43 replies to this topic

[jeandubois]

I read the following message concerning the Xtrend 9500. I was wondering whether this is true and whether you can't replace that battery yourself?
"The receiver has a backup battery installed that powers a clone-protection (hardware) for the Xtrend receiver. If this is defect, the box is defective too. It must then be (out of warranty) returned at your own cost. In the Xtrend forum an ideal life of 10 years is mentioned. Who is not satisfied with this should stay away from the device.
Incidentally, the battery will break even after 3 years."

regards,
Jean

[hemertje]

just as in your PC ...

[jeandubois]

just as in your PC ...

I don't know, you can replace a backup battery in a PC yourself, but can this also be done in an Xtrend 9500???

regards,
Jean

[littlesat]

The battery should last 10 years... so there is no issue at all.....

[Rob van der Does]

The battery should last 10 years... so there is no issue at all.....

The crux is in the word 'should'.......
There are already quite a lot of customers who experienced a far shorter life (or a defect security board).

And indeed: one can't compare that with a PC-battery; that can be exchanged by yourself and costs only 1 Euro.

Edited by SatKiekerd, 7 August 2012 - 19:00.

[Pedro_Newbie]

I don't think the battery is the issue but the security board, although in the ET6x00 series. It seems that this serie has many problems with the securityboard when deep sleep is used (shut down completely)

[littlesat]

And in the very first ET9000 boxes there were options were the battery could get loose.... And indeed something is ongoing with some ET6K's....

But the battery should not be any issue at all regards normal service lifetime....

I think people are scared for nothing....

[Rob van der Does]

And in the very first ET9000 boxes there were options were the battery could get loose.... And indeed something is ongoing with some ET6K's....
But the battery should not be any issue at all regards normal service lifetime....
I think people are scared for nothing....

As you just said yourself: there were and are problems in this area, so people are not 'scared for nothing'.

This battery-married security board is also referred to as 'time-bomb' by many: I do think they have a point there.

[radxnl]

the battery backup is pretty default in a lot of applications at the moment, it has been field tested for the last 25 years or so..

i wouldn't worry to much about it, pretty much all of our payment systems etc depend on it.

but ofcourse, if you want something to bash on, it is the way to go

[Pedro_Newbie]

I think the only problem is if your battery runs out of power in your PC you can change it and adjust/renew the settings again and all is well.
But if the battery runs out of power in a Xtrend then you have a problem, simply changing the battery won't set you back on track.

[Rob van der Does]

This is not about a backup battery; that's a complete different issue. A backup battery is a cheap and simple thingy, that one can replace without any problem.
This is about a security board being married to the battery. Failure of one of these is end of life or repair of the box (and repair must be done by an authorized dealer. And recent history has proven that quite a number of boxes have suffered from problems in this area.

[radxnl]

yes, that pretty much sums up that you really do not understand what this is about, no disrespect intended, but i understand what your intentions must be, the security board is evil because you do not understand it

if you take a technical look at this matter your opinion might change, look at the power circuit on your pc and then take a look at the one inside the STB we are referring to, they are quite different.

so just from a TECHNICAL point of view, if you leave the STB powered down for 10 year ( meaning, no 230v attached or switched off on the back ) it might run out, could also be a little longer. That being said, every hour you actually use your STB, have it in standby or even deep standby prolongates the lifetime of the battery

so, again, i really do not see the problem, except from the marketing point of view, Xtrend might not be your flavor, but hey, thats every bodies free choice

Also, from what i understood from the guys at the STB company, after a certain time the security board can be deactivated and the drivers are 'in the clear' but as the STB's mentioned are still in production ( yes, maybe not all but at least some of them ) i can see that there is no reason to do this at this time or the Xtrend clones will be showing up just like the other STB clones have recently now that most of the conventional SoC have become available for everybody to buy.

now, enough said for me, i much rather spend my time coding something than discussing these matters

[Rob van der Does]

Sorry radxnl, but apparently you don't read what is being said above. And don't say that I don't understand the lay-out and/or functionality of the security board, because I do!

And don't get me wrong: I do respect a manufacturers wish about protecting his property. Absolutely!
The only issue is, that there have been many issues with this concept, with RMA's as result. And they stem from poor battery(connections) and from securityboard failures.

And indeed: Xtrend has the option to disable this anti-clone feature. No idea if/when they will do so.

Edited by SatKiekerd, 8 August 2012 - 06:53.

[littlesat]

Sorry, I think you really do not have any idea wat this is about....

Indeed there is a risk... There is always a risk that something can get stuck!!!

The history learns that In the "linux" STB market a good anti clone protection is a must. This both for the manufactures and also for the customers. The anti clone protection is also not required for the full service lifetime of the device.... I suggest when it "holds" for three years it is OK - and because it is designed for more then 10 years... where is the issue?

It all depends on statistics...

Edited by littlesat, 8 August 2012 - 07:44.

[Rob van der Does]

Sorry, I think you really do not have any idea wat this is about....

Who are you referring to?If
it's me: I already showed you that I know exactly what I'm talking about......

[hemertje]

We have a PM system for personal messages / chat sessions...

[DrData]

I think the battery in Et boxes are a time bomb.
I bought my DM7000 in Oktober 2002. So it is now 10 years old and
it works like the first day in a 2nd room.
And I hope my Vu+Duo will also rech the age of ten years or more.

But the use of a battery to protect something against cloning is a bad construction fault.
There exists better ways to protect something.
Also take a look in Xtrend-Support-Forum.
They dont want to talk about the battery and the admins close threads about it.
A bad sign.

And 10 years of lifetime for the battery. Mabe, or mabe not.
The lifetime of the battery of my PC motherboard was 6 or 7 years.
And what happen if Xtrend goes insolvency or another company buy Xtrend ?

[hemertje]

which Xtrend support forum?
the manufacturer Xtrend doesnt have an official support forum as far as i know

[DrData]

This one:

http://www.et-view-s...erschutz/page14

Thread was closed.

[hemertje]

as fas as i know is this website/forum from hobbyists, not from the manufacturer Xtrend