UPC service unusable, is there a reliable alternative in Dublin ?

Usjes

Hi,

Along with other random faults my UPC Mediabox (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4QJxcxANtL2d2QwTlVFSzdiUW8/view?usp=sharing) has the infurating feature that it wont turn back on reliably if plugged out. It just sits there going through what looks like some sort of POST cycle; All LEDs lit (Red,Green,Yellow), All LEDs off, Red only on, All off, Some of the blue digit segments lit, all off, and repeat.
I assumed that I just didn't know the correct sequence to restart it as UPC provided no manual with the box. So today I finally rang tech support and demanded a set of instructions to bring the box back up after being plugged in. To my surprise the tech explained that they regularly send special signals over the network and if your box is plugged out it will miss them and then you are basically fu**ed, you can try plugging the box out and in again many times and pressing various buttons and hoping the problem resolves but UPC are unable to supply a sequence of instructions which will reliably bring the box back on.
Frankly I am incredulous, is this really the state of UPC 'technology' in 2014 ? Or did I just get the 'special' tech person? Are UPC really selling hardware that they are unable to reliably control and which will malfunction if not permanently plugged in ?
Quite apart from envioronmental objections to the requirement to be permanently plugged in it is simply not a realistic requirement as there will always be cases where the box is plugged out by accident or will loose power due to a power cut.
If it genuinely is the case that UPC are unable to deliver a usable service then I will have to look for another supplier. What are my alternatives ? I have avoided Sky to date as I dont want to be funding the Murdoch empire, is this my only alternative? More importantly do Sky boxes suffer the same fault ? Some brief googling is not encouraging:
SkyTV boxes HATE being plugged out. Mine can take upwards of an hour to start working properly if its been plugged out for more than 30 minutes. Its a shame too, because they're serious power suckers.
This above is from a post in 2011, do Sky boxes still suffer the same deficiency ? Any other suggestions ?

Thanks,

Usjes

The Cush

Post the problem over in the "talk to UPC" forum, the reps appear to be quiet helpful there - http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1546

bk

You shouldn't unplug the UPC box and in fact you shouldn't unplug most electronic devices every night.

Firstly because power switching on and off to the device every night is more stressful on the electronic circuits then a constant low level of power and will likely lead to them breaking sooner.

Secondly as you have discovered here, many electronics receive software updates over night in order to work and are meant to be left on.

It is the same with the Sky box and Eircoms eVision boxes. They just aren't supposed to be constantly unplugged.

So ignore what your father thought you and don't unplug the TV, UPC box, Amp, etc. Just put them into standby mode instead. In stead by mode they use very little power anyway.

Usjes

bk wrote: »

You shouldn't unplug the UPC box and in fact you shouldn't unplug most electronic devices every night.

Firstly because power switching on and off to the device every night is more stressful on the electronic circuits then a constant low level of power and will likely lead to them breaking sooner.

Secondly as you have discovered here, many electronics receive software updates over night in order to work and are meant to be left on.

It is the same with the Sky box and Eircoms eVision boxes. They just aren't supposed to be constantly unplugged.

So ignore what your father thought you and don't unplug the TV, UPC box, Amp, etc. Just put them into standby mode instead. In stead by mode they use very little power anyway.

I'm afraid that doesn't help at all because my main complaint is that UPC cannot provide any reliable sequence to power back up their appliance. I dont as a rule plug out my box every night but it is a simple FACT that there are a myriad of reasons why the box WILL get plugged out from time to time and therefore one needs to have a way to power it back up RELIABLY.

Firstly because power switching on and off to the device every night is more stressful on the electronic circuits then a constant low level of power and will likely lead to them breaking sooner.

This is nonsense, I am an electronic engineer by profession and I design ASICs for a living. Powering a device on and off at a rate of once per day should not be expected to have any detremental effect on a properly designed system. Moreover I unplug my iron, radio, hairdryer, TV, microwave, radio, laptop, desktop, etc daily without problems. These all contain electronics.
More importantly I explicitly asked the UPC tech support if it was a requirement that the box be plugged in permanently and they replied NO.

Secondly as you have discovered here, many electronics receive software updates over night in order to work and are meant to be left on.

This is the real reason why the UPC box malfuncions when not left permanently connected and there are two reasons why this behaviour is unacceptable:
(i) It is a static platform, what the hell is wrong with it that it needs constant updating unless it was woefully inadeuqately designed to begin with ?
(ii) My laptop and desktop have no problem queuing updates and applying them when the machine is turned on.

But anyway the main purpose of this thread was to get independent corroboration of the Tech support's assertion that there is basically no known sequence to reliably power the box back on once it has been plugged out for whatever reason. I just find it incredible that UPC would market equipment with such a glaring flaw.

Usjes

L1011

Usjes wrote: »

(i) It is a static platform, what the hell is wrong with it that it needs constant updating unless it was woefully inadeuqately designed to begin with ?

The EPG information is not static.

If you do the same to a Sky box it'll have serious issues also; particularly if you've any desire to record anything.

Kensington

How long has it been plugged out for?
Overnight? Days? Weeks? Months?

How long have you left it plugged in for in one go?

Usjes

Kensington wrote: »

How long has it been plugged out for?
Overnight? Days? Weeks? Months?

How long have you left it plugged in for in one go?

Generally it will be plugged in for weeks or months at a time and plugged out for no more than a couple of hours until someone notices that it has been plugged out. But again, I view this all this as entirely irrelevant, do you expect your desktop PC not to turn on if you leave it plugged out over the weekend or if you plug it out every night or leave it plugged out for a couple of weeks while you are on holidays? Of course not, and any reasonable person would expect the same behaviour from a digital TV box. If the equipment is properly designed and not faulty then plugging it in and out from time to time should have no impact.

Tango One

Yeah your right when I go on holidays for a week or two my horizon or HD cisco box always come back on no problem. Did you ever have a tech out to look?

Usjes

Tango One wrote: »

Yeah your right when I go on holidays for a week or two my horizon or HD cisco box always come back on no problem. Did you ever have a tech out to look?

No, this week was when I finally got on to the phone tech support to complain, I may have misunderstood, but it seemed to me that what they were proposing was to send someone out to get it up and running again but if I was to plug it out again after that they wouldn't guarantee that it would come back up successfully when plugged back in . So essentially they seemed to be saying that the kind of problems I am seeing are to be expected and that basically their hardware just doesn't work properly and can't safely be plugged out. This is why I started this thread as if this really is the case then I cant understand how there aren't loads of people complaining about it.

Kensington

Usjes wrote: »

Generally it will be plugged in for weeks or months at a time and plugged out for no more than a couple of hours until someone notices that it has been plugged out. But again, I view this all this as entirely irrelevant, do you expect your desktop PC not to turn on if you leave it plugged out over the weekend or if you plug it out every night or leave it plugged out for a couple of weeks while you are on holidays? Of course not, and any reasonable person would expect the same behaviour from a digital TV box. If the equipment is properly designed and not faulty then plugging it in and out from time to time should have no impact.

No need for the hostility.
I was thinking if it was left out for weeks on end it might be trying to update but if you were plugging it in/out after five minutes because it hadn't powered it might never get to complete it's updates.

Call them up and ask for a replacement.

Wabbit Ears

Its a dud box, get a replacement. I had that silver box for a few years and it was grand being switched on and off.

,

Idunno

I have my box and tv plugged into electronic timer for past 3 months. Turns off electronically each night and comes on each morning before we are due to get up. No related issues seen so far. Power saved has more than paid for €8 electronic timer. I have my upc box in high power mode when on to allow remote record etc.