Clarification:

Canvas is a completely different beast, a beast yet to be fully defined. There is lots of debate yet to happen about Canvas so there is no need to involve it in discussion about any current products or developments.

iPlayer will come to both our current Freesat products, there will be an update to support things that the BBC need in order to run iPlayer in MHEG. So as not to spoil a great deal of strategy I cannot say when that update will be sent and I cannot say when iPlayer will launch. However, what I can say we are working hard and while many aspects are finished there is a great deal more testing needed. The work streams of the BBC and ourselves are complimentary but not exclusive we are working to deliver them the tools to do what they want to do, when they can do it. I know they are working hard to deliver new and exciting projects but it isn't my job to steal their thunder. They are very keen to move forward, as are we.

In addition we have taken the time to work on some of the more challenging issues people have had with the otherwise successful products. If anyone is having issues beyond just niggles, or problems with broadcast signaling, then you should consider your consumer rights and return the product for replacement or repair*.

*Remembering your retailer is with whom your contract of sale is with, as they have sold you the product.

How disappointing! I am surprised that the "fit for purpose" trump card is being played here. My trusty User's Manual states that my digital television recorder SUPPORTS Freesat. It does not state that it is exclusively for use with Freesat. Therefore I would suggest that a legitimate use of non-Freesat scan should not delete timers for Freesat. This should have been corrected months ago. The fact that "someone" sends some code via satellite which prevents my HDR recording what I have requested whilst away is not acceptable. Complaints to Freesat have referred me to Humax. Humax make the decision not to respond to my e-mails. I'm very sorry Bob_Cat but this is not good enough. In my industry if I was customer service manager and my team failed to respond to such enquiries I would be looking for another job.
I do not wish to shoot the messenger here. My understanding is you are in a position to feedback our/my concerns. However I do wish your company would stop playing footsie under the table with BBC and iPlayer and at least fix a few basic issues to make a good thing much better!

I don't pretend to understand the complexities of what is involved in the Freesat + update and I am not in any desperate hurry to get the "niggles" ironed out, but I kind of agree with Germany Calling's drift... I don't understand why everything seems to centre around getting iPlayer functionality. I supposed I'm somewhat in the same boat as Germany Calling in that I don't live in the UK, so presumably iPlayer won't be available without using some fiddling about with host servers to hide our locations. But even if I was in the UK, why would I want to use iPlayer?? Isn't the point of the Freesat PVR to record programmes that you don't want to miss? - if I record the stuff for later viewing, I don't see the purpose of iPlayer. It all sounds a bit belt & braces.
I would much rather see:
1. the bugs ironed out, namely the delete function not working whilst recording & the fact the thing isn't power-cut proof
2. the ethernet port endowed with something useful - not iPlayer but some media streaming functionality to and from my PC, with a good range of codecs. If you must connect it to the web then a weather forecast would be nice.

I, too, am not interested in iPlayer, but am interested in a box that works, and works well.

The 'Foxsat HDR - Feature Requests' thread is currently standing at 118 separate suggestions, many of which I would welcome and which would enhance the box much more than an opportunity to download over the net.

'It's a recorder, Jim...'

Yes I would think they should concentrate on the Freesat+ functions.

I imagine the vast majority of people who have bought this product intended to use it on the FreeSat+ platform.

After all that is what it says it is on the box and unit facia.

Otherwise I suspect too many performance compromises will be made in the software and the menus etc will run like a dog (like the new Sky+ hd menus).

Automan.

Very true but as I bought mine from Humax Direct (a mistake I wont repeat) I cant just pop down to the shop with it.
I have to reply on Humax actually responding to emails which they are NOT good at doing.

Before anyone suggests I ring them ........... no chance as it is very easy to promise all sorts on the phone then deny it later as I have learned in the past. Email or snail mail then I have it in writing.

All I want is a FoxSat HDR that doesn't freeze/lock up. Surely that is reasonable ?
I can live with all the other things that many people seem to be irritated by.

Bob_cat
I have just bought the FOXSat HDR in the last week, after ditching sky+HD. I have to say the box is nice and runs ok. BUT I am extremely annoyed at the lockups which happen.
Ok the SKYHD box did this at least once a month but this seems once every other day.
This means the product isn't fit for purpose, and I am considering taking back to the shop I bought it from.
Surely you are concerned about returns? A simple update should cover this lockup, if it can not be solved surely this means it is a fault with the box?
J

@youddiph

Bring your box back to the shop and get a replacement one, I've one & so has 3 other members of my family, none of these boxes lockup 'Daliy' nor 'Monthly'.... all work excellently, these aren't Sky boxes.

The majority of complaints on this board are from users who just dont like a way that the box does a particular features

Don't you think that's probably something to do with it?, monthly lockups isn't normal, it sounds like you may have a noisey mains supply causing both boxes to lockup?.

If only my replacement didn't.

That four of you have had to replace boxes tends to make the point about the quality of the box when it was originally released.

It's all about how you read what was written. I interperet wiimunkee to mean "Get your box changed. I and 3 others in my family each bought a foxsat, and all of them work without lockups from new. None have had to be replaced as they just work".

No doubt wiimunkey will say which reading is correct.

My glass is always half full.

