If it aint broke?

jalba

New Member
We are Humax HDR T2 converts. Our one is now 6.5 years old and we are getting a little nervous over its longevity. I have been unsuccessfully looking for a good HDR T2 as a backup and there doesn't seem to be an alternative that is as good, as well as providing customised folders, which we absolutely love.

In order to extend the life of our current Humax I am thinking about repacing the 1TB HD with a new 2TB HD. It is working ok at the moment other than an occasional green screen which has been there for a long time and a fairly frequent failed connection with the tv when they are both switched on.

Should I leave well alone or would I potentially improve the lifespan of our HDR T2 if I changed the HD?

I am also undecided re the HD. I note that there is a general preference on this site for a specific Seagate HD. However, I find that the stats indicate that the Hitachi HDs have a considerably better failure rate. I would consider installing a Hitachi ACS5C202ALA632 2TB HD. I think it may also be called a Cinema HD. What do you think?
 
If you need the extra capacity or the existing disk is showing signs of failing then replacing the disk is worthwhile.
But replacing the disk is not not going to extend the life of any of the other components - fortunately there are not too many reports of failures.
 
I don't need the extra capacity, but have the possibility of accessing a 2TB Hitachi drive at a reasonable price. Is it not the case that the HD is usually the first component to fail and has a limited lifespan dictated by the frquency of use?
 
Should I leave well alone or would I potentially improve the lifespan of our HDR T2 if I changed the HD?
If the current one is faulty or not large enough then change it. If not then leave it alone. Hard disks generally work until they break. New ones can fail before older ones.
I am also undecided re the HD. I note that there is a general preference on this site for a specific Seagate HD. However, I find that the stats indicate that the Hitachi HDs have a considerably better failure rate. I would consider installing a Hitachi ACS5C202ALA632 2TB HD.
I can't find much info. about that, but what I can find seems to say it's a Desktop drive which is not suitable for long term use in a PVR. You need a Video drive which is why people buy the Seagate ST2000VM003.
It also appears to be obsolete or out-of-stock on the few sites I saw, or very expensive.
 
Is it not the case that the HD is usually the first component to fail and has a limited lifespan dictated by the frequency of use?
I agree that hard drive failures are one of the commonest problems on the HDR-FOX T2 (and any other PVR) but only a relatively small percentage of the total number of drives in service will fail early. My advice would be to install the Custom Firmware and have a look at the Disk Diagnostics (aka SMART data); if you want advice, post the results here and we can advise whether the hard drive data is showing anything that will lead to problems in the near future.
 
If the current one is faulty or not large enough then change it. If not then leave it alone. Hard disks generally work until they break. New ones can fail before older ones.

I can't find much info. about that, but what I can find seems to say it's a Desktop drive which is not suitable for long term use in a PVR. You need a Video drive which is why people buy the Seagate ST2000VM003.
It also appears to be obsolete or out-of-stock on the few sites I saw, or very expensive.
I may have the wrong Hitachi model number. I believe it is the same one that is used in Sky boxes
 
I agree that hard drive failures are one of the commonest problems on the HDR-FOX T2 (and any other PVR) but only a relatively small percentage of the total number of drives in service will fail early. My advice would be to install the Custom Firmware and have a look at the Disk Diagnostics (aka SMART data); if you want advice, post the results here and we can advise whether the hard drive data is showing anything that will lead to problems in the near future.
Thanks. I was thinking of installing the custom firmware for the Disk Diagnostics function alone.
 
I was thinking of installing the custom firmware for the Disk Diagnostics function alone.
It's probably worth a Maintenance Mode/Fixdisk scan anyway if it's been 6.5 years since you formatted the disk (after you've checked the SMART stats. though!).
 
Thanks. I was thinking of installing the custom firmware for the Disk Diagnostics function alone.
I would suggest also considering the fan package to keep the temperature of the electronics more constant as a way to make a (probably) small but useful contribution to extending the life of the electronic components. The other thing I find occasionally useful is the ability to schedule programs when away from home.
 
You need to decrypt programmes before they can be moved to other machines, another reason for the Customised Firmware
 
I would suggest also considering the fan package to keep the temperature of the electronics more constant as a way to make a (probably) small but useful contribution to extending the life of the electronic components. The other thing I find occasionally useful is the ability to schedule programs when away from home.
Could you please explain what you mean by the fan package? Is this an additional fan or an upgrade or two in tandem?
 
I took the plunge and bought another HDR Fox T2 today. Would I be best not using it and keeping it at the ready just in case or would it be better to keep it on standby if I want to prolong its life. If I was to connect it does the aerial coax loop in to one and then into the other before going to the TV. Would this degrade the signal?
 
Could you please explain what you mean by the fan package? Is this an additional fan or an upgrade or two in tandem?
Look under F for 'Fan' on the wiki Notes page
https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Custom_Firmware_Package_Notes#Fan

For discussion on individual packages search for the thread with square brackets around the package name in the title of the thread.
E.g. For 'fan' that would be [fan] and https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/fan-more-control-over-hdr-fan.3907/page-10
 
Could you please explain what you mean by the fan package?
It is a software package in the custom firmware that changes the fan control algorithm. The standard Humax algorithm leaves the fan off until the temperature of the hard drive reaches 55 C and then leaves it running until the temperature is less than 50 C and turns if off again. Hence the temperature cycles between 50 C and 55 C. I use the fan package to run the fan at about half speed continuously and this keeps the temperature relatively constant at about 42 C
 
I took the plunge and bought another HDR Fox T2 today. Would I be best not using it and keeping it at the ready just in case or would it be better to keep it on standby if I want to prolong its life. If I was to connect it does the aerial coax loop in to one and then into the other before going to the TV. Would this degrade the signal?
Probably better to just keep it for spare(s). Test it when you first get it though - they are all 'old' now and getting one that's good out the box is not certain.
Yes, just loop coax. But there are issues of power use in standby because the upstream box has to feed the downstream one - another reason to just keep it spare.
 
I took the plunge and bought another HDR Fox T2 today. Would I be best not using it and keeping it at the ready just in case or would it be better to keep it on standby if I want to prolong its life. If I was to connect it does the aerial coax loop in to one and then into the other before going to the TV. Would this degrade the signal?
An alternative would be to install it in another room, with networking you could watch programmes recorded on one machine on the other
 
For discussion on individual packages search for the thread with square brackets around the package name in the title of the thread.
...or more to the point, look here: https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/index-of-package-primary-topics.8005/

Regarding "HD", note that in some contexts it would be difficult to tell this meant "hard disk" and not "high definition" - not least this is a forum about HiDef PVRs with "HD" writ large in the nomenclature. See Glossary (click), entry HD.
 
For discussion on individual packages search for the thread with square brackets around the package name in the title of the thread.
A list of these' Square Bracket' posts can also be found in the Wiki here :-

https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Forum_Links

Note :- In the Wiki the link titles have curly brackets rather than square, as the square bracket is a control character so [Fan] becomes {Fan}
 
Last edited:
Back
Top