My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » HDR FOX T2

Newbie pre-purchase advice on transferring recordings etc

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    ian154

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    Hi there

    As this is my first post, I would be very grateful for some expert advice on some basic points I'm not sure of about the HDR Fox T2 which I'm on the point of purchasing.

    I will at some stage want to transfer broadcast recordings from the HDR's internal HD to an external HD in order to use it in another location,archive them or make room on the admittedly enormous internal HD.

    Firstly, can I connect the HDR to a computer directly via USB to transfer recordings?

    Secondly, if I want to use an external hard drive connected to the HDR, am I correct in thinking the HDR will format the external HD into either FAT32 or some other format - Ex2?? If I opt for the FAT32 format, apart from the 4GB file limit, is there a limit to the size of hard drive I can copy it to which will still be supported by a Windows 7 pc for purposes of editing and writing to a DVD.

    Thirdly, if I didn't want to be restricted by the FAT32 file limit and chose to use the Ex2 (not sure if correct name), how would I get a Windows 7 pc to support that format so that I could edit the recording and write it to a DVD if necessary?

    Finally, with apologies for the longwindedness, would the newer DTR-T1000 Youview recorder be as capable regarding the above tranferring abilities to an external hard drive etc. If so, then ignoring £40 or so extra cost, why wouldn't I opt for the T1000 with its better catch-up TV facility?

    Many thanks in anticipation of your advice.

    | Mon 7 Jan 2013 21:33:17 #1 |
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    Martin Liddle

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    ian154 - 27 minutes ago  » 
    I will at some stage want to transfer broadcast recordings from the HDR's internal HD to an external HD in order to use it in another location,archive them or make room on the admittedly enormous internal HD.
    Firstly, can I connect the HDR to a computer directly via USB to transfer recordings?

    You need to be aware that all recordings made by the HDR are encrypted. With the standard software SD (but not HD) recordings can have the encryption removed by copying to attached USB storage. The quickest way to transfer recordings is via a network connection.

    Secondly, if I want to use an external hard drive connected to the HDR, am I correct in thinking the HDR will format the external HD into either FAT32 or some other format - Ex2?? If I opt for the FAT32 format, apart from the 4GB file limit, is there a limit to the size of hard drive I can copy it to which will still be supported by a Windows 7 pc for purposes of editing and writing to a DVD.

    There are limits on the partition size that Windows will format but larger sizes can be formatted (up to 8TB) with third party utilities. The EXT3 Linux file system can support much larger drives and doesn't have the 4GB limit.

    Thirdly, if I didn't want to be restricted by the FAT32 file limit and chose to use the Ex2 (not sure if correct name), how would I get a Windows 7 pc to support that format so that I could edit the recording and write it to a DVD if necessary?

    Install a Windows driver for the EXT3 file system.

    One of the advantages of the HDR compared to the Youview box is that there is user community developed custom firmware that enhances the features of the box and would make several of the things you want to do simpler.

    | Mon 7 Jan 2013 22:11:49 #2 |
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    ian154

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    Thanks Martin for replying so quickly. Are you saying in your reply to the first point that it is actually quicker to transfer recordings on a network where say in the case of my setup the HDR would be connected to the router and external hd located in another room by homeplugs than by a direct usb connection between the external hd and the HDR?

    On the third points,if I went the EXT3 format route, is it just a question of downloading a Windows driver for EXT3 file system (easily obtainable by googling?) and then my PC would support the recordings written to an external HD for purposes of editing/transferring to DVDs? Also, if I opted to adopt the custom firmware you mention, can I then use the native NFTS format to transfer to the external HD and fully supported by my Windows 7 PC?

    | Mon 7 Jan 2013 23:07:59 #3 |
  4. ezra pound

    ezra pound

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    Each of the format types that an external Hard disk can use has pros and cons, See the Table HERE however, if you allow the Humax to format the USB HDD in EXT3 you can FTP the data from it to your P.C. over the LAN connector and avoid the problems with different formats. If you install the Custom Firmware (Guide HERE) you can also copy Hi-Def files to your P.C.

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 1:59:07 #4 |
  5. myhumax

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    Martin Liddle - 14 hours ago  » 

    Thirdly, if I didn't want to be restricted by the FAT32 file limit and chose to use the Ex2 (not sure if correct name), how would I get a Windows 7 pc to support that format so that I could edit the recording and write it to a DVD if necessary?

    Install a Windows driver for the EXT3 file system.

    Ext2fsd will allow you to read EXT3 drives on Windows: http://myhumax.org/blog/?page_id=270

    You can not export recordings on the YouView box: http://myhumax.org/forum/topic/usb-ports

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 12:25:15 #5 |
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    ian154

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    You can not export recordings on the YouView box: http://myhumax.org/forum/topic/usb-ports

    Thanks,that rules out the YouView box then.

    however, if you allow the Humax to format the USB HDD in EXT3 you can FTP the data from it to your P.C. over the LAN connector and avoid the problems with different formats.

    Sounds very interesting. As a novice I had to google the meaning of FTP - but I do have a local network going with an A C Ryan media player and a PC connected. Have I understood you correctly? If I have an external HDD formatted in EXT3 and connect it to the router in some way, then I can transfer recordings from the Humax to the external HDD and can then transfer those recordings onwards via the local network to a PC whose hard drive is formatted in NTFS and can then edit or burn DVDs of those recordings?

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 15:42:21 #6 |
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    Martin Liddle

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    ian154 - 3 minutes ago  » 
    but I do have a local network going with an A C Ryan media player and a PC connected. Have I understood you correctly? If I have an external HDD formatted in EXT3 and connect it to the router in some way, then I can transfer recordings from the Humax to the external HDD and can then transfer those recordings onwards via the local network to a PC whose hard drive is formatted in NTFS and can then edit or burn DVDs of those recordings?

    Why do you want to connect the external drive to the router? It needs to be connected to the Humax and with the standard firmware copying SD programs to the external drive will remove the encryption. You can then FTP them to the PC.

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 15:49:27 #7 |
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    ian154

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    Why do you want to connect the external drive to the router? It needs to be connected to the Humax and with the standard firmware copying SD programs to the external drive will remove the encryption. You can then FTP them to the PC.

    Sorry, I now realise the external drive doesn't need to be connected to the router in order to transfer the recording initially to the external drive, but, that said, doesn't the external drive have to be connected to the network via the router in order to transfer the files to the PC?

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 17:47:47 #8 |
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    Martin Liddle

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    ian154 - 1 hour ago  » 
    doesn't the external drive have to be connected to the network via the router in order to transfer the files to the PC?

    No. The external drive is connected to the Humax; the Humax is connected to the router and so is the PC. If you install the custom firmware then the external drive becomes optional.

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 19:20:37 #9 |
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    ian154

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    No. The external drive is connected to the Humax; the Humax is connected to the router and so is the PC. If you install the custom firmware then the external drive becomes optional

    OK. Thanks everyone for all your advice.

    | Tue 8 Jan 2013 19:44:19 #10 |

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