I meant the above. That my parents, aswell as my sister and brother all have the Humax HDR, they all brought them on my recommendation and haven't received any lockup problems.. I'm pretty sure they would of told me if they had, esp if they were occurring weekly / monthly.

What is most amazing about this product is that so many people on this forum find it acceptable. Leaving aside the myriad of operational quirks and bugs, the long wait for the EPG and having my DVD viewing interrupted when a recording starts would be enough for me to return it as "not of merchantable quality" if there was any alternative product available. I even have to leave the front flap down to get the remote control to half work.

There is no excuse for the lack of firmware updates. Fixing one problem at a time is far less likely to cause major problems than a major update will.

I'm sure that a quality issue in an early batch exists - I had a replacement, conversation with Humax support was just 30 seconds, once they knew symptom and that it was an early issue they immediately offered to replace once I faxed the receipt, it arrived a couple of days later.

Thats pretty impressive service to me, the cost to them must have been not inconsiderable. Five stars for service from me.

You aren't alone. My box suffers from this too. For what it's worth, it's less of a problem when I remember to switch it off each night.

I did set up the timer to turn the box on and off each day, however this doesn't even work consistently.

Personally I couldn't give a stuff about new features such as iPlayer, I'd rather have a reliable PVR without the extra bells and whistles.

Then PLEASE get it changed! Don't live with a piece of faulty equipment and then boast about it. You have read Swedish Cooks post immediately before yours? And wiimunkeys before that? And for good measure my unit has never locked up and it has been running since before Christmas. It's always got power, standby most of the time and operational in the evenings. It just works, and so should yours, and then you can care about the Bells & Whistles.

I would love to return my Foxsat HDR to Argos for replacement as I have regular lockups. Unfortunately it's more hassle than it is worth as I live in the South of France & I had the PVR delivered to my sister's place in the UK & she brought it over in her luggage.

There is probably some European regulation that covers my situation perhaps there is a Humax French subsidiary responsible for warranty repairs?

OK. I received my FoxSat HDR box back from Humax yesterday after returning it to them for a repair under warranty due to the lock-ups/freezes.

I was initially told by Humax Support that the problem was caused by the Loader Software and that it would be updated. What they have actually done is update the Firmware from V1.00.02 to V1.00.03 but the Loader has not changed.

I now wait to see if it works without locking up/freezing.

I had backed up my recordings onto an external hard drive expecting them to be deleted by Humax Support but they are still all there on the PVR hard drive ....... a pleasant surprise

Now waiting with fingers etc crossed.

If you are unhappy with the box either get it replaced or refunded. Why will a simple update fix your problem when the majority of boxes have no problem. If my box develops a lock up or freezing problem its Currys who will be getting it back. I won't expect posting on a form to provide a guaranteed fix.

I find it acceptable because it is. I have no DVD problem although I admit it is slow on booting up but so is my Sony 860 HDR, The EPG is slow but it doesn't dissapear like the sony if its left on the wrong channel. The other thing is when you select the guide you lose the sound on the channel you were watching but my TV does that as well. Every configuration is going to be different and its never going to be perfect for all but it does a good job for me. If it, in your opinion, is 'not of merchantable quality' get a refund.

I'm afraid the answer to that question is "probably not".

We're on our 3rd box now. Several months apart each. I just don't accept that they ALL came from "an early batch". Trust me, this IS a software problem. How do I know this? By being an experienced IT professional and using various scenarios to try out some "real world" testing over a total period of almost 8 months.

If you use your box with its basic functionality features and never stretch it beyond that, you will possibly never experience a lock-up or freeze-up; as has been testified to by many in these forums.

The instant you start messing with some of the more advanced features like the non-Freesat mode, the CI slot, USB devices and some of the more advanced features of the UI associated with that etc., that's when you will start suffering from erratic behaviour such as lock-ups etc.

The last 2 boxes we've had both had the 1.00.03 loader on and in the end, after a period of "normal" (joe public type) use where there was no strange behaviour at all for extended amounts of time, as soon as I started messing with non-Freesat mode and plugging hard drives in, they've ALL done a "freeze" at some point.

Roll on the update and hopefully many of these issues will evaporate.

Colin

Agree with you 100%....although once you accept it is not perfect, is not ever going to be as good as something like a Tivo - with the exception of the twin tuners which are miles better than just one tuner...it does work most of the time and quite well, provided you accept it's way of doing things........and wait,wait, wait patiently :yawn::yawn::yawn: for the new.....firmware ......

Patrick

Humax should just fix the current problems first, then work on adding new features.

At least provide us with an update file on their website if OTA is not feasible at this moment in time.

The problems that niggle me most are:[LIST=1][*]Turning the HDR on when it is already recording something and not being able to watch from HDMI source.
[*]Turning on the HDR and it blanking the HDMI output while it is still booting.
[*]Not being able to delete recordings when HDR is currently recording.
[*]Other issues that have been mentioned many times by others in other threads.[/LIST]
Please report what has been fixed so far, so at least we know if it's worth the wait (7 months so far).

I have the same problem on my computer - its fine if it runs excel or word but starts misbehaving if I start messing around in the Bios or running my own programs.

This is the risk you take. The problems of return of foreign-purchased goods are more than compensated for by your nice weather & scenery. Where you are, why do you need to watch TV at all? Je devine que vos voisins ne trouvent pas votre grand parabole terrible.