TV Portal, an utter disappointment?

F

Foxtrot204

Member
Here I am hoping to access the regular group of Apps using this portal, but it appears to be a non working set-up. So what can we get access to by way of Apps on the FOX T2, and how, is there anything that can be accessed via the CF or is that it?.

A question please, if I may, can we view the programme broadcasted on the TV via T2, using the Web If, if so how please, I don't always want the TV on!.

Thanks
 
Foxtrot204 said:
Here I am hoping to access the regular group of Apps using this portal, but it appears to be a non working set-up. So what can we get access to by way of Apps on the FOX T2, and how, is there anything that can be accessed via the CF or is that it?.

A question please, if I may, can we view the programme broadcasted on the TV via T2, using the Web If, if so how please, I don't always want the TV on!.

Thanks
Click to expand...
What "regular group of Apps"?
The Portal has always been the weakest feature of the T2 and liable to cause it to crash.

The Customised Firmware does support youtubeDL which supports downloads from BBC, YouTube and some other channels.

You can watch programmes recorded on the T2 using VLC on a computer/tablet but not live TV.
AFAIK the Humax Aura is the only Humax product that allows access to live TV over the network though I don't have one. I use a hdHomeRun for access to Live TV
 
MymsMan said:
AFAIK the Humax Aura is the only Humax product that allows access to live TV over the network though I don't have one.
Click to expand...
The FVP-4000T / 5000T in conjunction with a H3 Smart Media Box, allows one of the 4000T / 5000T tuners to stream live TV to the H3 over the network.
 
Foxtrot204 said:
Thanks for the reply as I said a rather disappointing facility.
Click to expand...
You have to remember the HDR-FOX was put on the market in 2010, so must be compared with other 2010 offerings.

The real problem with the TV Portal is the HDR-FOX's flakey network stack. Unless the Internet traffic (including the home network portion) is squeaky clean, expect it to crash.
  • You will get a "better" experience with the TV Portal by installing the CF new-portal package, which bypasses the Humax servers and accesses the apps directly.

  • BBC iPlayer broke in September 2020 due to certificates expiring, and a CF fix (iplfix) was rolled out before Humax released a fixed firmware (do not use the Humax fix if you use CF, and do not use the Humax fix for HD-FOX - they broke it).

  • The BBC broke the Humax iPlayer portal in May 2022 by some kind of update at their end which now crashes the HDR-FOX (and HD-FOX). This seems to be continuing (I just checked it and crashed). The presumption is that a perfectly valid update to the iPlayer media server home page web data triggers a previously hidden bug in the Humax code. It surprised me when Humax released a firmware update for the certificate problem above (even if they did break the HD-FOX in the process), so maybe they'll release a fix for this (don't hold your breath).

  • YouTube changed its front-end (HTML5?) so is now incompatible with the portal YouTube app (or possibly deliberately to deny access from outdated smart-TVs and STBs with YouTube media players, but too low-powered for YouTube's liking, unable to display a fancy user interface).

  • I would find the Internet Radio app quite useful, but stations tend not to play long over my Internet before it crashes. As of today, I'm finding I can't run a station at all without a crash, and wonder whether this is the same thing as is afflicting iPlayer.

  • The iPlayer and YouTube apps can by bypassed completely using the CF qtube package (which is a GUI front-end for the youtube-dl package, or use youtube-dl directly from the command line). This provides the means to download iPlayer and YouTube content to the HDR-FOX and then play it as if a recording. This process seems to be immune to crashes, and if the download breaks for some reason it can be resumed.

  • Two crashes in quick succession will trigger a fail-safe mode where CF packages with elements resident in Flash memory (as opposed to on disk) are disabled. The purpose is to prevent crashes caused by bugs in CF from creating continuous crash cycle. A warning appears in the WebIF when this has happened, and restoring functionality requires running a diagnostic: WebIF >> Diagnostics >> Run Diagnostic >> fix-flash-packages (choose from the drop-down list). The packages on general release are well-proven however, and the fail-safe is more of an inconvenience than a benefit. The disabling can be switched off using diagnostic plugin_autodisable/off, or on the command line (Telnet or webshell): touch /var/lib/humaxtv/mod/no_plugin_autodisable. Note the warning will still be issued, but with autodisable turned off there is no need to run (but no harm in running) fix-flash-packages.
Further reading:
 
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Has the OP just acquired a second-hand unit? I am surprised that the question was raised after all this time.

