This device does seem to have it's share of intermittent faults. I got a menu lock up last night. Powered up from standby (on BBC Three for some reason), called up 'Media', hit select on a programme and couldn't get out of the menus.

No response to any remote presses nor to the front panel button.

Isn't that interesting?! that must be more or less the exact sequence I did when my machine froze last night and it was about the same time - It took me 2 power cycles to get back to normal. Except I was was already on BBC Three.

If IRC thats about what i did too..................
Maybe some people would like to do this and see what happens - if I remember (and nothing is going to record) I will try at home tonight.

Mine was purchased in December but has frozen more and more often over recent weeks. Nothing particular seems to provoke it: just watching a programme, press a button on the remote and discover it's frozen.

Humax Technical Support said it was faulty and to arrange either for a replacement or to use their warranty procedure. Dixons are sending out the replacement later this week.

Touch wood, mine hasn't froze for other a month.

Well, yesterday was the last straw so I started a dialogue with Comet and today I picked up a replacement unit for the one I bought last December. Interestingly, the difference in the serial number was +268 in the last 5 digits and the software revision is also different:

HPRSFCI 1.00.03 (older started at 1.00.01)
Loader: U7.52 (older was U7.51)

So far, no lock-ups or freezes but I've already experienced random re-boots when sorting the channel list order in non-freesat mode which is really annoying. Seems like it can't cope with queueing up loads of changes without suddenly crashing and dropping all the changes you've already made!! What a pain, so, had to do it in small chunks and exit/save regularly... sigh....

Amazing isn't it? ~980+ channels found on a scan and when it comes down to it, only 76 actually worth keeping and saving! I've always maintained that Astra just pumps out 100's of channels of rubbish!

Time will tell whether this unit is any better than the previous but I suspect not. Already experiencing the OS's/CPU's inability to keep up with IR requests... (what on earth were they thinking putting such a slow CPU in??) Come on Humax!! Where is that update?????

You must have selected to search for all channels not just fta to get 980. Normally the total is around 450.

Indeed, that's what I did. I'm always afraid of missing out on some obscure channel that won't come up under a "FTA" scan...

On another tack, here was I sitting cheerfully watching my recording of the F1 qualifying when boom!, the box went into standby!! Why??!!

What is it that determines the "auto" in the auto-standby setting? It seems completely haphazard to me and is why I had it turned off on my older box and it is now turned off on this new box too... (to heck with the thumbnails, who needs them...)

If you set a time for auto-standby the box turns itself off after a period of inactivity from the remote from that time onwards

...but I am not "setting a time"??? It seems to be just making an arbitrary decision itself! (more importantly, I am in the middle of watching a recording!!)

The manual doesn't actually say "from the remote" it just says "after a period of inactivity"...

How can me watching a recording be remotely detected as "a period of inactivity"??
Last edited by CPN : 18-04-2009 at 14:16

Just wanted to post an update on this.

Since the above post when I suspected the EPG might be the cause of some of my crashes I've stopped doing this so often and now use the guide button more frequently to keep it up to date / refreshed properly.

Funnily enough I haven't had a crash since.

So Graham, I think I can now be fairly certain it is not a hardware fault - just rubbish software.

I'm surprised that this made the difference, but anything seems to be possible with the HDR's current software. Even if you never use the guide button, I think the box should be loading the EPG automatically from time to time, e.g during its nocturnal housekeeping, and maybe at other times (when it brings itself out of standby to record?). But I could be wrong.

Do you leave it in standby overnight? If it's left on, it doesn't do it's nocturnal housekeeping. If it is switched off completely it obviously can't, but neither does it do so at any other time.

Yes I pop it into standby overnight, but not the low-power standby - my bad - CO2 and all that - I like having the clock on it when its not in use

Maybe that is my problem. However, it's currently in the attic and it's a pain to get to, to do a hard reset. I'm now seeing freezes about twice a week. Right now, its stuck on a single frame on BBC1 with audio OK.

