Hmm I doubt its correct m8...IMO its easier to get away with that explanation than stating there is a hardware problem with the Pace boxes.
I doubt there is a chip missing!
Information
Pace Sky+ HD Receivers Recalled
Written by Stuart, posted on 11. February 2009, 17:25
Pace Sky+ HD receivers are being recalled by Sky. Customers who own certain revisions of the Pace TDS850NB are being contacted directly by Sky with regards to a potential fault uncovered during testing, that may manifest itself in the future.
When I spoke to a member of the Sky Technical team earlier today, he would not divulge the details of what the fault might involve, but did assure me that it was not a matter of health and safety, and that it did not involve any issues of a hazardous nature (early suggestions are that it is hard-disk related). Neither could he reveal which specific batch of Pace Sky HD boxes are being recalled, although according to our own initial research, many of them appear to have been purchased through the recent Tesco promotion and are version 9F3002 or 9F3003, 1.614.
For those with boxes that are affected, and reports suggest the number may be in excess of seven thousand, Sky are offering an engineer visit to install a replacement, together with a new twelve month guarantee and three free months of Sky HD subscription. Unfortunately, Sky are not able to say whether the replacement box will be a Thomson, Samsung, Amstrad or another Pace, or whether it will be a refurbished item.
This puts owners of affected Pace Sky+ HD receivers in an awkward position; either hang onto a (currently) fully-functioning box knowing that it might develop a fault of unknown nature in the future, or arrange a replacement for what might turn out to have lip-sync or noise issues or perhaps worse still, a refurbished Thomson. The box swap is optional, not mandatory.
If you don't know what brand of HD receiver you own or what revision it is, those details can be determined via “Services” -> “System Setup” -> “System Details” from the on-screen menus.
Given that many consider the Pace to be one of the better Sky+ HD boxes, this recall will come a something of a surprise, although confidence in the build quality of previous Sky HD boxes has never been particularly high.
Important Update 15/02/2009
Four days after we broke this story, Sky have finally provided an official announcement that helps clarify the situation. All the information we originally posted was correct, but the news is worse than we originally thought. Ninety thousand Pace Sky+ HD receivers are being recalled over a period of approximately twelve weeks. They are all those produced as part of the first batch: versions 9F3001, 9F3002, 9F3003 and 9F3004. As we initially suspected, some of those who have already had engineer visits have been offered Thomson Sky+HD boxes as replacements.
The Sky statement explains that: “The issue relates to the way in which some of the boxes in the batch were assembled. In particular, it involves the internal cabling and the quality of the connections between components. This means that the build quality of the box may not meet Sky’s standards. The assembly flaw does not involve a faulty component, such as a hard drive, or a software problem. Importantly, Pace has confirmed that the assembly flaw does not pose a safety risk.”
The full text of the Sky statement can be found at: Pace Sky+ HD boxes
http://www.tellytoad.com/post/pace-s...er-recall.aspx
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