Recommendations please

[Black Hole]

Does this topic belong in the HDR-FOX section rather than the custom firmware section?

 

[Black Hole]

True but, unless you already have a spare or a programmable one, it will add a minimum of £24 to the cost. This makes the Richer sounds £130 display model £154. Add in a new generic HDMI lead and the Richer price is more than £10 higher than getting one from Humax.

Did I not indicate the Richer Sounds one is only worth £90?

 

[Ezra Pound]

Any idea what the HDR-FOX T2 '-G' means?

See #16

 

[MontysEvilTwin]

Did I not indicate the Richer Sounds one is only worth £90?

Indeed you did:

A missing remote is not a big deal, but get a Grade A from Humax Direct in preference to an ex-display with no remote (unless it's very cheap, they might take £90 for it).

but I interpreted your message as meaning that the relative quality of a tested unit from Humax versus the display model from Richer Sounds was more important than whether or not it came with a remote control. It seems I misinterpreted your post. I was misled by a smidgen of ambiguity

 

[makem]

Thank you, I was reading it as a Grade A HDR-FOX T2 -G

I have ordered one.

Now I need to find a good TV forum to help decide which 3D TV I should invest in.

EDIT: As a matter of interest,I have a three way splitter in the Freeview feed but only use two outlets and was concerned that using all three would degrade the signal.

I spoke to the company who installed the Freesat and Freeview TV installation for our block and he said using a three way splitter would give a drop of 6db regardless of whether I used one, two or three of the outlets. Therefore the signal I now have should not change when I connect the second Humax.

Whilst typing this I have realised I have a three way splitter in the cable internet feed (gawd knows why - maybe before I went wireless) and maybe I should get rid of that.

 

[mihaid]

to help decide which 3D TV I should invest in.

Simples, don't invest. After about 10 times you'll feel a fool with those glasses on and if you don't, your friends will.

 

[makem]

Simples, don't invest. After about 10 times you'll feel a fool with those glasses on and if you don't your friends will.

It would be a passive 3D rather than active and would in the main use it for 2D.

 

[makem]

Does this topic belong in the HDR-FOX section rather than the custom firmware section?

Yes, I could have placed it there but felt the expertise of the Custom Firmware uses would be more valuable and the question was about Custom Firmware initially.

 

[HarveyB]

True but, unless you already have a spare or a programmable one, it will add a minimum of £24 to the cost. This makes the Richer sounds £130 display model £154. Add in a new generic HDMI lead and the Richer price is more than £10 higher than getting one from Humax.

I picked one of these up from RicherSounds last month.
The manager gave me £10 discount, with voucher he had to hand (regular promotional discount).
Picked up a Genuine remote from ebay for £16.99.

The Hummy is perfect AND being a regular purchase qualified for 2 year warranty.

Pretty good really, considering how difficult it is to get hold of one nowadays.

I recommend that he should snap up the box now.

 

[Black Hole]

I spoke to the company who installed the Freesat and Freeview TV installation for our block and he said using a three way splitter would give a drop of 6db regardless of whether I used one, two or three of the outlets. Therefore the signal I now have should not change when I connect the second Humax.

I use multiple outputs from an amplifier, and having an output used or vacant definitely affects the other outputs. It would be a wonderful splitter if it could completely isolate the outputs from each other.

 

[makem]

He is saying that each has a 2db drop regardless of the connections. One = 6db, two = 6db, three = 6db is he not?

So my current connection of two has a 6db drop and with three the drop will still be 6db.

Are you saying there s a further drop added relative to the number of connections?

This engineer designs installations which supply both FreeView and FreeSat to multiple residences from single sources. To split the FreeSat signal he could change the control box for my residence but it would be expensive.

 

[Black Hole]

Presuming the splitter is passive, the outputs are connected to the input by some network of resistances, capacitances, and inductances, and the input is fed from a source via a transmission line which presents an impedance. That means the outputs are connected to each other by a network of R C and L also.

The network will have some unspecified transfer characteristic from the source to each output when the outputs are disconnected from anything (feeding an infinite impedance), and a different transfer characteristic when each output is connected to a transmission line - the impedance presented to the output terminal changes the transfer characteristic.

The point your installation technician (I refuse to call him an engineer) is missing is that the internal characteristics of the splitter are affected by the exact combination of impedances presented to the outputs, and any signals present at the outputs (be that the signal from the input or the result of reflections coming back from further down the line) are also cross-coupled to the other outputs.

The only "splitter" design which would completely isolate each output from affecting the others is a distribution amplifier where each output is fed from its own individual active buffer stage.

In most cases none of this matters. Just don't expect exactly the same performance from the existing two outputs when you plug something into the third output. You can approximate it by fitting each unused output with a dummy 50 ohm load.

 

[xyz321]

You can approximate it by fitting each unused output with a dummy 50 ohm load.

Shouldn't that be 75 ohm?

 

[Black Hole]

Normal TV aerial co-ax is 50 ohm as far as I know, satellite co-ax is 75 ohm.

 

[Trev]

My research and prior knowledge indicates that they are both 75 ohms. The d to D ratio of 50 ohm feeder is visibly larger. (Centre core to Outer screen diameter ratio).

 

[Wallace]

Agreed.

 

[Black Hole]

OK, whatever. In my previous missive, for "50 ohm" read "75 ohm" - the argument is the same.

 

[makem]

New box up and running. Signal strength 52 to 61%, Quality 100% across the channels for both boxes.

I did need to change the new remote to mode 2 and visually identify it.

Now the wife has her own box of soaps, movies, baking & cooking and I have mine.

Thanks for the input and assistance. Now to install the Custom Firmware.

 

[MartinLiddle]

Now to install the Custom Firmware.

When you do it would be interesting to know what the Power_on_hours are for the hard drive (SMART attribute ID 9).

 

[cdmackay]

One thing I noted was an immediate SMART warning on mine, with reallocated sectors* at 2155. That has not changed since, so hopefully the warning was just the WebIF seeing a non-zero value with nothing to compare it with.

This was a T2 I bought as a G about a year ago, but had never tested it (tut). I've just bought two more, and will be testing both, just to be sure.


* - 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct