Although using my PC to transfer videos from the Humax worked well, humping the PC, monitor, keyboard and mouse up and down stairs was too much of a chore so I decided it was just the excuse I'd been looking for for ages to get myself a cheapish laptop.

My Acer 2490 arrived earlier this week and I hit trouble straight off - eLinker (the latest) threw the towel in at any random point during the transfer..

Luckily Andy's software came to the rescue and works well.

My laptop is a bit shy on memory at the moment so that's probably part of the problem but I can't help thinking that something is basically wrong with the USB driver dll used by eLinker. Although Andy uses the same driver (probably), Andy uses, effectively, a DOS interface. Since both the Humax eLinker and MediaControllerGUI tend to produce errors, it seems to me that the problem is when the Windows GUI gets involved and there is a problem with the DLL.

Wouldn't Humax be better ditching that DLL and implementing a (probably) simpler "Removable Media" interface so that the HD could be accessed by virtually any program? Or is it not that simple?

John.

Its not that simple.

So it worked well with your PC, but not with the laptop? More evidence that the problem is with the PC end rather than the Humax.

Why didn't you take the humax to the PC? It doesn't need to be connected to a TV to transfer files.

Not necessarily. In fact, Andy Chappell, author of the MediaController, thinks so too:
It's easy enough for a fast PC to keep ahead of the data its presented with but it's really up to the drivers to allow slower PCs to catch their breath. Transfers usually fail when the computer's Hard Drive is running flat out.

The flakey USB connection seems fairly widely recognized even in non-UK models as here:

To be honest, I've written enough Windows software to recognize when it's an issue affecting a relatively few PCs and when it's a software issue affecting many.



I'm not a great believer in unnecessary unplugging and plugging of scart sockets. They're not the most reliable or robust connectors. Granted, I'm not a great believer in unnecessarily disturbing PCs either - hence the shift to the laptop.

John.
Last edited by JohnON : 27-01-2007 at 23:01

If you are transfering files over 4Gb in size, make sure your new laptop is formated in NTSF format and not FAT32. You can use the CONVERT command to change over if you need to.

I understood from other comments that the data feed from the Humax will be, by design, error free. I guess then that the problem must be with USB socket? There's a good thread elsewhere on USB power supply being involved - that seems likely as laptop USBs seem to me to be straining at times. It's interesting that a desktop worked but a laptop didn't.

On taking the Humax to the PC, unplugging scarts is no problem if some care is taken, surely?

I do intent to change the file system to NTFS but, as usual with these things, the O/S came part-installed and was FAT32. I feel it wise to wait at least a few weeks in case it affects the guarantee. The files are always < 4 GB so it isn't an issue at the moment.

The USB implementation in the Humax uses "Bulk Transfer" which is supposed to be error free. As such, it's the responsibility of the software which implements the protocol to ensure that it is error free. It seems to me that this is where the Open Source driver software that Humax (and Andy) use is failing when it's been called through a Windows GUI application. That Andy's console-based uploader works virtually error-free but fails as soon as the same application is invoked through the GUI "skin" seems to confirm that.

There are other issues, such as how much "umph" the computer has and, maybe, even how reliable the computer's USB hardware is but none of those factors should matter because what is supposed to be an error-free protocol should take care of that, reduce the block size or even pause the transfer while the PC catches up. It fails to do that and lets errors through.

Well, each to their own with Scart! An additional factor is that the Humax is fitted into a corner unit and has to be acessed from the back - which entails dragging it forward. And it ain't light! As transfers are something I'll be doing regularly, I decided to "get sorted" sooner rather than later.

As I mentioned in my other post, I do write some Windows software, am reasonably au fait with computer technology and I'm fairly convinced that most of the problems with transfers could be solved if Humax actually employed someone to write a USB driver specifically for the Humax instead of using a free Public Domain, Open Source, one size fits all offering.

John.

