Humax Fox T2 with Tivo UI

Link?

 

April 1st or am I dreaming?

 

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

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err, troll?

 

I have just bought a Humax Foxsat HDR 500Gb (Freesat) and I have to say it is very impressive. Guided setup was easy to follow and it was up and running in no time. The interface is logical and as close as I have seen to a TiVo - I think they must have employed some TiVo fans in the development team. Picture quality is excellent on SD (better than TiVo mode 0) and HD is superb. Better still there is a very large community providing all sorts of hacks and upgrades (it is a Linux device) so it really is a TiVo replacement. It has twin tuners, network interface, end padding, media player, file manager and lots more I have yet to discover.

I was going to stick with my SDI modified TiVo but the installation of some new equipment meant I would need to buy an SDI to HDMI converter and that was £350. The Humax cost £239 from Curry's and for TV addicts there is a 1Gb version.

Another TiVo bites the dust!

NB There is a Humax master thread on AVForums which details all the various hacks.

 

I don't believe the UI OP.

There is also an easy way to upgrade the Humax to 2Tb
(hence buy smallest possible and upgrade for ~£55)
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1362751

Also...... you can copy HD stream off the Humax unencrypted
http://www.hummy.tv/forum/threads/f...-utility-for-the-hdr-fox-t2-now-released.240/

The Humax is good. I was watching True Blood via the network last night (PC in bedroom, Humax in living room).

 

Thanks for the links! I had already found 'Foxy' which allows you to stream HD and get the T2 to produce 'clear' decrypted HD backups. It is like turning the clock back 10 years when the TiVo community really got into hacking the boxes. This really is a great replacement and seems to be going from strength to strength. I may have to buy another and retire my other TiVo if only because it saves space being very small and replacing both the TiVo and Freeview (or Freesat) box.

No idea what the OP was on about though.

 

I have a 2TB one for a while, nowhere near a TiVo, issues like...

- Only 7 day EPG compared to 21days "old" TiVo and about 11 for AltEPG.
- Had quite a few "corrupt" recordings, where the only option was delete. Usually a series link recording, just doesn't record. Luckily TiVo recorded OK.
- The equivalent of TiVo ToDo list is useless, generally only showing the first episode of a series link.
- Since the "Samba hack" first appeared all HD recordings are now ENC, which renders getting them off the box impossible.

However the HD'ness makes up for all these shortfalls.

 

Unfortunately this weekend's news that Bernie has signed up with Sky for most live F1 races from next year will have come as a blow to any Humax Freesat HD box owners who are also F1 fans.

This means you will after all need a Sky HD or Virgin Tivo box to watch F1 in HD live from 2012 onwards (except for the British GP, Monaco GP and last race of the season).

 

I thought they were sharing it 50/50 with the BBC showing highlights for the ones others had rights to? Anyway regardless of what I miss I refuse to sponsor any man or company who have (allegedly) so comprehensibly messed with British politics for the last 30 years for their own gain.

And why would it be such a "blow" to Humax owners not to be able to watch the GP live?

 

You completely misunderstand the situation then.

From the BBC's own Head of F1, Ben Gallop at www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2011/07/f1_coverage_to_be_shared_betwe.html

Because there are only three HD channels anyway with a Freesat HD box and now one of the main events available on HD has been halved in coverage.

If you really don't mind watching an F1 race several hours after you have already accidentally caught the result listening to a radio or tv news bulletin then I suppose that's up to you. In reality one of the main reasons F1 highlights, tennis and other sports highlights programs have always been shortened is because most viewers of the program at this time of day will already know the result.

 

No, YOU completely misunderstand the situation.

Although I am a dedicated petrolhead (having just returned from a 3,200 mile trip around France in our E-Type) I have little interest watching other people drive around in circles. Even when my curiosity is aroused knowing the outcome of the race would do nothing to spoil my enjoyment of the action. To be honest sitting in front of a TV for 2 hours on a glorious Sunday afternoon when I could be hareing about in a classic car has zero appeal. So it is still not a "blow" to this Humax owner as F1 is not one of the main events in my life.

Besides having a PVR is all about time shifting and I can't actually remember the last time I watched anything "live".

Back on topic I have to say the picture quality from the Humax is stunning but the user experience falls short of TiVo. It seems the EPG is downloaded from the Satellite rather than online and every time you visit it downloads it again which takes time. The biggest disappointment is the remote. Why do designers believe we need a huge numerical keypad yet the play, pause, rewind, 30 sec skip buttons are small and badly placed. Personally I think the TiVo remote is what makes the user experience so exemplary.

 

Why does Humax make the most important keys of a PVR, play, stop, fast forward and rewind so small and insignificant ?? I find the remote virtually impossible to use in the dark, having to actually look at the remote to find these keys.

Also never had to use the number keys, can't see what they are for, maybe useful if one watches live TV ?

 

It is indeed a shame because in other ways the remote is very good. Easy to programme for three other devices and with a huge IR database. The navigation wheel works much like TiVo but it is down hill from there on - the IR is weak and the angle of operation is needlessly limited. I have looked at alternative r/c's and the Harmony One comes closest. I may give one of those a go.

 

Have you removed the hidden layer of protective film on the front of the Humax (can't remember if its on the inside of a pull down flap). Did this to my mates and suddenly remote a lot more directional and responsive.

 

Yup - there were two, one on the outside clear cover and another on the inside IR window. The problem seems to be the IR sensor is so far back from the front the angle of operation is limited. Another triumph of design over practicality! Why can't manufacturers put the sensor in a protruding dome so it see's 180 degrees? They seem to assume everyone puts their AV equipment under the screen facing the user whereas my Plasma is on the wall and the equipment is to the front and to the side, facing out at 90 degrees to the user. Here the Popcorn Hour C-200 scores as it uses an RF r/c which works brilliantly regardless of angle.

 

I don't know if I'm the only one, but my approx. 12 month old box now takes an age to receive the data to enable me to schedule a recording, at least much longer than it used to.

Martin

 

I haven't removed the film from my TiVo bought in 2002

 

Martin

Not just me then and my Humax is a week old. I go to the guide and it says 'updating ....' which takes about 10 seconds. I can then navigate around the EPG but if I select a programme, watch it for a couple of minutes, get bored and go back to the EPG it goes through the same download routine all over again. Presumably the EPG must time out and then have to retrieve the data again in case there are any changes. Mad!