According to 'What Satellite and Digital TV' Humax are to release a new model PVR in 2010. Any guesses as to whether it will support USB 3.0 ? Freeecom have just announced an external USB v 3 HDD in 1, 1½ and 2 TB versions - with transfer speeds of up to ten times faster than the current USB 2 system.
It will certainly speed up file transfer. Freecom reckon you should be able to transfer a 5 GB film in 38 seconds
Since Humax say you will be able to record and playback from an external USB device with their new models looks like they must be going down this route too.

http://blog.wotsat.com/page/whatsat?...eesat_receiver

Sounds interesting...

I wonder if it will be clever enought to be able to delete a recording at any time?

Also of course I assume our HDR boxes support will stop - If it has not already done so?

Automan.

you ever get the feeling that we were ripped off far more than $ky ever did

Not over time, as $KY rip you off cumulatively but as a one off event. Yep.

Mind you, if the upgrade is good it will help a lot - personally though on evidence so far I bet it contains a minimum of improvements ( I am not interested in iplayer).

Thank goodness competition is arriving.

Patrick

If Freesat went then yes, otherwise no, I'm pretty sure my HDR will continue to work once the next model comes out !

If you don't want your tech to get out of date, just don't buy any - keep waiting for the next model.

What absolute rubbish! I have bought a brilliant machine that does everything (and more) than I expected and no nasty overpriced sky subscriptions.

Progress determines that new and more advanced models (of any type of machine) will always be introduced! I can't believe anyone who bought a first edition box could have expected that improved models would be not be released in the future. And in 3, 5 and 10 years time there will be improvements on next years model

Within 5 years the migration to full video on demand over the Internet will begin for areas with high speed broadband, it will be mainstream within 10.

No planned designs include USB 3.0, the silicon isn't currently available to us at an effective price point.

I wonder if mrmarky would like to qualify his statement?

Ripped off in what way? Does the Humax box work? I've seen a few of my friends' Humax boxes and I'm getting one and dropping Sky+. I've had enough of subscription-based TV.

Mainly, yes, but there are definite faults.

Don't expect it to record anything while you're away for three weeks if there is a two minute power failure the day you leave.

Don't expect it to record ITV HD schedules if Freesat make a change to the EPG causing a rescan whilst you are out of the room.

If you have the effrontery to use 'pause live TV' expect to watch the remainder of the programme with sub-titles whether you want them or not.

There are many other bugs and niggles.

As Bob_Cat has posted but not said anything to squash the suggestion from Automan that we will not now get any support, you have to wonder.

Perhaps Bob_Cat will take this opportunity to confirm that there will be an upgrade to the current Foxsat that will, at least, fix its most egregious faults?

Out of those problems, the only real issue is the crap implementation of ITV HD, it would be better if ITV HD either didn't bother, or made their channel appear like a normal channel, I can't tune directly to ITV HD on a freesat box but I can on another non freesat FTA HD box and using a dvb-s card in my pc.

If recording tv programmes is that important to you, then I suggest investing in a high capacity UPS device that will keep the HDR powered during most brief power failures, I don't know of any other pieces of equipment in the home that would keep on working after a power failure without some sort of human intervention...

I recall my old video tape recorder would forget all programming, and the clock would reset to zero after a power failure, and wouldn't do anything until the clock had been set manually again.

No, you mean: "The only real issue to me". It's not for you to decide what other people see as serious issues.


What unbelievable arrogance!

Who do you think you are to tell people they have to buy extra equipment at a cost in space, money and cabling, just because the Humax is brain dead when it comes to power failures.

It isn't likely to affect me as I haven't had a PF for five years but I'm certainly not going to dismiss something that is clearly a problem to others



Lights, space heaters, computers (if you have set the correct BIOS option), most cookers, water heaters ...

Not that that really has anything to do with the subject at hand.

A Sky box will not fail in the same way the Humax did. nor would my last VCR. It's not an insurmountable problem, just another Humax cock-up.

I paid £300

for £300 I expected to do more - but these are the problems I have

Delete recordings (while its recording)

Actually record a Program (knowing there is around a 75% chance it will be missed)

The Remote control has to be the worst design ever

Out of the entire humax range, this has the worst features

When you hit guide, you have to wait anything up to 1 minute for the dam thing to load otherwise its slow as heck to scroll though the guide

switching channels can be sometimes sluggish too

Now I have to spend another £300 on a next gen receiver to get most of the above fixed and new features lol

The question is ; would I invest in another humax box - and my answer is no, it a very basic box and not worth the amount I paid.

