Visit http://www.709online.com

It's a site dedicated to all things 709, and not operated by Samsung (so it's bullshit free). The problems you are experiencing are common with the 709, and have mostly been recified through eeprom upgrades. The issues you have are debated daily in the forums there. Depending what version of eeprom you have, there is likely to be an upgrade available. You can download the binaries on the site and blow them to an eeprom (or find someone who can). It's very simple to do.

I realise this info may be a bit late in the day for Terry, but if anyone else is struggling, give the site a try.