I used to put it on standby, but then it would stay asleep, every week or so.

I have to say I'm starting to get a little p1$$ed off. This box really does need a software upgrade. It's a (very) long drive from where I live to Belfast. Otherwise I'd be bringing it back for a refund.

(Mind you, Sky HD sometimes locks up too. But, with the new EPG, it just "hangs together" much better than the Humax - i.e. more reliable and MUCH easier to use.)
Last edited by hillel : 26-04-2009 at 22:04

I`m getting the same as you hillel, where the picture freezes but the continues ok, mine is also in a rack in the attic, which makes it a pain to go and reset.
Mine is greezing once or twice a week, I have it set to no standby, on 24/7, I`ll maybe try it on auto standby and see if that helps or not.
What I really want to know is whether I should call Comet under warranty or not? Or what else I should try?

djc45,

I have no easy option to return under warranty. In any case what I really want is the damn thing working properly. (Here in the republic many of the UK terrestrial channels are not on the SKY EPG)

HUMAX should release a new version of software. Otherwise, they should release the codebase and we could look at fixing it ourselves. (Maybe not now, but 'twould help pass the long winter nights.

I have had to press reset three times in the last week. The picture carries on as normal with sound and video but the remote is totally unresponsive. Last night it happened when I brought the box out of standby more or less at the moment a recording was starting. I'm also wondering if it is happening more as the box gets older? It's becoming an issue for me and I hope it doesn't happen too many more times before the upgrade finally arrives which presumably will fix it....

Patrick

Happened to me on an increasingly frequent basis and Dixons replaced it. The replacement has frozen once in the two weeks since I received it.

Methinks it's about time we had a firmware update.

Yep the freeze ups are back..
Virtually EVERY day now we have to re-boot the Humax.
I have reported this to Humax support but they have failed to reply. NOT great service

Roy

UPDATE:

I've now had delivered today a brand new Foxsat HRD becasue the one previous kept freezing.

I have to say, I'm gob smacked that Humax have indeed not only honoured the warrenty but in my eyes have gone one step further and actually replaced the box for a new one. So top marks to them for this fantastic service.

Fingers crossed this one does not do the same thing.

Roy

I have had enough of the freezes and various other problems with my replacement box and have emailed over the weekend to ask for a refund.

My problem is not a lockup but the box goes into standby all on its own. I have no Auto Standby set.--

See:- http://www.hummy.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6235

J

I don't get regular freezes, although I do still get lock ups from time to time.

Every single lock up, is always the same circumstances - attempting to start playing a recording, whilst a (different) recording is in progress.

As I say, it doesn't happen every time I go to watch a recording (I can have 0, 1 or 2 recordings happening and it will usually work fine), just that every lock up that does occur happens when starting a playback whilst a recording is in progress.

I just had another one tonight. This is getting quite frustrating.

I feel sorry for all you people with these daily lock up issue's.. But nobody seems to have mentioned the way mine locks up, am I alone.. Here's the story.

Bought one from Currys on boxing day, everything was good until I went away the folllowing weekend. Having set up a few recordings I was eager to return only to be met with..

Originally Posted by Badvok
Had another freeze last night - screen all green, no sound, no response to IR - needed power cycle.


It's funny because the box worked flawlessly in day to day usage, but as soon as I went away again for the weekend, it got lonely and crashed. After 4 or 5 weekends of this I went back to Currys and got a new one.. Well pleased with the new one worked like a charm even on weekends... Until, I went away recently for 4 days. It managed to do a couple of days recording but then crashed on the 3rd day, green screen again no response power cycle needed.

The question is should I return to Currys again for a new box before my 12month warranty runs out, or get a foxsatsitter?

We don't watch a lot of TV these days and by the time we come to sit down to watch something it's usually 8 - 8:30pm when we're likely to be recording something. Over the last week every time we've turned the box on while it is recording something it has frozen after a couple of key presses an we've had to switch it off thus losing whatever was recording at the time. We're starting to think the unthinkable and going back to Sky.