Noisy HDD on Humax FVP 5000T

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Noisy HDD on Humax FVP 5000T

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GCDBONES123

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So unlike Andysue I actually got a response (2) back from Humax customer support yesterday. The first response just asked "Is it on a glass shelf?" That was it, no boiler plate were really sorry you're having issues or were suprised to hear about that as our machines are thoroughly tested to prevent noise.

I wrote back and explained (Again) that it was on a tempered glass top on built in bedroom furniture but that putting felt feet or a cloth underneath or even lifting the machine physically made no difference when the HDD was chuntering. They wrote back again within minutes of my reply and said the vasy majority of complaints we get about noise is where the machine is on glass. END. No we can look into it for you, no were sorry, nothing!

Think it told me 2 things:
1) Humax are well aware and this is an issue of some volume (no pun intended).
2) They dont care, unless it hits their bottom line sufficiently they will carry on risking the odd return in order to skimp on build quality to hit a price point and achieve margin and just re sell the returns as graded machines rather than invest in getting it right out the gate.

Richer sounds however responded to my review and have been excellent. I have video and audio to demonstrate and will try and pop in after the snow clears. Machine is still doing it but less frequently so will monitor for a week and see how it goes. In 'quiet' mode its audible but bearable, when it has its little fits it make me want to return it straight away.

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 11:16:33 #31 |
aimdev

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Anybody know what the disk manufacturer is on the noisy units?, because the noisiest disks I have ever encountered were Seagate, the quietest, and always selected are Western Digital.
Incidentally, my disk used to run 27/7, till I turned off the Media Server option, not required.

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 14:30:42 #32 |
grahamlthompson

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aimdev - 37 minutes ago »
Anybody know what the disk manufacturer is on the noisy units?, because the noisiest disks I have ever encountered were Seagate, the quietest, and always selected are Western Digital.
Incidentally, my disk used to run 27/7, till I turned off the Media Server option, not required.

Usually Seagate Pipeline AV drives.

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 15:08:53 #33 |
andysue

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GCDBONES123 - 4 hours ago »
So unlike Andysue I actually got a response (2) back from Humax customer support yesterday. The first response just asked "Is it on a glass shelf?" That was it, no boiler plate were really sorry you're having issues or were suprised to hear about that as our machines are thoroughly tested to prevent noise.
I wrote back and explained (Again) that it was on a tempered glass top on built in bedroom furniture but that putting felt feet or a cloth underneath or even lifting the machine physically made no difference when the HDD was chuntering. They wrote back again within minutes of my reply and said the vasy majority of complaints we get about noise is where the machine is on glass. END. No we can look into it for you, no were sorry, nothing!
Think it told me 2 things:
1) Humax are well aware and this is an issue of some volume (no pun intended).
2) They dont care, unless it hits their bottom line sufficiently they will carry on risking the odd return in order to skimp on build quality to hit a price point and achieve margin and just re sell the returns as graded machines rather than invest in getting it right out the gate.
Richer sounds however responded to my review and have been excellent. I have video and audio to demonstrate and will try and pop in after the snow clears. Machine is still doing it but less frequently so will monitor for a week and see how it goes. In 'quiet' mode its audible but bearable, when it has its little fits it make me want to return it straight away.

At least you got a response!
Richer sounds in Solihull a year ago stopped dealing with Humax because they had so many problems from customers & only sold the Panasonics.
It shouldnt matter what you put the Humax on. Mine was on top of the panasonic which is on top of a glass shelf.
You shouldnt hear it at all. send it back like I did. It instantly makes you feel better. Then buy the 4000 & feel even betterer

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 15:23:25 #34 |
grahamlthompson

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andysue - 41 minutes ago »

GCDBONES123 - 4 hours ago »
So unlike Andysue I actually got a response (2) back from Humax customer support yesterday. The first response just asked "Is it on a glass shelf?" That was it, no boiler plate were really sorry you're having issues or were suprised to hear about that as our machines are thoroughly tested to prevent noise.
I wrote back and explained (Again) that it was on a tempered glass top on built in bedroom furniture but that putting felt feet or a cloth underneath or even lifting the machine physically made no difference when the HDD was chuntering. They wrote back again within minutes of my reply and said the vasy majority of complaints we get about noise is where the machine is on glass. END. No we can look into it for you, no were sorry, nothing!
Think it told me 2 things:
1) Humax are well aware and this is an issue of some volume (no pun intended).
2) They dont care, unless it hits their bottom line sufficiently they will carry on risking the odd return in order to skimp on build quality to hit a price point and achieve margin and just re sell the returns as graded machines rather than invest in getting it right out the gate.
Richer sounds however responded to my review and have been excellent. I have video and audio to demonstrate and will try and pop in after the snow clears. Machine is still doing it but less frequently so will monitor for a week and see how it goes. In 'quiet' mode its audible but bearable, when it has its little fits it make me want to return it straight away.

At least you got a response!
Richer sounds in Solihull a year ago stopped dealing with Humax because they had so many problems from customers & only sold the Panasonics.
It shouldnt matter what you put the Humax on. Mine was on top of the panasonic which is on top of a glass shelf.
You shouldnt hear it at all. send it back like I did. It instantly makes you feel better. Then buy the 4000 & feel even betterer

Odd

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/digital-set-top-boxes.html

I have 3 boxes close to where I sit and a 4th further away. They are all on glass shelves.

Humax HDR-1000S 2TB Seagate Pipeline Originally had 2TB WD-AV-GP that failed after about 2.5 yrs.

