Very, very dark, shadowy picture

clemenzina

clemenzina

Member
Just for info - My box is a 2TB purchased from eBay a couple of years ago. The remote is a 3rd-party substitute, which I understand will not have all functions of the original.

Switched on half an hour ago to continue watching my recording of The Match - but the picture is (as per title) very dark indeed, with faint indications of colour, but no detail discernible. This has never happened before.

Sound is OK.

(I've got Glastonbury on at the mo and can see individuals cavorting onstage, only black, red and bluey-purple colours are showing. EDIT - since then, the lack of light on the stage means I can't see anything except some flickers.)

I have rebooted via the power button on the back and by unplugging at the mains, but am reluctant to reinstall the custom firmware because I probably won't be able to see text on the screen.

The cables have been checked for loose connections, all OK. I won't be able to do much more but am posting this to see what feedback arises, if any.

I don't want to have to go to a Freeview Play box (only a few days ago I gave away my hardly-used FVP-4000T 😖)

Thank you for reading.
 
Does problem affect recordings as well? Try both recordings made recently since problem observed and those made before start of problem

Try a different HDMI cable and socket on TV if possible,
Can you play recordings on PC using webif?
I am struggling to think how a humax problems could cause your symptoms
 
I can hardly see the media list, let alone select a particular recording to play. At the time the problem was first discovered, a red button could just be seen on a programme that was currently recording.

I'm on a newish laptop with no webif installed - I've scanned for IP addresses but all the ones I've tried have timed out 🙃

Physical troubleshooting will have to wait for a third party to assist.

Thank you for suggestions.

Off topic - was pussycat a Christmas present or was s/he an existing resident behaving like a typical cat? 🤗❤️
 
clemenzina said:
am reluctant to reinstall the custom firmware because I probably won't be able to see text on the screen.
Click to expand...
Custom firmware has no bearing on this. Why do people think that it is a good idea to try hitting broken things with hammers? Applying the incorrect "solution", however much the desperation, won't make things better, and carries a risk of making things worse.

clemenzina said:
I'm on a newish laptop with no webif installed - I've scanned for IP addresses but all the ones I've tried have timed out
Click to expand...
WebIF is not installed on anyone's laptop. It is just a web page like any other web page, viewed using a web browser on any PC/tablet/smartphone. The only difference is that the WebIF web page is served from your HDR-FOX rather than the Internet (assuming CF is installed and configured), and requires the HDR-FOX to be connected to your home network.

If you believe you have a working CF environment, and you believe the HDR-FOX should be accessible on your home network (ie you've done it before) but can't remember the appropriate IP address (probably something like 192.168.1.something), then we would normally say check it using Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Setting >> Configure LAN, but I guess this would be invisible under the present circumstances. You will probably find the connection listed in your router's admin panel (another web interface!), but there is no point because there is nothing CF can tell you about this problem (MymsMan was using a scatter-gun approach to gathering data – there is no real point in testing a recording by playing it over the network, because if live TV is affected and on-screen menus are affected the problem is downstream of anything to do with video generation).

I agree with MymsMan in general though – the nature of the beast makes it near enough impossible to come up with a fault in the HDR-FOX resulting in your symptoms, presuming you are connected to the TV by HDMI (if using SCART or composite it might be possible). HDMI sends video as separate digital streams for R, G, and B, and if any one were faulty you would lose just the R, G, or B component of the picture. The colour would be weird, but not overall dark. The difference between black and white would still come through (black would be black, but white would come out yellow, magenta, or cyan). If all three were dead there would be no picture at all... but more particularly no sound!

Just confirm for us that the connection is indeed HDMI.

Presuming so, then the only reasonable explanation is a problem with your TV.

clemenzina said:
TV is fine, and I also have an ancient Vestel PVR attached, that's fine too.
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"Ancient"? How is it connected? If that is HDMI, try swapping the cable from the Vestel to the HDR-FOX (thus use the same cable and the same port on the TV).

