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Humax Fox T2 HDR problems

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johntee

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Hi,

I bought two T2 boxes in February this year and use one downstairs and one in my bedroom. The bedroom T2 device is fed by a separate aerial on my rooftop in a good signal area, the one downstairs is fed by "VirginMedia" cable with internet access. I now have a couple of recurring problems with each box.

The one downstairs will no longer hold any "New Keywords" in the YouTube section, once you go back to normal TV it erases the data. The next problems is more alarming, whilst watching any broadcast, for example BBC, the T2 box will suddenly drop out and supply a "No Signal" message to my LC television which is fed via HDMI. The "Blue" circular "on" LED is displayed on my T2 box however the channel displayed in not lit. The T2 will not respond to any instruction from the remote control and a power disconnect and restart is the only solution. The box is in a cool ventilated environment and not subjected to any heat etc.

The T2 device upstairs works pretty good, however last week we had an arranged power cut so the electricity board engineers could change fuses in our local sub-station. The power was off for just seven minutes. Later, when I went to use my T2 box I found all my pre-programmed entries in its record "Library" section had been deleted. For test purposes I entered a couple of programs into the record library and thereafter disconnected the power via the plug socket, the entries had disappeared again. Can any member confirm this is normal? I would have thought a back-up battery, likened to that used by PC's would be there to hold such??

Any feedback would be very welcomed,

Kindest regards,

John in the UK

| Sun 12 Aug 2012 9:05:50 #1 |
chrisdaniels

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Firstly, recorded programs are on the Hard Disc, and are not deleted with a power cut.
Secondly, I take it you mean your Internet ISP is virgin media as virgin are a cable company that do not supply an aerial feed for terrestrial tv. Both are unrelated to loosing keywords after a search.

I would make sure both boxes are running the latest firmware and also confirm when going to the library you are viewing the video section. If you have any external hard discs plugged in, make sure they are on too.

If you are still having problems, reply back with the firmware versions for each box and their model names.

| Sun 12 Aug 2012 12:44:00 #2 |
johntee

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Hi Chris,

Thanks for your feedback. I did not explain properly this morning the exact wiring up of my downstairs HDR-Fox T2/GB Freeview +HD- 7105092 with version a7.31 firmware. I indicated its signal was fed from ISP VirginMedia cable, this is INCORRECT. It's HDTV Freeview signal is actually sourced from a second aerial on my rooftop mast, the other aerial on that mast feeds my bedrooms T2 unit independently. The VirginMedia cable mentioned is used to supply an internet line input only to my downstairs T2 box so I can use the YouTube application etc. I do not use any secondary external drives or such, just the onboard hard-drive. On this downstairs Fox T2 box I have previously accessed "YouTube" via remote control and entered several independant "Keywords" to search. The box has always previously retained those "Keywords" to a maximum of 10, whereupon it starts to over-write those when input above that MAX number is achieved. If I had wished to start with new "Keywords" list I just selected the "CLEAR" via the remote red button. The issue now is it will not hold over any "Keywords" for my next re-visit to the "YouTube" application, I have to re-input them in full. Mighty peculiar! The previously mentioned signal drop out and freeze is more annoying, a power disconnection is necessary to restore the functionality of my T2 box. There is signal going into the T2 box in the "frozen" condition because I can disconnect the aerial input feed from it, pump it directly into my LC television and select "AERIAL" as source and the TV displays Freeview programs.

Onto the upstairs HDR-Fox T2/GB Freeview +HD-7105092, carrying the same ID as my other except it has a different serial number, and also has firmware version a7.31 installed. To clarify my first post further. The pre-powercut programs I wished to record had been entered via the Media Guide and thereafter stored into the "SCHEDULE" memory area of my T2 for future timed recording. It was these "SCHEDULED" entries that disappeared after my mentioned power cut, I cannot understand why, but they did, hence my initial enquiry as to whether this was 'normal' under power loss conditions. I have used both my T2 boxes without issue for nearly seven months now but need help on these extraordinary issues.

I hope this extra info is useful.

Kindest regards, as ever,

John in the UK

| Sun 12 Aug 2012 16:25:34 #3 |
chrisdaniels

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Ok it's more clear now. The portal apps don't hold on to any input keywords after a reboot as they don't store it to the hard disc. Also you cannot login to your YouTube account because humax didn't make it do that.

The model name is actually HDR T2. Not the number you gave above.
The firmware version is also not what you supplied, that is a different number.
The firmware version is found in the menu under settings. The latest is 1.02.28.

The schedules are only deleted if the box does a retune. This is annoying I know, but humax made it do this.
It is possible that the box did a retune on its own after the power was restored. It would have promoted you on screen at the time, but no matter if you say ok or later to the prompt, it will eventually do it regardless.
There is a way around this annoyance however with custom firmware.

| Sun 12 Aug 2012 19:39:48 #4 |
johntee

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Hi Chris,

Thank you once again for your time and feedback.

I rechecked the Firmware version as per your instruction and it returns FHTCP 1.02.28 on both my devices. I will probably have to purchase a battery supported "Power Failure" back-up" unit for my recorders, full schedule reprogramming after a power outage is very tendious, although these are infrequent.

