Sony: Message List

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:28:58 GMT

Gigajuke Issue exposed in Hifi News & Record Review.!!!!!!

On page 95 of the January HFN you will see a one page article about the issues of being at the mercy of equipment manufacturers who control your product Software via thier Servers and Suppliers.

You will be pleased to know it Mentions the Gigajuke with a link to this forum posting and also uses words like the product becomming a brick. Perhaps now Sony will start to listen.

Regards

Alan

PS I get my HFN on subscription, so it might not be in the shops for a few days.

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:30:54 GMT

Hi,

As far as I can see there was no download fix.

The first fix was to disable the Network Clock which you did yourself, and the second fix was to correct the Sony servers, so nothing has been download to the machines.

I would be tempted to backup your music, format the hard drive, and start afresh.

Alan

Message was edited by: alralph15

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:58:54 GMT

Hi,

Regarding the internet stations, eg Shoutcast etc. Sometine ago Sony posted this message, on the website, where the legacy products are shown.

Dear Sony Home Audio Product
NAS-C5E/NAS-Z200iR/NAS-Z200DiR/NAS-SC500PK/NAS-SC500PKE Customers,

SHOUTcast Internet Radio service is not available due to specification
changes of the SHOUTcast server. However, you can still enjoy listening to
Live365 Internet Radio Network.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Thank you for using Sony Home Audio Product.

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:45:17 GMT

Hi All,

Mine is all OK now.

I did a format and had a clean start.

I use my own Netgear Router (my existing wifi setup) and can connect the main unit and the C5E via the wifi.

The software on the main unit is 1.00.08

Mine was sold as a package of Wireless Dongle, Sony Router plus 1x C5E etc.

Regards

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:13:50 GMT

Hi Steve,

As far as I know the player uses Gracenote (or similar) to get the CD info, as do all other products of this type. I have done the fix and it has worked for me so far, including uploading new CD's perhaps your boxed set was too new to be included in the database yet ? I wonder what model yours is. Mine is the NAS 500.

Alan

Message was edited by: alralph15

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:02:58 GMT

so far so good,

I did the fix, and have loaded a few new cd's and used gracenote ok. I am using the wireless dongle.

I do agree that the words temporary fix does alarm me, and would like to know why its classed as temporary. I wonder what makes it temporary.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:47:16 GMT

Reply from Gracenote.

Hello Alan,

Yes, thank you for writing. We’re working to find out what’s going on, and hope to have information for Sony shortly.

Sincerely,

Julie Holabird

Gracenote, Inc. | Support Supervisor

jholabird@gracenote.com

At least Gracenote do talk to us.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:31:04 GMT

Hi,

I sent this to Gracenote.

As you maybe aware the Sony Gigajuke NAS music server uses the Gracenote Database.

Towards the end of September a number of owners found that thier Sony Gigajukes started to lock up and behave in a strange way.

On the Sony forum , they have admitted that something must have changed in a 3rd party product. Most users have established that the issues only occur if the product access the internet.

I am not aware of any other 3rd party product other than Gracenote, being used by the Gigajuke, and its now been more than a month since we can use our wireless product.

We seem to be getting very little support from Sony, and quite a number of people have paid for repairs, only to gave the same issues (new motherboards, disk drives etc).

Are you able to put any pressure on Sony to come up with a fix, or at least inform us that there was a change to the gracenote software on or about the 25th September.

I am aware that you are now owned by Sony so may not be able to speak freely.

I also have a hifi magazine on my case and they will be writing up this story hopefully in the december issue of hifi news and record review. Apart from the Sony issue they are also keen to investigate that you can spend quite a substantial amount of money (in my case £750) to have the product rendered useless by 3rd party software.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

Alan

Giga Juke & boosting DAB signal?

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:04:52 GMT

Homebase have a "one for all" amplified aerial whch includes the dab band. its normally £30, but has £10 off at the present time, so its worth a try.

Giga Juke & boosting DAB signal?

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:25:42 GMT

hi,

What aerial are you using at the present time.

I would suggest either an outside aerial or loft aerial will help. You can either diy from your local maplins or diy store, or get a tv aerial rigger. Although I am only a few miles from my local dab transmitter, I found a 3 element dab aerial in the loft made a huge difference. Or you can wait a while as the bbc are rolling out a lot more high power transmitters, in an effort to improve coverage, so that band 2 vhf transmissions can be turned off sometime 2015-2017, but thats another story....

