Firstly, my apologies in advance, as I'm sure all of my questions below have been covered elsewhere ......

Anyway, my mother-in-law (MIL), who already has a Humax Freeview box has decided that she wants to get into satellite, and the 'nice man in Currys' told her that a Humax Foxsat HDR was the way to go. She likes this idea because she already has a Humax Freeview box. The 'gotcha' however is that she only has one satellite point in her flat, so running the HDR in dual tuner mode is a non-starter. I've looked through the HDR manual and it seems that it's possible to run the box in this crippled way, albeit in one tuner mode. I explained this to the MIL, but she's adamant that this will be OK because Freeview is her main TV source.

With the above in mind .....

1) Can the box be operated in single tuner mode OK? I presume that this will limit the box to 'record one, watch one', like other single tuner boxes and that LNB 2 will need to looped-through from LNB 1.

2) Any issues running the box via scart for RGB output? The MIL wants a new HD-ready TV too - her current one doesn't have any HDMI inputs.

3) Can you add padding to recordings - say start 3 minutes early, finish 10 minutes after?

4) Any clashes with Humax remotes? The MIL has a 9300 Freeview box, as I recall.

I showed the MIL the Technisat HDFS that I have running with a USB HD, but she doesn't like the idea of lots of cables and boxes .....

Any advice what be appreciated, if only to stop the MIL pestering me! (It was a BIG mistake my wife inviting her for Christmas Day - I got grilled for a couple of hours on this DSAT stuff! Sheesh!)

Clem

Think yourself lucky, I've got my MIL re-telling the same old bloody stories she tells every bloody year (and she always sits in MY chair!)! (Which, if you're following my thread on my HDR not always recording properly, explains the references to boring conversations!)

BTW, even as a complete Noob, I can tell you that the answer to your first three questions, is 'Yes'.

1 Yes the box can be used on a single cable with the tuner loop. No you don't have to record just one you have in fact the capability to record a long list of 2nd channels (depending on the first recordinmg choice) and even watch some 3rd channels while recording two. If the epg allows you to reserve a 2nd recording it's possible to record it

See

http://www.hummy.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5596

2 The latest firmware allows RGB output for all channels but there some overlay geometry problems with menus and the epg

3 You can set auto padding which still allows series recoedimg but it appears to stop the stb following the accurate recording signals sent by the broadcaster. Also you can add a fully manual recording which does exactly what you want it to do and can emulate series recording by setting a repeat pattern. If the programme schedule changes of course this will need manual adjustment of the times. For the main stream channels it's best to leave it on auto. Over christmas i have made dozens of recordings on auto all have worked without problems



4 The Freesat and Freeview remotes don't clash and it's also possible to control two freesat HD boxes in the same room as the hdr remote can be set to different channels.

Thanks to all for the replies. Now I suppose I've got to go with the MIL when she buys the box then I'll have to set it up for her ..... grrrr.

Clem

You need to buy or knock up a short tuner link cable as you don't get one in the box.