Update 1.01.25, Any real improvements?

My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » FVP 4000T, 5000T

Update 1.01.25, Any real improvements?

(16 posts)

crashcris

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I really want to buy a new pvr and the FVP-4000T really should be the one.

However, I've followed all the forums and it seems that it's actually a bit of a dog of a machine. I've been waiting for firmware updates and the latest one is here now.

Other than the much improved EPG, have they sorted out any of the other problems that have kept me from buying the FVP-4000T, namely, the responsiveness of button pushes, the layout of recorded programmes, the reliability of the recordings/ watching programmes whist recording/ jump forward/ jump backward/ etc?

Also could someone tell me how long it takes to delete recordings from the machine? My old Humax 9300T is instant, but my icecrypt pvr can take up to a minute to delete a 2 hour HD film, which means deleting whole series can take an eternity. Many thanks if you can help.

| Tue 2 Aug 2016 20:14:18 #1 |
grahamlthompson

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crashcris - 4 minutes ago »
I really want to buy a new pvr and the FVP-4000T really should be the one.
However, I've followed all the forums and it seems that it's actually a bit of a dog of a machine. I've been waiting for firmware updates and the latest one is here now.
Other than the much improved EPG, have they sorted out any of the other problems that have kept me from buying the FVP-4000T, namely, the responsiveness of button pushes, the layout of recorded programmes, the reliability of the recordings/ watching programmes whist recording/ jump forward/ jump backward/ etc?
Also could someone tell me how long it takes to delete recordings from the machine? My old Humax 9300T is instant, but my icecrypt pvr can take up to a minute to delete a 2 hour HD film, which means deleting whole series can take an eternity. Many thanks if you can help.

Deleting programmes on your 9200T does not actually delete the data, only the few bytes that tells the OS where to find it, and easy to undo as a consequence (similar to Windows). Your icecrypt pvr no doubt uses Linux, file deletion on Linux actually deletes the data. Once actioned you can't get the file back. More sophisticated Linux based pvrs process deletes in the background, the only sign is the time it takes to recover the hard disk recording space.

| Tue 2 Aug 2016 20:24:03 #2 |
Martin Liddle

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grahamlthompson - 7 minutes ago »
Your icecrypt pvr no doubt uses Linux, file deletion on Linux actually deletes the data.

What makes you think that? As far as I am aware deleting on an EXT2/3 file system leaves the data in place but deletes the links to the data. There are tools like extundelete to attempt to recover deleted files. The delete is slow because "The ext3 filesystem makes use of an indirect block mapping scheme, which has to keep track of all block mappings". Humax work around the problem by doing deletion in a separate thread so the user can continue to use the PVR whilst the deletion completes.

| Tue 2 Aug 2016 20:41:10 #3 |
crashcris

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Well thank you for those two replies, whilst interesting, are they actually addressing any of the questions posed in my original post?

As far as I'm concerned it's the functionality of the machine that I'm interested in. As Martin Liddle said, as soon as I've pressed delete on the 9300T I can then get on with using the machine again. My Icecrypt can have me looking at a deleting menu for ages, a friend of mine bought a Panasonic and the functions were so slow he stopped using it altogether. How does the FVP-4000T compare?

Are there any real improvements due to the latest update?

Thank you.

| Tue 2 Aug 2016 20:57:02 #4 |
Elmojo

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Yes there are improvements. The EPG is now generally much better. The previous EPG was at best difficult to live with.
The main thing is that the picture quality is excellent both HD and standard definition.
This is my fifth Humax Freeview box so I had a good working knowledge of using the EPG on the previous the four. That said this EPG looks good but still has some crazy design decisions. Top of the list is a lack of an info button on the remote. This is still causing problems as the ok button is used to bring up info and sometimes to select a channel. Obviously this is causing the Humax engineers some confusion too as this is a source of some irritating issues.
The next thing that bugs me about the EPG is a complete lack of the ability to create new folders/directories to store related recordings in. There is also no way to copy or move recordings on the EPG, which means that things just end up a mess that you can't reorganise. So still much to do on the EPG front.
I Have found that the network side of things work well generally and the ability to off load stuff from the box is good. I also use ftp to upload stuff to the box and that works well too.

| Tue 2 Aug 2016 22:15:20 #5 |
crashcris

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Thanks Elmojo. I've seen screen shots of the new EPG and it does look better but the other aspects of the recordings menu (no info button/ no copy function/ no ability to create folders/ etc) you mention are certainly lacking in functionality.

Could you please let me know about the responsiveness of button pushes (fast or slow?), the layout of recorded programmes menu (quick or slow to scroll through lists, can you jump pages of recordings?), the reliability of the recordings/ watching programmes whist recording/ jump forward/ jump backward (can you instantly cut out the adverts or do you have to fast forward through them?)/ etc...

Also could you tell me how long it takes to delete recordings from the machine?

Many thanks.

| Wed 3 Aug 2016 6:27:22 #6 |
Barry

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Some confusing info being posted here.

Folders, copy, move has nothing to do with the EPG.

You can copy/move recordings to an external HDD.

Deleting recordings has no impact on user continuing to use the unit, HDD space used may take a few seconds to update other then that there is no problem, you can select multiple recordings to delete if so desired.

You can page down in the recordings list using the CH up/down button.

Not had a failed recording other then due to schedule changes, and of course you can watch and record at the same time.

Skip function is included, suggest you read our FAQ's

| Wed 3 Aug 2016 7:40:04 #7 |
JohnH77

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No INFO button is a trivial nit as you can always get to the programme information.

Any PVR will have its own problems ...

This forum is very active at finding problems, and finding workarounds to them. We believe Humax reads the forum. Humax offered forum members pre-release software to test.

| Wed 3 Aug 2016 8:31:51 #8 |
Elmojo

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Hi all. I don't accept the concept of being able to copy to external storage only. That dosent help people that don't have external storage devices or networks. The box should be able to function with just a terrestrial TV signal. The fact you can't reorganise the internal storage from the EPG is not acceptable on box at this price level.
The lack of the Info button means it takes multiple button presses to get what should be a simple operation.
I used the term EPG loosly to avoid confusion. The main drivers and main body of code that gives the system functionality is the firmware itself. Sat on top of this is the EPG and user interface that gives you access to the functionality of the system. Collectively called the firmware. What have I confused.
Crashcris:
This version of the firmware and EPG is much faster and responsive. Generally I have no problems with recordings although I too have read posts on here. However, I have had little or no issues.
Jumping past adverts is generally the same as previous Humax PVR boxes and it is relatively quick.

| Wed 3 Aug 2016 9:14:02 #9 |
crashcris

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Elmojo. Thank you, I'm with you on the point of being able to copy within the machine. My old 9300T allows you to copy individual segments of a recorded programme and then delete the original, eg just save your favourite couple of songs from Eurovision Song Contest and free up 3 or more hours of rubbish.

Also ridiculous is the multiple button pushes to perform simple tasks such as dragging up info or jumping forward or back and the speed of responsiveness to such commands (which I've gleaned from elsewhere, is still slow and rather frustrating and can lead to confusion as one can not always be sure the machine has registered each command).

I had hoped that by now the firmware would have addressed these points as they seem to be issues that the early purchasers highlighted 10 months ago and have resulted in a rather poor star rating on the Amazon web site.

Do you think they will ever be willing or able to speed the machine up? Personally, I would happily do without thumbnail pictures and just a list of recorded programmes to scroll through.

| Wed 3 Aug 2016 9:32:25 #10 |