Favourite Lists

Mike Parris

New Member
I am being driven mad by the way the Humax handles Favourite channel lists. The inability to continue using a Favourite list on power up and no way to easily return to my chosen favourite list has always been a niggle but the arrival of HD channels has made this worse. Using the HD list does not help because of the stupid BBC policy of forcing users to go to an SD channel for local programmes. This is not going to get better when they rearrange channels next year as I understand BBC1 HD is moving to to channel 101, but BBC 2 will still be on channel 109 for English viewers. So with the standard channel list my usual channels will continue be spread over a wide range

Whats needed is the ability to startup on the last selected Favourite set and a one button selection of one favourite group.

Is there a way of doing this with the Freesat HDR? If not, are there any other recorders that handle this issue in a more user friendly way?

My family are refusing to use the HD channels as it's too hard, and as in principle it should be easy, I can see their point.
 
...the stupid BBC policy of forcing users to go to an SD channel for local programmes.
It's not a policy, stupid or otherwise. HD versions of these channels do not exist (yet). You can't transmit something which doesn't exist.
The stupidity is all yours.
 
I'm not really stupid, and do understand why the BBC chose to do this. What I meant was that they could transmit any of the local variants rather than that red intermission thing. I would rather see news from any region than have to retune to 101 at 6:30 pm and then back to 108 at 7:00.

Anyone got any constructive responses to this problem?
 
The BBC has a responsibility to transmit your local regional news as a PSB transmitter, hence the reason for a postcode in Freesat. They don't yet have the technology to auto switch to your regional channel nor the funds to transmit every regional variant in HD. They have therefore decided to ask you to retune by pressing 3 digits. It's nothing to do with the box, as it's down to the broadcaster.

I do agree though that favourites on the Foxsat-hdr isn't very good. The Custom Firmware for the box together with web interface makes it simple to switch channels at a single button press and customise your epg using a web browser on pretty well any device (PC , Tablet, Smartphone etc).
 
Thanks for your response Graham.

I do understand the difficult choice that the BBC had to make, just annoyed that one they chose forces the viewer who wants an HD picture to keep swapping channels.

The custom firmware route looks to be the best route. The risk of inadvertently bricking the family TV has put me off until now, but I think I will give this a go in the new year.
 
The BBC has a responsibility to transmit your local regional news as a PSB transmitter, hence the reason for a postcode in Freesat. They don't yet have the technology to auto switch to your regional channel nor the funds to transmit every regional variant in HD.

What technology would that be, then? The technology that would emulate pressing three digits (twice) at the transmitter when there is a local variant? That would be easy in Freeview, but they don't do it there. I could even tolerate BBC1 HD switching to SD or upscaled HD for the times when there are local variants. After all, that's what we get now.

As for funds, the BBC broadcast umpteen local versions of BBC1 over satellite that are identical apart from an hour or two each day of local content. What sort of waste is that?
 
Don't understand why they can't just transmit the London HD version of the news as default, and allow the viewer to change to the regional SD variant should they so wish. Anything is better than that spinning kites screen with the annoying audio. I'd rather have one of the old 'interlude' videos shown back in the early black and white days of BBC. Potters Wheel anyone?
 
Don't understand why they can't just transmit the London HD version of the news as default, and allow the viewer to change to the regional SD variant should they so wish. Anything is better than that spinning kites screen with the annoying audio. I'd rather have one of the old 'interlude' videos shown back in the early black and white days of BBC. Potters Wheel anyone?


Can't understand why they don't transmit the Yorkshire version of the news by default. :)

Or just everyone's local news.
 
Might be possible on Freeview, how can they do that on Freesat, there is only 1 source ? :oops:


Yes, this is yet another discussion which really fits into a FTA forum rather than Freeview/Freesat/Youview or a particular box.

I agree, it would not be difficult to automate this on Freeview, so I can't see why they don't. On Freesat, the alternative of broadcasting Yorkshire news on the HD channel would be simple to implement. :)
 
Don't understand why they can't just transmit the London HD version of the news as default, and allow the viewer to change to the regional SD variant should they so wish.
They could but I guess policy says that don't so as not to favour any particular region.
Having said that, Inside Out London went out at 19:30 on HD yesterday.
I'd rather have one of the old 'interlude' videos shown back in the early black and white days of BBC. Potters Wheel anyone?
There was a 'preview' loop on last night at 18:30. Back to normal tonight though.
 
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