I have been trying to get an answer from Humax as to migrating previously recorded programs from the original HDR (or if it will be possible to swap the 1TB HDD) and still playback the HD recordings... Anyone have any ideas?
I have been trying to get an answer from Humax as to migrating previously recorded programs from the original HDR (or if it will be possible to swap the 1TB HDD) and still playback the HD recordings... Anyone have any ideas?
Yes, any encrypted programme can only be played by the unit which recorded it. From postings on My Humax forum by Barry I would expect the unencrpted recordings to play back.
I have been trying to get an answer from Humax as to migrating previously recorded programs from the original HDR (or if it will be possible to swap the 1TB HDD) and still playback the HD recordings... Anyone have any ideas?
If you mean to a new Foxsat the answer is no. The encryption is box specific. If however you mean playing back content from the original hdd after putting a new hdd in the Foxsat the answer is yes.
If you get a sata usb drive cradle and drop in the old hdd and connect it to the rear usb port you can replay the content using usb by simply navigating to the video folder.
I did in fact mean the new HDR-1000S my apologies, I didn't read what I typed! hahaha.
The same will apply, the Freesat+ spec insists the broadcaster is able to encrypt HD content using a key unique to the box that recorded it. There's a loophole using the HDR FOX T2 that lets you decrypt HD content, no way on a Foxsat. Unless you recorded without encryption using non-freesat the recordings will be useless on anything else.
If you happen to have some BBC1-HD content recorded pre the Royal Wedding they will be usable. For several months after launch BBC1-HD didn't set the encryption flag.
Plan was to recycle it and give it to my folks as they have a panny TV but nothing to record on: So a couple of extra feeds and bingo Mum will never have to miss assorted NHS or period dramas (much to my Dad's chagrin I'm certain) again.
Looking forward to seeing some more in depth information on this box, the UI does look very nice and the integration sounds great - hopefully it works as well as that in practice. (Edit: one feature that would be great would be the ability to switch between Padding/Auto on a per-channel basis, due to some broadcaster's *cough*Channel4*cough* that apparently cannot be bothered to transmit accurate record data on Freesat.)
Quite happy with the external PSU - much easier to replace should it fail. Little bit of a pity the remote isn't multi-function to control the TV though - if/when I get one of these, if I find the HDR's existing remote controls it sufficiently I may well continue using that. I have a Logitech Harmony (one of the lower-end models to be fair) but tend to prefer the HDR's remote to that - maybe because the Harmony had a slightly increased latency to the keypresses compared to other remotes.
Went to the IBC in Amsterdam today and headed immediately for the Humax stand. They had the new HDR-1000S on display as well as their YouView box amongst other products.
The photos already released show the 500GB black HDR-1000S box which will be available later this month. A 1TB model will be on sale probably before Christmas. And wait for it - for those with a little bit more patience there is a WHITE model (I forgot to ask the capacity but it probably will be 1TB) which has Wi-Fi built in! This will only be available early in 2013. The black model (which isn't Wi-Fi enabled) can take a USB Wi-Fi dongle - there is one available on the Humax website but they assured me that use is not restricted to just Humax's own dongles although they couldn't guarantee that all dongles will work. USB is unfortunately only still v 2 - apparently the chipset they use doesn't cater for v 3 but (although they wouldn't be specific) there is a proposal to include an external e-Sata connection to one of their models in the future - whether this will be a Freesat box or not they wouldn't say.
Good news too is that the remote works well - I tried it from various angles and distances - even from over 4 meters away from the box and at an angle with obstacles in the way it responded quickly. The layout and new EPG functions mean that you rarely have to use the numeric keyboard which is now on the lower part of the remote. Accessing non-Freesat mode is still as laborious - apparently Freesat will not encourage a short-cut via a single remote button as this is (in their opinion) detrimental to the channels paying for their EPG spots.
The menus (which are excellent) did not respond that quickly although the software that was on the demo box is not the very latest (I was told) and improvements have since been made. The different modules of the menu are colour-coded so you can see exactly where you are at a glance. There is no longer a signal/quality strength indicator on the 'i' channel information. This is now available on the 'Settings' page. Apparently Humax have done customer research and most users weren't interested in this information. Instead you get now/next information which is a lot more useful for most viewers. The 'search' function on the EPG only covers live broadcasts (not VOD) but unlike YouView the programmes available on catch up are only shown if they are available (YouView shows all programmes for the last week irrespective of whether they are available or not).
Recordings are now listed per category and not just in an A-Z list i.e. HD, recent, series, A-Z etc.. which makes navigating quite easy. When capacity reaches 85% old recordings are automatically deleted unless they have previously been saved to a 'keep' category.There is P-I-P (top left) on all screens with sound so you never loose continuity when accessing the EPG or recording/schedule information.
