5000t cant find channels

leachim

New Member
Hi

Have been using a Fox T2 Humax for a long time which found around 100+ channels

Just bought an FVP 5000t to replace the T2, and trying to set up with the same cables via aerial etc, and it just finds 20 and then says the signal is too weak to show them

If my memory serves me right, I THINK I bought one 3 years ago with the same outcome.....

Thanks
 
How strange. Does the 5000t have a weaker amplifier then.
You misunderstood. What I was hinting at is you can't assume a signal that is OK on one day will be OK on the next. It is likely to be, but not certain to be, and if there is any doubt it is essential to check and confirm. Cables and connectors can break down, especially when disturbed after years of sitting there. HDMI cables and other interference can obliterate TV signals.

As to whether the FVP-5000T has a weaker "amplifier", I think you mean a less sensitive tuner. I've never seen a published specification for the input sensitivity of PVRs (which is annoying), so who knows! Where did you get it from? If new, and you're sure the signal is okay, take it back. If eBay, complain... but that might be why the seller was getting rid.

Is the 5000t the latest model ?
'Course not.

Have you tried both the DVB-T and DVB-T2 settings?
Only relevant if performing a manual tune. Auto-scan will scan in two passes.
 
Thanks

I plugged back in the FOX T2 with same wires and no problem ......

What is the latest Freeview Recordable model, as I have lost track

I got it new from Currys
 
Have been looking on Amazon and was shocked to see quite a few people slating Humax for their new stuff for not being up to scratch

Oh Dear

Maybe I see if I can get my FOX T2 fixed from freezing occasionally..... ?
 
Tuning with the 5000T should not be a problem, my 5000T which is almost 4 years old has never had an issue with tuning.
I tend to use manual tuning for best results so I know the box is getting the strongest signal from a certain transmitter
and not picking up weaker signals from another transmitter which auto tuning can do.

Click on the link below,

Enter your postcode and house number and press check.
This will list the nearest transmitters and show them in order of signal strength.
The table of Channels/ Multiplexes (mux) which carry the various TV channels will be shown.
Under the letter N you will see the number of the multiplex (mux).
Note that the BBC B and Com 7 mux carry the HD channels, all others are SD.

On the 5000T press the Freeview button on the remote control, go to Settings> Channel Settings> Manual Channel Search.
Click on Channel and select the number of a mux that your transmitter broadcasts.
After selecting a channel/ mux number the Signal and Quality meters populate.
For SD broadcasts Transmission should be set to DVB-T
For HD broadcasts Transmission should be set to DVB-T2.
Mux 40 from my transmitter carries the main HD channels, if Transmission is left at DVB-T the Signal and Quality meters
are empty, switch to DVB-T2 and they will fill and can now perform the search for that particular mux.
For each mux press Search and once the 5000T has completed its search of that individual mux press Save and go to the next mux and so forth.

The 5000T that I have at the moment has worked well for the 3.5 years I have had it. I did have to return the first one I had as it was running viciously hot,
so hot that you couldn’t really touch it. It was exchanged without fuss by John Lewis for the one I have now.
Things to look out for, slow response times to remote control commands.
Switching channels can seem to take a long time, enter the channel number you want and then press the OK button, this forces the 5000T to change slightly quicker.
Over time you may note the remote control gets less responsive to your inputs and firmer presses are needed to get any response.
Some have found that opening the remote and giving it a clean helps, do not do this while the box is under warranty.
The 5000T is noisy, this is the HDD and is normal.
It may be that later models of the 5000T have had these issues ironed out and yours won’t have these issues.

I also have the latest Humax, the Aura. The Aura was announced in 2020, launched in Nov 2020.
It all sounded so good, I was interested, I waited till March 2021 before I bought one.
I was aware at the time that many early purchasers were having significant problems with it, but I thought by waiting till March
Humax would have got a handle on the situation(s).

The first and main issue was tuning, the Aura would find channels no problem but the signal and quality were not comparable with the 5000T
or my Sony TVs own tuning. The Aura was unstable with heavy pixellation and drop outs this was a major issue for many people.
I contacted Humax asking if the Aura had been fitted with less sensitive tuners, the response was, as the Aura has three tuners,
each splits the signal and therefore reduces the quality of the screen image. At that point I had not informed them I already have a 5000T
which has three tuners but does not suffer the poor performance of the Aura, this does not explain why the TV which on the RF loop of the
Aura does not suffer such signal problems even though it is the fourth tuner down the line.
After reading Humax’s laughable response I wrote back saying I have a 5000T which has three tuners but does not suffer in the way
the Aura does, I never heard from Humax again.

