Humax HDR 1800T No TV Portal

[battenberg]

Just bought the above freeview recorder. Presently do not have an ariel to use the Freeview function, but wanted to use the BBCiPlayer. Connected to the network with a ethernet cable. Software and did a software update via the internet (OTA) to the year 2018 version of firmware. TV Portal not working, either via the remote control, or via the menu. I have noticed on various posts about problems with firmware. Is this Firmware issue, another type of issue, or do I have to have the Ariel connected to use the TV Portal? Or should I just return the device because it is just outdated?

 

[Black Hole]

Portal access requires cryptographic certificates to be exchanged, which will be treated as invalid if they are not in the correct date range. That means the system clock has to be correct, and the system clock is set at each boot by retrieving the data from a broadcast stream.

Therefore: no aerial, no portal.

I discovered this many years ago, and a work-around is available for HD-FOX and HDR-FOX users by means of custom firmware to pull in clock settings from an Internet time server, but of course there is no custom firmware for the 1800T.

...The second problem occurs when you try to access the TV Portal (iPlayer etc). The HD/HDR-FOX sets its internal clock using the EPG data - if it has no aerial, it has no idea what the date and time are. This appears irrelevant, but the authentication mechanism used to identify the HD/HDR-FOX with the Humax servers (and thus gain access to the TV Portal facilities) depends on the unit knowing the current time. Consequently, the TV Portal will be unavailable if you try to operate without an aerial...