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:10:10 GMT

hi,

Amazon sell them, and there are some good reviews, comparing it to the gigajuke and the brennen.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:35:57 GMT

Hi,

Here is an interesting alternative to the Gigajuke.

http://www.cocktailaudio.com/home.html

Just think if Sony was to do a software update, we could have a very good product, eg the ability to play Flac files, Control from smart phone, internet stations from Receiva which offer a better choice of uk stations etc. They also see a lot more open about software releases etc.

regards

Alan

Message was edited by: alralph15

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:02:24 GMT

Hi All,

just to let you know, I have just had an email from a hifi magazine who are keen to run with this story. They are aware of this forum, and will be asking Sony to make a statement, which will be published in the magazine. Due to lead times, it will not appear until December. I guess by then we will either have a fix or be very unhappy people.

The magazine is also keen to follow up on other items like internet radio, where you are locked into a service provider, and if that goes away you are left with a radio which can not connect to anything.

For those who are thinking of cutting thier losses and jumping ship, I have had the same thoughts, but I can see the same thing happening with other similar products, and you are at the "mercy" or "goodwill" of the company to come up with a fix.

I think its also poor that Sony have not tried to contact other gigajuke owners, who are running round in circles chasing non-existant fixes, or very confused why the product is not working correctly. It is after all a network product, could they not send some form of service message, stating that there is an issue, and ask people to either look at a website statement or phone a helpdesk who have been briefed correctly.

Regards

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:48:18 GMT

Hi,

Unfortunatly in the uk we dont have a "class action" like the usa where someone can represent all the parties, I guess its upto everyone to do thier own thing. I too have the same issue with my supplier, who will take the unit in for a repair, but without a fix from sony, its just going to gather dust in thier workshop. I guess if nothing is forthcomming from Sony in another month, then I will have to make a claim againts the dealer that the product is no longer fit for purpose and cant be repaired.

I tried to look at some other sony websites arround the world, and apart from the language issues, I could only see product information, and not a forum like this. Perhaps if someone has better language skills they could do the research and see if it just the uk.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:40:36 GMT

Hi All,

I had a reply back from consumer direct.(see below).........

Based on the information you have provided the key legal points in response to your enquiry are as follows:

Your contract is with the trader Hughes and not the manufacturer. The rights you have against the manufacturer would be dependent on the terms and conditions of any manufacturing warranty/guarantee which may have been provided at the time of purchase.

If this has now expired, realistically you may find it difficult to pursue the manufacturer directly for redress, however, you may be within your rights to pursue the trader using the following Consumer Legislation: -

The purchase of the Sony Hi-fi product may be covered under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)

You should be able to expect that the Sony Hi-fi product purchased will be of a satisfactory quality - free from defects and durable.

If the Sony Hi-fi product purchased is not of a satisfactory quality you may be able to pursue the retailer who sold this for a repair, like for like replacement, refund/partial refund.

You may be within your rights to request any of the above. If, however, it would be deemed reasonable for a repair to be carried out in the first instance the trader may be within their rights to do so initially.

If the repair fails you may then be entitled to a like for like replacement, refund/partial refund. The trader may request payment towards a replacement or offer a partial refund and may be within their rights to do so when taking into account the length of time you have had the goods and the use you have had out of them.

If a defect appears within the first 6 months of purchase the law assumes it was faulty at supply and the burden to prove otherwise would be the retailer.

However, once goods are more than 6 months old, the onus is with the consumer to prove an inherent fault was present at supply.

The above Consumer Legislation states your statutory rights and are additional rights over and above any warranty/guarantee which may have been provided at the time of purchase. These rights are valid for a period of 6 years for purchases made in England and are applicable to inherent manufacturing faults only, therefore this legislation does not cover general wear and tear or accidental damage.

I would advise speaking to the company in the first instance to see what they are willing to do and if the issue is not resolved make a more formal complaint via a recorded delivery letter (keeping a copy for your records and giving a reasonable deadline for response).

I would advise that you send the letter via recorded delivery as this provides evidence that you have sent a letter to the trader and also provides evidence that the trader has received this letter.