BH, the internet radio still works relatively ok, I have fttp, 36 Mbps. Still, it does fail occasionally.

The Apps disappointment is akin to my Panasonic Freetime TV, excellent for a year or so, then the powers that be pulled all the catch ups except iplayer.
 
Hi, yes I have acquired a second hand T2 after my T1010 decided to throw in the towel, with the well known and still unsolved problem of not recovering from standby, don't even switch on just stay in perpetual standby.

Thanks for the detailed reply will investigate further..
 
I intended to ask, to install the new TV portal, do I need to uninstall the original?, If so how is it carried out.
Thanks
 
Well, I have been able to install the new portal, and now launches very fast, however selecting BBC iPlayer still crashes the system, and YouTube selection launches but this too fails to proceed with failure messages, it does not crash the system as far as I can tell.
So what Am I doing wrong here.
 
Foxtrot204 said:
to install the new TV portal, do I need to uninstall the original?
Click to expand...
No! How?

Foxtrot204 said:
selecting BBC iPlayer still crashes the system
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Yes :( As said above, this has been induced by something which has been changed at the other end. No doubt entirely innocuous from the BBC's point of view, but something the Humax code doesn't expect and wasn't tested for, triggering a previously undetected bug.

Foxtrot204 said:
So what Am I doing wrong here.
Click to expand...
Nothing. YouTube altered its device compatibility so nothing will play from that either (I'll add that to my list above). Other than Internet Radio there really is no longer anything worth pursuing on the portal, as I was trying (but apparently failed) to explain:
Black Hole said:
You will get a "better" experience with the TV Portal by installing the CF new-portal package
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Note the quotes around "better". Like I said above, 2010 technology outdated in 2022. If you want streaming services use a Fire Stick.

The reason we are so keen on the HDR-FOX is not because of what it can't do, it's because the things it can do we can customise and improve upon. The only alternatives for this level of user tweaking in PVRs are the Topfield (StDef only), the HomeRun network tuner with a PC running the back-end, or a custom rig with a processor and tuner hardware running something like Kodi, and only the latter having any chance of a lower power consumption than a HDR-FOX.
 
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Thank you yet again for explaining in simple precise language the state of affairs as regards to the Portal, I am now perfectly clear about it. I do love the FOX T2, and the custom firmware, it certainly records well and appears to be much more reliable than the T1000/1010 type.
 
Foxtrot204 said:
it certainly records well and appears to be much more reliable than the T1000/1010 type.
Click to expand...
I can't say it's necessarily more reliable per se, but at least we have the ability to fix disk/file system faults (without a total reformat) and a chance of diagnosing other problems.
 
Foxtrot204 said:
Here I am hoping to access the regular group of Apps using this portal, but it appears to be a non working set-up. So what can we get access to by way of Apps on the FOX T2, and how, is there anything that can be accessed via the CF or is that it?.

A question please, if I may, can we view the programme broadcasted on the TV via T2, using the Web If, if so how please, I don't always want the TV on!.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Problem with boxes and old TV that include "apps" is that the developers and providers stop supporting them well before the equipment breaks. The HDR was a disappointment in that unlike FreePlay and YouView it never covered all the broadcasters just BBC.

As Blackhole said above the iPlayer now doesn't work yet again, but CF Qtube works well to make up for lost functionality of being able to download and keep / take an audio copy. Ditto YouTube. Tasty modules in CF that do useful stuff. I dont have a UHF aerial where I moved to so for the last four years it serves as an internet file server on specialist tasks. Life in the old girl yet. Onto the second HD, 4tb as project here.

