[Andi Gasking]

Before i say anything else can i please ask the kind DS moderators to leave this thread in this forum as i would like this to reach as many owners as possible, as i am far from the only person who would like action....Many thanks.


SOOOOO here we go again...we have all owned our GDB2's for a short while maybe even months, we bought them in good faith, wanting nothing but a nice looking budget priced STB which would do its job, admittedly it does...but not well...

We got peeved when we experienced random switching off, wound up when the box forgot the channels, down right p***ed when the box got stuck in a certain place, and just cried when the box couldnt get the Now and Next listings around the right way.

So instead of taking our boxes back, we decided to hold out on 'good ol' Goodmans who promised a firmware update in February which would sort all of this...Fair enough, but to be honest I cannot be the only person who feels slightly annoyed by the fact that we seem to have been taken for mugs while Goddmans abandon the only 6 mth old STB for another 3 models of the poorly made STB with no signs of any update while we all sit here throwing bricks at our boxes, whilst saying to our wives 'Its OK love,there will be an update soon' whilst watching the STB crash whilst its searching for an update.

SO NOW ITS CRUNCH TIME....I WANT ACTION. I WANT AN UPDATE. IF I CANT GET ONE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE GOODMANS MY STB BACK AND HAVE THE 80 QUID PLACED IN MY HAND, SO I CAN PURCHASE A NEW ONE.

But my guess is we will have to press for an update......Interested? post here!!!

I for one cant wait much longer...

Regards...Andi

[Andi Gasking]

i meant to add what i was going to do...sorry....

I need as many people to add their thoughts on what they experience on their boxes.....and what they would like done about it...

once i have a load of complaints i am going to refer this forum to goodmans and request they sort this out..

If this doesnt work...i am going to watchdog...if that doesnt work i will take this elsewhere i have many contacts i the media industry who could set this straight....o well....here we go people..

[qwertymonster]

yo how do you contact Goodmans?
and have they got a website becasue i cant find it if they have.





cheers
Qwertymonster
gbd1 owner

[Thanhuk]

Yeah, come on everyone lets get goodmans to get an update a.s.a.p!
Thanh

[Andi Gasking]

There is a website..... www.goodmansdigital.co.uk

however as you will see this is only related to their range of digital radios...bugger

GDB-1 owners - how many are there of you....interesting to know how many we have to accomodate...i am going to set up a website over the next weekend....with a forum on my existing space..... www.forum.*************

cmon guys lets dig them out..

[why?]

I agree, they need to fix this, an OTA upgrade looks like the fix for the EPG etc...

If the standby issue is hardware problem, well then we all have our rights for a full refund, lets excerise it

I feel the mods will move this to the technical forum, where on the 24th I released info about Goodmans new product range over the next year, to me that is saying, we don't plan to get it right the first time (GDB1) nor the second(GDB2) nor the third(GDB3) nor the fourth(GDB4), and who knows how long the DVD player will work!

[bringbackGalaxy]

No 1/4 screen and an EPG that does what it wants! Yes i think the Gdb2 does need an update! But isnt this a rush job to use up all the Bush internet Cases? Same design and size

I have taught my daughter (whos box it is) not to change channels quickly so it doesnt go back into standby mode!.

She doesnt mind what she gets so long as it shows The Hits and TMF !! But thats kids for you!

[Thanhuk]

What does RGB AND CVBS mean and what do they do?
Thanh

[why?]

They are different output modes, some devices attached to your box may not support RGB, in which case you would switch to the other.

You only need do this if the picture is not as you would expect.

I forgot about the no 1/4 screen. If other services are going to plan to use this, we need it to work. I guess this is in the spec somewhere for our DTT, but they cut corners!

We could all call their telephone numbers at the same time and jam their switchboards, but then thinking about it, it sounds to me as though they have just one telephone line with one person sat at the other end with a set of instructions on how to answer calls.

[pjtaylor]

The GDB2 going into standby at random times every 24 hours means that it is useless to record from.

V. Poor

[Thanhuk]

Hi,
Actually, i have taped loads with my goodmans and its been fine, as long as 48 hours as i would have been away. When you time it to come on and switch of, then its alright.
Thanh

[Japes93]

These random resets are getting damned annoying, and can happen even if you've watched one channel for ages, then switch to another - the box can reset or go into standby. I don't care so much about the EPG mixup, that I can live with.

These sutdowns/resets are obviously a serious fault, either with the hardware or software, and it's down to Goodmans to fix the problem. If they refuse to, they're selling goods unfit for the purpose they were advertised for, and we are entitled to a refund under the Sale of Goods Act.

