Maplin bargain

Yes, I found that when I was comparing units side by side. The units with most hours have the dimmest displays.
 
Black Hole said:
Yes, I found that when I was comparing units side by side. The units with most hours have the dimmest displays.
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Stretch the memory a bit and one can remember this problem with the 9200. The clock part of the display was on 24/7 and after a while the difference to the less used portion of the display was (is) extremely noticeable.
 
MDB1.3 is the newer type of remote, but the graded units sold by Humax Direct also ship with a new remote and accessories. It will be interesting to find out how old the units are. The CFW will indicate how long the hard drives have been in operation.
You can get a feel for how old they are by the serial numbers and mac addresses. My oldest box was bought from Humax Direct only a few months after the HDR-FOX was launched. I also have/ have had (some boxes gone to relatives etc.) a number of boxes of various ages. In the top right hand corner of the label on the bottom of HDR-FOX is a number, part of the serial no. (710xxxx); the mac address (12 characters) is also on this label. The most useful info I have is summarised below:

4315 (Mac = 00-03-78- ) loader = a7.30
5007 (Mac = DC-D3-21-) loader = a7.30
5113 (Mac = DC-D3-21-) loader = a7.31
5343 (Mac = DC-D3-21-) loader = a7.31
5826 (Mac = DC-D3-21-) loader = a7.33
6012 (Mac = 08-EB-74-) loader = a7.34
6169 (Mac = 08-EB-74-) loader = a7.34 Revised hardware version

The loader info is less useful as Humax have a habit of updating the loader on 'graded' units. Out of interest, does anyone have a box with loader versions a7.31 or a7.32?

Edit. Data from Luke included
 
In an effort to prolong the useful life of the display having removed the orange filter, I have configured the redring package to reduce the display brightness.
 
Black Hole said:
I haven't powered it up yet, but the S/N is 63 7105630 00654. The youngest one listed in Faults v Serial Number seems to be 7105798.
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Not a really old one then. The last 're' units were probably made about a year or so ago. That one (I guesstimate) is probably about a year older. Unless it has been reflashed, it probably has loader a7.33 and 1.02.29 firmware.
 
Owen Smith said:
I never pay any attention to the loader version. Are there any known differences between them?
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Probably nothing significant for the user. I think I read in this forum (or on MyHumax.org) that loader changes were made for manufacturing reasons. The version no. does give an indication of the age, and while it might get updated if the unit ends up being sent back to Humax, unlike the firmware, the loader version can't be changed by the user.
 
MontysEvilTwin said:
That one (I guesstimate) is probably about a year older. Unless it has been reflashed, it probably has loader a7.33 and 1.02.29 firmware.
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I am betting on BlackHole's being 1.02.28 as my Maplin purchase of yesturday was 1.02.28 and had serial number 7105564. I find it curious that despite having a bright display mine had obviously been plugged in to the mains electricity suppy an dthe remote used but that its probable manufacturing date is close to BlackHoles newest unit and BlackHole has not reported that his newest unit is not prestine. I pick up 2 more from the same Maplin branch on Monday so what's the betting that they have never been used?
 
Physically mine appears completely unblemished. The protective film is on the front panel, there are no finger marks on the case, and the mains cable is wire-tied and the plug shrouded.

The only thing which raises my eyebrows at all is that the section of protective film over the USB flap is a bit flappy, just like the film on my HDR4 (which I have in service but have not bothered taking the film off!).

I will run it up and gather data at some point, but my play time is on other things at the moment.
 
What do we think the structure of the serial number means then? Out of ww xxxyyyy zzzzz, ww and xxx appear to be constants (for the HDR-FOX), while yyyy and zzzzz change independently. Maybe yyyy is a code for the production date and zzzzz is the index of the production that day?
 
@Luke. I think BH's unit will be the same a yours (1.02.28), but my 'guess' (1.02.29) was not bad: these two versions were only a couple of months apart. These units probably were manufactured about two years ago.
@Black Hole. I think the number 'yyyy' (to follow your format) is probably the batch code. I wondered if 'zzzzz' was the actual serial number component, but that would suggest in your case that ca. 700+ plus units were made in that batch. Perhaps this number is too high to be sensible? Possibly 'yyyy' is a day code, as you suggest, and 'zzzzz' is the serial number of the broader production run?
 
The serial number can be read from the running system. It would be useful to get a large sample for analysis - might add it to the diagnostics page in webif (I certainly don't feel inclined to try and read the serial number on mine : )

MontysEvilTwin said:
unlike the firmware, the loader version can't be changed by the user.
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It can be, and one user has accidentally replaced his bootloader with one from the Swedish model IIRC, but I don't think there is any point - I'm not aware of any of the differences. Interestingly, the bootloader on the HD-Fox T2 has been included with some updates.
 
@af123. I didn't think that it wasn't possible to change the bootloader, just that as this is not included in the firmware updates no one (except for a Humax insider) would have the software available to change it. I know there was a bootloader update included in a HD-FOX firmware update (7.26 to 7.27) but this is not the case with the HDR-FOX updates.
 
You have to extract a bootloader from one unit and transfer it to another. I've done it on some of mine but it obviously carries risk and there doesn't seem to be any point.
 
Black Hole said:
What do we think the structure of the serial number means then? Out of ww xxxyyyy zzzzz, ww and xxx appear to be constants (for the HDR-FOX), while yyyy and zzzzz change independently. Maybe yyyy is a code for the production date and zzzzz is the index of the production that day?
Click to expand...
The Humax software reads the first 10 bytes of the serial number for some purpose, so it might be more like ww xxxyyyyy zzzz (although different to the sticker).
 
Just powered my HDR T2 ,which was delivered on Friday, up to check its functions. Data is as follows FHTCP 1.02.29, Loader 7.33, Updated 05 jul 2012 and M.A.C. DC: D3:21: etc.
Ser no. 63710561101320
It came in full retail packaging so may well be the last of the new HDR's.
 
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