Do you have any idea what causes the "Freeze" condition on my downstairs HDR T2? It's a little worrying when electronic devices start to do this, the potential of complete failure is never far from my mind. Any info on this is most welcomed.

PS. Just an after thought, I don't have to log in to my personal YouTube account to 'surf', I just connected my HDM T2 box via a cable to my VirginMedia modem and accessed the media by pressing "TV PORTAL" button on my remote controls. It's when I go into the 'YouTube' application and go to 'Search' & 'Keyword'. When using the remote control keypad to enter a Keyword subject its lettering appears under the Keyword Header Title" in an opened window. Any search subjects I enter whilst in the search mode are added to a list to a maximum of 10. Previously these search subjects were retained for future use when I exited the "TV PORTAL". This no longer happens, when I go to "TV PORTAL" again and enter YouTube and search the list is blank.

Thanks again Chris,

Kindest regards,

John in the UK

| Mon 13 Aug 2012 9:03:37 #5 |
chrisdaniels

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Its not power failure thats the issue John. Its the retunes.
There is another retune event happening in September that will rejig all the channel numbers, so you will loose them again. You would be best off looking into Custom Firmware.

I understand you regarding YouTube, but its different to how it works on a PC. On a PC the site will store cookies with your previous searches in. On the Humax, it doesnt do this. Certainly not inbetween reboots anyway.

The Freeze condition just sounds like a poor signal. That would certainly be the first thing to check. Next would be faulty aerial cables/shielding.
When you say the box becomes unresponsive, are you sure the remote is still set to PVR mode?

As you have two boxes, you could try to switch the boxes around and see if the problem follows it. If it does, its a box problem, otherwise, its a signal problem in that location.

| Mon 13 Aug 2012 13:22:22 #6 |
johntee

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Hi Chris,

I suppose I will have to accept the loss a scheduled data if that is the case. I'm not familiar with your mentioned "Custom Firmware" or even how to utilise such and its reflection upon the HDR T2 warranty etc etc.

I did approach my "freeze" scenario algorithmically, I checked for signal presence by removing the aerial feed from my HDR T2, plugging that directly into my LC television, choosing 'Aerial' as my input source, and thus substantiated the 'Freeview' was indeed there. Thereafter, as the HDR T2 was none responsive to my remote control I tried the remote from my upstairs HDR T2 box, however that was ineffective, and vice versa I tried my downstairs remote on my upstairs box and that worked perfectly thus eliminating the remote as a culprit. The most noticeable thing was the frozen HDR T2 box downstairs had the "BLUE" circular button illuminated, indicating it was switch on, but the red LED channel display array was not lit, a somewhat conflicting condition.

After much careful checking I was forced to remove the power supply to my box and initiate a "Restart", whereupon the recorder became fully functional again.

I am fortunate to have two identical HDR T2 devices so I will do a swap around and monitor the results. I'm just hoping it's not an intermittent hardware component failure rearing its ugly head.

Historically, many, many years ago I was professionally involved with electronic servicing, and semi-conductors / IC's were very prone to intermittent junction failure. One normal procedure was to identify the circuit area of a problem and then progressively apply a generous squirt of "Freezer Spray" to each onboard semi-conductor, which would in many cases 'kick start' the device under test to life. Replace the identified component and away you go. Of course you cannot do that these days because, in the first instance you cannot normally get device circuit schematics, and secondly opening up a box under warranty would invalidate such.

My apologies for my very long winded reply,

Kindest regards,

John in the UK

| Mon 13 Aug 2012 17:45:24 #7 |
ezra pound

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If you did open up the box, you would probably be surprised at how few components there were, the majority of functions are housed in an SoC (or System on chip) in this case a Broadcom BCM7405, which does just about everything, Oh and they are not the easyest things in the world to find a replacement for, or to replace

| Tue 14 Aug 2012 16:33:44 #8 |
johntee

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Hi ezra pound,

Thanks for the information, yes I agree. Although I'm retired now, when I finished in the electronics industry the implementation of chips with Large Scale Integration components were being used, so SoC was inevitable.

In reality I wouldn't even spare the time to take the lid off most electronic equipment these days for the very reasons you have identified. However, much like an addict, I still potter around making various circuits using discrete components. It's great fun at times, unfortunately, the discrete components market is getting smaller by the day for the likes of me and will probably fade graciously into infinity in the not to distant future. I'm privileged to have masses of transistors, mega IC's of various types, including surface mount, (my eyes and hands have trouble with these nowadays ,) so I can go on for a short while longer.

I sincerely hope this reply hasn't sent you to sleep, and thanks once again for your time.

Kindest regards,

John in the UK

| Tue 14 Aug 2012 18:07:12 #9 |
ezra pound

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Hi John, No, still awake and very much in the same position myself, retired after 40 years in electronics with a garage full of plastic draws (some with conductive foam inserts) containing all sorts of electronic components you probably can't buy any more. You never know when you might need an OC72, but let's be fair it's getting very unlikely

| Tue 14 Aug 2012 23:15:32 #10 |