If someone wants to set up a petition, you can do so via PetitionOnline.com, a site that many online petitions are hosted on, and they're generally pretty good at making companies stand up and take notice.

If Goodmans hasn't issued this software update by the end of March, I will be returning my GDB2 for a refund.

Sit up and take note Goodmans, we will not be ignored.

[myron]

Yep, firmware still on v1.0.0. Why does that not surprise me in the slighest? What if enough people started court cases aginst Goodmans? That might get their attention wheh all of a sudden `legal` letters start to arrive.

[jamesl]

Originally posted by bringbackGalaxy
No 1/4 screen and an EPG that does what it wants! Yes i think the Gdb2 does need an update! But isnt this a rush job to use up all the Bush internet Cases? Same design and size

hi,

yeah, i wonder wehy they have chosen to re-use the bush internet set ytop box cases, which ceased production over a year ago now????

this is very strange!!!

however, i guess this set top box would look fine when it is placed witha bush internet set top boix!!!

james lynam

[myron]

Originally posted by jamesl
hi,

yeah, i wonder wehy they have chosen to re-use the bush internet set ytop box cases, which ceased production over a year ago now????

this is very strange!!!

however, i guess this set top box would look fine when it is placed witha bush internet set top boix!!!

james lynam

A box is just that. Why re-invent the wheel?

[r2d2d3d4d5]

Alba Plc - http://www.esker.fr/
14-16 Thames Road
Harvard House
Barking Essex ESSEX IG11 0HX
UNITED KINGDOM
+44 020 8594 5533
+44 020 8591 0962

Alba plc. Offers some 1,700 products, including home appliances, power tools, and consumer electronics such as televisions and video, audio and telecommunications products. Brands include Alba, Bush, Cable & Wireless, Dirt Devil, Goodmans, Hinari and JCB. The Group sells its products through retailers and catalogs. Electronic, electrical and audio equipment and domestic appliances accounted for 98% of fis 2001 revenues and giftware, 2%.

link

I'm not sure what Esker have to do with Alba however.

None of these brands have a great reputation. People with Bush onDigital iDTVs are still waiting for a software update.

But if you guys really want to sort these boxes out I suggest you return them to where you bought them and ask for a refund as the goods are faulty If that does not work then get in touch with Goodmans direct and ask them to repair your faulty goods under warrantee or provide you with a full refund. That will put pressure on them to sort this mess out.

[why?]

As long as the parts inside are for digital TV I don't think it matters!!

Compared to the philips box I had in the days of OnDigital, this box is tiny!

[dbox]

After several attempts to phone the Goodmans helpline, I finally got through and spoke to a real person...yes, they do exist at Goodmans believe it or not

They are hoping for an update this month, but have no further info, as this comes from the company that make the GDB2 in Turkey.

They are aware of the current problems with the receiver, and told me that if I am not happy with it, then return it to the shop for a refund.

I am not going to return my GDB2, unless we don't see an update within my guarantee period of 12 months, as I am generally happy with it.

Let's just hope we get this much needed update soon.

[djchrissy]

do goodmans have a website???

[dbox]

Originally posted by djchrissy
do goodmans have a website???

http://www.goodmansdigital.co.uk/

Nothing on there except DAB radio.

[goodmans]

Hi All

First of all many thanks to the caller whom contacted our Helpline and provide the detail of how to find this excellent Forum, which I have to say having read many of the posts reflects accurately the feedback we are getting through the line. Apologies to those of you who have been unable to contact us via the phone, our DVB-T product has exceeded all our forecasts in terms of demand and it has made the line very busy, not primarily for fault calls but generally for information on the box and stock availability etc. We have however noted a number of issues raised by you the end users and are working very hard in trying to fix them in time for an OAD (over air download) towards the end of March or Early April – dependant on a slot being available from the broadcasters. Providing the box is switched to standby (generally overnight) it will automatically receive this update.

