MymsMan
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You can build your own PVR from scratch using off the shelf components and a bit of open source software to drive them (https://www.mythtv.org/) but mostly those of us who have bought Humaxes prefer the convenience and reliability offered by having a neatly packaged set of components that are known to work together. In return we lose some of the flexibility offered by a roll your own solution.
The custom firmware goes long way in turning a good out-of-the-box PVR into a great one but you have to recognize that there are practical limitations to what it can achieve and significantly changing the behaviour of the Humax supplied portion of firmware is one of these for the reasons already explained.
It might be possible however to compile the MythTV package to run on the Humax hardware platform and totally replace the Humax firmware that way giving a fully customisable alternative - I don't know if anyone has ever tried to run MythTV on a Humax box.
(This topic is diverging significantly from the original subject - would it be worth splitting out to a new topic?)
The custom firmware goes long way in turning a good out-of-the-box PVR into a great one but you have to recognize that there are practical limitations to what it can achieve and significantly changing the behaviour of the Humax supplied portion of firmware is one of these for the reasons already explained.
It might be possible however to compile the MythTV package to run on the Humax hardware platform and totally replace the Humax firmware that way giving a fully customisable alternative - I don't know if anyone has ever tried to run MythTV on a Humax box.
(This topic is diverging significantly from the original subject - would it be worth splitting out to a new topic?)