Unacceptable Hard Drive Noise From HDR 2000T?

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Unacceptable Hard Drive Noise From HDR 2000T?

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Minstrel SE

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Hi

I deserve my place on this forum because Ive had an 8000T for countless years still in mint condition It may be getting a custom job with a 160gb hard drive I have from a 9200

I have a new HDR 2000T and I cant see that the hard drive twittering or rasping every 6 seconds is within acceptable design parameters for this unit.

I also see a long history of returning them and I was first duped with a used unit bunged in a box before immediatly demanding a new packaged unit which still may be a refurb unit as I can see just a hit of feet marks on the top panel. It dampens my enthusiasm.

I know what the hard drive is doing but I feel its obtrusive when the telly in on low. I can even hear it during quiet passages when Ive got my PX100 headphones on.

Its a home unit and nobody really has the telly on full blast to drown that out all the time. My television is currently wired to Creative T20 speakers either side but at reasonable volume I can hear that hard drive twittering away

I think Im going to contact Humax and start a new thread here.

Can anyone tell me please if the hard drive can be swapped for a better unit?

In my mind a hard drive shouldnt be making this kind of noise for this application. Its like the sort of noise a game console disc reader makes when reading heavy information.

I dont feel its acceptable on pvr. Its a shame because otherwise the picture, features and sound are lovely.

Im technically minded but may have to return this. I dont want to return it but surely this noise isnt right.

| Sun 4 Sep 2016 11:08:11 #1 |
Minstrel SE

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Im having my questions answered on other threads as Im on about six threads concerning the 2000T

I have decised to keep it as its recording beautifully. I have Verdis Requiem on at the moment recorded from BBC 4 HD.

I do have the headphones on and its sounding lovely.

I can live with this box and it may get a custom refit further down the line

| Sat 10 Sep 2016 23:36:10 #2 |
Doghouse

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I returned the first 2000T about a year ago as the hard drive made a chuntering sound. The replacement was not much different.

As a recorder it works fine with a lot of storage. I also use a dongle to access i>Player and YouTube from the Virgin cable TV in the other room.
However it won't play some YouTube videos for "copyright reasons," and occasionally when accessing i>Player it#ll turn itself off.

My biggest gripe is losing all my planned recordings when installing new channels.

| Tue 13 Sep 2016 21:21:46 #3 |
Minstrel SE

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Humax have sent an email reply saying change it if not satisfied...along the lines of it shouldnt be noisy.

However it doesnt clarify if Im actually going to get a quieter unit.

I believe they think its within acceptable parameters and we will have out tvs on loud enough through speaker systems.

Ive listened to the hard drive tonight and it almost echos as the noise is so loud and sharp...its just loud...no ifs no buts.... just loud for hard drive head moving.

I feel in the awkward situation where if I had a selection of units to compare, the loudest one would be going back.

I dont so Im going to keep this unit for now. Im going to look an absolute fool if I get another unit and its just as loud

| Wed 14 Sep 2016 20:15:12 #4 |
Faust

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Minstrel SE - 1 hour ago »
Humax have sent an email reply saying change it if not satisfied...along the lines of it shouldnt be noisy.
However it doesnt clarify if Im actually going to get a quieter unit.
I believe they think its within acceptable parameters and we will have out tvs on loud enough through speaker systems.
Ive listened to the hard drive tonight and it almost echos as the noise is so loud and sharp...its just loud...no ifs no buts.... just loud for hard drive head moving.
I feel in the awkward situation where if I had a selection of units to compare, the loudest one would be going back.
I dont so Im going to keep this unit for now. Im going to look an absolute fool if I get another unit and its just as loud

I think the real issue here is we all hear and see the world differently so what could be a definite issue for you e.g. the noisy HDD could be an issue that I for instance might not even be able to hear.

I well remember a friend of mine dragging me round to his house a couple of years ago when Apple were allegedly having issues with a yellow tint on their 27" iMac screens. I didn't think dragging me round was a particularly good idea as I'm someone who struggles to see much difference between SD and HD transmissions. Sure enough the Mac screen looked snow white to me, not a sign of a yellow tint.

What I'm trying to say is at the end of the day only you can decide whether to swap the unit out for another box. I had our 2000T switched on this afternoon, no TV on and no other noise and sure enough - bong rasp, bong rasp, bong rasp goes the HDD. It's not particularly loud, but loud enough that I can hear it.

| Wed 14 Sep 2016 21:46:05 #5 |
Johnh510

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I bought a 2000T a few months ago, and I am shocked at the noise it makes.