There is a template letter available on the website if required.

If the response from them is not satisfactory, please feel free to get back in touch with an update and further advice can be offered.

Where goods or services have been paid for using a form of credit, i.e. a credit card or a credit agreement arranged by the trader, you may have an equal liability claim against the credit firm under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provided the purchase amount is over £100.

I would advise contacting the credit card company and advising them of the breach.

This can be followed up via a recorded delivery letter, outlining the problems you have experienced and giving a deadline for the same resolution as requested from the trader within a set period of time.

You should retain copies of your letters for your records.

I will also make the details of your concerns available to Trading Standards for consideration. Your contact details will be made available to them and they can contact you directly if they require any further information or are able to provide feedback in relation to this enquiry............

Regards

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:44:04 GMT

Did you also see the other new thread on this forum about Shoutcast.

I checked and found that on the sony NAS-C5E (part of the gigajuke system) that Shoutcast would not work Only live 365.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 06:46:09 GMT

Hi All,

I tried mine again yesterday.

Loaded on 2 new CD's I bought. Then it started to lockup etc...So no secret fixes with Gracenote or Software updates available, so it back to playing CD's in the old fashioned way.

I have sent an email to trading standards (consumer direct) asking for some advice, regarding a product that only 2 years old, is non functional, and cant be fixed to see if I can claim in the small claims court that the product is not fit for purpose. I also asked whats a reasonable time to wait for a fix from Sony.I will let you know what reply I get.

regards

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:46:36 GMT

I found the same yesterday.

I had this reply from my local sony service centre, as it would appear I am not the only person in the local area waiting for a "fix". I may give the Gigajuke another try over the weekend to see if anything has changed on the sly with gracenote.

Hello

I have spoken to my engineer. He has a few items waiting on this information in his workshop.

Sony are aware of the problem, but have not got a fix for it as of yet.

Regards,

Becki Leachman

Peterborough Video Services

Papyrus Road

Werrington

Peterborough

PE4 5BH

Tel: 01733 328888

Fax: 01733 577700

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:18:04 GMT

Would be nice if Sony gave us a sweetner by including Flac in addition to MP3 or some other lossless format.

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:18:15 GMT

HI,

I did contact HiFi news and record review, and emailed a link to this forum and they are quite keen to look at issues like this where you are at the mercy of the manufacturer, and if it goes wrong in terms of long term support or 3rd party support you end up with a very expensive but totally useless "brick".

regards

Alan

Message was edited by: alralph15

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 03:35:18 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for the update.

I am pleased you had a response from Sony.

In the interim I have stopped using the gigajuke , and have gone back to using the original CD's and record the radio programs, I want to timeshift on a freeview recorder. The "fault" was starting to appear several times a day and was getting very tedious. In a recent hifi magazine, there was a warning that with the increase of NAS type products we are at the mercy of the manufactuers, as unlike a pc based system you dont have access to any of the files or data, so cant do any housekeeping.

regards

Alan

Giga Juke

noreplyforum@eu.sony.com — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:33:14 GMT

Hi All,

Just to say that I have the same problem with my Giga Juke. (2 years old)

The first sign of issues is normally the Green volume bar goes missing from the screen.

Sometimes the use of the Dimmer function on the remote stops working, along with the various filters like jazz, pop, classical.

I have been in contact with my local sony repair centre in Peterborough, who confirm they have seen the same problem but dont have a specific fix, other than format the disk. They can reload the operating system in the workshop and that has fixed a few that they have had in for repair.

Unfortunatly I did a backup and then did a reformat, and guess what the back up will not restore, although I can see the files on a PC.

I too can not get the software update function to work.

The local repair centre have been very honest and helpfull and agree that there is little point in returning the unit, unless Sony say there is a specific fix, and I likewise dont want to reload hundreds of CD's to be back at square one after a few days.

I have told the repair centre about this forum and the postings. As someone said in an earlier posting, these were not cheap units and I think its wrong for Sony to leave us without a fix.

Like a previous poster, I wonder if it was related to the hacking issue. I would also like to know what information sony stores about us, and the gigajuke, as sometimes the wireless dongle is chatting away to the network for hours without an apparent reason.

I do have an older gigajuke which is not wireless connected in the conservatory and that is working fine.

Regards

Alan