Humax Freesat upgrade

[David]

We have a (several years) old Humax Foxsat HD where the BBC iPlayer no
longer works and there is no recording capability (internal or external).

We also have a Humax HB1000S with an external drive for recording. The
only issue with this is the single tuner which means you can't watch one
thing and record another. However this isn't a massive issue because I
would have to upgrade from a 4 port LNB to an 8 port LNB and run extra
cable around the house to be able to use any more tuners.

Now Humax Direct offer a refurbished HB-1000S for £69 and I can get a 1TB
external USB drive from Argos for under £50 so for around £120 I can get a
more recent Freesat recorder.

The cheapest from Humax with an internal disc is the HDR-1100S 500GB at
£149.99. 1TB is £189.99.

So I am struggling to decide if I should get the 2 tuner setup for the
extra recording ability or just get another single tuner setup and source
an external drive.

Any other options which perform as well as the Humax and also don't cost a
fortune?

I'm just trying to work out at the moment if I will regret not getting
that extra tuner.

Cheers


Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
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[David]

On Thu, 03 Aug 2017 14:55:19 +0000, David wrote:

> We have a (several years) old Humax Foxsat HD where the BBC iPlayer no
> longer works and there is no recording capability (internal or
> external).
>
> We also have a Humax HB1000S with an external drive for recording. The
> only issue with this is the single tuner which means you can't watch one
> thing and record another. However this isn't a massive issue because I
> would have to upgrade from a 4 port LNB to an 8 port LNB and run extra
> cable around the house to be able to use any more tuners.
>
> Now Humax Direct offer a refurbished HB-1000S for £69 and I can get a
> 1TB external USB drive from Argos for under £50 so for around £120 I can
> get a more recent Freesat recorder.
>
> The cheapest from Humax with an internal disc is the HDR-1100S 500GB at
> £149.99. 1TB is £189.99.
>
> So I am struggling to decide if I should get the 2 tuner setup for the
> extra recording ability or just get another single tuner setup and
> source an external drive.
>
> Any other options which perform as well as the Humax and also don't cost
> a fortune?
>
> I'm just trying to work out at the moment if I will regret not getting
> that extra tuner.

Just checked back and our current HB1000S (G) cost us £39.
Grumble.
Then again that was an amazingly good price!

[tim...]

"David" <wib...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:eugrqnF...@mid.individual.net...

> We have a (several years) old Humax Foxsat HD where the BBC iPlayer no
> longer works and there is no recording capability (internal or external).
>
> We also have a Humax HB1000S with an external drive for recording. The
> only issue with this is the single tuner which means you can't watch one
> thing and record another. However this isn't a massive issue because I
> would have to upgrade from a 4 port LNB to an 8 port LNB and run extra
> cable around the house to be able to use any more tuners.
>
> Now Humax Direct offer a refurbished HB-1000S for £69 and I can get a 1TB
> external USB drive from Argos for under £50 so for around £120 I can get a
> more recent Freesat recorder.
>
> The cheapest from Humax with an internal disc is the HDR-1100S 500GB at
> £149.99. 1TB is £189.99.
>
> So I am struggling to decide if I should get the 2 tuner setup for the
> extra recording ability or just get another single tuner setup and source
> an external drive.
>
> Any other options which perform as well as the Humax and also don't cost a
> fortune?
>
> I'm just trying to work out at the moment if I will regret not getting
> that extra tuner.

how can we answer that?

I would be lost without twin record capacity

But it is clear that others manage adequately without it

[tim...]

"David" <wib...@btinternet.com> wrote in message

news:eugs2qF...@mid.individual.net...

> On Thu, 03 Aug 2017 14:55:19 +0000, David wrote:
>
>> We have a (several years) old Humax Foxsat HD where the BBC iPlayer no
>> longer works and there is no recording capability (internal or
>> external).
>>
>> We also have a Humax HB1000S with an external drive for recording. The
>> only issue with this is the single tuner which means you can't watch one
>> thing and record another. However this isn't a massive issue because I
>> would have to upgrade from a 4 port LNB to an 8 port LNB and run extra
>> cable around the house to be able to use any more tuners.
>>
>> Now Humax Direct offer a refurbished HB-1000S for £69 and I can get a
>> 1TB external USB drive from Argos for under £50 so for around £120 I can
>> get a more recent Freesat recorder.
>>
>> The cheapest from Humax with an internal disc is the HDR-1100S 500GB at
>> £149.99. 1TB is £189.99.
>>
>> So I am struggling to decide if I should get the 2 tuner setup for the
>> extra recording ability or just get another single tuner setup and
>> source an external drive.
>>
>> Any other options which perform as well as the Humax and also don't cost
>> a fortune?
>>
>> I'm just trying to work out at the moment if I will regret not getting
>> that extra tuner.
>
> Just checked back and our current HB1000S (G) cost us £39.
> Grumble.
> Then again that was an amazingly good price!

99 pounds new in Currys (other retailers available)

tim

[Brian Gaff]

Everything is set to go up in price a lot in the next year or so, so now is
the time to jump.
Brian

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"David" <wib...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:eugs2qF...@mid.individual.net...

[Brian Gaff]

If you could site the unit near the dish and get that bigger lnb and then
use the output from that device to feed the rest of the system that will at
least allow you to record more but still keep your cables.

Brian

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"tim..." <tims_n...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:olvf1h$9p2$1...@dont-email.me...

[David]

Further disclosure.

We have Virgin Media and a Tivo (with 3 tuners) downstairs.
So most stuff can be recorded on there and played back later.
However I find it really useful to be able to record things that are in my
special interest range such as cycle races (e.g. TDF) and F1 and be able
to play them back without competing for the main recorder.

