countryslicker

I've now had 10 days to play with my MTV3700 replacement (under warranty) remote and it works fine! Yay! I realise others have had problems with the "sticky" non-functioning original remote but after thinking the whole saga over my gut feeling is that the problem lies with the unit I live in, my equipment setup, the Magic IR remote frequency, plus possible interference from other nearby wireless appliances and remotes. Anyway, I'll see how the new remote goes. I have an extended warranty from H-N. I'm wondering what brand and unit they wil give me as a replacement if my Magic dies.

While I'm waiting for my MTV 3700 replacement remote............. (1) I get the "Channel Service Not Available" on screen at least once per week. (2) my HD is only around 10% full, so wont bother fiddling with USB drives. FWIW, when I can actually get my remote to work after numerous button presses, I find that all my recordings are OK, be they timer or series.

Through the info supplied to me by wklie both here and in an email I have been able to organise getting a replacement remote for my MTV 3700. I will post back down the track after I have had a chance to thoroughly test it to establish whether I have a remote problem or a faulty unit. Stay tuned. In the meantime, a very big "thank you" to wklie .

I've just phoned the number supplied by mwd (02)) 96181016 Digitalog. The number has been disconnected. Looks like MagicTV support no longer exists in Australia for a product barely a year old, so am at a dead end .

I've just discovered that the Harmony remotes require internet access for installation and setup via a PC or a Mac. I have neither. My only internet access is via my Samsung Android tablet. Sigh

My profile indicates I live in a small town called Churchill 3842 in the Latrobe Valley in Vic.. It's about 160 km east of Melbourne - nearest large town is Morwell 8 km away. If anyone is fairly close to help it would be great . The Harmony remote is 650 is $39, Harmony 700 is $69 from Logitech Shop online but it seems the setup is very complicated. My Magic was one year old on 19th April (Saturday just gone). Seems customer service doesn't exist anymore.

My remote is unresponsive no matter how I use it. It can take anywhere from 5-20 presses on any one chosen button to accomplish anything. Thankyou mwd for the contact info,The email doesn't work so will try that phone number. I'm reluctant to spend on a new remote when the cause of the problem is not really known. The Harmony remotes have some poor reviews online (issues with quality & battery connections). This is so frustrating figuring out what to do.

My email to pixelmagicsystems has bounced back as undeliverable. Has anyone got a reliable email address or phone number for MagicTV?

I posted back on 24th March that I seemed to have fixed my impossible to use unresponsive remote on my 3700 Freeview with 4.51 firmware. Now the remote has returned to its unusable state again - multiple button pushes are required for anything . I am today resending my email complaint to the alternate customer support email address supplied by wklie (thank u). Harvey Norman don't want to know me - even though I have an extended warranty on the Magic. I'm VERY unhappy .

Just an update to my posts back in January about my remote virtually ceasing to function and rendering my MV3700 Freeview almost unusable. I have installed the new official firmware 4.51 and for the first 2 days the problem remained the same - multiple remote button presses having almost no effect.......no response ever to my email to Mr. Magic.. Suddenly on the third day all was well - the remote worked fine! Huge sigh of relief. FWIW the Freeview EPG now works perfectly as does series record (Downton and Doc Martin).

My Magic is still under warranty, so my first step will be to obtain a free replacement remote. Does anyone know why the sluggishness has occurred to some of us - overuse ?

Thanks for the feedback wklie. I'm going away for a few weeks holiday so wilassess what to do after I return. Might try for a replacement remote from Mr.Magic or via H-N.Tis site has become very difficult to use to reply to on my new Samsung Galaxy 10" Android tablet so have to keep this short.

I started to notice this remote control problem a few weeks ago, so bought new batteries. As of last night almost impossible to to use the Magic. Multiple button presses needed. I have quite a few programs recorded still to watch, so dont want to upgrade firmware yet. At same time Freeview recording has become totally unreliable.

wozz - I got my 3700 Freeview from my local Harvey Norman back in April. Might be worth your while visiting a store near you. They can check online if any other stores have one. Who knows what stores might have them still lurking out the the back in a store room?

Thanks wklie for letting us know. I would never have known otherwise. I'll finish recording the programs I'd like to keep (via S-video direct to DVD), then install the new firmware on my Freeview 3700. We've almost got enough supporters here to buy out Pixel Magic and distribute MagicTV ourselves .

Hmmm...I blame mwd for getting my hopes up about being able to record to USB . I know (suspect) I'm the only Freeview user here, but I can't face giving up Series Record (Frasier, 30 Rock, etc etc at all hours of the night). Thank you also wklie for advising me that even if I now converted to the MTV400 firmware, my existing recordings are still encrypted and can't be recorded to USB. Never mind. Looks like it's back to using S-Video and my standalone Sony DVD recorder. Thanks everyone - at least I've learnt a bit more about my Magic.

Many thanks mwd. Unfortunately when I scroll down, my only "move" option is "Move to Folder". There is no USB option. Must be that the Magic model and software I have does not permit this .

I've just tried to copy a 30 minute recorded SD program to my stick, but I cant find anywhere in my Owners Guide what to do next - i.e. how to copy across. Has anyone actually done this? The USB stick shows up that it's ready for use, but selecting the program and flicking through the settings doesn't lead me to anything like "copy to USB". I really need Dummies type step-by-step instructions .

