing, stopping, starting etc from the NTFS drive. The drive is a 500 gb SATA WD in an external enclosure - a NexStar 3.
Thanks for your response. This is an excellent forum. BTW: I am very happy with the H1 - given the fact that these gadgets are still in nascent form.
The is another issue: When I plug the H1 into my stereo the sound is awful - a whoooosing / windy sound. When plugged into the telly, the sound is clear. None of my other gadgets do that (with the stereo).

prl · Post by **prl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 17:42

Ade wrote:
prl wrote:...
It's also possible that these problems may be related to the issues with copying between drives on the DP-H1 that I mentioned above.
...
This is not about copying from drive to drive. Rather it is that the H1 spits the dummy when playing, stopping, starting etc from the NTFS drive. The drive is a 500 gb SATA WD in an external enclosure - a NexStar 3.
....

I know you're not trying to copy, I was just wondering whether the copy problem and your problem might have a common cause.

I've also had problems with a no-name USB enclosure on my H1, but I guess that you and sog aren't likely to have the same drive enclosure.

I guess another question is whether sog and jillybean are also using an NTFS-formatted drive?

jillybean · Post by **jillybean** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 17:51

I guess another question is whether sog and jillybean are also using an NTFS-formatted drive?

Yes - NTFS format here.

Jill

prl · Post by **prl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 17:59

jillybean wrote:
I guess another question is whether sog and jillybean are also using an NTFS-formatted drive?
Yes - NTFS format here.

Jill

AH-HA!

I'll try it on my FAT32-formatted drive and see if it's NTFS related.

prl · Post by **prl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 21:47

I was able to crash my H1 playing and stopping a media file from a FAT32 formatted external USB HDD. I need to play around with it a bit more, but it looks as though it may not be NTFS-related.

prl · Post by **prl** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 09:18

I've been able to reproduce the

Access Error
Temporarily unavailable

error when playing media files on my DP-H1 from a Western Digital MyBook Home Edition 500GB attached as an external USB HDD with a WD MyBook Essentials 250GB attached as the external recording drive.

The problem can usually be triggered by restarting a media file that's been played, and answering Yes when it asks whether you want to resume play.

I've had a number of different outcomes. Sometimes, the error comes up once, and I'm left in the FilePlayer browser, in the folder where I started the play from, but whenever I try to play a media file, I get the same error. When in this state, the H1 can usually be shut down from the front panel, but it takes much longer (20-30sec) than usual. Sometimes I get the same error message, but it appears, times out, and then reappears, repeatedly. When it's in this state, it doesn't normally respond to the front panel power button, and it has to be shut down with the mains power. On one occasion, the H1 froze and wouldn't respond to the remote between when I pressed STOP, and it returning to the FilePlayer menu. It could be shut down from the front panel in this state, but again, the shutdown was slower than normal.

I've also found that if play a media file from the beginning, and stop it and restart it within the first two minutes of playback, the resume is successful.

I've also found that if you stop a media after the 2 minute limit, and answer No to the question about resuming, so it starts playback from the beginning, the system doesn't crash. I've only established the 2-minute "limit" on one media file (SBS SD, Food Safari/Egyptian, converted to MPEG by MPEG Streamclip, ~1GB). I don't know whether the problem is associated with the time or the byte position in the file.

The problem also doesn't appear to affect playback of Beyonwiz recordings on the external USB.

I haven't yet tried any of these tests without the recording drive attached.

It doesn't appear to be caused by using an NTFS volume, and it doesn't appear to be associated with using a USB-powered HDD, or with any particular brand of HDD.

I'll post about the problem in the Beta forum with a link to this topic, and see if I can get it looked at in the current round of firmware fixes.

tonymy01 · Post by **tonymy01** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 09:32

Do either of those drives spin down? Maybe there is a timeout parameter that is set too aggressively?

prl · Post by **prl** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 09:49

Copy of post about the problem in the Beta forum. Hanjo (makinen) is the Beyonwiz engineer who usually talks to the Beta testers.

DP-H1 crashes when resuming play of media files

First reported by sog123 in Problems Playing Files. Confirmed by jillybean, Ade and prl.

Jillybean, Ade and prl report the problem for a DP-H1 with an external recording drive and an external normally formatted drive. sog123's setup is unclear. The problem exists both when the external drive is FAT32 and when it's formatted NTFS. The system crashes or otherwise fails to operate correctly in a variety of different ways. See the reports for details.

To reproduce
Ensure that resume play is enabled.

Start a media file playing on a H1 from an external HDD (type of media file appears to be unimportant).

After playing about 5 min (after at least 2min30sec), press STOP.

Then play the file again, and if resume is Ask, answer Yes to resume.

