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FVP-5000T iPlayer VERY slow

G

gigaday

New Member
I changed my ISP to BT earlier this year and I think this was when iPlayer became very slow - it certainly is slow now. When I say slow I mean that it is all but unusable when using the Search facility to find a programme title - so slow that it is not possible the use the cursor keys without it jumping forward or backwards so that I have no idea where I am. The graphic pictures of the programmes found re-draw incredibly slowly as well.
If I access iPlayer via my Chromecast Google TV dongle everything works as it should.
Is this a known problem?
Is there any thing that I could do to optimise my Internet connection to improve the response?
Thanks for any help available.
Tony
 
I've just tried the same process on my 5000T and Aura. They are both connected via LAN to my PC which is using the WiFi connection to a hotspot on my phone (ie. not the best of connections). The Aura works reasonably well. The 5000T displays the problems you describe. Graphics load very slowly and the cursor keys do not respond in a timely fashion. Given that both Humaxes are on the same network, it would seem to be a problem with the iPlayer app on the 5000T or maybe the 5000T is underpowered. Once I've managed to get to the programme I want to watch, both Humaxes play the item properly.
I doubt that the iPlayer app for the 5000T is updatable. You could try grumbling to Humax, but I don't think you'd get a positive response.
 
Phil, thanks for your input.
It was in Feb this year that I switched to BT because they were telling everyone that they were going to disconnect our land lines - and now they aren't going to. It was the only reason that I switched as I was very happy with Plusnet.
I just checked with my wife and we are both agreed that iPlayer had_been working fine, we are not sure when this changed but I am sure we would have been pulling our hair out before if there was a problem. We have had the FVP-5000T for a few years now and never noticed any problem until recently.
I am inclined to think that it may not actually be the FVP-5000T itself that is causing the problem, but perhaps some sort of protocol or throttling that is happening. The FVP-5000T is connected to the router by network cable not wifi.
PS I have just checked my older Humax Freeview box which is connected to the Internet via a power line adapter - and it works fine.
Tony
 
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gigaday said:
we are both agreed that iPlayer had_been working fine, we are not sure when this changed
Click to expand...
iPlayer evolves, and tends to leave older client devices behind in its evolution. It happened with our HDR-FOXes – the iPlayer app first became clunky, and then it became inoperable because iPlayer service started relying on HTML5, which the HDR-FOX could not support.

The cynical view would be this is a deliberate policy to obsolete old (but otherwise functional) equipment, but they are also in an arms race with the pirates so can't stand still.
 
Black Hole said:
The cynical view would be this is a deliberate policy to obsolete old (but otherwise functional) equipment, but they are also in an arms race with the pirates so can't stand still.
Click to expand...
I'm sure this is correct. Companies want to push more product, and making older models obsolete is one way of achieving that. In terms of pirating, strange that the Aura has StdDef material available to be FTP'd off the box and that HiDef can be transcoded. A step backwards in anti-piracy? Or were you referring to the on-going arms race with YT and YT-DL?

I've the vaguest of recollections that there have been postings here or on the other site about problems with changes to iPlayer. As I said, the Aura works as expected. My 5000T works, but is a pita to use. My 2000T put so many obstacles in my way that I've no idea whether it works!
 
Except that it is the other way round for me. My older Humax box works fine but the newer one is slower than an overturned tortoise. - Tony
 
YouView / Freeview, yes I'm wrong - you're right. I just didn't remember long enough to walk down stairs. - Tony
 
Thank you all for your help. The FVP-5000T would seem to be not such a good box as the other Humax that I have had. I will be more careful what I buy next time.
And there I was blaming BT for the problem!.
Tony
 
I contacted Humax uksupport@humaxonline.co.uk and received a very prompt reply and instructions to do a Factory Reset - which I have done without any problem. But the problem with the iPlayer persists.

Below is a copy of the email that I sent to Humax:

Dear Ivan

I followed your instructions (clear and easy, thank you) but my problem with the very slow iPlayer Search still exists.

I also tried the BBC iPlayer Beta to see if that would solve the problem and although Searching might be a little faster it's not very much and still pretty well unusable.

