Bugs/Workarounds

[TimC]

OK the Skippa is pretty good, but it's not perfect.
We're stuck with what we've got, but how do get around the minor bugs we have?
The following is a list of bugs and solutions I have discovered.  The causes are my best guess as to what is going on but guess is the key word.  I'm definitely not an expert.

BUG:
When trying to start a recording, sometimes the Skippa starts the recording and sometimes it switches to the channel you were watching at the time.

CAUSE:
The Skippa seems to get confused with the repeats of the OK signal from the remote. A quick single press on the OK button means the remote only sends the signal once and resolves the problem.

SOLUTION:
Press the OK button with a quick press.

BUG:
When deleting a recording, the next program in the list often starts.

CAUSE:
i.e. Suspect this is the same cause as the previous bug.

SOLUTION:
Press the Red button with a quick press.

BUG:
Addskip sometimes jumps too early missing some of the program.

CAUSE:
In most cases the bit of program that you miss doesn't matter, but programs often have something dramatic in the final second before an add.  If you can tolerate missing those bits then automatic Add skip is for you.  If you can't, the simple solution is to turn it off and press the Skip (Star) button when you see an add come on.

SOLUTION:
Turn off Automatic AddSkip.

BUG:
Duplicate Channels when auto scanning.

CAUSE:
In Brisbane I get a lot of the Gold Coast channels come up in the automatic scan. e.g. I get two Channel 2 - ABC channels one a 620.50 MHz (Gold Coast) and the other at 226.50 MHz (Brisbane) and so on for all the major channels. These duplicates cause a number of issues. If left in place the guide becomes cluttered with unused channels. Further, selecting a channel with the remote generally brings up the gold coast channels as they are usually first in the channel list. While blocking and disabling the channels

SOLUTION: (Sort of)
Block and Disable the duplicate channels (I'm not sure what the difference is, but I use both) you don't want. This fixes the issue with the remote and declutters the guide nicely, but actually creates the next bug.

BUG:
Selecting a channel to view from the guide fails (Channel not available popup shown)

CAUSE:
Although the data in the appears to be correct, when you select a program from the list to view, the guide attempts to switch to the first instance of the duplicate channel from the channel list regardless of whether the channel is Blocked/disabled or not. as a result the Channel not available popup is displayed. The only solution is to not have the duplicate channels in the scanned list at all. Unfortunately there is no way to delete a channel once scanned.

SOLUTION:
This will vary depending on where you are located.
For Brisbane, all the Gold Coast channels are over 600.00 MHz.  The solution is to do a new auto scan, but pull the antenna out once the scan gets up to about 550.00 MHz. This should prevent the extra channels from being detected.
In my case I was lucky.  The auto scan failed at around 600 MHz and when the Skippa restarted only the Brisbane channels

For the Gold Coast, you would start the auto scan with the antenna unplugged and plug it in once the scan gets over 300 Mhz

People in other locations will need to work out if this approach will work for you

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION:
Factory Reset to remove all the channels and scan the frequencies for channels you want individually. You will need to know the frequency for each channel required.

BUG:
Add Skip fails on MPEG4 based recordings.

CAUSE:
Some channels broadcast High Definition content using MPEG4. This started happening after the Skippa was released.

SOLUTION:
No solution

I'm sure there are lots of other bugs. Some with solutions and some without.
Please raise them on this thread so we can collect them all in one place.

[ChrisW]

BUG: I'll use the word "file" to describe a recorded program, to avoid mixed use of the word "recording"
If you delete a file while it is still recording (as opposed to stopping the recording first, then deleting the file) future timers will not trigger until you reboot the Skippa.

CAUSE:
Buggered if I know  :)

SOLUTION:
Don't delete an in-progress recording directly from the list of recorded programs. Always stop the recording first, then bring up the list and delete.

[grmarks]

BUG:
I have noticed that after a while (several days) scheduled shows stop recording. (at first I would reboot the SKIPPA every couple of days)

CAUSE:
no idea (i would have guessed a memory leak but the solution counts that out)

SOLUTION:
Never turn the SKIPPA off (stand-by) - leave it on all the time, just turn off the TV.
I went on a 4 week holiday and didn't miss a single episode of my scheduled shows. (including daily news)