Having read the problems people are having with the USB transfers it seems the problem is some compatibility issue between the Humax and some pcs. Many people (myself included) seem able to transfer without any problem, some are getting unreliable connection and transfer and a few get no joy at all. Perhaps a thread discussing what hardware and software is being used would be helpful to those having problems and even to Humax if they decide to look at this issue. I found the reliability of the transfers increased dramatically after upgrading to the current software (version 1.00.10) as connection errors, transfer errors and even transferring the wrong file altogether was fairly common using 1.00.08. However some people seem to have the exact opposite experience and are going back to 1.00.08 to get reliable transfers. I also found Media Controller better than e-linker as it at least indicates errors and re-transfers the file if necessary.
I try to do all transfers when both Humax and PC are doing nothing else and set the Humax to channel 303 so its not buffering any tv feed. Usually I set up a few files to transfer and go to work ensuring no timers are set to kick in half way through.
So for the record I use the following set up....

Samsung P28 laptop (about 18 months old)
Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2
Off the shelf 1m USB cable (directly connected not thru a hub)
Media Controller.
Transfers generally very reliable at about 6-700 KB/S to internal HDD.

Dell M65 laptop (about 3 months old)
Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2
6 foot (!?!) USB cable
e-Linker
Transfers very reliable at about 8 Mb/S to internal HDD or via Lan to Dell Dimension 4600 internal HDD.

9200T allowed to continue normal activity, e.g. watch broadcast, recordings or make recordings.

No activity on Laptop.

I did some testing on the LIBUSB32 drivers some time ago and even fiddled around with the source code in an attempt to correct the transfer errors but to no avail. My conclusion so far is that the drivers used by Humax (based on a modified LIBUSB32 driver I think) and the ones I use in Media Controller V1.4 (based on the current generic LIBUSB32 drivers) are working correctly.

I believe the problems may be a result of problems occurring further down the driver foodchain or possibly even within Windows itself and my theories are as posted recently here:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...3&postcount=12

Any comments or suggestions, especially from those with much more knowledge than myself on Windows Internals and the Windows Driver Model would be very welcome.

And I would still like to request that Humax modify their firmware to allow file transfer requests to start from any point within a video file rather than just the beginning of the file. Then I could at least update Media Controller with the ability to do proper block error detection and recovery (at the application level) allowing for faster recovery transfers when errors do occur. So those with Humax connections please help!

Andy Chappell.
MediaController V1.4 author.

I had a crack at this for the first time this weekend with no problems using:

Humax firmware v1.00.06
Samsung V30 laptop *with all power management switched off*
Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2
Off the shelf 1m USB cable (directly connected not thru a hub)
Media Controller

Transfers reliably at about 1200-1400 KB/S to external Maxtor HDD

If I use Media Controller, I have no problems at all. In fact, I've just transfered a file and had VLC playing a previously transfered file, opened a web browser and Paintshop Pro (albeit a trifle slow) all at the same time without a single error.

Use the GUI to "open" MediaController and I can't even move the mouse without an error!

That's not intended to be a criticism of the GUI but it indicates a problem when using a Windows GUI application. I don't have a problem with any other USB device which uses the Windows GUI which leaves very little that could be the culprit.

Humax Hardware v1.00
Humax Software 1.00.10

Acer Travelmate
Intel Celeron M 1.46GHz
Intel 940GML Express chipset
256MB ram (currently)
XP Home - FAT32


John.
Last edited by JohnON : 29-01-2007 at 19:12

Read the foregoing with interest. I have 2 Humax PVR9200t, and they both behave exactly the same. Sometimes I can transfer several files following each other without any problem. Another time, the same files give errors on each file, needing the Humax to be switched off as they lock up completely. I have 3 PCs and 2 laptops, and it does not seem to matter which combination I use. The PC and Humax are never doing anything else. This has only happened since the current firmware download. They were quite reliable before. I guess we will just have to mutter about it, although the remark about using Andy's software without invoking Windows was interesting. How do you do that? BTW, I have tried using a couple of 5m active USB leads in series to save moving the Humax or the PC. They are very successful. You can use 4 of these, giving 20m which should be enough length.

Briefly, I think the new software is more CPU hungry. I had no problems prior to the recent upgrade, then it became eratic. I resolved it doing the below.

Do the following when transfering:-

a) Slide open the flap and press the radio button (bottom left). Leave it on Radio 1 when transfering files. (You should notice the fan go off, radio doesn't take up as much CPU time as TV!) Don't record anything or use the humax to watch TV when transfering files.

b) That's it!
Last edited by Jerry Dandridge : 25-03-2008 at 15:39