What this all sounds like is the TV misinterpreting the HDMI information from the HDR-FOX. What sort of TV is it – does it have, for example, High Dynamic Range? I suspect a setting has been changed (accidentally), or a firmware update has been applied which then altered the default settings or perhaps updated the HDMI protocols so that the device query returns the wrong capabilities. On the TV, with the HDR-FOX up on it, bring up Menu >> Picture (or whatever the equivalent is) and check what the "Picture Mode" is. Make sure it's "standard" rather than "cinema" or anything else weird.

Ultimately, the best way to eliminate the HDR-FOX from the line-up of suspects, is to try connecting it to a different TV.

clemenzina said:
Physical troubleshooting will have to wait for a third party to assist.
Click to expand...
Roughly where are you located?
 
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I knew I'd have to be galvanised for your (hoped for) response today, Black Hole, with its customary "direct" tone 🤗 I, and countless others no doubt, greatly appreciate the time and expertise you give.

At 14:44 this afternoon I switched on the HiSense R43B7120UK bottom-of-the-range smart TV*, selected the Humax AV (HDMI) channel and booted up, and the BBC Red Button screen appeared, looking completely innocent, "what was all the fuss about?". Went to 101, Wimbledon appeared, picture and sound normal.

I have read your whole post and am saving it for future reference.

*The TV was bought in an emergency a couple of years ago when my Panasonic plasma died just before Christmas - I had hoped I would never have to resort to an LCD/LED-type TV but needs must, and its picture seemed to have reviews comparable to some more expensive brands/models, and it could be delivered in time, so I took the plunge. I do suspect it and googled HDMI problems last night but couldn't stay the course. I am considering upgrading the TV, it's only logistics that hold me back.

BTW, I did disable the pointless 04:19 channel-change, but as I keep chaotic hours due to health probs, I found that the search for updates was too intrusive so re-enabled it.

BTW #2 - I nearly ordered the BIN 2TB Fox on eBay last night - phew!

Sincere thanks!
 
clemenzina said:
BTW, I did disable the pointless 04:19 channel-change, but as I keep chaotic hours due to health probs, I found that the search for updates was too intrusive so re-enabled it.
Click to expand...
So it's not pointless then! What's pointless is the HDR-FOX looking for over-the-air firmware updates at 4.30am daily regardless that they don't exist any more.

You can prevent the OTA search without also having a channel change take place, if you set things up properly:

Assuming you have the disable-ota package installed (and preferably the disable-dso package also):
  1. WebIF >> Settings >> Settings for disable-ota package >> Create reminder = NO. Note this stops the package recreating a reminder schedule if it fails to find one, it does not prevent one being created in the first place – which we will deal with next...

  2. WebIF >> Schedule. Find the entry for 0420 and click more... delete. If you do not have RTS enabled the WebIF will now tell you to reboot. Or just delete the entry using Guide >> Schedule (yellow).
The issue is that you will now have a tug of war between the CF trying to remove the 0430 OTA search operation from the schedule, and the standard HDR-FOX firmware trying to add it back in. The CF can only remove it at boot time, so your unit will need to be rebooted on a regular basis to keep it up.

Alternatively, instead of the above you might find it more convenient to simply have the channel change take you to the channel you prefer. The default is 250 Red Button simply because it has no sound (nor video), and the reason it is there at all is to give the HDR-FOX a higher priority task than go searching for firmware updates.

In that case, you do not need disable-ota installed, but you might as well.
  1. WebIF >> Settings >> Settings for disable-ota package >> Create reminder = NO

  2. Guide >> Schedule (yellow). Find the entry for 0420 and click OK to bring up the reservation editor. The top line "Channel" can be changed to whichever you prefer by clicking OK (or right cursor), select the desired service, OK, then navigate down to the OK button and click OK.
For more information see https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/disable-ota-disable-dso-taking-back-control.1844/
 
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