The H1 will then crash in one of the ways described in the posts.
If you answer No to the resume popup, play will commence from the start normally.

The problem only occurs when playing media files, not for Beyonwiz recordings.

The problem does not appear to be associated with the file system type, the device mode or whether ithe device is USB-powered or separately powered.

Hanjo, is it possible to have someone look at this before the next public firmware release?

jillybean · Post by **jillybean** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:40

Peter

Just to be clear, for me the beyonwiz crashes as soon as I hit stop when playing any of the files on the second drive.

Jill

prl · Post by **prl** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:02

jillybean wrote:Peter

Just to be clear, for me the beyonwiz crashes as soon as I hit stop when playing any of the files on the second drive.

Jill

Hi, Jill.

There seem to be a generous variety of ways it can crash

I only had a crash-on-stop once. I mostly had crash-on-resume. That's why I gave Hanjo links to all the initial reports.

prl · Post by **prl** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 21:25

prl wrote:...
I haven't yet tried any of these tests without the recording drive attached.
...

I tried playing the same file I was testing before, but with the recodring HDD disconnected and only the normal external HDD connected, and I had no crashes.

Disconnecting the recording HDD may be worth trying as a workaround when you want to play media files, until the bug is fixed.

grl · Post by **grl** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 07:21

This wouldn't be a power related issue would it. 2 ports draining power out the USB ports? What if you try 2 externally powered drives?

prl · Post by **prl** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 08:04

grl wrote:This wouldn't be a power related issue would it. 2 ports draining power out the USB ports? What if you try 2 externally powered drives?

It wouldn't be for me, if that's who the question is directed to.

prl wrote:... when playing media files on my DP-H1 from a Western Digital MyBook Home Edition 500GB attached as an external USB HDD with a WD MyBook Essentials 250GB attached as the external recording drive. ...

Both these drives can only run from external power.

So far I think that jillybean is the only one who's said that she is using a USB-powered drive (for the non-recording drive, I'm not sure about her recording drive). It's also curious, but not definitive, that she is reporting slightly different symptoms from the others who've posted about this problem.

sog123 · Post by **sog123** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 14:52

jillybean wrote:Peter

Just to be clear, for me the beyonwiz crashes as soon as I hit stop when playing any of the files on the second drive.

Jill

This is exactly the same with my system !!!

If I remove one drive, there is no problem. In my case it appears to be a problem only when I have two drives connected.

I have a USB powered drive for recording and an externally powered drive which I use for playing files. The second drive only works without crashing if I remove the first drive.

I assume that since the Beyonwiz has two USB ports that I should be able to use them in this fashion.

prl · Post by **prl** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 15:15

sog123 wrote:...
I assume that since the Beyonwiz has two USB ports that I should be able to use them in this fashion.

Absolutely. I wasn't suggesting otherwise. The same for the copy bugs I've already mentioned. I wouldn't be enormously surprised if the two were related.

No feedback from Beyonwiz about the problem in the Beta forum yet.

Edit: I spoke too soon on the feedback. Hanjo has said that the problem will be addressed in the "near future". I think he means in the current round of beta testing, but I'm not certain.

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 13:59

prl wrote:
sog123 wrote:...
I assume that since the Beyonwiz has two USB ports that I should be able to use them in this fashion.
Absolutely. I wasn't suggesting otherwise. The same for the copy bugs I've already mentioned. I wouldn't be enormously surprised if the two were related.

No feedback from Beyonwiz about the problem in the Beta forum yet.

Edit: I spoke too soon on the feedback. Hanjo has said that the problem will be addressed in the "near future". I think he means in the current round of beta testing, but I'm not certain.

Hello there.
Thanks for looking into this problem. I can provide some additional information:
1. neither of my drives is USB powered - ie - each is in an external enclosure with an external power supply. The storage disk is in a Netstar 3 enclosure, formatted NTFS, SATA, 500 GB. The recording drive is 5000 Gig; Freeagent (Seagate), Beyonwiz formatted. When the H1 us turned off it powers down.
2. All types of files on the storage disk crash. AVI, MPG and ISO, OGG and MP3.
3. The recording disk, when it alone is connected, has not crashed.
4. When the crash occurs I receive an error message: Disk inaccessible.I press dismiss and about three seconds later it returns.
5. I press "Off" on the remote and anything up to 90 sec later the H1 goes to standby.
6. Turning the H1 on again there is an error message that disks may be damaged nd need to be checked. The checking program does its thing and it all disks are visible and accessible.
I hasten to add that as a recording and receiving unit, the H1 is excellent. I did own a TViX 4300 and the power supply failed. It cannot be fixed and this is a known issue. [It also never picked up one particular station well - another common problem] But in the time I had it, it too would freeze and behave sluggishly. I introduce this, simply to observe that I think both run on Linux and it appears to be non-Linux formatted drives that make the problems we are discussing here.
Thanks for looking into this. Even with the crashing, I still have a stable recorder / receiver and I can save and transfer the recording easily. I Just play the files on a different gadget.

