I have read a number of posts in this forum from people complaining that some feature or another does not work on their Beyonwiz PVR. Fellow owners and Beyonwiz staff may be interested in looking at some of the issues reported. Unfortunately many of these problem reports do not provide enough details for anyone to do a proper follow-up.
I suggest that if people want to check a problem with fellow Beyonwiz owners or want Beyonwiz to investigate a problem then please provide more information about the problem.
Here are a few points to consider when making a problem report post:
- Clearly describe the problem you are having.
- List the model(s) of Beyonwiz that have the issue. Be sure to differentiate between similar models. For example, the DP Lite and the DP Lite i should be correctly identified.
- Report the version of firmware you are running on your Beyonwiz. "The latest version" is not an acceptable answer. Have you tried upgrading to the latest firmware version available?
- If the report involves reception have you given us a general indication of your location? Have you checked all cables and connections? Is your antenna digital ready?
- If the problem involves interactions with other components of your home theatre or TV system then provide information about those other components and a clear description of how those components are connected. If applicable you should also describe the settings used on both the Beyonwiz and those other components.
- If the problem involves interactions with your network then check that all the network devices involved *and* in the path are running the latest firmware and are correctly configured. Remember that older Beyonwiz firmware versions require a very low security configuration on your computer network. (Guest access must be enabled for network access and file shares must grant access the Guest account. This is not normally enabled by default and may require changes to your PC.) If you are running more recent firmware then Guest access will only allow read access to your network. To enable write access to the network you need to enter and use a valid username / password pair on the Beyonwiz that is also defined and enabled for write access on all your networked resources.
- Where possible you should try to list a simple sequence that others can follow that will cause the problem to occur or become visible.
- If the problem involves some sort of media file then it would be handy if you can provide a link to the smallest sample of the file that can make the problem appear. If it is a case of one file works but another doesn't then supply a sample of both files so that a comparison or analysis can be made.
- Telling someone that a file you have doesn't work is impossible to analyse least not fix. For example AVI files are a container and say nothing about the content. If you can provide a sample file then others can examine it to identify the codecs and/or standard in use, the resolution or bit-rate of the clip or image etc. This information could lead to an explanation for the issue and possibly an enhancement to the firmware to make that file usable.
- If you do have an issue with a media file then please submit a MediaInfo analysis of the media file in your report.
- If there is a visual anomaly that you wish to report then try and grab a snapshot of the screen so that others can see what you are describing.
I hope that people will take a little more care with their reports so that others can try to provide a more targeted response.
One final comment/request. If you do submit a bug or problem report it would be helpful if you can test each new version of firmware to see if the problem is still there, fixed or has changed in some way. Don't assume that everyone looks at each problem in the same way that you do. It would be good feedback to let Beyonwiz know that a problem you previously reported has been correctly addressed or is still a problem.
Regards,
Ian.
Edit: It would also be good if you can search this forum for any problem you may be having or question you may want to ask. Some people are creating duplicate threads for issues that have already been asked and answered in these pages.
Regards,
Ian.