Humax FVP-5000T 2TB Seagate Pipeline (Replaced original 500GB Seagate Pipeline purely for storage reasons)

Humax HDR-FOX-T2 Original 500GB Seagate Pipeline

Humax Foxsat-HDR WD AV-GP 1TB - replaced original 500GB Seagate way back in 2008.

The top 2 are frequently recording two channels at once at the same time. The only time I can hear a drive is when one of them spins up in a completely quiet room, after that to hear if the disk is running I have to put my ear close to the box.

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 16:12:27 #35 |
Minstrel SE

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Absolutely gcdbones...they dont care and I got a reply that "ours is fine in the office" which could have been written by a 10 year old with no experience of customer service.

I wasnt expecting the Monty Python dirty fork sketch but I would have liked them to show some interest in what was obviously an unacceptable issue. If I cant get them or Seagate to investigate the issue Im wasting my breath.

I was caught between them and a warehouse store I will never visit again. The unit should have gone back for a refund but I was in a vunerable state of mind. Lessons have been learnt but I didnt expect to be buying a deeply flawed product

As you have all said its about margins and passing the customer service buck to the retailer. I soon realised that the narrow margins on my unit are dangerous territory for me. Really I would have needed to pay more and I would have done that if I had known they were skimping and cutting corners.

Its got nothing to do with the shelf its on or re formatting it yet they trawl this out to deflect the issue. Its like being asked if you have switched it on when the problem is clear to me.

Ive seen numerous examples where they dont apologise or deal with the issue. There also seemed to be a significant number of used 2000 refurbished units flooding the market so I see this as how their accountants deal with it. Its almost like a product they can chuck away which hurts.

Yes Im talking about the 2000 but it still niggles me how casual the customer service was and I follow the 4000 and 5000 with interest.

I am prepared to pay double the amount or more for my next pvr and sadly it probably wont be a Humax

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 20:00:49 #36 |
Marius

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Minstrel SE - 2 hours ago »
I soon realised that the narrow margins on my unit are dangerous territory for me. Really I would have needed to pay more and I would have done that if I had known they were skimping and cutting corners...

I am prepared to pay double the amount or more for my next pvr and sadly it probably wont be a Humax

I'd also happily pay double the current price for a 5000T with adequate memory and processing power for the tasks it's expected to perform.

But I think you and I are in the minority and sadly, no such option exists - with Humax or any other brand. I was looking at the alternatives on Amazon only this morning and they're all about the same price and all seem to have to have the same defects if the reviews are anything to judge by.

The only possible exception - the Panasonic DMR-HWT230EB Smart 1TB @ £390 - has now been discontinued and even that looked far from perfect.

As one wag commented: "If you enjoy having your screen totally covered every five minutes by a message telling you that your clever Panasonic device has found new channels then this is the product for you".

What's really annoying is that the 5000T would be a really great product if it wasn't so appallingly slow. But perhaps the early demise of the Panasonic DMR-HWT230EB really does show that there just aren't enough UK PVR punters with deep enough pockets to choose build-quality over price considerations.

| Sun 4 Mar 2018 23:01:53 #37 |
Minstrel SE

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Thats a very good point Marius which also affected my decision. There wasnt a lot else which appealed to me and I read that other manufacturers products had some issues.

I was brand loyal to Humax and thought they had the economies of scale mastered. The shop alternative in that price range was a plastic looking Panasonic with tiny lights on the front and reports it was slow/clunky. There were models from Sharp and Huawei etc but they just didnt appeal to me

The Humax unit looked good and it seemed ideal for my needs. Its in the back of my mind that I am being a bit harsh on Humax but I was disapointed with my purchase.

I think its more that I want Humax to be the best. I spent years with their 8000T so I know they can make very nice products.

I would like to try a 4000 or 5000 myself but I have been a bit put off

Best wishes to everyone on the forum

| Mon 5 Mar 2018 9:37:17 #38 |
Marius

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Minstrel SE - 4 hours ago » I think its more that I want Humax to be the best. I spent years with their 8000T so I know they can make very nice products.

That's exactly what I'm always saying.

After many years of using a Humax PVR9150T which was fast, absolutely reliable never missed a single recording I was a hard-core fanboy, unwilling to even consider another brand. All the more so as the PVR9150T was my third attempt at finding a trustworthy PVR after two that crashed frequently, missed recordings and were complete junk.

I would like to try a 4000 or 5000 myself but I have been a bit put off

I can certainly understand that.

But for all my whining about the 5000T's slowness, the fact is that it's 100% reliable and doesn't mess up recordings and that, for me, has to be the number one priority. And since that holds true even when it's recording four programmes at once I'm pretty sure that there's nothing else that's better - or even as good - on the market.

It also has superb picture quality and the on-demand services - which I never used till recently - work flawlessly.

Given all that I think the 5000T is excellent value for money, and if I'd be even happier with a higher-specced machine that cost considerably more, I can see that I'm probably in a minority and that such a product would make no commercial sense for Humax, given the small size of the UK's PVR market.

| Mon 5 Mar 2018 13:57:41 #39 |
Martin Liddle

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Marius - 1 hour ago »
Given all that I think the 5000T is excellent value for money, and if I'd be even happier with a higher-specced machine that cost considerably more, I can see that I'm probably in a minority and that such a product would make no commercial sense for Humax, given the small size of the UK's PVR market.

I think there is a general view that the main negative point for the FVP-5000T is that the user interface could be more responsive. Maybe Humax can get a bit more performance by tweaking the software. I assume they know where the bottleneck is (I would speculate it could be RAM, CPU or graphics hardware) and future models will have components specified to give a more responsive UI.

| Mon 5 Mar 2018 16:00:55 #40 |