I have no On Demand Icons this morning, but selecting the blank icon shows the correct info at the top of the screen and clicking OK loads the app as usual.
My Humax Forum » Freesat HD » HDR 1000, 1010, 1100S
help - unable to use ondemand or showcase
(935 posts)-
| Thu 8 Jan 2015 10:23:29 #791 |
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My On Demand icons have returned
Done nothing to the box.
| Thu 8 Jan 2015 12:08:38 #792 | -
JamesB - 23 hours ago »
mutant_matt - 8 hours ago »
Looking at the link, it says you need the update from 19th November 2014, UKFSAA 2.02.01, to fix this problem, but I'm on UKFSAA 2.02.07 and have the problem (for the first time).Hi Matt. That's the correct version number (2.02.07). As I recall, 2.02.01 was the update that brought the problem, and 2.02.07 was a remedial update - which, as you say, clearly hasn't entirely resolved the bug or bugs. See http://www.freesat.co.uk/help/freetime/boxes/software-update-19-nov for (limited) info on 2.02.07.
What's the best/correct way to report this to Humax as the bug clearly isn't fixed (not that I ever saw it pre that firmware update).
As Repassac says, Freesat are the ones to report to. Be interested to hear what response you receive.Thanks for the help/suggestions, guys. This may or may not be news to you, but this is what happened:
1. I called Freesat as suggested, explained the problem, was told that if I was on the latest firmware (I am, ish*), then I needed to call Humax.
2. I called Humax, and had a detailed conversation with them. The outcome was, and this makes sense, if you can access the internet well and reliably, which you can if you have a stable network and internet connection, and you can access iPlayer and ITVPlayer directly (Channel 901), that proves your connection and that the box is working (obviously).
If you then cannot access the OnDemand, Showcase and the reverse EPG, that connects to the Freesat servers to work. So, Humax are adamant that with an otherwise working box that can use the catchup services, on 2.02.07, the other problems are entirely the fault of Freesat themselves.
3. So, I called Freesat back, explained all this and they suggested that they send me the latest firmware via email, to load in via USB. Now, Humax have already told me that it's not a firmware issue, the firmware update they previously issued was to fix the problem where some boxes were not reliably driving the network interface in the box, and the update fixed that instability. It cannot, obviously, fix any problems with comms between the box and the Freesat servers.
So Freesat seemed to back off on offering a new firmware (they couldn't tell me which version it would be, either). I asked them to get their technical guys to contact me, as I'm not interested in beating them up, nor getting the menu working, without finding and fixing the root cause, as it will only happen again. I can use the box as is for now, and would like to help them figure out the real problem, presumably at their end, and get it properly fixed for all.
So, I'm waiting for them to contact me, I realise I may be on a hiding to nothing, and wasting my time. They may see me as a time waster, and inconvenience, or worse ;), or, they may see that I am willing to try and help them get to the bottom of the problem. We will see.
I'll update here as and when/if I have anything to report.
If I can be bothered, I may setup some networking kit, to packet trace the network conversation, to see if it's obvious what is going wrong, or at least get closer to understanding it. Does anybody happen to know what protocol the box is unsing (HTTP?) If it's HTTPS then I would be probably, mostly, be wasting my time, but if it's in the clear, it might be worth a go.
On that note, how do you get the network connection on the box manually setup (static IP etc.) and is there an option to use a proxy? (it would be so much easier to point it to my web proxy than to intercept the conversation by building a transparent proxy for it to go through!).
Cheers,
Matt.
* - I have 2.02.07 and the absolute latest is 2.02.079 but .079 is a single bug fix, for an ITVPlayer bug in .07 only.
| Fri 9 Jan 2015 9:08:52 #793 | -
To recap on the history of this issue:
At the start there were no problems with showcase or on-demand.
freesat then introduced a new version of on-demand and at the same time, a software release which included support for it.
Problems commenced for some they were dire, for others infrequent.freesat attributed the problem to "their end" but were not specific. The conclusion most came to is that it was a server load/slow response problem. New software was issued and for nearly all users the problem ceased or became very infrequent.
