A relative of mine says that when his 9200 boots up in standby, 15 minutes before the start of a scheduled recording, it blacks out his screen (viewing via the TV's own tuner) for about 10 seconds before the picture returns. Anyone else had the problem?

This is a feature of the original firmware - while the box goes through its POR activities it disconnects the RF feed-though signal. I believe that if the firmware is upgraded (that's the firmware, not the broadcast software upgrades) to the latest standard this effect will disappear. You need to download the firmware from the Humax site and load it into the box via an RS232 cable.

By firmware I think you mean the loader software - a4.09 (which says DUOVISIO while it is loading) as opposed to the older a4.07 (which says STING). Available from http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/suppo...ategory_seq=56

I would suggest the OP ask his relative what the front panel display of the box says while it is starting up - and whether it's worth fixing the problem would be up to them.

Thanks lads for the info - I'll pass it on.