As regards the input there is no longer a loop-through but I was told a splitter could be used to provide the same function for single cable users.
The CAM slot is now on the right side of the unit - there is no longer a flap on the front of the unit and manual buttons are now on the front. The alphanumerical display was discrete although I didn't ask if the intensity was adjustable. Certainly a lot softer than on the current PVR.
Finally, there was a guy on the Humax stand from Freesat itself and he told me that Philips are entering the market shortly as well - presumably with a box made by Pace (as Philips sold its STB division to Pace 5 years ago).
I may go back to the IBC before it closes (can't guarantee it) so if you have any specific questions please let me know and if I get the opportunity I will try to get the answers.
Thanks Night Watchman for that information,you have convinced me this is the PVR to go for. My YouView box will now be listed on eBay. Could you tell if the programme guide etc is in HD? Regards.
Oh and a couple of things I forgot -
Channel listings - you still can't rearrange the Freesat channel numbers - only delete the ones you don't want in your listing (although they told me that they were not in fact deleted, only hidden). And there are no plans to re-vamp the listing number order i.e. move HD channels to the primary spots or to re-organise the groups into more sensible numerical sequences. Yet.
And on the search engine this is now presumptive so you only have to enter 3 letters (not necessarily the first 3 letters either) of what you are searching for and it immediately comes up with options to choose from. Very nice.
Be very careful of this company, they don't have stock, have had a number of battles with Humax (and others) about underselling and if you check out their negative feedback, they all relate to not being able to get in touch with them; try emailing/phoning them first, you'll not get a reply! Had a lot of complaints about them through JF!
Interesting that mh.o only recommend two retailers! There are more retailers out there with good reputations selling significant volumes of stock.
I have ordered mine on line from Currys. I went through Quidco and got a tenner off, so £269.99.:)
One point missing from Night Watchmans excellent post.
Barry at MyHumax has confirmed that at long last a Humax Freesat box has a proper favourites option . The epg can be set to display only data for your channels selected as favourites.
The Sky Plus HD box has two RF Out ports which comes in very handy. Will the new HDR1000S have the same? I really need a box with two RF out ports?
None of the Freesat boxes have any sort of rf out connections (other than the Foxsat-hdr lnb1 out socket). If you need to distribute the output as a PAL analogue channel you can add a external modulator and a splitter. If you use magic eyes on RF2 out a Triax trilink unit will allow you to use magic eyes to control a Freesat box and includes a modulator.
No way will I consider another Humax product after the lack of support and firmware updates for the existing Freesat PVR.
I wonder if the new box still blanks out the picture and does a full update every time the guide button is pressed, LOL
.
I haven't pressed the guide button on mine since 2008. Learn to use the box properly. With the custom firmware it's the most capable freesat+ pvr currently available.
One point missing from Night Watchmans excellent post.
Barry at MyHumax has confirmed that at long last a Humax Freesat box has a proper favourites option . The epg can be set to display only data for your channels selected as favourites.
do you know if that means you can have the info bar so it only displays your favourite channels, and will it show now and next similar to sky's.
I haven't pressed the guide button on mine since 2008. Learn to use the box properly. With the custom firmware it's the most capable freesat+ pvr currently available.
Using the box properly would be to press the guide button, any other way is a work around :rolleyes:
I like the look of the white box as I think I prefer to have a display that shows what channel your on,when somethings recording & possibly the time.
Wonder why the black box doesn't have a display?
Now the decision is do I wait for the white or just go for the black.
Comments
If you mean to a new Foxsat the answer is no. The encryption is box specific. If however you mean playing back content from the original hdd after putting a new hdd in the Foxsat the answer is yes.
If you get a sata usb drive cradle and drop in the old hdd and connect it to the rear usb port you can replay the content using usb by simply navigating to the video folder.
I did in fact mean the new HDR-1000S my apologies, I didn't read what I typed! hahaha.
The same will apply, the Freesat+ spec insists the broadcaster is able to encrypt HD content using a key unique to the box that recorded it. There's a loophole using the HDR FOX T2 that lets you decrypt HD content, no way on a Foxsat. Unless you recorded without encryption using non-freesat the recordings will be useless on anything else.
If you happen to have some BBC1-HD content recorded pre the Royal Wedding they will be usable. For several months after launch BBC1-HD didn't set the encryption flag.
Why not keep the box, it will replay recordings without a connection to a dish ?
Quite happy with the external PSU - much easier to replace should it fail. Little bit of a pity the remote isn't multi-function to control the TV though - if/when I get one of these, if I find the HDR's existing remote controls it sufficiently I may well continue using that. I have a Logitech Harmony (one of the lower-end models to be fair) but tend to prefer the HDR's remote to that - maybe because the Harmony had a slightly increased latency to the keypresses compared to other remotes.
