My Humax Forum » Freesat HD » HB 1000S, 1100S

HELP... Internet connection for EPG???

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    J@mes

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    Hi there,

    First post here!

    I am interested in buying a Humax HB-1000S Freesat box to replace my very old sky box in Mallorca.

    I have read some reviews on the internet, and one said you had to have the box connected to the internet in order for the channel information/EPG to work. Is this correct? If so that will be no good for me as I do not have the internet in my flat in Mallorca! 
    If this is the case, is there a way around, like downloading a months worth of EPG information from the internet (if that’s possible) and then uploading it into the Freesat box via USB?

    Also, I see there is also a "HB-1000S-G" Freesat box available, is this the same box as the "HB-1000S", what does the G stand for? I think it may stand for Grade A/customer return, does anyone know? (Reason for my guess is because it was a “Grade A”!)

    Finally, after searching reviews on the Internet for the Humax HB-1000S, I must admit I have seen a lot more bad ones regarding problems than I expected to, though that said a lot seem to be regarding catch up tv, recording to hard drives etc. None of these features worry me; I am simply after a Freesat box to replace my very old sky box, so I can simply watch English TV in Mallorca. I don’t care about being able to record or watch TV via BBCiplayer/4OD etc, so what I am getting at, am I considering the correct box for the job? Price is important, but so is quality! At first I considered the £49 Manhattan Plaza HD-S2 Freesat box, but reviews of people struggling for signal/pictures (IN ENGLAND!) and as soon as their old Humax boxes were plugged back in, the signal/picture was fine! This really put me off the Manhattan box, plus in the back of my head I swear I have often heard people saying Humax is one of the best makes for satellite boxes and often better than sky boxes, which is exactly what I need, for use out in Mallorca!

    Thanks for reading, look forward to your replies!

    James

    | Mon 2 Jun 2014 22:30:57 #1 |
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    Pollensa1946

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    "you had to have the box connected to the internet in order for the channel information/EPG to work. Is this correct?"
    Not correct. You only need the internet connection for the backwards EPG (iPlayer etc).

    "I think it may stand for Grade A/customer return, does anyone know?"
    Yes the "G" stands for a Grade A Manager's Special (see Humax Direct website).

    | Mon 2 Jun 2014 22:56:40 #2 |
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    J@mes

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    Pollensa1946 - 13 minutes ago  » 
    "you had to have the box connected to the internet in order for the channel information/EPG to work. Is this correct?"
    Not correct. You only need the internet connection for the backwards EPG (iPlayer etc).
    "I think it may stand for Grade A/customer return, does anyone know?"
    Yes the "G" stands for a Grade A Manager's Special (see Humax Direct website).

    Hi,

    Thanks for the quick reply and that is great news that the normal EPG works without an internet connection!

    Yes I saw the HB-1000S-G on the Humax Direct website under manager's special! It is £69 for a "Grade A" box with 12 months warranty, which is £20 cheaper than a brand new one. However I did read on this forum that the Humax Direct website sold old stock recordable versions of this box which a lot of people had to send back or something because of a firmware problem, cant remember what exactly, but the advice was to buy from a local retailer like Argos instead so you could quickly exchange if any problems. I guess that was for a different box and hopefully if these "Grade A" boxes have been checked/fixed, then they should have the latest firmware for when they were done, and they come with 12 months warranty too, sounds like I am talking myself into it! lol.

    Whilst I am here, can you recommend any other boxes that have a stronger signal processor so to speak; as in they can still work with a weak satellite signal when other boxes will simply not!

    Thanks,
    James.

    | Mon 2 Jun 2014 23:29:23 #3 |
  4. REPASSAC

    REPASSAC

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    Grade A units are fully checked and should be fine. Should one have a fault they arrange a swap over.
    The HB-1000S will check for new firmware firmware every power up.
    Humax tuners are thought to be the most sensitive.

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 6:01:49 #4 |
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    J@mes

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    Yeah thanks for that, confirms what I had in the back of my head re sensitivity! Seems this may be the box for me as all I simply want is a sensitive box with EPG to replace my very old sky box, for use out in Mallorca =)

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 10:45:05 #5 |
  6. grahamlthompson

    grahamlthompson

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    J@mes - 1 hour ago  » 
    Yeah thanks for that, confirms what I had in the back of my head re sensitivity! Seems this may be the box for me as all I simply want is a sensitive box with EPG to replace my very old sky box, for use out in Mallorca =)

    What size dish do you have ?

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 11:56:21 #6 |
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    Pollensa1946

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    I'm just back from Mallorca and the apt we were in had excellent Freesat reception, although I've no idea how they were achieving that (I did not ask) since parts of Catalonia are getting nothing below a 3 metre dish since the new satellite footprints came into play a few months ago. The key question is are you getting good reception right now today with your existing box?

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 13:58:04 #7 |
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    J@mes

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    grahamlthompson - 5 hours ago  » 

    J@mes - 1 hour ago  » 
    Yeah thanks for that, confirms what I had in the back of my head re sensitivity! Seems this may be the box for me as all I simply want is a sensitive box with EPG to replace my very old sky box, for use out in Mallorca =)

    What size dish do you have ?

    It's a 1.35m dish

    Pollensa1946 - 2 hours ago  » 
    I'm just back from Mallorca and the apt we were in had excellent Freesat reception, although I've no idea how they were achieving that (I did not ask) since parts of Catalonia are getting nothing below a 3 metre dish since the new satellite footprints came into play a few months ago. The key question is are you getting good reception right now today with your existing box?

    Yeah I know about the new satellite, our existing set up seems to be coping absolutely fine (well it was when I was last out there!) though we do get some drop outs/interference late in the evening (after 10pm), but it's normally just a case of changing from 101 to another BBC1 channel, or its one of the channels I don't watch that has no signal!

    I am going back out to Mallorca later this week and will check on it's performance then.

    There are 3 main reasons I want to change my existing sky box. Firstly I hope the Humax freesat box is slightly more sensitive than my very old Sky box and therefore I don't get any loss of channels or interference, or if I do (which I guess I will) I will be happy if it's even later in the night/very early morning. Secondly I would like HD channels, and last but not least I would much prefer having a HDMI and S/PDIF connections compared to the current scart lead set up I have!!

    I can only see the Humax HB-1000S Freesat box being no good to me IF the signal receiver is not as sensitive as my very old (about ten years) pace box. I am not sure on the model of my Pace box but it would actually seem that it is actually a very good sensitive one, it is white colour and has a metal case. From looking at internet pictures quickly, I think its either a pace 2600 or 430, which are meant to be very sensitive!

    Any comments on how the Humax HB-1000S compares to these Pace boxes on picking up weak signals?!

    Thanks again.

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 17:40:53 #8 |
  9. grahamlthompson

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    This post seems to indicate reception is easier away from the North coast.

    http://www.gntvmallorca.com/freesat-tv-reception-update/

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 18:00:03 #9 |
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    J@mes

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    grahamlthompson - 57 minutes ago  » 
    This post seems to indicate reception is easier away from the North coast.
    http://www.gntvmallorca.com/freesat-tv-reception-update/

    Thanks for the link! Fortunately I am on the South West coast, probably hence why I am still getting a usable signal on my 1.35m dish

    | Tue 3 Jun 2014 18:59:10 #10 |

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