Things were improved in the following months by firmware updates but the tuners signal still fluctuates more than the 5000T tuners ever have.
Many people had their Auras replaced, and report that the newer boxes do not suffer the same tuning problems.
Other problems have been reported with the Aura, if you are interested you can read the Aura forum here or on MyHumax.org.
There are forums for the various Humax recorders.

After a lot of beta testing of software there was a big update in August 2021 which fixed a lot of the problems.
So my Aura is working quite well, occasionally now it will drop signal, whereas the TV and the 5000T don’t.
Every so often you can be watching something and then the Aura will give out a little squeal and decide it is
time to shut down and reboot, something that others are reporting more frequently.
Unfortunately nothing has been heard from Humax of late and no further information regarding updates have been
forthcoming, we wait and see.

My own personal thought about the tuner situation with the Aura is the HDMI output is next to the RF output
which causes the interference. (The HDMI output on the 5000T is kept away from the aerial sockets).
I now make sure that the HDMI cable from the Aura is kept away from the aerial cables until it connects to the Aura.
After trying different HDMI cables I now use one that has heavier screening, so all good on that front now.
All aerial cables in and out are Webro WF100.

The WF100 goes into the Aura, output is WF100 to the 5000T and then WF100 to the Sony TV.
Signal to the 5000T and TV are stable, the Aura on some muxes is less stable, but does not
affect viewing. HDMI cables go to an AV receiver and then to the TV HDMI arc input.

One last thing, if you click on Settings> Channel Settings> Signal Test
and see only one tuner with a reading that is perfectly normal if you are only viewing one channel and not
recording anything else.
The other tuners will come into play when you are recording programmes that are on other muxes.
If you are watching BBC1 HD and recording CH4 HD only one tuner is used as these are both broadcast
on the same mux.
If you are watching BBC1 HD and recording something on Dave two tuners will be used and the
Signal Test will reflect that.


Good luck with your 5000T and getting the tuning sorted.
If the tuning problems persist you may have to get Currys to give you a replacement 5000T
as tuning should not be an issue.
 
Unless it's faulty, which isn't unknown, and I think in this case we're fairly confident everything else is OK so it's probably faulty.
Yeah of course unless it is faulty, that is why I I gave instructions on getting transmitter information and try manually tuning the 5000T.
And at the very end of my post I do suggest if the tuning problems persist to get a replacement.
 
Yeah of course unless it is faulty, that is why I I gave instructions on getting transmitter information and try manually tuning the 5000T.
Occam's Razor: the simplest answer is the most likely. No amount of manual tuning will overcome a faulty tuner.
 
Occam's Razor: the simplest answer is the most likely. No amount of manual tuning will overcome a faulty tuner.
I am well aware of that.
But you can't just hook the box up try Auto tune once and then decide the unit must be faulty.
That is why I gave manual tuning instructions.
At least we should wait to see if the OP has any success with manual tuning.
If not then they can return the box either for a replacement or refund.
 
Yep, I have tried manual and auto tuning, so it is going back

Might consider an Aura in the hope that they have ironed out Tuning problems ????????????????????????

Wish me luck
 
Might consider an Aura in the hope that they have ironed out Tuning problems
It's just a faulty tuner. I don't know whether the 5000T is particularly prone to having a faulty tuner, but I wouldn't characterise this as generic "problems". If you like the 5000T I see no reason not to just have it replaced.

But you can't just hook the box up try Auto tune once and then decide the unit must be faulty.
Yes you can, presuming you can establish the signal is OK. If something does not perform to specification, it's faulty. Being able to auto-scan for tuning is part of the specification.

That is why I gave manual tuning instructions.
How much time and aggravation did that take up? That's what I meant about Occam's Razor, but it's been falling on deaf ears.
 
But you can't just hook the box up try Auto tune once and then decide the unit must be faulty.
Absolutely! Where someone can receive signals from multiple transmitters auto tune can sometimes make a dog's breakfast out of it - choosing the weaker signals rather than the stronger ones. The only way to be really sure is to manually tune.
Occam's Razor: the simplest answer is the most likely. No amount of manual tuning will overcome a faulty tuner.
But you won't know it's faulty until you've tried manually (with the "correct" frequencies and DVB-T/T2 settings) once.
What I was hinting at is you can't assume a signal that is OK on one day will be OK on the next.
I can't even assume that an OK signal at 07:00 will remain OK at 11:00! (I can sometimes receive BBC-B mux from far way in the early morning, but not later).
I've even been known to pick up vertically polarised signals with a horizontally polarised aerial - but only if it's p'ing down. (Admittedly, this is on my TV not the Humax)
 
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