Functionality questions and general advice

A

autolycus

Member
I've been frustrated trying to find a new 50" TV with a decent EPG, so i wondered if this receiver might be the answer. I hope these questions are sensible as i'm not a techie - i just want to buy a new traditional TV set.

Would it work OK with a 4K TV?
Would it allow the TV to upscale i.e 'pass-through' SD and HD TV broadcasts?

How do the 'favourites' work? I remember excellent functionality on the PVR 9200T. You could set your favourites and whenever you opened the EPG, you got just your favourites unless you switched to the full EPG. No-one seems to have this function nowadays. (Unfortunately neither does my HDR Foxsat which just gives you a list with no programme information). I suppose a work-around could be simply to delete the channels that i rarely use, but that would not be ideal.

I may be chasing rainbows here, so i'd appreciate any constructive comments as well as answers to the questions (provided they make sense!).

Many thanks
 
autolycus said:
Would it work OK with a 4K TV?
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Yes. It would be a very niche TV maker that restricted their HDMI inputs to 4K only!

autolycus said:
Would it allow the TV to upscale i.e 'pass-through' SD and HD TV broadcasts?
Click to expand...
No. You have to choose what format you want on the HDMI output, although you can switch it with the VFORMAT button. Options are 1080p/i, 720p, 576p. Thus the HD-FOX up- or down-scales the broadcast appropriately on the HDMI, according to your setting, then the TV will up-scale whatever it is to its native 4K.

autolycus said:
You could set your favourites and whenever you opened the EPG, you got just your favourites unless you switched to the full EPG.
Click to expand...
Yes, and there are custom firmware tweaks to make sure it sticks.
 
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autolycus said:
Would it allow the TV to upscale i.e 'pass-through' SD and HD TV broadcasts?
Click to expand...
Black Hole said:
No. You have to choose what format you want on the HDMI output, although you can switch it with the VFORMAT button. Options are 1080p/i, 720p, 576p. Thus the HD-FOX up- or down-scales the broadcast appropriately on the HDMI, according to your setting, then the TV will up-scale whatever it is to its native 4K.
Click to expand...
There is, however, a work-around (albeit inconvenient, and even more inconvenient for an HD-FOX than for an HDR-FOX):

For playback of decrypted recordings rather than live broadcast, by using custom facilities to make the unit act as a network file server, the media player (ie the TV, presuming it has network media client capability and is compatible with the Humax .TS) has direct access to the data stream from the transmission verbatim (disregarding the M2TS issue). Consequently all up-scaling will be performed by the media player (ie the TV).

Not so if the recording is played back by the HD- or HDR-FOX – the output on the HDMI will still be in the format selected by VFORMAT.

The need for decryption can be sidestepped by using DLNA rather than network file sharing (if the TV has that capability), but that applies to HDR-FOX only (the HD-FOX has no native DLNA server capability, and a custom one requires decrypted recordings).

FWIW: even with my older HD TVs, I use HDR-FOXes and HD-FOXes as head ends – and the TV is relegated to operating as a monitor only.
 
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Thanks for a very comprehensive reply; it seems that i should be able to achieve what i want to do. I'm not technical, but i did manage to instal the custom firmware on my Foxsat HDR. The implication in your last sentence is that you find it works well with new TVs. I had rejected a Samsung, which has no freeview at all AFAICS, but with this set up i guess that would not matter.

There are a few units on ebay at the moment and they seem to go for around £25, so i think i'll try one and see how i get on.
 
autolycus said:
I had rejected a Samsung, which has no freeview at all AFAICS
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As part of Samsung TVPlus on their TVs you can connect a terrestrial aerial (or a satellite dish I think) and have the usual channels as part of that. My understanding is that as it doesn't conform with the current freeview standards, for freeview play, at time of launch, Samsung, and retailers, have to be cautious about referring to it as "freeview".
 
I have been very kindly donated a box by exH. Having tuned it, everything seemed to be going well, but then several of my HD channels just disappeared from my 'Favourites 1" and TV EPGs. It shows nothing after 105 except 109; all the rest have gone. The only thing i did between seemingly perfect operation and this situation was to plug in an ethernet cable, but that may be a red herring. The box boots up showing 'F3.13' which i imagine means it has been updated to the latest modified firmware?
 
That sounds to me like your donor has installed the Customised Firmware on the box, and has possibly left it configured inappropriately.
Perhaps you want to start a new thread in the Customised section of the forum asking about the best way to clear it and start again.
(Do you know the IP address of the box and can you get to it from a web browser?)
 
prpr said:
That sounds to me like your donor has installed the Customised Firmware on the box, and has possibly left it configured inappropriately.
Perhaps you want to start a new thread in the Customised section of the forum asking about the best way to clear it and start again.
(Do you know the IP address of the box and can you get to it from a web browser?)
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I'm really not very good when it comes to ethernet, ip addresses etc. I can find the IP address of the box in settings but i cannot open it in my browser. Nor can i connect to my Foxsat HDR in the bedroom.

I'll do what you suggest and start a thread in The customised section.

Thanks to all responders.
 
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