Over the last few nights the Aura was set to record from Forces TV and BBC 4 HD. Both use Channel 55 National COM7 which we know operates on reduced power. The recordings coincided with a High pressure weather system. We happen live in a very good reception area. Every recording has failed due the Aura reports because of signal loss. The programmes were in the main unwatchable e.g. badly pixelated with frequent sound drop outs. At the same time I set our Panasonic PVR to record the same programmes and it uses the same ariel. Result - the Pansonic recorded the same programmes perfectly, no pixelation no audio drop outs. The Aura is perfectly fine on the other muxes but simply can't cope when the signal strength drops to around 40% and it spoils an otherwise decent product. Humax should look at doing more work on the tuners.
My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » Aura UHD
Aura's tuners need a boost
(11 posts)-
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 11:45:59 #1 |
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I can get the same issues on my 4000t and I'm not convinced that the tuners themselves are the problem. I can have occasions where the signal strength is reported at 40% with only 10% quality and the channel is perfectly watchable yet with 60% strength and 100% quality I can get frequent drop outs one day and then weeks of normal operation.
I am starting to think that it's the processor/processing that cannot effectively cope with signal fluctuations. Especially considering that watching a "live" broadcast that is suffering problems will have frequent drop outs to a black screen with the no signal message, but a recording of the same is watchable albeit with occasional pixelation.
If that makes sense?| Thu 4 Mar 2021 12:29:31 #2 | -
In connection with this, it's worth having a look at a conversation in the Beta thread from Quote 14 onwards..
https://myhumax.org/forum/topic/aura-beta-software-dated-020321/page/2
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 13:06:02 #3 | -
andyd1302 - 49 mins ago »
In connection with this, it's worth having a look at a conversation in the Beta thread from Quote 14 onwards..
https://myhumax.org/forum/topic/aura-beta-software-dated-020321/page/2The LG C9 that the Aura is connected to has no such difficulties with COM 7. I have seen the LG Drop to about 38% SS on COM 7 yet the SQ is much better with no picture issues. Our BT Humax Youview box had just the same issues as the Aura i.e. poor capabilities when faced with a weak channel frequency. Why this issue has gone on for so long with different Humax boxes without it being addressed is a mystery as surely there own testing of their products should demonstrate an ongoing issue.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 14:03:10 #4 | -
Faust - 16 mins ago »
Why this issue has gone on for so long with different Humax boxes without it being addressed is a mystery as surely there own testing of their products should demonstrate an ongoing issue.I would guess that part of the problem is that for every customer complaining because the box doesn't work properly with a low signal, there is another customer complaining that the box doesn't work properly with a high signal level.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 14:22:45 #5 | -
Martin Liddle - 1 hour ago »
Faust - 16 mins ago »
Why this issue has gone on for so long with different Humax boxes without it being addressed is a mystery as surely there own testing of their products should demonstrate an ongoing issue.I would guess that part of the problem is that for every customer complaining because the box doesn't work properly with a low signal, there is another customer complaining that the box doesn't work properly with a high signal level.
But surely it's easier to attenuate a strong signal down than it is trying to boost a poor signal and less costly. If my TV's and other PVR manufactures can solve this issue why can't Humax. For example the Humax and the TVs along with the Panasonic PVR are reasonably closely matched on the strong Muxs' it's only on the weaker frequencies that the Humax falls over.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 16:03:43 #6 | -
Martin Liddle - 2 hours ago »
Faust - 16 mins ago »
Why this issue has gone on for so long with different Humax boxes without it being addressed is a mystery as surely there own testing of their products should demonstrate an ongoing issue.I would guess that part of the problem is that for every customer complaining because the box doesn't work properly with a low signal, there is another customer complaining that the box doesn't work properly with a high signal level.
To be fair, not everyone would know whether they're receiving a low or high signal from their transmitter, and not everyone has the time, inclination or interest to trawl websites looking for a solution.
They'd just see their shiny new Humax doesn't work while their other equipment does & might just send the Humax box within the return period & go for a M*nh**t*n instead, which doesn't help customer, retailer or Humax.
Perhaps a troubleshooting entry in the user startup manual might help.
If the tuners used in Humax boxes work best within a specific range of transmitter strength/quality, it would be helpful to at least give the end user a clue where to start & what next steps to take in order to cure it.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 18:43:00 #7 | -
Reading through this, I note that it refers to a time when there may have been a lift happening.
I wonder if the Aura (and the 4000T/5000T) are less resilient to interference from transmitters on the same channel, rather than having a problem with low signals.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 20:29:07 #8 | -
A1944 - 1 hour ago »
Reading through this, I note that it refers to a time when there may have been a lift happening.
I wonder if the Aura (and the 4000T/5000T) are less resilient to interference from transmitters on the same channel, rather than having a problem with low signals.That is a fair point. In fact if I were to rotate our aerial to the vertical we could use the Fenton repeater in Stoke on Trent. We can also pick up The Wrekin and if we swung the aerial round Granada from Winter Hill though both of those would be quite weak.
| Thu 4 Mar 2021 22:27:07 #9 | -
For what it's worth, and for others finding this thread while searching for Aura reception issues, I thought I'd report my experiences.
We're near Southampton and have decent reception from the Rowridge transmitter. We have a 30+ year old roof-mounted aerial and internal cabling, to which I added a signal booster in the loft. This has been adequate for a series of Freeview PVRs and TVs over the years (most recently a DTR-T2000) for all channels other than COM7, which is completely absent. I recently loft-mounted a wideband aerial in an attempt to improve COM7 reception but that achieved very little. (access to our roof aerial is impossible for me, I'd need to hire a professional but sadly missed the cutoff for having that done at Freeview's expense).
Yesterday I replaced our ailing DTR-T2000 with the Aura. Signal strength was immediately an issue, with constant breakup on most channels. I tried removing the booster but that made things worse. Then I made up a new cable from some CTF100 I bought along with the aerial (but never got around to using), left it trailing down to the TV from the loft as a test, and immediately jumped from 30% strength / fluctuating around 50% quality, to 90% signal strength and 100% quality. Lesson learned, the internal cabling (even after the signal booster) matters a lot. Though I'm still puzzled as to why the Aura is so picky compared to all my previous equipment. At least I now have a fix I can do myself - just have to do a proper job of getting the cable from the loft down to the living room!
Still no COM7 reception though, although there's nothing much of value on that from Rowridge so I can live without it.
| Fri 2 Apr 2021 15:24:30 #10 |
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