Several Problems w/ Boxee Box - Now Unusable - Rainbow Screen

[jackp311]

You can search my previous posts for my boxee box woes. The latest, however, disables use of the device altogether.

The precursor to this was audio problems from the analog audio out. This is connected to my amplifier. After watching one file (episode, movie, etc) the audio would become very loud, clipped, and distorted. It seemed to always be after watching one file. This would require a reboot by holding down the button on top of the device. I'm not sure if you can reboot from the remote as that stopped working about 8 months ago. (I have repaired it, etc, no luck)

So, more than anything, this was a nuisance. (Get up from couch to reboot device every 20 minutes when watching shows)

But, lately, it doesn't work at all. Here's what happens:

I boot the device, see the loading logo, sound effect, then the red screen (it was stuck on this for a while a few months ago, until I switched out my HDMI switch), then I see it logging in. After that, the screen glitches for a moment, like it's trying to sync up via HDMI. Then, I get a rainbow distorted image of the main screen and the control via wifi no longer works.

I can soft power down the machine then back up. I can do everything until the login screen. Once I click on log in, the problem starts. Currently, I have no way of running any logs to post as I can't get on the main screen to set up the debugging logs.

As far as I'm concerned, the thing is trash. Bad remote, bad audio, bad picture. I am wondering what Costco's return policy is. I bought my boxee on 1/7/11.

I see a lot of refurbed units up on various sites. Is D-Link doing this? If so, how do I get them to take mine back. It is definitely defunct. I like the box. But, it has been a lot of headaches from the beginning (red screen problem less than a month old).

I don't mind troubleshooting stuff. I work for a large audio visual tech company and I am used to troubleshooting projectors and the like worth $100k+. AKA, I know what I'm doing on the hardware side. A little less on the IT side. But, I am still pretty good at it.

Any thoughts for moving forward? Boxee or D-Link care to chime in?

[Umpa]

You get a 2 year return policy with Costco.

[jackp311]

Thanks for the tip. They took it back. I bought a new version at Fry's as I was really itching to get the new one up and running. Hopefully, it does not have the same problems down the road.

[cacherjoe]

Do you think maybe the rainbow screen has to do with a file type or codex? My boxee box runs flawlessly and the windows share makes the Apple TV (jailbroken of course) in the bedroom work like a charm. I don't regret buying it.

I do from time to time run into files where I get a rainbow like screen and digitally audio. I've been able to reduce it by setting some exceptions in the set up for Torrent Episode Downloader. I'm not positive but it seem to revolve around Xvid. I'm able to download a file from another source and it works fine.