The photos already released show the 500GB black HDR-1000S box which will be available later this month. A 1TB model will be on sale probably before Christmas. And wait for it - for those with a little bit more patience there is a WHITE model (I forgot to ask the capacity but it probably will be 1TB) which has Wi-Fi built in! This will only be available early in 2013. The black model (which isn't Wi-Fi enabled) can take a USB Wi-Fi dongle - there is one available on the Humax website but they assured me that use is not restricted to just Humax's own dongles although they couldn't guarantee that all dongles will work. USB is unfortunately only still v 2 - apparently the chipset they use doesn't cater for v 3 but (although they wouldn't be specific) there is a proposal to include an external e-Sata connection to one of their models in the future - whether this will be a Freesat box or not they wouldn't say.
Good news too is that the remote works well - I tried it from various angles and distances - even from over 4 meters away from the box and at an angle with obstacles in the way it responded quickly. The layout and new EPG functions mean that you rarely have to use the numeric keyboard which is now on the lower part of the remote. Accessing non-Freesat mode is still as laborious - apparently Freesat will not encourage a short-cut via a single remote button as this is (in their opinion) detrimental to the channels paying for their EPG spots.
The menus (which are excellent) did not respond that quickly although the software that was on the demo box is not the very latest (I was told) and improvements have since been made. The different modules of the menu are colour-coded so you can see exactly where you are at a glance. There is no longer a signal/quality strength indicator on the 'i' channel information. This is now available on the 'Settings' page. Apparently Humax have done customer research and most users weren't interested in this information. Instead you get now/next information which is a lot more useful for most viewers. The 'search' function on the EPG only covers live broadcasts (not VOD) but unlike YouView the programmes available on catch up are only shown if they are available (YouView shows all programmes for the last week irrespective of whether they are available or not).
Recordings are now listed per category and not just in an A-Z list i.e. HD, recent, series, A-Z etc.. which makes navigating quite easy. When capacity reaches 85% old recordings are automatically deleted unless they have previously been saved to a 'keep' category.There is P-I-P (top left) on all screens with sound so you never loose continuity when accessing the EPG or recording/schedule information.
As regards the input there is no longer a loop-through but I was told a splitter could be used to provide the same function for single cable users.
The CAM slot is now on the right side of the unit - there is no longer a flap on the front of the unit and manual buttons are now on the front. The alphanumerical display was discrete although I didn't ask if the intensity was adjustable. Certainly a lot softer than on the current PVR.
Finally, there was a guy on the Humax stand from Freesat itself and he told me that Philips are entering the market shortly as well - presumably with a box made by Pace (as Philips sold its STB division to Pace 5 years ago).
I may go back to the IBC before it closes (can't guarantee it) so if you have any specific questions please let me know and if I get the opportunity I will try to get the answers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86961327@N08/
Yes it is - the graphics are superb.
Thanks for the quick answer,roll on to purchase day.
Channel listings - you still can't rearrange the Freesat channel numbers - only delete the ones you don't want in your listing (although they told me that they were not in fact deleted, only hidden). And there are no plans to re-vamp the listing number order i.e. move HD channels to the primary spots or to re-organise the groups into more sensible numerical sequences. Yet.
And on the search engine this is now presumptive so you only have to enter 3 letters (not necessarily the first 3 letters either) of what you are searching for and it immediately comes up with options to choose from. Very nice.
I have ordered mine on line from Currys. I went through Quidco and got a tenner off, so £269.99.:)
Barry at MyHumax has confirmed that at long last a Humax Freesat box has a proper favourites option
None of the Freesat boxes have any sort of rf out connections (other than the Foxsat-hdr lnb1 out socket). If you need to distribute the output as a PAL analogue channel you can add a external modulator and a splitter. If you use magic eyes on RF2 out a Triax trilink unit will allow you to use magic eyes to control a Freesat box and includes a modulator.
http://www.triax.co.uk/Products/Domestic Distribution Products/Tri-Link Kit.aspx?productId={86F5253D-76C3-41B6-8BEA-008A662D5C2B}&tab=0
I wonder if the new box still blanks out the picture and does a full update every time the guide button is pressed, LOL
Vote with your wallets, folks. There are more than Humax in the game this time around.
I haven't pressed the guide button on mine since 2008. Learn to use the box properly. With the custom firmware it's the most capable freesat+ pvr currently available.
do you know if that means you can have the info bar so it only displays your favourite channels, and will it show now and next similar to sky's.
Using the box properly would be to press the guide button, any other way is a work around :rolleyes:
Wonder why the black box doesn't have a display?
Now the decision is do I wait for the white or just go for the black.