First of all Hello, - new member here

After reading various reviews about the Humax Foxsat HDR 500, we (my wife and I) decided to take the plunge and purchased one.

We mainly watch on a sony KDL40 TV with its own Freeview & HD, and record using a Panasonic Freeview recorder. We bought the Humax to replace the Panasonic which would give us increased disk space, ability to record 2 channels simultaneously, quality audio satellite radio (including channel display without TV being on) and a high quality picture.

The problem I'm getting is disappointingly poor picture quality (very soft to the point of being blurred). This is with both STD & HD channels using HDMI. I have checked everything I can think of, like connections, cables (swapping where I could), satellite cable, dish & alignment but could find no problems. The best picture I get is via scart - surely this can't be right - can it?

I would appreciate any help you can offer as I have been told I can't return it unless it is faulty, and I feel like I've spent £200 + on something which has taken me a step backwards rather than forwards.

Kind regards
Roy

p.s. one other small niggle! - Where's the clock ?
Last edited by Roy357 : 05-01-2013 at 15:16

Press the v-format button till 1080i comes up. If you want the clock turn off power saving in sby (it will cost a bit more to run the box).

Hi Graham,

Thanks for the reply. I tried the v-format button as you suggested but when I pressed it, it was already on the 1080i setting. I tried going to the other settings also, but they made no difference either.

Up to this point our TV has always given us crystal clear pictures, so must I assume the unit to be faulty?

Regards
Roy.

Check the sharpness setting on your TV.
When I switched from Sky HD to Freesat, my picture also seemed a little soft.
Cranking the sharpness up a couple of notches resolved this issue, to the point that everything looked just as good again.
I think it's to do with slightly different signal levels.
Don't over do it though or you will get "ringing" around objects.

If you Google Humax Foxsat HDR "soft picture" you will find regular complaints about this going back several years so I doubt that there is a problem with your specific PVR, HDMI cable, settings, etc. I don't have any Humax products so cannot comment on how serious an issue it is.

It shouldn't be a major issue. The op says the picture content is better over scart. if that includes the HD channels somethings seriously wrong.

Agreed. On my 1000s box the picture quality on my Panasonic TV is noticeably better on HDMI vs SCART. That was one very significant improvement I noticed when I moved from an old SKY (SCART only) box.

Hey guy's, thanks for all your reply's.

I started to look at my settings as 'Bspks' suggested (cheers mate) and I think that my problem is there. I noticed that not only the sharpness setting was lower but all of the other settings were different too. I copied the settings from normal the TV channels ie Freeview and the picture is now so much better.
I had no idea that all the TV inputs had their own settings.
Are there any test cards still broadcast on any channels? I think if I set the individual inputs up using one I would get optimum results.

Regards
Roy

BBC-HD preview loop. If you set a manual recording reservation from say 11:45-12:15 you should catch it (last time I checked it's on at midday).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcintern...rom_the_h.html

That's a good, high-end, TV you have as lots of TVs do not have individual settings for each input. I have 2 Samsung and 2 Panasonic, none of them cheap, and none have it.

My cheapy series 4 Sammy plasma does that I got two years ago and a right bloody pain it is having to ajust each input individualy. I wish it had the option to pick an apply to all setting.

You can do that using an AV amp or HDMI switch to feed a single input on the TV set if you so wish.

Hi all,

After setting my HDMI inputs the quality of my Humax Foxsat HDR 500 is now great and I'm a happy bunny again.

I'd just like to ask if any one knows of a good quality portable DVD player I could use to plug into my TV to watch ocasional DVD's. I did try networking my PC but with out success.

Once again, many thanks for all your help.

Kind Regards.