Has anyone succesfully got an answer from Sony as to why the built in mic on some TR’s (mostly UK Tr1s) is pretty much unusable to to the Hitachi drive’s propensity to click every second whilst recording? It’s beginning to bug me now, and the people who I communicate with using motion eye. Surely its a latent fault, or not fit for its purpose etc etc?

Maybe that is why the UK TR1’s User Manual claims there is no built-in mic :!:

So then…...having the mic is a perk?.............Smart. :D

Hahah -that’s one way of getting round it.

I did place a call to Sony, and even played the sound to them over the phone. They were going to discuss it and get someone to call me back on Monday.

That’ll be a first….

Just a quick update - apparently a fix is available for this problem - not sure what that entails, but my TR is being picked up tomorrow by Sony.

I await its safe return with baited breath….

Maybe a new hard drive is going to be the solution.

I’d like to think they they may swap the hitachi for a toshiba, but I’d be amazed if Sony replace what is considered to be a non-faulty part…

I have the same issue - not the bothersome except when I’m in bed surrounded by silence - then the clicking is noticable. I have a Hitachi drive….

Please let us know how Sony resolves.

There is software available that prevents the hard drive’s heads from parking so frequently - but that takes processor cycles and is a non-solution if you ask me.

-C-

Yeah , I’m aware of that solution - think it was posted on here a while back, and whilst effective, its not ideal..

I don’t use the camera all that often, but it does spoil an otherwise perfect machine - and after the tales of Sony customer service I have heard on here I’m a little nervous about letting my TR go - naturally I’m backing up all my precious files, but I just hope it doesn’t come back damaged. I’m gonna take some photos of the unit tonight just in case..

I cancelled the service request - I need to use the machine, and i guess this isn’t a life thtreatening issue - I’ll send it back later when I have more time.

One interesting note - the hard drive is a Hitachi dk13 FA - 30, and I can’t see any info about it on the web ANYWHERE - not even on Hitachi’s own excellent website. This seems quite strange. Hitachi list all their drives (and the IBM ones), including 20 and 30gb 1.8” drives, but no 30gb?

I just wanted to check up on the tech specs of the drive, but don’t seem to be having much joy.

Any hard drive detectives out there? Anyone else who has a Hitachi drive, is it the same model number as mine?

That’s what I have (with a D after the 30).

I’ve read a few threads on this problem of the hard drive noise. I too can hear it, and yes it does interfere with any recording using the internal mic.

The question still remains if the Toshiba HDD generally avoids this problem. According to my device manager my hard drive is a Hitachi DK13FA-40. Now if those that are reading my post would kindly push the “capture” button on the lid, make a sample recording in the movie mode, and play it back to hear if the audio contains any amplified clicking made by the hard drive. Please check the device manager to see what model of hard drive you have, and then post a reply here with the results. If we get enough of a sampling we will have our answer.

well you already have my answer - maybe we need to bump the thread a little to get a bit more response. I’ve since bought mic headset, but if Sony are offering to replace my hard drive for free then I won’t complain!!

i had the problem on a usa purchesed tr1 but on the new tr3 that came from singapore, the problem does not exist! i can use the mic, it works great.  so sony must have fixed something, or its a fluke that the tr3 is working fine. without taking it apart i cant tell the difference between this one and the old one, but on the tr1 the microphone housing sure looked flakey and it seems it may have been picking up sound from the hard drive reverberating thru the frame of the pc.

ps. the tr3 has a Toshiba MK4004GAH; the tr1 had the original 30gb, whatever that was, its now dead.

Interesting point - I wondered what they would do if I sent the machine back to Sony, rather than replace the drive….maybe they have founda way to insulate the mic against any extraneous noise as you say..

I’m positive the Hitachi hard drive noise is being channeled through the case to the mic. Jiggy, is your hard drive completely quiet or can you hear it working when you’re in a silent environment? I too am wondering if the Toshiba drive is super quiet, or does Sony have some sort of fix for the microphone. I emailed Sony Support with the mic noise problem, but all they replied with was that the hard drive could be failing, which it obviously isn’t. I’m surprised Sony hasn’t posted anything on this issue.

I hope more TR owners with the Toshiba hard drive will test the internal microphone and post on this thread.