I may have been dreaming but I am sure some time ago there was talk of an HRD2 and it was slated for release by the end of 2010, well here we are at the beginning of Q2 2011 and still no sign of it... Has anyone (maybe Bob_cat before you leave for pastures new) got any information on the new model.

I was assumed that the new model would be YouView compatible, but the YouView specification has been moved until next year (2012) at least.

Is there any point in Humax bringing out a new non-YouView model?, assuming YouView ever actually happens.

All the more reason then for them to continue to support the HDR and fix the various niggles we have.

A 'end of 2010' release probably means sometime in 2012 anyway, with YouView to follow later in an 'imminent' software update.

Sorry, mustn't be rude.

Unfortunately it's pretty difficult to make a box software upgradeable when you don't even have a specification for what it has to do

No it isn't.

Unless they change something so fundamental that it needs a different tuner/interface it's all part and parcel of using a general purpose CPU and underlying OS to implement the box.

The hardware requirements need to be final and sufficient known to select a CPU that will perform well it's tasks.

I think you are overestimating the amount of extra work the box could possibly be expected to undertake to provide the new features.

This isn't going to be something like synthesising 3D.

It's just handling a slightly different protocol to get at some data. The chances that even the CPU in the current box would not be able to handle that are negligible.

It would be no more of a load change than implementing something like iplayer.

Of course, if there is a possibility that some completely new compression technique will be used which would require a new ASIC then you might have a point but there is no real evidence that something like that is on the horizon.

Jepson -I would have thought that the running of unknown apps [In YouView specs] would possibly require a lot more resources - Bob-Cat already said the box would require a considerately more powerful CPU than the HDR.

The timing of all this is even more muddled now what with freesat R2 (new specs) and updated YouView specs coming soon. How (and id) they will fit together remains to be seen.

OK, I hadn't spotted that.

I wonder what it has to do that would require so many more resources.

I'm getting a sinking, "brace yourself for their well-known rabbit-in-the-headlights impression" feeling here. Makes you wonder how anyone could possibly bring a pc to market that will run photoshop, with all those nasty plug-ins, or even support an internet connection. And yet . . .

You're missing the commercial realities - you don't over specify the processor and memory because it's too expensive and your product doesn't sell.

You can't build a box until you know what you need, if you under specify the box will run too slowly, and if you over specify the box will fail to sell as it's not cheap enough.

In the meantime the existing box is pretty decent anyway, certainly better than the alternatives.

The YouView platform specs were released last year - it's no mystery.

Bit vague though - hopefully April's release will be clearer.

Cheers,
David.

Which April? - it's been put back until 2012.

No specifications have been released, they haven't decided on them yet, that's the problem.

All that's been mentioned is a vague list of possibilities, useless to try and design a product from (particularly as it may bear little relation to the final spec).

I did see something about the team promising updated specs next month - Can't remember exactly but I don't think they promised a complete set of final specs. Can't locate where I saw the announcement.

The processor in the current HDR is equivalent to that used in a iPhone 3G and we all know how poorly that performed don't we The only reason they need more processing power is down to poorly written software.

That's rather an assumption = a few glitches does not mean that the application is inefficient. I assume that there may be a need to transcode certain internet content in software and game playing [and other apps] while recording two programmes could well use up resources. However I do think that the present HDR's CPU could do with a bit more power at times (like just after power up, when the guide takes a few secs to paint).

http://www.youview.com/wp-content/th...rm_Draft_A.pdf
from
http://www.youview.com/developer-zone/resources/

Enough to know which chip families are and are not powerful enough.

Or you can wait until April...
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2011/...w-to-open-api/
...to see what individual chipsets, if any, YouView decide upon.

Cheers,
David.

Not any more...

I've been wating for the Humax Foxsat 2 ever since they announced it was in the pipeline (beginning of last year?!).

However, now that the Samsung is out and looking pretty damned good (according to the people on here) I'll be getting that - unless something pretty dramatic happens before Amazon get them in stock.

For me the apparent lack of usb archiving rules it out. 500GB sounds a lot but my current foxsat 1TB primary drive runs around 60% full and the 1TB (swappable) archive drive is currently 50% used so I have over a TB of recorded material.

I wonder if the lack of USB archieving is to avoid the need to encrypt where required?

I'm a "watch and delete" person so it's not an issue for me.

The main extra for me is being able to access my media off my PC over the network and being able to read divx and xvid.

I know I could get a cheap media streamer but I just don't want more box and wires clutter in my living room.

So am I I don't keep stuff I have seen. Problem is there's too much I want to watch . Still trying to catch up on the Tudors

The older I get the more severe the standards I apply to whether something is worth watching again.