Use a Nvidia with an SSD attached as the media player. That keeps up with app changes being Google TV based. Android 12 now although a bumpy ride at the start of the year when Nvidia did the update. Nvidia use was suggested by posters on this board way back so has served me well with all the stuff that the Humax can do extra but can't do now due to media codec and audio being changed (improved) over time. Most people moved to media players after Bluray that can play the new media format and apps. Google TV on one of those works well combined the old Humax. Use a Humax Freesat HDR or whatever its called in addition. I doubt that the Humax Freeview Google TV offering has the flexibility of Nvidia TV although it will have smooth running All4, have to sideload it on Nvidia. Freeview didn't support Google TV up till they launched their custom offering. Think it's the same system as used in NZ. Suspect the Humax Freeview Google TV box is locked down compared to the Nvidia, just leaves All4 as the odd one out on Nvidia you have to mouse it... and problematic on live broadcasts.

I bought a Firestick to fill in the missing gap on that one. Some of the Firestick apps can be ported to standard Google TV, not All4 thought. NHK can. Google stopped offering NHK TV in the Google store but the Firestick one is the same although needs the Amazon store loaded on the Nvidia to get it to work. Such fun. So if you like international TV Nvidia is the place to look. Like having satellite with catchup. Obviously works infinitely better than the old Humax HDR as a media server although that has it's custom tasks now. Suspect Humax Freeview is locked down from these delights of app access. Since I don't have a UHF aerial I'm not going to buy one to find out.
 
MymsMan said:
What "regular group of Apps"?
The Portal has always been the weakest feature of the T2 and liable to cause it to crash.

The Customised Firmware does support youtubeDL which supports downloads from BBC, YouTube and some other channels.

You can watch programmes recorded on the T2 using VLC on a computer/tablet but not live TV.
AFAIK the Humax Aura is the only Humax product that allows access to live TV over the network though I don't have one. I use a hdHomeRun for access to Live TV
Click to expand...
Hi, how do I watch recorded programmes using VLC, is there a link to read about it at all?. Thank you
 
Foxtrot204 said:
Hi, how do I watch recorded programmes using VLC
Click to expand...
Without CF: turn on the HDR-FOX's media server Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Setting >> Content Share = ON (*), then in VLC navigate for "UPnP" sources (Universal Plug'n'Play). This works natively for StDef recordings, but for HiDef recordings you will need to be running CF with the auto-unprotect package.

* You need this for CF decryption anyway.

With CF you can do the above, or alternatively install the samba package and make decrypted recordings available to the network as if on a NAS.

It used to be the case that recordings could be played from within the WebIF, which would (on a PC) fire up VLC as the user agent, but that stopped working and I don't know whether it was fixed.
 
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Foxtrot204 said:
it certainly records well and appears to be much more reliable than the T1000/1010 type.
Click to expand...
As a PVR I do find it far more reliable providing the HDR-FOX T2 is tuned to just 1 transmitter. If tuned to more than 1 transmitter the Humax manufactured youview models also used to suffer from exactly the same failed recordings as the HDR-FOX T2. After a few years of the youview launch the youview Humax models were tweaked so that they could cope with being tuned to more than 1 transmitter.

The only area that you may find in issue compared to your youview recorder is if you make an instant recording on a channel that supports accurate recording. All youview models will use accurate recoding for stopping an instant recording, but the HDR-FOX T2 will stop recoding at the scheduled end time unless you press the record button again and extend the recording time. This does also mean that for channels that do not use accurate recording the HDR-FOX T2 is superior for the end time of the instant recording in that the HDR-FOX T2 end time can be extended. For the youview recorder for non-accurate recording channels you have to put up with the risk that the end of the programme will be truncated or have the hassle, and resulting mess, of setting a recoding for the programme immediately following.
There is an additional advantage on with the HDR-FOX T2's instant recording in that before you press the record button you can got to an earlier time in the live buffer and record from there.
 
Black Hole said:
It used to be the case that recordings could be played from within the WebIF, which would (on a PC) fire up VLC as the user agent, but that stopped working and I don't know whether it was fixed.
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It has been fixed, at least in the current WebIf beta release.
 
Why I copy the files off my HDR onto the Nvidia / SSD. They play as well as the codec has moved along way in 10+ years that the Humax was designed and built. Great advise I got on the board re the Nvidia. Think it was when we were getting tired of its capabilities as a media player. Also a great post from Black Hole where he named the Irish company that do Humax repairs. Recently got my Freesat HDR brought back to life. Known internal component issue on that one.

Humax Freeview HDR with CF is a good Swiss Knife for file acquisition.
 
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