icepack wrote:

May be a problem with Roku if this is happening to multiple customers.

"May"??? Have you read the dozens and dozens of posts about dead Roku's in this thread? I'd say it's not a matter of IF, it seems in essence EVERY Photobridge power supply WILL fail....

Yes, I believe all the HD1000 power supplies will fail, it is a matter of when, not if.

and yes, I have had all my HD1000's modded by Pyramid Audio (and I own six!) - great job you Austin fellows !

I thought I'd post about my experience with Pyramid Audio.

I shipped them (2) HD-1000's, both of mine decided to give up the ghost within about a week of each other. I got a call from them on the day they received them from UPS, and I gave the authorization to do the repair.

I was disappointed in the fact that they didn't discount the return shipping for (2) units, $15 each so $30 to ship from TX to San Diego. UPS's rate finder shows the additional five pounds probably cost them another $3 to ship it ($16 instead of $13), and that's assuming they don't get any sort of UPS discount, which most companies do.

After not hearing anything for nearly 2 weeks, I called and was told that the units had shipped the previous day. I understand Thanksgiving was in there, but that still left 6 business days for the repair, which was a little longer than I anticipated.

UPS returned the units to me a few days ago, and so far, both units work like they did before. It's hard to tell, but they may feel slightly cooler to the touch on top. A few forum members have also mentioned that the menu's feel snappier when operating the remote. Again, it's tough to tell, there might be a slight improvement, but I never thought they were too bad to start with.

Glad your units are back up and as good as new!
I also know Pyramid always appreciates the business and reuniting a HD1000 owner with their photobridge.

mcornwell wrote:

I was disappointed in the fact that they didn't discount the return shipping for (2) units, $15 each so $30 to ship from TX to San Diego. UPS's rate finder shows the additional five pounds probably cost them another $3 to ship it ($16 instead of $13), and that's assuming they don't get any sort of UPS discount, which most companies do.

That doesn't sound right, what did Pyramid say when you called them about it?

Did they give a reason to as why? They are very reasonable people, perhaps it was a mistake? Were they on one box or separate?

mcornwell wrote:

After not hearing anything for nearly 2 weeks, I called and was told that the units had shipped the previous day. I understand Thanksgiving was in there, but that still left 6 business days for the repair, which was a little longer than I anticipated.

UPS returned the units to me a few days ago, and so far, both units work like they did before. It's hard to tell, but they may feel slightly cooler to the touch on top. A few forum members have also mentioned that the menu's feel snappier when operating the remote. Again, it's tough to tell, there might be a slight improvement, but I never thought they were too bad to start with.

I will see them later this week and will ask them about your equipment.
Thanks for the feedback, Matt

I said it once and I'll say it again, you never know how much you use the darn thing untill your without it!

mcornwell wrote:

I was disappointed in the fact that they didn't discount the return shipping for (2) units, $15 each so $30 to ship from TX to San Diego. UPS's rate finder shows the additional five pounds probably cost them another $3 to ship it ($16 instead of $13), and that's assuming they don't get any sort of UPS discount, which most companies do.

burkhardi wrote:

That doesn't sound right, what did Pyramid say when you called them about it?

Did they give a reason to as why? They are very reasonable people, perhaps it was a mistake? Were they on one box or separate?

I specifically asked them about it, and they tried to justify the price by saying it cost them nearly $15 to ship each one, even if they were shipped together, with packing materials and the box. Well, the box definitely didn't look new. It's corners were more rounded than 1 box would become in just one UPS trip, and the packaging consisted of bubblewrap (possible the same I sent it in?) and foam peanuts. It was well packed, but they definitely made a profit on shipping, which I always dislike.

mcornwell wrote:

After not hearing anything for nearly 2 weeks, I called and was told that the units had shipped the previous day. I understand Thanksgiving was in there, but that still left 6 business days for the repair, which was a little longer than I anticipated.

UPS returned the units to me a few days ago, and so far, both units work like they did before. It's hard to tell, but they may feel slightly cooler to the touch on top. A few forum members have also mentioned that the menu's feel snappier when operating the remote. Again, it's tough to tell, there might be a slight improvement, but I never thought they were too bad to start with.

burkhardi wrote:

I will see them later this week and will ask them about your equipment.
Thanks for the feedback, Matt

I said it once and I'll say it again, you never know how much you use the darn thing untill your without it!

After hearing all of the glowing reviews here on the forum, maybe my expectations were a little high. Again, the quality of their work seems to be fine, I have no problems with it.