To clarify some of the comments posted

1. Goodmans TV’s – Goodmans Industries Limited have been producing and selling both Widescreen and 4:3 TV for only the last 2 years, many of the older Goodmans TV’s were produced by Comet under a Licensing agreement for the brand and therefore if it was purchased from Comet then there is every chance it is their product and not ours. The simple way to distinguish our models is the prefix GTV at the start of the model number.
2. GDB2
a) Switching off and back on - this was designed in at a late stage to guard against a fatal box crash requiring the reset button to be pressed , we appreciate it can be irritating particularly with users in marginal signal areas where data corruption is more prevalent, however we are now doing our final testing on the updated software which will include a fix in our forthcoming OAD
b) Apparent loss of channel table requiring reinstallation - this is a strange and sporadic problem which we suspect relates to differential timing between CPU and the flash memory, i.e. initially the CPU looks at the flash and if no channel table exists invokes the “first time installation” function, in a similar way if the CPU is up before the flash (despite the fact a channel table already exists) it will consider the table is not there and invoke first time installation, at this stage if you cancel , go to standby and back on again all will revert to normal – we are currently working on a fix for this problem.
c) Parliament Channel – unfortunately the design of this channel differs from that of BBCi in that whilst it appears the same the transmission of the video information is conducted via MHEG rather than MPEG and as such requires MHEG video to run inside an MHEG page, unfortunately our MHEG engine does not support this at the present time but an update to the MHEG engine is due shortly and will be included on a future OAD.
MHEG applications are now being more tightly controlled before their release onto the Public broadcast network and as such in future this type of problem should not be seen by the consumer.

d) Yes we do have Subtitles – switched on through the configuration menu

Please be assured that all GDB2 boxes will support these updates (and they will be done the moment we are happy that as many fixes as possible have been done),
as will all future developments of our DVB – T box range i.e. GDB3 and 4 due later this year
I have hopefully covered some of the gripes in the points above, however I will check back on the forum every couple of days if anyone has any thing new or further to add

Thank you for choosing the Goodmans box

Mark Smith - Goodmans

[comicsansserif]

Well done Goodmans. It's great to see a manufacturer answering questions on here.

More should do the same (are you listening Nokia?).

[why?]

Presuming that is really Goodmans, good for them coming here and answering those questions.

I take back everything I said about them not caring!

Just a few things if Mr Smith comes back:

1) EPG info, wrong way round, and doesn't update?

2) Is it possible Goodmans can add this product to their website, or a website, informing users of things such as updates, how to achieve it, and perhaps e-mail support.

It would also serve to inform possible users about the product, and show that Goodmans are still supporting their product, an important thing when choosing a STB.

Goodmans has the prospect of being a great box if the issues are resolved, the speed of the box is great, and quality of picture and sound also.

[Andi Gasking]

I cant believe how fast that was dealt with...well donw Goodmans.. lets hope the OAD sorts the problems out....

although i would like to address a few issues with you...

firstly my box has a habit of losing sound temporarily...i know it is my box because my other STB has no problems...

also the EPG keeps on mixing up the listings!!!

if you could sort these out too - great!!!

ta


Andi

[goodmans]

Hi All

Yes this really is Goodmans and we care very much about what you our customers think of our products, we always try to bring you value for money and a commitment to trying to provide the best products we can at the most affordable prices, we are a small but very experienced team and tend to develop products from a customer perspective i.e. would we be happy to go out and buy the product and would it satisfy us, in this way I think unless you are going to tell me otherwise we get it right more than we get it wrong.

Regarding the other problems raised

1. EPG - Actually just now and next -( but don't despair full EPG is on the agenda ) - generally we find this reliable but it is dependant on what the broadcasters are transmitting and if the guide is not updated their end we can't make it up. Basically we show what they send and it has been a bit scratchy at times it does appear to be getting a little better now, the other thing that will affect it is marginal signal conditions, particulary on the SDN and ITV muxes which are running 64QAM protocol, you need a good signal to get it right, the BBC muxes we find are more stable as the box has less work to do on the 16QAM broadcast protocol.

2. Sound muting - sorry to harp back to signal again but digital is either there or not depending on the local conditions, if its raining and you live near lots of trees your signal level is going to be less and therefore at certain times the reception maybe not so good (we don't advocate chopping lots of trees down to cure this one) - The muting is a result of preventing an audio "click/crack" and we believe this is more acceptable. Basically the cause of the "click/crack" is local interference or temporary(very brief) signal loss causing corruption of the audio data stream the "crack" is as it resumes again. If this problem is persistant and annoying we would suggest looking at the aerial installation to see if this can be improved - the higher the better - we have a good case in point in our lab where we have a local Marine radar manufacture whom 24 hours a day pings our TV aerial with marine Radar at 7 second intervals, a great test for our box.

With regards to a website, we live in hope, the goodmans digital site was put up for DAB (another subject entirely) and we had hoped to extend it to other digital products unfortunately progress is slow. Watch this space, also email support would probably overwhelm us at the moment and we prefer to try and provide good back up for as many as possible rather than giving poor back up to many (nothing more frustrating than unanswered emails). Anyway all points noted and will try and progress.

Best Regards

Mark Smith - Goodmans