Sony has issued a statement 'clarifying' what caused many of its DVD/HDD recorders to freeze or lose access to Freeview channels following a firmware update. The BBC was inundated with complaints last week after the firmware 1.70 update caused many owners' boxes to lose their Freeview channels.
Users who ran the update over the weekend of July 20th/22nd got error messages such as "Stuck in update" or "No digital channels".
Initially it was thought that a change in the way the DVD recorders were receiving EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) data from Arqiva, who own and operate Freeview in the UK, might have been the cause of the problem.
Now Sony says in its statement:
"To clarify, Sony does not blame Arqiva for this, as the issue arose due to corrupt data originated by broadcasters, and how this data was processed by affected Sony devices.
"Sony has been working with the broadcasters to try to work out why this issue has occurred and how to remedy it."
If your Sony DVD recorder has been affected, head over the the company's Support Forums for help and advice. The main recommendation is that users should switch off the device, disconnect it from the mains, wait for 30 seconds, reconnect it and switch it back on. It should then work normally.
However, in some instances it may be necessary to carry out a full factory reset.
The models affected are DVD/HDD recorders produced in 2007/8, specifically:
Sony RDR-HXD770/790/870/890/970/995/1070/1095.
By Andy Clough