I got fed up with the noise so I've had the lid off, there is no isolation for the hard disk which is bolted directly to a semi rigid lump of black plastic, which is bolted directly to the case.

The hard drive is a Seagate Video 3.5 HDD (ST500VM000) which the specifications online say produces 1.9 to 2.1 bels at idle (typical to max) and 2.1 to 2.3 bels seeking (typical to max) - I.E. 21dB at the most, inside a box.

Bearing in mind the guarantee seal has to be broken to get the top off..

I used some thin (about 1.5mm) "sticky fixers" foam pads as washers between the "lump of black plastic" at the four points the hard disk is fastened to it, and the four points the lump is fastened to the HDR's casing.
On reassembly the bolts were barely tightened - just enough to stop things moving about.

At the point of replacing the lid I noticed the SATA lead from the hard disk was pressing quite firmly on the lid, so I stuck a pad on the lead to isolate it from the lid.

The HDR is significantly quieter and now it doesn't bother anyone in the room, apart from when it powers up and there is a 15 second loss of RF loop through...

I'm sure a proper isolating kit would be a better job, but for a few pence this works for me, your mileage may vary.

| Tue 10 Apr 2018 13:03:53 #6 |
grahamlthompson

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Johnh510 - 6 minutes ago »
I bought a 2000T a few months ago, and I am shocked at the noise it makes.
I got fed up with the noise so I've had the lid off, there is no isolation for the hard disk which is bolted directly to a semi rigid lump of black plastic, which is bolted directly to the case.
The hard drive is a Seagate Video 3.5 HDD (ST500VM000) which the specifications online say produces 1.9 to 2.1 bels at idle (typical to max) and 2.1 to 2.3 bels seeking (typical to max) - I.E. 21dB at the most, inside a box.
Bearing in mind the guarantee seal has to be broken to get the top off..
I used some thin (about 1.5mm) "sticky fixers" foam pads as washers between the "lump of black plastic" at the four points the hard disk is fastened to it, and the four points the lump is fastened to the HDR's casing.
On reassembly the bolts were barely tightened - just enough to stop things moving about.
At the point of replacing the lid I noticed the SATA lead from the hard disk was pressing quite firmly on the lid, so I stuck a pad on the lead to isolate it from the lid.
The HDR is significantly quieter and now it doesn't bother anyone in the room, apart from when it powers up and there is a 15 second loss of RF loop through...
I'm sure a proper isolating kit would be a better job, but for a few pence this works for me, your mileage may vary.

One of these will fix your loss of rf loop through when the box wakes to make a recording.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-19132r-s-2-way-metal-t-splitter/44534

| Tue 10 Apr 2018 13:11:37 #7 |
Johnh510

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Thanks for that - I'll find out if I have enough signal strength...
£1.49 is worth a try.

| Tue 10 Apr 2018 13:55:35 #8 |
grahamlthompson

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Johnh510 - 24 minutes ago »
Thanks for that - I'll find out if I have enough signal strength...
£1.49 is worth a try.

If you don't, you must have a signal level very close to the digital cliff. Don't forget to turn power saving in sby back on. You might as well save some money

| Tue 10 Apr 2018 14:21:38 #9 |
Minstrel SE

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Yes this was my first thread and I'm more shocked at my typos and poor wording than anything

Erm yes Johnh510, I did a similar project to reduce the noise and voided my extended guarantee which would have lasted until September 2018. Luckily the unit is still working ok. I damped the hard drive mounting using rubber and metal washers in a sandwich ( the ridiculous recessed hole mount of the shelf made that harder to do) added extra noise shielding and lined the casing while considering any heat build up issues

There is a thread of mine somewhere with pictures but Photobucket will have voided them now.

The Later version of the 2000T removed all the shielding,damping and the fan. It was so basic inside that its no wonder it had noise issues. Enough people noticed it and Humax cut too many design corners.

Some people say their unit is quiet but I was sold a pup and it should have gone back really. Im still miffed at the poor Humax customer service and my confusion at the time. I will also never deal with that warehouse store again who initially tried to do me over causing confusion and anxiety.

I fixed the issue to an acceptable noise level...something I shouldnt have had to do

| Fri 13 Apr 2018 8:27:45 #10 |