Hi harribob. I know that one. In the Humax notes on the software made available at Christmas it says something like pressing the up arrow to show the scheduled list of timers. Its got a replacement which will be out soon. If the machine cant record anymore or not very well put, say, .08 back on and then wait for the new OTA.

I have just moved to the 9200Tfrom Sky+, from a useability point of view the Hummy is not near as intuitive as Sky+, my initial wishes are:

1. Record from the beginning of the programme rather than from that point onwards (assuming the channel hasn't changed of course)

2. Faster EPG population (please!) and sort out the constant dropping of programme information ( I guess the cachg fix might do this?)

3. Series link (double please!!) - even if this was like the Toppy, by selecting on the programme name for now that'd be okay...

4. Ability to properly sort channels without using favourites (i.e. if I want the channel 4 that is on 801 renumbered to be Number 4 in the EPG). This applies to regional ITV channels too, mine found Meridian to be 800 and the ITV it put in Number 3 was Thames Valley, and I had a hard time swapping them, doing it via selecting different MUX's is ridiculaously complex for a fairly straightforward piece of functionality...

5. Allow view of EPG while watching a channel, like the Sky Blue Button

6. Showing the region of the channel in the channel detection bit so you can select the correct ITV region for example....

7. Because the EPG is so unreliable, I've tried adding/deleting channels to see if it ets better,which then deletes my scheduled recording, so maintaining the recordings unless you choose to delete them would be nice. Although truthfully with a good EPG this wouldn't be necessary.

8. Use more screen space for the EPG and maybe get rid of the current channel view, Sky doesn't have this and I never missed it....

Can't edit, but I've found a few more that need doing

9. Another thing I thought of was being able to see how much space the recorded programme uses on the disc, before and after recording (again just like Sky+ !)

10. Allow the red button to be removed, again like the Sky box, put it on a timeout, or something...

The timing of the red button is dictated by the BBC. You can get rid of it by pressing green.

It seems to me that RoyT is really missing his SKY+ box.
Its all down to money at the end of the day. Sky generates loads of £££ by charging £10 a month extra just to use the features of the box, Humax dont so Sky can afford to work on adding features.
So its all down to how much money Humax wish to spend on getting the box to a SKY+ standard as they only generate their money through product sales.

lol I am! It just goes to show how intuitive Sky+ is, that said, I like the Hummy and I'm hopefully addindg constructive way to improve it (as opposed to bashing it!).

You're right regarding product sales, but it is still in their interest to improve the software as the power of recommendation is unparalleled.

Sky+ has grown on the back of people who have "selling it" to others, the Hummy could be a real contender with a few more tweaks... as it stands I'd struggle to pimp it to my in-laws for example.

What you say is interesting though, who woudl be up for a software sub to Humax? I wouldn't mind a couple fo quid every month if it speeded up/made improvements possible?
Last edited by RoyT : 08-04-2007 at 12:12

Thanks dundee, I didn't know that so it's useful

Apart from the not so quick loading I rather like the EPG on the Humax.
At least im able to have the channels in the EPG that I can view and delete the ones that I dont want or cannot view. And be able to see whats on now while im looking through the EPG.
I dont know about SKY+, but with the sky didgibox, unless you have full subscription you have to go through loads of different pages just to find a channel you are able to view. You can use favourites but thats limited.

You can , you either press the record button twice or record and backwards button (not sure which but its in the manual)
Last edited by strawberry66 : 08-04-2007 at 20:37

or press play then move curser to begining of prog and press record. that will do it too.

Press Menu, choose Record, and item 5 of the list (can be reached by pressing 5 rather than using the arrow keys, by the way~) is HDD Control, which gives this information. Not the most obvious of places.

As to Series link, you can select all programmes whose name contains a given bit of text. In the latest software, just press the blue button when in the EPG. I'm not sure when this feature came in, I think selecting by name has been around a long time but maybe was harder to reach in older software.

Thanks for that danco - I meant seeing what each individual programme uses/will use, as opposed to the space used on the disk by all prohgrammes, not an essential piece of info but quite nice to have.

The series link thing you mentioned is the "Find Porgramme" feature isn't it? Correct me if I'm wrong but you can't tell the machine to record everything on a given channel that has the word "Coronation" in it for example?

You're describing that you can get a list of everything in the EPG with a word in and record each separately aren't you?

I don't think you can find out how much space each programme *will* use, as different channels (and even, I think, different programmes in a channel) use different bit rates. Presumably Sky works more consistently. But you can certainly find out how much space a programme *has* used. Go to Menu, Record, Recorded Programs and select the program, and then use Edit (the yellow button). This shows the size used, and OK just cancels this. I think the same can be done from the Playlist button, but haven't checked it.

Yes, you're right about what I meant as regards finding and recording programmes. Certainly not a true series link, but as you are new to the Humax I thought you might not have found this feature yet.

Generally I'm happy with the features provided by 9200. My main gripe is the sw crash that happens. Itr occurs usually if I'm recording a couple of programmes, I enter recording list menu, and the box freezes. Not everytime but a few times a week I'd say.