tonymy01 · Post by **tonymy01** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 14:47

And... I think the Tvix uses the same Sigma chipset as the Wiz also (I am sure of it, as I believe it is the Tvix compiler/toolchain I am using to compile little boring apps etc for the Wiz, like a better busybox, and an ntp client for getting the local time from the net...
Regards

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 16:30

tonymy01 wrote:And... I think the Tvix uses the same Sigma chipset as the Wiz also (I am sure of it, as I believe it is the Tvix compiler/toolchain I am using to compile little boring apps etc for the Wiz, like a better busybox, and an ntp client for getting the local time from the net...
Regards

I have been playing files on a USB drive, formatted by the H1. When I stop the playback, I notice that in about 50% of cases I get a disc may be damaged error. Occasionally a disk inaccessible error. It soon rights itself, but it does it.
I have also noticed another problem. The sound whooshes or makes a noice like the wind blowing hard, when I pipe it through my stereo; when it is piped through the TV, it is a clear as a bell. No other appliance connected o the amplifier makes this noise. I have not experimented with trying to fix it. It could be an earth issue. I keep you posted.
A.

tonymy01 · Post by **tonymy01** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 16:37

Does your USB drive spin down? Maybe it goes into some kind of low power/spin down mode when the Wiz has cached enough of the end of the file not to need to request more from the drive, and in that time, the drive spins down, and the next time the Wiz needs to access the drive, there is a timeout (as the Wiz has too aggressive timeouts set for some things I think) and then the symptoms you describe?

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 16:48

tonymy01 wrote:Does your USB drive spin down? Maybe it goes into some kind of low power/spin down mode when the Wiz has cached enough of the end of the file not to need to request more from the drive, and in that time, the drive spins down, and the next time the Wiz needs to access the drive, there is a timeout (as the Wiz has too aggressive timeouts set for some things I think) and then the symptoms you describe?

Hello Tony - yes it could spin down - I'm not sure. It is a 500 GB Seagate freeagent It does not do it all the time - but only after I have watched a recorded program. How do I tell if it has spun down?
Also, please for give my ignorance - but I'd be obliged if I could be pointed to the part of the forum that explains Project X - what it is and the advantages overusing Wizfx and then stream clip.
Thanks for everyone's help - for confused older people like me the help on these forums is really good and most appreciated.

x1048576 · Post by **x1048576** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 22:43

I get this problem too when I connect two usb drives to my H1. Each drive works perfectly if it is the only one connected, but if both are connected I get the access error when the H1 gets to the end of a file that it is playing.

prl · Post by **prl** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 07:26

Hi, x1048576.

I've posted in this topic that I have raised the issue in the beta forum in relation to the current work on a new version of the system; and that I have received a confirmation there from the Beyonwiz engineers that the problem will be addressed.

In the meantime, it is possible (though admittedly inconvenient) to play media files if you disconnect the other drive.

Ade · Post by **Ade** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:59

Hi there -
I just wonder whether we have any news on progress about the new firmware to address the HDD crashes in the H1, as detailed in this thread.
I hasten to add that as a HD digital box and recorder, the H1 has been really good today. If they could fix the HDD crash issue, it would be excellent.
A.

prl · Post by **prl** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:17

Ade wrote:Hi there -
I just wonder whether we have any news on progress about the new firmware to address the HDD crashes in the H1, as detailed in this thread.
I hasten to add that as a HD digital box and recorder, the H1 has been really good today. If they could fix the HDD crash issue, it would be excellent.
A.

The latest beta release note (1.05.291 24 Mar 09) still has the crashes caused by copying between a USB recording drive and a normal USB drive on the H1 as a "known problem".

mick_queensland · Post by **mick_queensland** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 17:31

Hi,

thought I would chime in and re-light this thread.

My H1 has problems playing a variety of media files. I can confirm that some of the file play ok and some that play fine on my P1 dont play on my H1. All my machines are on firmware 320. I am using a USB memory stick and a 1TB external powered drive (which spins down)
The drive spinning down is not the issue as the problem is apparent on the thumbdrive. It affects some AVIs and when it crashes the wizzer, I get a black screen and no response except to shutdown power. When it starts up again it reports the old HDD check error and after a check it is fine again til the next time I try to play a media file.

Cheers
Mick