Murgles method was to use a USB cable - that's why I was interested. I dont have a USB drive, just a 4GB stick. Thanks for the file info anyway - I'll give it a try with my stick.

I'd like to try this. Could you supply a bit more detail - step by step instructions? Is the program I've recorded (and want to transfer) a single file - if so where do I find it on the Magic? Or do I play back the program and somehow record it on my computer. I already own DVD authoring software. I've previuosly recorded some programs direct to my standalone Sony DVD recorder via S-Video cable, but it's now an involved special setup each time. Your USB method seems to be simpler and quicker.

I've never noticed any flickering whilst recording. Cant really offer any suggestions. The only thing I've noticed in my area (Gippsland/eastern Vic/Mt. Tassie transmitter) is that the FreeView EPG is not available on all channels of the same network. particularly where Prime (Channel 7) is concerned.

Since purchasing my MTV3700TD-AU back in April (see my previous posts), and after reading all 1029 posts over 52 pages, I suspect I am the only owner using the FreeView EPG . Primarily because of Series Record. . I have about six programs set up, and no problems yet. It even knew that Downton Abbey skipped being shown a few weeks ago. What can I say - Magic!!!! .

I bought my Magic MT3700 for $249 from Harvey Norman back in April. My suggestion would be to phone a few stores near you, and see if they have any stock. As all the stores are computer-linked, any store can look up remaining stocks. My local store was extremely helpful. I still wonder why these PVR's aren't more readily available in Australian retail stores. Anyway, the brand name makes more sense to me now - this device really is Magic ! I'm still astounded every day at its faultless performance.

I’ve had my Magic TV a month now, so I thought I’d report back on my experiences. To refresh memories I am located in country Vic, 160 km east of Melbourne. My transmissions come from Mt. Tassie that services most of Gippsland, and in particular the Latrobe Valley where I live. My Magic TV scan found 48 channels. As posted a month ago, I purchased my Magic TV MT3700TD on 19th April (at my local Harvey Norman for $249), and then updated the firmware to V4.47. (1) Based on the channels I mostly watch and record, I set up the remote for One-Touch Channel Select, making sure that all that I chose have the FreeView EPG available. A real time saver. Other channels are usually just a few button presses away. (2) The first week or so I used the Magic EPG. Some programmes didn’t record, but I would suspect that this was quite probably operator error (lots of flipping through the Owners Guide). I liked the EPG layout, but I soon discovered there’s no Series Record. (3) After a week or so I decided to try the Freeview EPG. First I deleted all recordings and schedules so I could start from fresh. Then in Settings (global) I set all my future recordings to an extended start time and extended stop time of 10 minutes each and keep recordings 2 weeks (despite defaults). (4) I’ve stayed with the Freeview EPG, as I use Series Record a lot on different channels at different times (Frasier, Nurse Jackie, Miss Fisher, Big Bang Theory, At The Movies, Modern Family to name just a few). All instances have been recorded correctly, but previous episodes already recorded by the PVR are re-recorded again. The Freeview blurb states “It only applies to certain programs on particular channels. It is so smart it only records new programs”. Oh well….nothing’s perfect. (I record the nightly news using Timer Recording>daily record). (5) I really appreciate the onscreen recording notifications (stops and starts). (6) I no longer totally trust any newspaper TV Guide. If I had believed the Melbourne Age Green Guide, I would have missed half of the ‘Titanic’ finale. This is where any accurate EPG comes in handy (the Freeview has been spot on so far) with programme changes. (7) I realize I’m probably one of the few Magic TV owners using the Freeview EPG, and quite aware I have no Ad Skip or usable Back button, but Series Record for me is much more useful with my particular viewing habits and requirements . At the moment I see no real reason to go back to using the Magic EPG. (8) Recordings via S-video to my DVD recorder have been successful. (9) At first my setup meant I suffered the quirk with HDMI handshaking (as mentioned previously if the receiving item it not switched on first, there will be no audio unless it is kicked into life through the menu). I’ve solved this now – no further worries. I’m still extremely happy with this PVR, especially the price I paid for it, and would highly recommend it whichever model or EPG one chooses. It is certainly extremely sophisticated – it seems to be much more intelligent than its owner. As I mentioned previously I’m very thankful I stumbled across this thread and am grateful to Tassie Devil for starting it all off a year ago. All the additional posts since then have been extremely beneficial to me and I imagine all others who already own or are interested in the Magic TV. It's nice to be in the Club.

Thanks for the feedback about the EPGs guys. At the moment, using the Magic TV EPG (not referred to as FTA EPG by Mr. Magic), my scheduled recordings have all been fine. For the news I have set it to 6pm daily. For all scheduled recordings I have set extended start & finish times for safety. For the moment, I will use the Magic TV EPG for a week, and then switch to the FreeView EPG next week, and then compare how they went, and the pros and cons. I’m a bit unclear about “Series Record”. For example, I like the occasional episode of Big Bang Theory but they are mostly repeats every night on two different channels here in country Vic (WIN & GO). If I press the blue button to record the series I assume Magic TV will hunt out and record hours and hours of every episode of this series every night which I will have to sift through later before my HD is filled. I will try Series Record with another program I watch – At the Movies - on ABC1 on Wednesday nights – but I suspect Magic TV will also record the Sunday repeats. I'm still reading the Owners Guide a lot, so forgive my beginners questions As for different firmware, I just don’t feel comfortable installing or using beta versions of anything.