I've had my Humax for about 18 months now, and I'm really very pleased with it. I'm still on the last OTA software version (1.06?) and really my only complaint about the software is very basic and very obvious.

The box should never fail to record anything for which it has accepted a reservation.

No quibling about the order of reserving etc.


A couple of weeks ago I pressed instant record for a 60 minute programme. I then noticed that part 2 of the series followed immediately after, so I went to the EPG and added a recording.

It failed.

Please don't tell me that I could/should have just extended the original recording by a further hour. I know that.

My point is If it's in the schedule, it should record.

The bug (s/w version .20):
When Accurate Recording is switched on and the end of one programme overlaps the start of another the first programme is unnecessarily chopped when the second one starts. This happens even if one tuner is free. This definitely happens when both channels are on the same multiplex and the first is on chase-play - not sure about separate multiplexes, or when chase-play is not being used.

The feature I'd most like to see added:
Please allow Auto Padding when Accurate Recording is switched on. In simple terms I'd like to see the option available and suggest using logic similar to that below:

Start Time logic: If start time (in the EPG) has passed and no AR "start recording" signal has been received then start recording anyway.

End Time logic: If end time (in the EPG) has passed and no AR "end recording" signal has been received then continue to record pending receipt of an "end recording" signal. Once an "end recording" signal has been received record for a further "N" minutes (unless another recording needs to use the tuner).

I know this may lead to recordings being unnecessarily long (more padding) but I'd much rather have the odd recording that's an hour too long rather than having a minute or so chopped off more than half of the programmes I record (which is currently the case )

Many thanks!

I have just switched to AR having installed version .20 and am very annoyed by the problem described above. IMO the system should be set up to operate primarily as a recording device and therefore in the situation described the second recording should use tuner 2 whilst tuner 1 completes recording of the first programme. I realise that this may interrupt viewing on a multiplex not being used for either recording but that seems a small price to pay if you've gone to the trouble to book a recording slot.

I wouldn't want to autopad AR reservations but what I would want is an option at reservation time that asks if I want to reserve this programme based on AR data or my pre-determined autopad preferences which would allow simple reservation of autopadded programmes on those channels where experience has shown that AR data is either unreliable or non-existent (such as radio programmes which I frequently record). In the case of autopadded reservations I do NOT want to lose series link and can see no reason why I should have to (other than sloppy programming)

I always use what we Digihomers call 'event' recording, ie, I use the OK button in the Guide to schedule recordings on my Humax. I've had 10 minutes missing off the front of Taggart (ITV a few nights ago) and yesterday 13 minutes from the front of Richard & Judy (and the first minute is the most important bit, so I can see if there's anything worth watching before deleting the programme).

I almost always miss the very beginning of a programme. This almost never happens on my cheapo Digihome. I'm finding the terminology of Hummy owners a bit difficult to get used to.

As you may gather, it's time for my nap :yawn:

parthena

What you and others before have said makes sense.
In the situation that you are absent, and have left the PVR on OR in standby, giving preference to recording shoul be expected.
If you are present and watching a live programme, you have the CHOICE to stop the first recording early, start the second recording late, or forego a few minutes of viewing (which you may be able to achieve from another device's tuner).

I don't want a text message intruding on my viewing telling me that a recording has commenced. Other PVRs manage to let you know with the red dot symbol unobtrusively in a corner of the screen, quite enough thank you, and the Stop symbol when a recording ends.

parthena

Why even try to tell us? Are we supposed to jump up and down and cheer? Post a congratulatory message? Open a bottle of champagne?

As a software designer and developer I find several aspects of the Hummy to be weird. It's okay and all but:

* Why hide the library button under the slider?
* Why intrude on the viewer to tell them that a scheduled recording has started?
* Why doesn't the program list show free disk space?

I also maintain that the designers misunderstand what a PVR is. The Hummy is built like a DTR (ie;a digital VCR). It seems to view it's primary role as being a DTT receiver with a secondary record capability.

PVRs are more than that. A PVR should allow you to build and maintain a library of material ready to watch. It should be so easy and convenient that you stop watching stuff live. 'Now/next' should be utterly irrelevant.

For this reason I would suggest:

* Use a different button for the library - don't hide it away. It should be the primary function of the box.
* Get rid of the PIG. No-one using a PVR properly should give a damn about what's on at the moment. Use the space for more channels.
* Tell us how much disk space there is and give an estimate of how much a program will require. Library management is important in a PVR.

And finally:

Get someone in r&d to use a Sky+ for a couple of months. It ain't perfect but it's very, very good. /That/ is how you implement a PVR.

But, hey:Hummax ain't /bad/. It's just not as good as it could be.

The 9200*** are STBs.

Use OK or the LIST button ... playlist are on them...

BUT only the playlist should be on the list button.

Yes I find it really really annoying (and pointless).

It means I can't archive a programme to tape if a recording is about to start.

It lobs you out of the menu functions and EPG, losing my context and concentration.

Yah. When I first got my Hummy I thought that List would take me to the library. It would make sense.

The feed back from HUMAX on making that change was ... they were scared it would confuse people ... i.e. the loss of the functionality from the LIST button ... so they added playlist to what was already there... very silly ...

I've deleted the TUTV, shopping and dross channels.