What is clear is that on boot several checks take place to confirm proper internet connection, which are in addition to the standard network ip acquired test. There seems to be separate tests for on-demand and for showcase as users can loose either or both.
I subscribe to the there that a response is requested from freesat server(s) to which a response is not received in a set amount of time.
The questions which remain is why does it cause problems for so few users and then intermittently (ISP, route to server, time of day, load, all could play a part).
Back to your questions:
Proxy - no way (would open the door to simply get around geographic restrictions.
Fixed network connections is possible - just turn off your DHCP server, select connect automatically and wait for it to timeout. It will then be offered. Unless you want to change the gateway an address reservation on the router is better.
http/https - I guess http - http would place extra overheads at both ends.
The software release you quote is for the HD-1000S only.
| Fri 9 Jan 2015 9:47:18 #794 | -
Very interesting, thanks for the report.
Sounds to me like there may be non-technical reasons for the failure of Freesat to get this bug or bugs properly resolved. Maybe they've decided it's not cost-ffective, considering most users don't seem to be affected.
I sort of agree with Repassac's analysis, except that I don't understand why sluggish server response would affect a handful of boxes consistently, another handful only very occasionally, and most boxes not at all. User environment or usage must also come into it, or else some pretty weird hardware faults.
| Fri 9 Jan 2015 10:53:55 #795 | -
Interesting that both Freetime and YouView boxes are now suffering from intermittent unexplained* bugs with no resolution in sight. Is this a basic flaw in the hybrid manufacturer/service provider model? Ultimately (IMO) one party needs to be responsible for design and implementation.
* unexplained to the users
| Fri 9 Jan 2015 11:19:23 #796 | -
So, rather than disrupt my network by turning off the DHCP server, from what people have explained, it looked to me like the box needs to see an ethernet connection to a network port, to enable networking (and networking setup) in the Humax's GUI.
So, I connected it up to a spare switch that had no other connections, and that enabled me to manually set the box up. So, now it's got a static IP, and I have control of it's network settings, I now have the ability to change the default gateway. If I don't hear anything from Freesat (and possibly, even if I do), I may build a pc with two network cards*, run a transparent proxy on it, and point the default gateway on the Humax box to the transparent proxy. Then I'll be able to see what it's doing (or at least, where it's trying to connect and using which protocols on which ports (I can't find this info anywhere on the internet)).
We'll see (I don't really have time, so I'm not sure *when*...).
Cheers,
Matt.
* - perhaps I could use a single network port on a spare RaspberryPi to frig this...hmmm...
| Fri 9 Jan 2015 12:11:02 #797 | -
Why not just download Microsoft's Network Diagnostics tool.
It is quite easy to use and lets you see the activity from particular host and protocol.One additional point: Several users who tuned their routers / freetime units off at night had more problems.
| Sat 10 Jan 2015 7:07:26 #798 | -
REPASSAC - 1 hour ago »
Several users who tuned their routers / freetime units off at night had more problems.Also, those who powered up the STB before the router. I experimented with this and was able to reproduce the problem - which I had not experienced while following my usual practice (router always on, STB in overnight sby).
An interesting thing I've noticed recently - Showcase seems to be loading more quickly, recently. Following the update, and the initial error reports, Freesat did some tweaking, over two or three weekends, which resolved the issues for most users, and left us with a markedly longer Showcase-loading time. During the past week it seems to be loading faster again, though not as fast as it used to. Anyone else notice this?
| Sat 10 Jan 2015 9:00:41 #799 | -
I'm having problems at the moment. In the Network Connection it says I am connented via the ethernet connection but all that is showing in the box on the next screen is BBC iplayer & ITV Player.
On Demand only shows the Showcase picture and nothing else.
Any suggestions ?
PS I also have problems with my Broadband connection so I wonder if that is causing these problems as well. Sometimes there is just too much Broadband traffic through Congestion and I wonder if when I unplugged the other night because of a lockup then it didn't get the other On Demand settings because of the Internet Problems
| Sat 10 Jan 2015 13:51:44 #800 |
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