Humax can be difficult to use

TonyC said:
This is why many of us use the Custom Firmware capabilities of either EPG browsing via the web interface, or the Remote Scheduling service. If my own late F/W 'Fox is typical of how slow the standard built-in EPG is, then I couldn't imagine using it on a daily basis as the primary way to set recordings.
Click to expand...

I use the standard EPG as my primary way to set recordings. But I check what I want to record using the Radio Times and then jump straight to that channel and date/time, so I'm not actually surfing the EPG just using day forwards/backwards and then two hours forwards/backwards to get there.
 
TonyC said:
Hmm, true. Unless they have just been stuck in a warehouse somewhere for months (I think that was the conclusion with the Maplin ones), which perhaps is equally off-putting if you want a genuinely new (or at least very nearly so) box.
Click to expand...

Stuck in a warehouse should be a cause for joy with HDR Fox T2s, not concern. It doesn't do them any harm unless the roof leaks or similar crap.
 
Maybe I should just do it all via the web interface then - or better still schedule it all whilst at work using remote scheduling! :thumbsup:

Perhaps a change to my way of working is required :)
 
TonyC said:
Well, yes and no.

You're 100% correct that the quality of recorded programs is identical to that of live broadcasts, without any degradation like you got on old VHS recordings, or indeed DVD recordings that transcoded before recording.

And it's also true that the transfer from the 'Fox to the TV via HDMI is lossless, despite what the purveyors of £500 HDMI cables would try and persuade us ("blacker blacks" my arse :) )

But there must be some processing between the digital Transport Stream received from the aerial and the digital data stream sent out over HDMI, even without pausing or FF / RW, and even if both streams are at the same resolution. I don't know if sufficiently poor quality or low powered hardware might introduce artefacts at this stage, though I agree that any differences between boxes are likely to be very small.
Click to expand...

Many set top boxes perform sharpening of SD channels during upscaling before sending them to HDMI. Thankfully the HDR Fox T2 does not and we get to see the picture without excessive ringing and emphasis.
 
TonyC said:
But there must be some processing between the digital Transport Stream received over the aerial and the digital data stream sent over HDMI, even without pausing or FF / RW, and even if both streams are at the same resolution. I don't know if sufficiently poor quality or low powered hardware might introduce artefacts at this stage, though I agree that any differences between boxes are likely to be very small.
Click to expand...
We had lots of arguments about this in the early days. Some PVRs are reported as processing the output with a degree of artificial sharpening, and as far as we know the HDR-FOX does not do that - it just gives you what was received. TVs have user selectable sharpening or softening, and sometimes independently selectable processing by input, so it would not be impossible to compare two sources side by side with different settings!

The real issue is the quality of the interpolation. With the HDR-FOX you decide what video resolution you want sent to the TV, and then the source (broadcast or recording playback) is transformed to that setting from whatever it happened to be originally. There is no option to send it native and let the TV sort it out. Taking for example StDef 576i displayed on a TV at 1080, you could set the Humax to output 576i (no interpolation) and rely on the TV's interpolator, or set the Humax to 1080 and use its own interpolator. Any difference you see will be down to the differences in the interpolators.

Apart from those aspects, the whole point of digital is that, well, it's digital! The original data will be the same, it's just a question of how it's displayed.
 
Oldskoolskater said:
Hmm, slow EPG on the Fox? - bummer.
Click to expand...
PERSONAL VIEW.
I think you will find that the slow EPG does not seem to be present for every one.
It appears to depend on how you use the EPG and how many expired entries there are in the recordings schedule.

If you scroll down a page at a time or across 2/24 hours at a time, I don't think you wil notice any slowness, I never have and I run on 1.03.12.

Even moving one item down or across does not seem slow, however holding the arrow to continuously move in a direction is slower than it used to be, but personally I don't find it noticeably bad.
 
Same for me, I was reluctant to update to 1.03.12, but having done so, I find the EPG quick and simple to use, far better than my new Panny TV.
 
Oh well - seems like my decision has been made for me.

Maplin have removed all new Fox's for £189 and there are only Used versions for £159 available now - even then they show out of stock.

Looks like there must have been a typo on the Maplin site in the first place and there were none available in reality :mad:

HDR-2000T is it then!
 
The remote scheduling portal is great. I have my parents box on it as well as mine. If I know I'm going to be at my parents I can set it to record stuff I'll be interested in when I'm there. It's been set up for six months and only recently my mum said "where did that recording come from?" It took them that long to notice.
 
Oldskoolskater said:
Oh well - seems like my decision has been made for me.

Maplin have removed all new Fox's for £189 and there are only Used versions for £159 available now - even then they show out of stock.

Looks like there must have been a typo on the Maplin site in the first place and there were none available in reality :mad:

HDR-2000T is it then!
Click to expand...

I'd go for a Grade A one on the Humax site.
 
The supply on eBay is drying up too now. Still a few listed but the ones in better condition don't go cheaply. Those new ones Maplins sold a few months ago for £85 seem like a real bargain now (sorry prpr).
 
How do I get a login for the EPG website - do I need to register through a Fox device?
Can't see an option to create a new account through the browser.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top