Return your box for one that works.

I've missed about 10 recordings in the 10 months I've had the box and I'm pretty sure that at least 4 of those were duff information from the broadcaster.

Of course, if you are prone to power failures and leave the box unattended for long periods of time or have some other unusual recording profile you might achieve a 75% failed recording level but it should be nowhere near that in 'normal' use.

Plus mine is generally a bit flaky - switching itself off in response to volume commands from the TV for example....

As a product it definitely feels like v0.9 rather than 1.0. Given that Humax have been making PVRs for a number of years there are too many questionable decisions and inconsistencies in the UI.


With 'flashable' operating systems i don't think it's unreasonable to expect to benefit from a V2.0 interface while you still have a product, especially with something like a PVR where you'd not expect the hardware to change too much. The new model will likely get a new case, larger hard drive and maybe (no, actaully hopefully) a faster processor but it would be nice to think any interface improvements (and there are a lot that could be implemented).

Can you give any ideas on the main differences with the current HDR Bob? Presumably a larger hard drive is one, maybe a faster processor too?

How do you get this feeling? Buying a brand new Foxsat HDR each year would still cost you less than the running cost of a single Sky HD box!

I don't think it's sure to be a faulty box, personally I think the whole software area of dealing with conflicts is pretty bad - a message if you are lucky which flashes briefly across the screen.. or sometimes the PVR lets you add a recording request even though there is something else scheduled - a series link perhaps? Then later it will inform you there was a conflict....and guess what? failed to record.

Patrick

Bob has quoted in the forum Any future updates after this one will be less and less as they discontinue the product to work on other systems.

At a guess once we receive this next update for the iplayer after this we will have to put up with the problems and issues it has.

At the moment the feeling is people are only happy because there thinking all the issues will be fixed in the next update, but what if only a few are addressed and many bugs are carried over, I think only then the penny will drop.

Another humax pvr box would expect to be around £300, and total price to me would be £600 to get a pvr fit for purpose,

IF the box recorded 100% of the series links I would be a happy bunny and then put up with all the other bugs, having to babysit the pvr to ensure it records the episode I want is not progress for a pvr.

but surely the idea of going to freesat from sky is to actually save money - not spend it on the same product (watching tv) but in a different way

I have kept a keen eye on this forum from the start and have the following observations:

Initially, humax purchasers gloated how much better than sky HD their box was - nowadays the forum is full of threads about problems (just as sky HD forum is), many of these problems are similar to those experienced by skyHD owners.

I agree with the above but the poster claimed that 75% of his recordings failed!

That's just not normal.

Sorry, yes you are right! - I have just reread it - 75% failure rate is very high, maybe the OP meant the opposite?

I would say that my success rate for recordings is about 90%.
Maybe a little higher, up to 95% maximum.

Patrick

But with hardly any HD programming at all, and a vastly smaller number of SD ones.

With Sky you're paying for the PROGRAMMING more than the box - so you can't compare them in that way.

I understand what you are saying but comment was only for financial part of the deal, so I can't see how anyone can, financially, feel ripped off with Humax, as Humax or any other Freesat+ PVR, will always cost less than the cost of Sky HD.

If Humax decide not to sort out the software related complaints then fire away, however, I can't see how anyone can even compare the cost of Freesat+ with Sky HD which will always cost more.

I had the original Humax 9200 freeview PVR that was always supported by humax then I went out and bought their latest freeview PVR thinking it would also get some update as and when needed, if this not the case for Foxsat then I wouldn't buy Foxsat, so surely it is in Humax's interest to keep their reputation of providing updates for their PVRs & HDRs.


And you are saving by going to freesat because you won't be paying a monthly sub will you?

Not really, with Sky you are also paying for HD channels as well as for using the PVR functions which is free with Freesat+ boxes.

Yes Sky HD gives you more channels but we are not comparing the channel contents we are comparing the cost of the running cost & functions both boxes provide.

with sky box you can't even record BBC HD without a monthly sub but Freesat+ boxes give you the chance to do so therefore you also need to compare the functions not just the number of HD channels.

Regardless of HD channels, Sky+HD will still always cost much more than Freesat+ boxes because the main reason people buy PVRs is to record their programmes and you can't do that with Sky HD, for even BBC-FTA-FTV channels, unless you pay Sky a monthly sub.