FVP-4000T Standby Loop through TV signal cut off

[Luke]

The same issue exists on the HDR-2000T as well as the FVP-4000T. I imagine it's a hardware issue as they have never fixed it on the 2000T. Simple solution is fit a aerial splitter to give box and TV a discrete RF feed. You can then save a bit of money by turning on low power standby.

My suspicion is that it is hardware. The reason being is that I did not occur with the HDR-2000T that I last owned, which was from one of the earlier manufacturing batches.

 

[Krisb60]

My suspicion is that it is hardware. The reason being is that I did not occur with the HDR-2000T that I last owned, which was from one of the earlier manufacturing batches.

18 months later and I’ve had the intermittent break in RF loop-thru on both a 1800T (which I returned) and now a 5000T when the box fires up for a few seconds to do whatever it needs to do (also happens when the box is switched on).

So annoying that people on this and other forums dismiss what is clearly a Humax design flaw and divert attention to signal strength, HDMI etc.

Nothing wrong with my signal strength, HDMI cable etc
In my opinion this is a hardware issue affecting numerous models over numerous years with little likelihood of being fixed anytime soon.

 

[prpr]

So annoying that people on this and other forums dismiss what is clearly a Humax design flaw

No they don't (not the ones on here anyway). We know it's a Humax design flaw... like so many others they made.
Moan at them, for all the good it will do (absolutely none at all).

 

[Black Hole]

So annoying that people on this and other forums dismiss what is clearly a Humax design flaw

How dare you tar us with the same brush as other forums, and in your first post too? We are not Humax apologists here! Take it back!!!!

What you may have misinterpreted is if we ask a series of questions in an attempt to (remotely) diagnose the problem.

 

[Reds Fan 5]

Problem solved:
There are many posts here on this thread and on others about the loss of signal from the RF pass through on the 4000T. I had exactly the same.
Yet there was no problem when I took the coaxial cable from the wall socket and wired direct to the tv aerial-input with the 4000t un-wired, turned off and unplugged. The signal strength was 100%. As soon as I turned the Humax 4000T back on the signal dropped and the picture started breaking up. The really odd thing is I hadn't re-connected any of the cables to the Humax, the only wire going into it was the mains lead. So the humax 4000T must be emitting an interference of some kind to disrupt the tv signal. I now have a Panasonic and there is no problem.

 

[prpr]

Yet there was no problem when I took the coaxial cable from the wall socket and wired direct to the tv aerial-input with the 4000t un-wired, turned off and unplugged. The signal strength was 100%. As soon as I turned the Humax 4000T back on the signal dropped and the picture started breaking up. The really odd thing is I hadn't re-connected any of the cables to the Humax, the only wire going into it was the mains lead. So the humax 4000T must be emitting an interference of some kind to disrupt the tv signal.

I bet your co-ax cable was that cheap'n'nasty white stuff with plastic connectors, all unscreened and susceptible to anything. Make one out of properly screened CT100 cable and metal connectors (or use F plugs and adapters).

 

[Black Hole]

So the humax 4000T must be emitting an interference of some kind to disrupt the tv signal.

All electronic apparatus emits electrical "noise" to a lesser or greater extent; the only cause for complaint is if it exceeds the limits required for approval (in Europe: CE marking). The user needs to take appropriate measures to ensure normal emissions are not a problem (such as appropriately sited antennas and properly screened antenna cables).

Emissions are only tested on a few samples for type approval, not routinely on every production unit. There is a possibility that the 4000T in particular has a production fault which results in a proportion of units exceeding their emissions rating, which would be a warranty issue (if you could prove it).

 

[paul6]

Recently purchased a 5000T and I have exactly this same problem - intermittent signal loss when watching TV, using TV tuner with loop thru'. So this fault still exists even on the latest model! Tried an attenuator on Humax suggestion - made no difference. Returned box and got a replacement - problem still exists. Clearly this is a design flaw which exists across several models. Next I will try an aerial splitter thereby generating 2 independent feeds. Luckily my signal is strong enough to handle the signal loss caused by the splitter. Hope this works! Never had this problem with my old but excellent FoxT2.

 

[Black Hole]

Tried an attenuator on Humax suggestion - made no difference.

Of course it didn't. Humax tech advice is script-driven and therefore mostly useless.

 

[Trev]

I suspect the logic is that with a strong signal, the extra gain of the loopthrough could drive the TV into overload and clipping so shove in an attenuator. To simple to give the loopthrough a gain of 1 I suppose.

 

[paul6]

Splitting the signal with independent co ax feeds, thereby avoiding the loopthrough, appears to have solved the problem. An added benefit is that the TV picture is marginally better with a direct feed. The signal strength using the splitter has only reduced from around 97% to 90% with no impact on quality.Humax are obviously aware of this issue - why are they not advising customers of this simple fix?

 

[prpr]

An added benefit is that the TV picture is marginally better with a direct feed.

Better how? Are the blacks a bit crisper and the colour a bit more vibrant? And does the sound have that clarity of a veil being lifted from it?

 

[Trev]

An added benefit is that the TV picture is marginally better with a direct feed.

I really don't think so. It's digital, and once you have cleared the blocking from either low or too high a signal, the picture will be identical. I'ts your wishful thinking and a dollop of placebo thrown in for good measure. The 'picture quality' readout is often taken from the error correction circuits and if you have 100% then there are no errors and it's as good as it's going to get.

Still, really pleased that you have a good result.

 

[grahamlthompson]

Splitting the signal with independent co ax feeds, thereby avoiding the loopthrough, appears to have solved the problem. An added benefit is that the TV picture is marginally better with a direct feed. The signal strength using the splitter has only reduced from around 97% to 90% with no impact on quality.Humax are obviously aware of this issue - why are they not advising customers of this simple fix?

Because by far the great majority with the 3dB or so of the attenuation introduced by a passive splitter will have zero affect on signal quality. So if they suggest this, the few that have marginal signals will not understand the reason why if it fails to work . That's why forums like this exist. Had you tried the suggested remedy immediately. The problem would have been sorted. Basically you chose to ignore the correct solution. There is nothing that we can do if you chose to ignore the post that told you the most likely answer that will work for 99.99% of users. You had the best advice here. It's down to you, you did not try the cheapest and obvious solution first.

Aerial splitters – A.T.V. Poles, Brackets, Clamps & Aerials

www.aerialsandtv.com