HD PVR is power hungry

Smurfatefrog

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
2,750
I tried to post a link to this thread on the DSTV forum yesterday but it did not "post" yet, is there a strict review of post by the moderators first?

The spam filter would've nabbed your post cos it had a link in, moderators will need to approve it
 

system32

Executive Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
5,646
PVR Power Consumption

Has anyone else measured the power consumption of the HD-PVR?

I did some testing with my trustworthy fong-kong multimeter:
Code:
                            [U]Volts      Amps     Watts[/U]
 Pace TDS850IMC Active        225     0.173    38.925
 Pace TDS850IMC Standby       225     0.151    33.975
 UEC SD PVR 1 Active          225     0.157    35.325
 PS3 Slim Standby (number from internet)        0.500
 Wii Active                   225     0.075    16.875
 Wii Standby                  225     0.014     3.150
 Dell D830 Laptop Active      225     0.143    32.175
 Dell D830 Laptop Max         225     0.260    58.500
 Dell D830 Laptop Standby     225     0.020     4.500
The PVR's do not seem to have much of a saving in standby.

Now consider the number of PVR subscribers, even when in standby they still use 34 watts
(Subscriber numbers from Financial Results Presentation - for the 6 months ended 30 Sep 2009),

Code:
                   [U]Subscribers     Watts          Total     Kwatts     Mwatts[/U]
PVR - South Africa     335,996        34     11,423,864     11,424      11.42
PVR - Africa            59,895        34      2,036,430      2,036       2.04
PVR - Total            395,891        34     13,460,294     13,460      13.46

If the PVR devices were as thrifty as the other devices in standby, then we could solve Eskom's problems.

Where's the SABS when you need them?
 

Nerfherder

Honorary Master
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
29,703
Would be cool if they could use SSD drives for the "live TV" part of PVR
 

AnomalyNexus

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
710
Damn that does suck. One would think that with all the ridiculous fees they charge us they could at least source some respectable hardware.:rolleyes:

Damn I wish all hardware had a proper old school power switch (at the front) that kills the juice completely.:cool: (After market part here :p)
 

Greglsh

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Messages
840
Hi Guys

Emailed the guys from Pace and this is what they sent me

Hello
The power consumption is shown below.
• Standby: approx 30W :(
• In Use: approx 37W :D
Best Regards
Craig Charlwood
Customer Support
Pace plc
Bringing Technology Home
Victoria Road, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, BD18 3LF, United Kingdom. www.pace.com
Think before you print! Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

As you can see not much of a saving.
 
Top