Had mine since the day it launched and it hasn't frozen, locked up or done anything to require a re-boot. It's had a few of the usual problems i.e. missed the end of a recording due to it failing to drop padding correctly and the schedule tracking feature is a bit hit and miss when live programs are being recorded and overrun or a program is scheduled following an overruning live program but these are all genuine firmware issues.

What really surprises me is that I would imagine that the developers (especially those responsible for the hardware) would be most interested in getting hold of some of the boxes that constantly lock up and freeze or exhibit odd behaviour that cannot be put down to the firmware. If I was the developer I would want to know whether it was a specific batch or batches and whether they are still manufacturing units that are proving to be less then reliable.

Perhaps we could help them out or try and find a pattern if everyone who was experiencing issues with it locking up etc could post there serial number? Just a thought.

I've not had a freeze problem with mine. Removing the plastic tapes from the front of the box and the one on the inside of the flap made the box more responsive to the remote.

Still it's nice that you can simply roll up to Argos and get your money back. I don't believe you can do that with other providers of satellite TV equipment, mores the pity.

Did the complaint you logged with Watchdog make it abundantly clear that it was a stolen item?

Can somebody tell me why anybody would pay £320 for a "nicked" HDR on ebay when you could buy a legitimate one for 20 quid less?

Failed recordings are most likely to be guide data issues - a freesat problem rather than a Humax one (most likely, not for certain). Freezes I think point to software - I regularly get a full box lock up if i switch it out of standby when something is just starting to record/recording/or press a few buttons together to get into the guide (see other threads - there are others with very very similar experience).

This points to software errors - shoudl be corrected in firmware. It's not a deal breaker but i do expect it to be fixed and i'll warranty it if it's not repaired beofre the end of the warranty period (I'd not put up with a new car that usually started OK but every now and again didn't).

70 quid less from Richer Sounds.

Don't want to state the obvious here but if your Tivo is so good why have you stopped using it?
No problems in 8 years, would have taken care of the recordings for 2 weeks surely?

You've clearly never owned a Sky HD box then. Three year old technology which still crashes and does a manner of bizarre things. I think Humax have done a good job to be honest for something not quite a year old yet.

Actually have had a Sky HD.. I was one of the first to take delivery when HD service was launched and yes, agree, they are dreadful..

" Don't want to state the obvious here but if your Tivo is so good why have you stopped using it?
No problems in 8 years, would have taken care of the recordings for 2 weeks surely? "

We still have the Tivo and it is still the main PVR.. controlling the Humax.. but when the humax freeze happens, Tivo just records the iptput from Humax.. i.e. the freeze.

"Can somebody tell me why anybody would pay £320 for a "nicked" HDR on ebay when you could buy a legitimate one for 20 quid less? "

Again, I purchased the PVR at the VERY beginning of launch.. i.e. All stock was sold.. and no confirmed deliveries to replenish stocks.. ebay was the only place to grab one.

"Did the complaint you logged with Watchdog make it abundantly clear that it was a stolen item? "

Why? What difference does that make? The unit HAS been cleared by Humax and the Northhants police force.

Aah maybe we're onto something here. You don't think the Tivo has crashed the Humax do you with too many/ too fast IR commands? I've noticed the only time I've managed to crash mine is when I've been a little impatient with the remote.

Whats the point having the TIVO control it when the Humax can control itself?

So rthe solution is get the Humax to control itself and see if the lockups go away.

My lockups have also been as a result of using the remote. Its not locked up otherwise.

I think the HDR is fine in general , the downsides are the annoying no delete while recording (if it can't delete for risk of corruption maybe it can be put into a "recycling bin" to empty when its not recording?) and the way the GUI can be odd /illogical on occassions.

After nearly six months I've got so used to the delete (non) function that it really doesn't bother me now.

Speaking purely personally I would much rather they sorted out the infuriating behaviour of the 'info-bar' and the cluster-f*** with the subtitles.

