Humax HDR-Fox-T2 - Blank Green Screen output on HDMI

A

aesmith

Member
Hi.
Our old Humax started showing a fault where a second or so after booting up it switches to displaying a blank green screen. It's been tested with different HDMI inputs on the TV, for example swapping with the DVD player. The inputs work OK with the DVD, Also tested with a different TV set. I was all set assuming this is a fault with the Humax, however today I tried a replacement (second hand of course) and it shows the exact same fault. From a cold start it displays the initial logo then displays a menu for a second or so before going blank green.

Any ideas? I'm finding it hard to believe two units with the same fault, unless it is possibly a known problem.

Thanks Tony S
 
I assume you have tried cycling though the different output modes with the v-format button
If you cant change format before it goes green screen you could try setting it in the boot-settings package

Have you tried swapping hdmi cables?
Was the second TV from the same manufacturer as the first?
 
Thanks. No I haven't tried the v-format button. I'll give that a go. I assume "boot-settings" is part of the custom firmware in which case I can't try that unless I get the thing displaying properly in the first place. Different HDMI cables were used when I swapped the Humax with the DVD, in that test it was using the cable and input normally used by DVD, and the DVD was working correctly using the cable and input normally used by the Humax. The two TVs are different models, our main one is Sony and the other is "Logik" (cheap Curries own-brand I think).

Our one seems to work properly more often if the TV is switched off until the Humax is fully out of standby and displaying the channel, and only then switch the TV on. This doesn't help with the other Humax.
 
aesmith said:
I can't try that unless I get the thing displaying properly in the first place.
Click to expand...
Why? The front panel display tells you everything you need to know for updating firmware, and then everything else happens in a web browser.
 
Some previous posts have suggested putting an HDMI splitter switch in between humax and TV to resolve HDMI handshaking issues.

My experience, trying to resolve periodic sound drop outs, was that it seemed to cause more problems than it solved. But I may have tried the 'wrong' sort of splitter
 
Ours has just started doing the same thing.

It powers up normally, you get about 3 seconds of the currently selected TV channel, and then you get a bright green screen, which fades after a few seconds, and the box goes dead.

The remote does show the blue/red light toggle (that indication was always really faint; a terrible design feature) but to get it out of the above state one has to power cycle it.

Is this likely to be repairable in any way? Humax are still in business AFAIK.

I wondered if I could buy another T2 on Ebay (plenty of them listed) and swap the hard drive over. I would prefer to not lose the recorded programmes. But from e.g. this

Hard Drive Swap

We recently bought a new Panasonic PVR to replace our Humax HDR-Fox T2 Freeview PVR , after issues with it and our new TV. Initially I was going to dump it, but gave it a reprieve and connected it to a second TV in another room were it has worked perfectly, until now. We had the room...
hummy.tv hummy.tv
I see that isn't going to work. I do have the latest custom firmware on the box and have decrypted some recordings in the past but don't want to do that for hundreds of them :) Does Humax service department have the capability to get around this?

The TV is connected via HDMI. I managed to make it work for a bit by waggling the HDMI cable connectors at both ends... But it still does it here and there.

I sometimes wonder if there is something in the digital programme data which triggers these issues. For example, some years ago, The T2 would crash and reboot on some programmes. This was discussed here at the time. Then this mysteriously stopped. After all, the box has been out of production for years but this thread is all from a few weeks apart.
 
peterh337 said:
It powers up normally, you get about 3 seconds of the currently selected TV channel, and then you get a bright green screen, which fades after a few seconds, and the box goes dead.
Click to expand...
That's not the same thing*. I have already spent time on an extensive reply to you other post: https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/fox-...n-a-few-secs-after-switch-on.9941/post-147359

peterh337 said:
The TV is connected via HDMI. I managed to make it work for a bit by waggling the HDMI cable connectors at both ends... But it still does it here and there.
Click to expand...
That's your problem, nothing to do with the HDR-FOX (unless the HDR-FOX itself has a dicky HDMI socket). Replace the HDMI lead. If it is just a dicky socket, a skilled person could possibly salvage a socket from a dead unit and substitute it.

Please don't cross-post (ie raise identical matters in multiple places), it's not acceptable forum etiquette. "Newbies' Guide to the Forum" (click)

* Edit: I might be wrong there. The typical Green Screen Syndrome is when there is no live HDMI, only a green screen.
 
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Thanks very much for your reply. I didn't do a good enough search to start with...
Yes I run a forum also so know the admin issues. You may be able to move your reply to this thread, perhaps.
I didn't realise there is a process fo changing over the key. With some ethernet adapters one can change the MAC so that keys derived from the MAC can be transferred; this is an old issue with e.g. floating license servers for software whose developer has vanished :)

Presumably one needs to extract some data from the donor T2 before it packs up totally, no?
 
peterh337 said:
You may be able to move your reply to this thread, perhaps.
Click to expand...
I can't imagine why you think this thread is the best place to discuss your issues, when you have opened another thread specifically for your issues. I will reply to your post in the right place, ie the other thread.

Hang on a minute: the other thread has disappeared, and my detailed information with it. Why? Now I have to start again. :mad:

peterh337 said:
Yes I run a forum also so know the admin issues.
Click to expand...
Not so much admin issues as orderly conduct. Somebody else would have said it if I hadn't.
 
peterh337 said:
Ours has just started doing the same thing... The TV is connected via HDMI. I managed to make it work for a bit by waggling the HDMI cable connectors at both ends... But it still does it here and there.
Click to expand...
So it's not the same thing. What you need is a new HDMI lead. The same thing would be when the HDR-FOX is incompatible with the TV for HDCP negotiation, or has somehow failed in its ability to negotiate HDCP. That is fundamentally not fixable by "waggling the HDMI cable", but might be side-stepped by inserting a repeater of some kind into the HDMI link.

peterh337 said:
Is this likely to be repairable in any way? Humax are still in business AFAIK.
Click to expand...
Humax being in business is not relevant - the unit is out of warranty, if it was remedied within warranty it would be by replacement, and Humax are not in the business of being an electronics repair service. Your unit might be repairable if the problem is a dicky HDMI socket, by replacing it with a socket cannibalised from a dead unit.

For other means of investigation see Steps for Resolving HDR-FOX Crash/Reboot Issues (click).

peterh337 said:
I wondered if I could buy another T2 on Ebay (plenty of them listed) and swap the hard drive over. I would prefer to not lose the recorded programmes. But from e.g. this... I see that isn't going to work.
Click to expand...
It can work, you just have to read that thread properly and not just accept the opinion of the inexperienced OP.

peterh337 said:
I do have the latest custom firmware on the box and have decrypted some recordings in the past but don't want to do that for hundreds of them
Click to expand...
Decryption can be set up as an automated process which completes in the background, no user intervention required.

peterh337 said:
Presumably one needs to extract some data from the donor T2 before it packs up totally, no?
Click to expand...
MAC and serial number are on the product label.
 
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Our T2 started playing up properly, with various forms of not starting up, so I bought the best I could find on Ebay

www.ebay.co.uk

High Quality Humax Fox T2 Freeview Receiver - Russ Andrews upgraded - ExC | eBay

High Quality Humax Fox T2 Freeview+ Receiver - Russ Andrews upgraded. Condition is "Used", in excellent condition (see photos). Fully working, including remote control. Has had very little use, spent most of its life in storage. Dispatched with Packlink or local buyers may collect (south London)
www.ebay.co.uk

Not sure if it has custom firmware but we haven't used the special features for ages anyway.
 
That depends exactly what 'Uncle' Russ did to it and how much he extorted from whichever mug was stupid enough to pay his rip-off prices.
 
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