I Destroyed my PocketDISH HD

[psychicmind]

Sucks!

I simply got my sleeve caught on a wire which caused my PocketDISH to drop 3 feet.

That's all it takes, just one small drop to the floor and the hard drive is destroyed.

The worst part will be trying to get the sucker repaired. I've already spent all day on hold with PocketDISH support (yesterday), now I'm no hold again today. I never actually spoke to a person and I'm not even sure there is someone there to answer.

I did this once before, while the PocketDISH was under warranty. I'll have to mail it to a repair center, wait 3 or 4 weeks, and pay for a new hard drive.

I would buy a Gen 7 now, but I'm now not sure I wish to spend $550 when the HD will simply get destroyed by one simple tap.

Tech Support for PocketDISH Sucks big time. If Archos support is anything like the support for PocketDISH, they can f*cking forget me buying a Gen 7. I don't care much if something needs to be repaired, especially If I'm the one who caused the damage; but one needs fast simple access to repaire service.

Does anyone know a direct support number for PocketDISH repairs?

If I have to listen to their on hold music for one more minute I'm going to go postal.

 

[psychicmind]

WOW - I'll take my complaints back.

Don't ever call Archos Tech Support. It's a total waist of time.

Instead, simply fill out the contact form and request a RMA.

One can find this here - ARCHOS (just be sure to select your own country)

In less than 15 minutes, I got my RMA forms and my unit is ready to be shipped for repairs.

Let's hope this is a smooth process, but so far so good.

Not bad Archos!

 

[Buji]

when you say pocketdish HD, you mean hard drive, correct? They don't have a high definition product I'm not aware, of do they?

 

[navychop]

Correct. Archos is coming out with gen 7 to support HD. But no one seems to know if it will work with Dish ViP receivers or not. If it does, I'm likely to buy one. But not until it works, not when it's "promised."

 

[TheKrell]

Why is everybody on Satelliteguys talking about "generation 7" Archos players, when generation 6 has only recently (August) appeared? I refer to the Archos 5, 5G and 7, which are no longer called "portable media players", but rather "Internet media tablets." IMHO they should have named them 506, 506G, and 706 to avoid confusing the marketplace.

These players have an HD plug-in that will display 720p through the DVR Station. I don't think 1080i is an option. The touch-sensitive displays themselves are 800 X 480 IIRC, so no HD there either.

I have not seen any remarks regarding the Dish plug-in on gen 6 tablets.

 

[navychop]

Yes, you're right. I for one keep confusing "generation 7" with "Archos 7."

I want a unit to copy HD from my ViP DVRs and let me carry it with me to a remote location where I have an HDTV. Then hook up the unit and watch on the HDTV (in 1080 if possible).

 

[Buji]

For me, it's more important to be able to copy my hd dvr'd shows to the archos, since I mostly record only the HD versions of shows, when I need to go mobile I'd just like to take that recording instead of having to manually re-record the show using the dock. I may not watch it in HD, although I do have an HD monitor in my expedition vehicle.

 

[psychicmind]

I mean hard drive.

I'm pretty happy just being able to transfer SD content from my DVR to take on the road. I do not know of any other DVR or product that does that. Iphone will play ripped DVDs and you can buy your TV for $0.99 each. I already pay for my TV and movies through Dish and what I do not watch at home, I watch at the gym or on the road. I love having an unlimited free supply of TV, Movies, and Sirius Radio content to view/listen anywhere I wish.

PocketDISH is also what keeps me with Dish Network too, especially after the Voom loss.

A High Def device will be even nicer, but until then I'm happy with my primitive PocketDISH.

I'm pretty sure the first 1080i PMPs will cost a lot of money anyway. Considering a 3 foot drop to the floor will kill the device, I'm would be very concerned about repaire costs. This is a very very delicate technology, mainly the Hard Drive. I would never ever let a kid touch my unit, never ever.

I'm pretty sure there will be Dish patches for the new Archos devices. If not, then Dish Network or more likely EchoStar will be releasing their own stuff. Very likely with the new 722sling coming out next year.

We all know how Dish likes to watch another companies develop a technology and market it to the masses, then go and do it themselves (often better).

 

[psychicmind]

Oh, my PocketDISH is in the mail to Archos now. I'll update as the process progresses. There are horror sotries about Archos/PokectDISH repairs/support. I had my hard drive fixed under warrenty and it only took 2 weeks and was a breeze. I'm hoping for the same, but this time I'm gong to have to pay and it better not be crazy expensive.

 

[8bitbytes]

Good luck on the repair cost! I would think you should be able to crack them open and put your own drive in but who knows what ridiculous efforts they have gone to to force you to go back to them.

As far as the three foot drop you keep talking about, drop your running laptop or a running external drive from three feet onto the floor. A standard hard drive does not like that AT ALL. They now make special drives that will sense the sudden flight down and lock the drive to prevent damage.

 

[psychicmind]

My MacBook Pro will sense a fall and lock the hard drive.

The Archos Hard Drives must be installed by Archos. The HD is linked by serial to the software. If I am understanding that correctly. There is no do it yourself option.

Will an Ipod or Iphone hard drive also get destroyed by a 3 foot drop?

 

[8bitbytes]

Will an Ipod or Iphone hard drive also get destroyed by a 3 foot drop?

The iPods that use hard drives used to, they might be using the crash guard drives now. iPhones are probably using flash drives not hard drives.

 

[Smith P.]

I did HDD replacement in Archos PVP ( by Dish it named Personal Video Player) by myself; nothing unusual, just need to have an experience in repairs of such devices. New HDD (Toshiba) I bought from eBay.

 

[psychicmind]

Yes, you're right. I for one keep confusing "generation 7" with "Archos 7.

What is the difference?

I no longer see "Generation 7" on the Archos website, only "Archos 7". Did they change the name or drop the generation part?

I think Generation 7 and Archos 7 are one and the same.

Neither is even available yet.

 

[TheKrell]

Not quite right. The Archos 7 most definitely exists and is generation 6, not 7. You can buy them right now at Circuit City and Amazon, among other retailers. Gen 7 Archos players don't exist yet.

 

[psychicmind]

Sh*t - All PocketDISH devices are discontinued (knew that already) and cannot be repaired. There are no parts available for discontinued units.

They will give me 15% off any new or refurbished unit. Hardly what I wish to hear right now.

Is it time for a Archos 7?

If anyone has a PocketDISH, you best not ever drop it cause you can kiss it goodbye.

 

[TheKrell]

Sh*t - All PocketDISH devices are discontinued (knew that already) and cannot be repaired. There are no parts available for discontinued units.

What? Unbelievable! (I mean that rhetorically.) All Archos would have to do is unlock their %^&* stranglehold on hdd upgrades, and you could repair it yourself. Of course then you wouldn't have to buy a new model...

 

[TheKrell]

New thought. You might relay this sorry tale on http://forum.archosfans.com and see if anybody there has any better suggestion.

 

[psychicmind]

New thought. You might relay this sorry tale on http://forum.archosfans.com and see if anybody there has any better suggestion.

That was a good idea. I searched threw the threads; my PocketDISH is DEAD.

I might as well use the 15% for either an Archos 605 - 80GB - 4.3" replacement for about $170 or about $380 for an Archos 7 - 160GB - 7".

I would have been happy if the repairs were $100 or less. An Archos 605 has way more features than a PocketDISH, so for an extra $70 for those upgrades aren't too bad.

I would just straight up go for the $380 Archos 7, but I'm going to have to work on the wife big time. I'll start with dinner...

 

[Smith P.]

If you did backup one file from System folder before crash, then you could use any similar Toshiba disk for replace internal disk.