Yep, we missed both units while they were gone. One is in my 4 year olds room, and it plays ReplayTV files of about 1200 shows that we've recorded for my daughter. The other is on a 65" HP 1080P DLP, and I use it most nights to watch either ripped DVD's or again, shows that I recorded on one of our other Replay's in the house. Long live MPlay!

mcornwell wrote:

I specifically asked them about it, and they tried to justify the price by saying it cost them nearly $15 to ship each one, even if they were shipped together, with packing materials and the box. Well, the box definitely didn't look new. It's corners were more rounded than 1 box would become in just one UPS trip, and the packaging consisted of bubblewrap (possible the same I sent it in?) and foam peanuts. It was well packed, but they definitely made a profit on shipping, which I always dislike.

I got my unit back from them a while ago and don't recall who they ship with, but if it's UPS then I'm not surprised at the condition of the box. In the last several years (maybe longer) everything I've gotten from UPS has looked like they kicked the box all the way to my house.

Love my Roku though. I use it to play HDTV files recorded on my HTPC. It's nice to be able to watch the HD versions of programs.

Our HD 1000 died tonight after running almost 2 years straight.

I'll be calling Pyramid when they open to make arrangements. So glad this forum is still around. Gee, it's awfully quiet around here now - Makes me realize I have to come up with a backup plan for accessing our music (though hopefully once its back, the Roku will just keep running).

Mark

And mind just has died for the second time. The first time the power supply fried, I guess it' now the on-board regulator. Decision time, another AppleTV or send it to Pyramid for a repair.

davilla wrote:

And mind just has died for the second time. The first time the power supply fried, I guess it' now the on-board regulator. Decision time, another AppleTV or send it to Pyramid for a repair.

Just curious, what fix did you employ the first time it died? Roku replacement PS, Roll your own like some did here, or Pyramid Audio?

I would like to say that Pyramid fixed the broken VR for me on one of my units. So it is worth having them look at your unit. I thought it was lost but its up and running now, and it was way beyond my skills to repair. Matt and the guys at Pyramid did a great job!
James

I rolled my own with an external small ATX power supply. I'm going to check the voltage on the on-board regulators (shoot, voltmeter is at work). It's most likely U12 so I'll also order some replacements. I'm quite comfortable replacing surface mount components so I'll replace it myself and add additional heats-sinks.

The HD1000 failure did let me get some viewtime on my main tv running mythtv under ubuntu linux on the appletv. 720p and 1080i content displayed a westinghouse 42" at 1080p. Sweet, almost there.

davilla wrote:

I rolled my own with an external small ATX power supply. I'm going to check the voltage on the on-board regulators (shoot, voltmeter is at work). It's most likely U12 so I'll also order some replacements. I'm quite comfortable replacing surface mount components so I'll replace it myself and add additional heats-sinks.

The HD1000 failure did let me get some viewtime on my main tv running mythtv under ubuntu linux on the appletv. 720p and 1080i content displayed a westinghouse 42" at 1080p. Sweet, almost there.

Volt meter, you don't need no stink'n volt meter (Blazing Saddles). Put your finger on U12, if it burns the crud out of your finger, then it works. If it's not hot/warm to the touch, the it gave up the ghost.

Test with finger was the first thing I tried, I still have my finder tip, U12 was not hot at all. Next was replacement ATX power supply and same thing. So more advanced poking is required.

davilla wrote:

Test with finger was the first thing I tried, I still have my finder tip, U12 was not hot at all. Next was replacement ATX power supply and same thing. So more advanced poking is required.

Well, the first thing I would do it replace U12 then (if the ATX is fine). I should have been toasty. Then once that is replaced, you can try to fire it up. If it still does not work, then either try antoher ATX, or use the meter to check for the 5votls and 3.3volts from the ATX supply going to the MoBo.

Since you have experiance with SMD (Surface Mount Devices), then U12 should not be too bad, just take your time and don't get the board to hot. If you have SMD desoldering tweesers, it would perhaps help.

Caveat: If the ATX is dead, then U12 would be cold too, so you may verify the ATX first. Do you get any lights or LED on the unit? DO you have another ATX you can just plug into its place for a test, or is it hardwired? Send me a PM if you want to go into more detail.
Regards, Matt

Power on LED comes on but no boot. I tried a known good ATX PS with same results.

I'll take it in to work tomorrow and check it out. We use a special low temp solder for removing surface mount parts. It changes the melting point so it's real easy to heat and remove. We pull 208 pin quad flat packs this way. Much easier on the solder pads than a full heat and pull. The low temp solder is expensive though.