Where to now? To re-iterate the DTRT2000 works fine but the FVP-5000T is very slow - both are connected to the same BT Internet router.

It seems to me that the problem is the time it takes to re-paint the images on the Search screen, which is very slow - 10+ seconds, rather than the slowness of the on-screen keyboard.

Now that I understand that the iPlayer app is downloadable software and not Humax firmware there seem to me to be various possibilities as the where the bottleneck is or isn't:

  • British Telecom - unlikely as I have two Humax boxes on the same router and one is fine and the other not
  • BBC iPlayer app and/or associated servers - the slow painting of images could be a function of something not right there, except that the Humax DTRT2000 paints the images very quickly
  • some interaction between the BBC iPlayer app and the Humax FVP-5000T in the way that the networking is handled
  • other things that I do not know about

Do you have any other ideas on how to troubleshoot this problem?

Thanks for your help.
Regards, Tony
 
gigaday said:
received a very prompt reply and instructions to do a Factory Reset
Click to expand...
That is the default response, whether it will do any good or not, because it is like "have you tried turning it off and on again" – often cures things without having to do any diagnostics.

In this case, my suspicion is that the iPlayer ops team are simply not supporting the FVP-5000T any more.
 
Black Hole said:
In this case, my suspicion is that the iPlayer ops team are simply not supporting the FVP-5000T any more.
Click to expand...

I agree, especially after finding this:
Apache Ex Member myhumax.org said:
I have a FVP 5000T box but find that BBC IPayer runs very slow, it opens fine but when on the main page in IPlayer find it is very slow to move up and down in IPlayer

| Sun 27 Jun 2021 18:53:54
Click to expand...
With no replies. There is another thread with iPlayer problems but it covers all models (32 pages, so I can't be bothered to look through it!). https://myhumax.org/forum/topic/iplayer-problem
 
The BBC iPlayer team were quite clear in their response to me and it was very polite and informative, they said "I've checked your Humax model, FVP-5000T, unfortunately it hasn't been certified for use with the iPlayer app. This means while the app may work on the device, we can't guarantee a good user experience. We only support devices which are certified so you may experience issues with BBC iPlayer on uncertified devices." Which I think is fair enough.

Humax and the other hand - apart from instructing me to "delete cookies" and perform a Factory Reset, achieved nothing. They denied that the FVP-5000T had any problem and said that it was certified to run with iPlayer. On being pressed, they recommended that I use a Smart TV or Chromecast dongle. But still did not admit and problem with their box - just that it was out of production.
 
gigaday said:
The BBC iPlayer team were quite clear in their response to me and it was very polite and informative, they said "I've checked your Humax model, FVP-5000T, unfortunately it hasn't been certified for use with the iPlayer app. This means while the app may work on the device, we can't guarantee a good user experience. We only support devices which are certified so you may experience issues with BBC iPlayer on uncertified devices." Which I think is fair enough.

Humax and the other hand - apart from instructing me to "delete cookies" and perform a Factory Reset, achieved nothing. They denied that the FVP-5000T had any problem and said that it was certified to run with iPlayer. On being pressed, they recommended that I use a Smart TV or Chromecast dongle. But still did not admit and problem with their box - just that it was out of production.
Click to expand...
So pretty much what I said then. "Not certified" means limited capability no longer able to keep up. "Was" is true – it was iPlayer-capable in the past. And why would you expect any manufacturer to expend effort and cost revising an obsolete unit? It did what it was supposed to do when sold, and for a reasonable time thereafter. No third-party manufacturer can accept responsibility for standards changes outside their control.

EEPhil said:
In terms of pirating, strange that the Aura has StdDef material available to be FTP'd off the box and that HiDef can be transcoded. A step backwards in anti-piracy?
Click to expand...
Strange? It's a clever strategy. The pirates want HiDef minimum, and preferably 4K. Providing a means to offload StDef satisfies the typical consumer and reduces their desire to employ other means to the point they probably won't bother. Transcoding higher defs to StDef before exporting stops anyone cracking DRM on HiDef (cough, cough).

It's the same as recording the Top 40 to cassette – a fun activity of our youth, and illegal, but never going to challenge the commercial offering so tolerated.
 
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