However, as no one else seems to have even mentioned the info-bar (or the bubtitles for that matter), I'm not that hopeful that they will even look at it.

orbitfox,

I have just spoken to the service manager, he is disappointed to have missed your contact if it was escalated. Please send a repeat email to the UK Support email address following up the issue and he will look out for it.

There are always a degree of problems with any product, I don't know how many there are with this freezing issue because I don't have access to those numbers. But we do know that this product has one of the lowest returns of any product we have yet sold. It can be difficult to diagnose the issues, especially as the majority of issues are either caused by third party equipment combinations or user error, we need to search for software/hardware faults in amongst the noise. We do take samples of returned products back to the developers for further analysis where a consumer has provided a decent fault report with a product.

Bob

Hi Bob_Cat, why don't u send orbitfox a Thomson DTI6300, then he will have something to complain about. Mines just been thrown out of the bedroom window. TUTV, what a joke!

I've had SKY+, Digifusion, Thomson but only the Humax's do the job.

A 3rd Humax is now required for the bedroom TV. Bob, do I get a loyalty discount?

As I said before mines rock solid and hasn't crashed once but if I had one that was locking and freezing I think I'd be tempted to whip the cover off and give all the connectors a firm push. I also have a Thomson DHD4000 which has been rock solid for years however a few weeks ago it locked up 5 or 6 times over a 3 day period so I took the top off and gave the hard drive connectors a good firm push on the motherboard and hard drive itself and all is well again. I wonder whether some HDR's have had a particularly rough transit ride and the connectors may have worked loose.

Especially a 'stolen one'!

this might be a hint. I'm using mine with a Harmony and a Keene IR Repeater. It's possible the harmony sends a 'burst' of IR instructions sometimes (or that when the Humax is 'busy' - ie coming out of standby and recording) the commands get stacked internally and hit the processor too quickly.

Just a quick plea to all those who post like this: Please do not assume that the way you use your box and hence get no freezes is the same as the way someone else uses their box or that it is automatically a hardware problem because you don't get the issue.
Until recently I was getting a lot of freezes, but guess what? I changed the way I was doing things and behold - No more freezes! In my mind that definitely makes it junk software!

Hear, hear! I've changed the way I do some things too and am getting far fewer crashes. I fully agree about the software.

Patrick

Could you find some sort of consensus about how you can repeat a freeze of this kind? Is it rapid inputs? If this is reproducible I will get a macro-capable IR controller and have someone test it.

We do know that during the loading of the EPG data the box is under load and scrolling the EPG sometimes suffers in agility. This is a CPU load issue and is a function of the box. I have suggested to the developers (although it will be up to them to decide what to do) that the EPG is not loaded every time but it is downloaded more intelligently. As for video freezing I am not aware of how to reproduce any.

If someone finds any product unacceptable, then they should make use of their consumer rights and refunds are an option in some cases (speak to your retailer). Humax wants people to be happy with their products and we strive to make them in the best way possible for us. But fundamentally we make the products by the design process available to us, if that isn't what a consumer wants then ownership of our products is optional.

I've not had any reports back of such freezing issues and have been very happy with the reliability to the point where I'm selling with a lower profit margin than I'd normally go to with any HDD receiver. Adding to this that the deal we have with Humax on returns plus 2 year warranties takes even more pressure away from the costs incurred when a replacement is required.

The only thing I would say and maybe Bob can pass this on (I'll send through the distribution channel too) is that the packaging is only really designed for 'light' transportation and may be the cause of issues some are experiencing, i.e. knocks and bumps.

"optional", oh, that makes it acceptable then... to release a product that is substandard, not tested properly and rushed out so you can be first in the market. Has a poor software interface. Is full of bugs etc, design flaws and then the customer comes along, in good faith buys the product - tries for months to like it and is still a pain to use. That's just fine bob_cat. and Humax. As for the lack of firmware updates - it is truly a disgrace.

How about looking through this if you want an idea why some people think the product should be improved.. and there are many more similar threads.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...highlight=bugs

To be honest if there was another product on the market I would have returned the pvr ages ago. As there is not and as I have said before I am keeping it in spite of it's weaknesses. Although I may return it in the future.

