Oh that really stinks. We use Freesat because we live in an area where we won't get Freeview until 2011, and a 2Mb connection is also something we only can dream about. I would guess a high percentage of Humax users are in the same situation.

I sincerely hope Humax doesn't forget their bandwidth-challenged clients when they bring this out...

It will be a really stupid mistake of Humax if they do not allow downloads, people who can get no or only limited Freeview are also likely to have slow connections.

It's more likely they are not allowed due to DRM

If that were the case, then I'd hope they would set the ENC bit (is that what it's know as?) on the recording, like much of the HD content on freesat is (or was).

That way you can keep it on the box for watching later, but can't copy it off the box.

I'd much rather download the content and watch it later in the best possible quality, rather than attempt to stream it over a slow broadband link and suffer picture break up or pauses due to the HDR not being fed at the rate it requires.

I guess it's best to reserve judgement and see what we get though.

When I download iplayer to my Archos the file will expire after a week and fail to play maybe they could do the same for downloads to the Humax HDR that way they don't need to worry about DRM.

Has anyone with a PS3 on the new firmware tried it?

I understand it is poor and does not use the hard drive.

Automan.

I have installed the new V3.0 firmware on my PS3 and had a quick play with the iPlayer. It is easy to get to now, but seems the same interface/quality as the 'hacked' BigScreen version I was already using.

It does NOT store on the disk. My use was yesterday afternoon and again much later in the evening (ie. out of peak hours), and the stream was fine. I get around 6-7meg dowload max, but when I have used the PS3 before during the evening it was often jerky.

Looks like the Humax will be no better - shame. With all that potential spare processing power available (ie. download overnight) they can't match the PC based service of store for limited time. It can't be any worse than processing 2 HD streams in real-time, and the iPlayer stream can be a background activity as it has a 'proper' protocol to control the flow and handle stop/start (the PC version that is, not the streamed one).

Was jerky on my PS3 too.

I had a very full 60GB drive and the TV item wasn't displayed on the XMB. I deleted down a load of game demos and it appeared. I don't know if this indicates that it only appears when there's enough space for buffering or just a coincidence?

It ain't fantastic, nothing like the facilities available on a PC, but I use the PC (storage) version in a different way to the PS3 version. The PC is good if I'm taking off for a few days and want to watch something (which I will have stored) while I am away (yes, Foxsat SD stuff is a good alternative now too ). The PS3 version tends to be used in cases of "darn, I forgot to record X" and therefore quality is not the most important factor.

However, I still can't understand why the PS3 "bigscreen" version of iPlayer cannot receive the HD stuff! I guess (as I have seen mentioned elsewhere) that the BBC HD stuff needs a lot of power to run (the Flash decoding algorithms?) and the PS3 can't handle it. I notice this on PCs, a lot of HD stuff (non-iPlayer) takes about 30% of the CPU power of my laptop when using VLC, iPlayer HD stuff hits closer to 100%!

So (back on track, sort of) I will be shocked if the Foxsat does an excellent job of iPlayer HD stuff, given that the PS3 Cell has been avoided and my Dell XPS dual-core laptop with seperate vid processor struggles. Or do we think that the Foxsat's architecture, being video specific, will be okay for such duties?

Off main topic:

Originally used ps3iplayer.com, now using new link added on firmware 3.0 for watcing iplayer on PS3.

Watched Dragons Den: Episode 8 this evening. (which is listed as HD, and i could also load by manually entering bbc.co.uk/iplayer/hd in the PS3 browser) and played fined throughout.

Whilst not same HD quality as per FreeSAT ch108, definately better overall quality than most SD channels.

Thanks for that, I will give it a try. It won't be the same quality as HD over the "air", but better than iPlayer SD. So, if the PS3 CAN play the HD stream, why do they remove the option?

Yes, sorry granted a little off topic but if it works the same on the freesat boxes will it be worth the long wait for the number of customers who network their boxes.

Also if a customer pays out cash to network their box by what ever means they could be dissapointed by the end results.

I upgraded my PS3 late last night and then spent 15 minutes trying to find out how to use it.

Anyway it seems to be an issue where not everyone gets the TV icon on their PS3 desktop.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1118675

Automan.

Again a little off topic but after a second power up of my PS3 I got the TV option (I guess it looks for an active IP connection to the BBC website before offering the option).

Anyway, it is just a web window and plays items nearly full screen.

Picture however missed the odd frame and was a little fuzzy.

After 10 minutes of watching Blackadder special the novelty wore off.

If this is all the Freesat boxes are going to offer I don't expect it will really be worth the wait.

Automan.

As Bob_Cat has confirmed that the stream will not be buffered on the hard disk of the PVR (like it is on a PC) then I suspect that there will be no difference between a PS3 and PVR for picture quality. They will almost certainly be using the same source, it's your same internet connection and same TV. There is some scope for the PVR interface to be better than the PS3 - equally it might be worse.

But like you, I'm not holding my breath for a stunning "user experience", and I suspect we will wonder why the bug fix release has had to wait for something so average.

Yep, very disappointed to learn that this 'upgrade' is going to be of no real advantage to me, when, with existing technology it could have been so much better.

It all hinges around the storage of the iPlayer content in the local hard drive if you have one in your PVR / PS3 etc. It can be done for short term storage on PC's etc so why not on the Foxsat HDR?

I have poor broadband so live iPlayer on my Foxsat HDR is going to be crap frankly!

The DRM argument is worthless as the technology exists to not allow it to be copied of the box if necessary and you can already store it on PC's so it all boils down to a bad implementation in my opinion. I stand to be corrected but wont hold my breath.

Jono

I have a 10Meg Broadband speed and the live iPlayer looks superb through an XFX GF8600; every bit as good as on the Humax or Sky HD boxes. It's only a Core 2 Duo and 2Gb Ram in that machine too so nothing too fancy.

Sounds like the PS3 is being stretched a bit which is a surprise.

Think it'll be OK through the Hummies.

Just received this email from freesat re the trial:-


Seems we're in for a bit of a wait yet then.

Like you I find the I player stream in "High Quality mode" and the "HD" streams play just fine with my 10mb connection Core 2 duo @ 3ghz, 4gig RAM and a Nvidia 8800GT 512mb video card, However, I just can't imagine that the Humax is that powerful.

My home machine plays the HD streams fine and is just a 1.86GHz Core2Duo with 2GB of RAM and nothing special in graphics.

But that is irrelevant to the Foxsat-HDR because it has a specifically constructed DSP for video playback and it can decode pretty much anything that can be thrown at it in terms of 4:2:0 MPEG4.

Bob

Has anyone involved in the iplayer trial actually got it yet? I received an email ages ago saying i was selected to take part, then another one saying that they were tweaking things and had not forgotten about me, that i'd be contacted soon. Not heard a thing since. Nearly a month has passed, which is certainly not what I'd class as "soon".

Don't expect the trial this or possibly next month, BBC are dragging their heals! I should have access soon though

Have we got to wait for the trials to take place before we get our hands on the new Humax HDR firmware.

I hope not (although the longer it is appearing the more chance that they have fixed the power cut bug).

In short, yes, and I know certain manufacturers including Humax are very unhappy about it.

So, let's be clear.

You say above that the trial probably won't take place this or next month.

That means December at the earliest.

How long will the trial take?

If we assume a month for the trial and a month or two for Humax to sort out any issues then we can't realistically expect to see the update much before March - unless there are no issues with the iplayer trial in which case end of December/January?

By which time loads of boxes will be over the years guarantee and with a new box lightly by then what’s the chances we will never see it on our boxes