I love my humax t2 with its clever series link etc, but was wondering if you guys can access the humax from a t.v. in the bedroom or kitchen?
The idea being that I want to be able to watch and control recorded content on my humax from a t.v. in a different location. Ideally something hard wired or using my router, rather than a video-sender. Is it the case that everyone else knows how to do this and I'm behind the curve, or is this something that we all struggle with?
You help is much appreciated...
There are four stages to this. It used to be a struggle, but improvements Humax made to the standard firmware post-release (addition of DLNA) and the continued development of the custom firmware project has made it easy enough.
The
first stage is being able to navigate and view the HDR-FOX content from elsewhere using your home network as the communications link. This ability is built into the HDR-FOX as standard, using a UPnP service called DLNA (for explanations of terms see the
GLOSSARY - click).
What you need at the remote end is a device able to access the DLNA service as a client and present the video output to the TV. Some TVs have a DLNA client built in, but our experience is that these tend to have difficulty with the HDR-FOX recordings. There are other options, but the best client is an HD-FOX or another HDR-FOX. These have guaranteed compatibility, and direct access to HiDef recordings (other devices can only access StDef unless the HiDef is unlocked using the custom firmware; HiDef streaming can also be demanding on cheap hardware).
Relevant existing topics (see also
INDEX - click).
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/cheap-media-streamer-any-suggestions.408/
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/searching-for-the-perfect-dlna-client-windows.399/
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/raspberry-pi-dlna-client.1795/
Depending which revision of standard firmware you use at the client end (presuming HD/HDR-FOX), you may run into the "4GB bug". See
THINGS EVERY... section 1.
Using an HD-FOX as the server is a different matter, as it does not include a native DLNA server capability. This can be added by way of the CF, but requires content to be decrypted (see below).
DLNA playback can be somewhat limiting, as the transport controls are restricted to skip and (with HD/HDR-FOX client) timeline zoom (left/right arrows on the remote control's cursor pad). Also one cannot bookmark or resume play where previously left off, delete or move recordings etc etc, so the
second stage (for those of us using a HD/HDR-FOX client, and custom firmware) is to access the HDR-FOX server as a direct network mount instead of by DLNA. This makes the server HDR-FOX show up to the client end as if it were a connected USB drive. The recordings have to be decrypted first (easy to set up as a background task using the CF), but once done you can do everything just as if it were a local recording, including deleting it. Even better, you can stop watching a recording in one location and resume play in the other.
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/foxlink-simple-way-to-link-a-hd-to-a-hdr.2974/
It is also possible to share recorded content from an HD-FOX external drive in this way, but note that decryption cannot be performed as a background process. See
HERE (click).
Decryption of the recorded content, plus making the recording drive shared over the home network, also provides assess from other media players (eg Windows Media Centre) that do not normally have DLNA functionality, and/or greater playback control than is available with DLNA. Bookmarking and resume is unlikely to be available though, unless the player is able to interpret the extra "sidecar" files that hold the information the HD/HDR-FOX uses. Deletion and moving will be problematic, because the files that make up a recording need to be moved/deleted as a set.
This mechanism still does not provide access to setting up recordings on the server HDR-FOX however, so the
third stage is to use the CF WebIF to access the EPG and recording schedule from a web browser across your home network. As soon as you install the CF (presuming you do so using the browser method) you will see EPG and scheduling options.
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/quick-start-guide.1301/
The
fourth stage is the ability to manage your recording schedule and recordings while away from the home network, using the Remote Scheduler web service.
http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/rs-remote-scheduling-portal.563/
For reference: my setup is an HDR-FOX server with 1.02.20 firmware (for anti-retune) set to decrypt all content; an HD-FOX client with 1.02.29 firmware (not necessary in my case but to avoid the 4GB bug); CF on both, configured so the HD-FOX can access the HDR-FOX content natively (as if by USB). I also have another HD-FOX on the way (and plans for a third, or possibly an RPi or even a second HDR-FOX).
Unfortunately, Humax appear to have dropped the HD-FOX from its product line, and they are like gold dust on eBay.