I am sorry I don't want to be rude - but when someone bandies the word "optional". It just gets my goat. I want freesat to succeed - I strongly feel the alternative has had it's way for too long .. but to my mind that still doesn't mean I can't point out that the Humax could be much better... and probably will be once this testbox is followed by the next model... OR we get a decent FIRMWARE update...

Patrick

I love my Humax HDR and I think it is far superior to the Sky+ system, but I have to agree with some of the sentiment shown here. Let's face facts , Humax doesn't give a toss about it's customers. If they did they would ensure at least a token software update was issued just to show some sort of willingness to improve the situation. They have also ignored several e-mails I have sent to them, in this respect they are no better with customer care than Sky.

Come on Humax get with it. If us customers had not taken the risk and purchased the box, where would you be now?

Oh, good grief, this thread is opening up a can of worms. The question regarding “substandard” equipment being rushed to market is an interesting one. I think the world has changed, you all know the world has changed, there seems to be a tacit understanding by many people nowadays that it is acceptable to get a product out there and fix it as you go. We have demonstrated acceptance of it and now Microsoft is one of the biggest companies in the world. I am NOT saying this is right or wrong, it is the way it is. You think paying a company such as Meridian tens (or hundreds) of thousands of pounds for a home entertainment system buys you a glitch/bug free digital experience which never requires a firmware/software upgrade? You think every £10k+ SIM2 projector doesn’t throw up issues? I had an £800 Sony DVD player that couldn’t change layers and needed a firmware update, it was three months before I could watch the second half of a few dozen films! In the early days of DVD, most Sony DVD players were blighted by lip-sync problems. Many DVD players tripped up over the Matrix and needed firmware updates, yet others played it fine.

It IS important to be first to market, it’s tough for the guy who is second and only a few pull it off to achieve the same level of success in a short timescale; tell your shareholders that you will have gained a decent market share in five years, but your product will be slightly better than if you released it today and gained a decent market share now. See how they react.

This is NOT Humax directly, it is how it is. It IS that they make products to the design process available to them. People are struggling to make a living or their first billion, it really does not matter, they are striving for the same thing BUT they are all constrained. At least the people like Bob do care about the product and try to get it right, WITH the constraints Humax have. Pick an electronic based product, scour the forums and see what you discover; don’t even bother talking to me about my Nikon D70 and the fact that I expect it to give up the ghost any day now with the Green Light of Death; or that my Sony KDS-55A2000 TV’s optical block should have caused Green Blob issues by now.

Paranoid? Me?

As I say, I’m not saying this is right or wrong, it is how it is. We seem to have, unintentionally, made it acceptable. It’s the norm.

Unfortunately no, it is not that simple. As I mentioned in the other big freeze thread, I was using the Schedule button followed by Red to get the EPG quickly a lot (i.e. most of the time) and it appeared that while doing this, if the box was left on for more than 24 hours or so it would freeze. No IR needed for me, it was just totally unresponsive (but still showing the channel it was last tuned to OK) the next time we came to use it. (In one instance the screen was all green and I suspect that was because it was left on a channel that went off-air, i.e. ITV4.)
I have since stopped using the short-cut to the EPG and have had no hangs/crashes/freezes.

One thing I'm not sure of is whether I had it set to power save standby or not when I was getting lots of problems. I'm now definitely not using power-save standby, i.e. the clock is there in standby. Sorry to be imprecise, I know it doesn't help but I'd tried resetting it so often I can't remember whether I always changed that setting or not.

I also bear in mind comments others have made and I'm now generally careful about waiting for it to boot fully and giving it a few seconds to sort itself out before doing anything. Likewise, when it doesn't immediately respond to the IR, I give it a few seconds to sort itself out rather than repeating the action.

I guess what this means is that I treat it with 'Kid Gloves' now rather than just expecting it to work - and I'm rewarded by it not crashing.