Current upgrade requirement is that my partner has the older box upstairs
and can no longer watch iPlayer.
It would be nice if the upgrade could also record stuff.
However it is always available downstairs.

Haven't progressed to being able to play Tivo recordings on other devices.

So I can see extra flexibility (and I have had issues where TDF conflicts
with F1 on rare occasions) with two tuners but I'm trying to decide if I'm
just naturally tight with money and a larger LNB and a multi-tuner STB
would be a good long term investment.

[Dave W]

On 03/08/2017 15:55, David wrote:
> We have a (several years) old Humax Foxsat HD where the BBC iPlayer no
> longer works and there is no recording capability (internal or external).
>
> We also have a Humax HB1000S with an external drive for recording. The
> only issue with this is the single tuner which means you can't watch one
> thing and record another. However this isn't a massive issue because I
> would have to upgrade from a 4 port LNB to an 8 port LNB and run extra
> cable around the house to be able to use any more tuners.
>
> Now Humax Direct offer a refurbished HB-1000S for £69 and I can get a 1TB
> external USB drive from Argos for under £50 so for around £120 I can get a
> more recent Freesat recorder.
>
> The cheapest from Humax with an internal disc is the HDR-1100S 500GB at
> £149.99. 1TB is £189.99.
>
> So I am struggling to decide if I should get the 2 tuner setup for the
> extra recording ability or just get another single tuner setup and source
> an external drive.
>
> Any other options which perform as well as the Humax and also don't cost a
> fortune?
>
> I'm just trying to work out at the moment if I will regret not getting
> that extra tuner.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> Dave R
>
>

I have an old Humax Foxsat HDR. It only has two LNB inputs, one of which
has an output for looping through to the other. I only use one input and
loop through. When recording, channels on different band and
polarisation are greyed out, but I can usually find a regional
alternative BBC channel to record that as well. So often I can be
recording two and watching a third if its band and polarisation is the
same as one of the ones being recorded.

I have never yet felt the need to go to a dual LNB, let alone quad. I
would try to buy a second-hand Foxsat HDR, because there is software
available for it on the web to prevent the encryption of HD recordings,
allowing you to preserve them for replay on another device.
--
Dave W

[tim...]

"Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:olvhg9$aoe$1...@news.albasani.net...

> Everything is set to go up in price a lot in the next year or so, so now
> is the time to jump.

OTOH the price of Freesat boxes hasn't moved in the past 3 years, despite 1
and a half iterations of Moore's law

tim

[Indy Jess John]

On 03/08/2017 16:26, Martin wrote:
>
> Humax make a three tuner Freeview, but not Freesat ???, PVR too. :-)

Freesat recorders seem to all have one LNB connection per tuner.
Assuming that because they are all configured like that such an
arrangement is necessary (after all, Freeview recorders have a single
aerial connection serving however many tuners are provided), then
requiring yet another cable from a LNB to operate a third tuner could
put potential buyers off.

Jim

[tim...]

"Indy Jess John" <jimw...@OMITblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:%DUgB.602860$LJ4.5...@fx37.am4...

Standard wring for a satellite feed is for a "Sky +" connection.

That's two connections per faceplate

Some cheapskate developers (like where my sister lives) only supply one.

There is no hope of updating current installations to three connection per
faceplate so no-one is ever going to offer a three tuner Sat box (as unlike
FreeView the input feeds cannot be daisy chained)

What they can upgrade to is "record 2, view 1" where the one being viewed is
on the same group as one of the programs being recorded, that just requires
processing grunt.

No-one seems to advertise this feature, so I assume that they can't. It's a
right PITA that they (mine) doesn't do it.

tim

[Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd]

> Freesat recorders seem to all have one LNB connection per tuner.

This has been the historical case, but technology has moved on.

Sky Q uses a new wideband LNB that means the boxes have 12 tuners with
only two LNB connections, one for each polarisation.

The Sky Q Silver box will record six channels, while you watch four
more on wifi connected Mini Q boxes and tablets streaming from the
Silver box. The EPG has it's own tuner.

Not seen any freesat boxes using this new technology yet, but it will
come, hopefully Humax is planning something new.

Angus

[PeterC]

In Humax's case, that means dropping functionality in favour of glitzcrap
and upping the running power by 20W.
In a well-known, specialised AV shop the assistant told me that he wouldn't
buy a Humax.
For my next box it might well be the 4k Mutant or similar.
https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/mut@nt-mutant-hd51

If I can manage such an esoteric beastie. Fast boot and 13W running.


--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

[tim...]

"Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd" <an...@magsys.co.uk> wrote in
message news:memo.20170804...@magsys.adsl.magsys.co.uk...

>> Freesat recorders seem to all have one LNB connection per tuner.
>
> This has been the historical case, but technology has moved on.
>
> Sky Q uses a new wideband LNB that means the boxes have 12 tuners with
> only two LNB connections, one for each polarisation.

how does that plug into communal systems?

Genuinely not understanding quite how it works here

> The Sky Q Silver box will record six channels, while you watch four
> more on wifi connected Mini Q boxes and tablets streaming from the
> Silver box. The EPG has it's own tuner.
>
> Not seen any freesat boxes using this new technology yet, but it will
> come, hopefully Humax is planning something new.

most of which will be plugged into communal systems

(because the majority with a stand alone dish outside their house will have
acquired it as part of a sky "package")

tim

[tim...]

"PeterC" <giraffe...@homecall.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jasmyj07v3gy$.1kckiej5l6cf2.dlg@40tude.net...

> On Thu, 3 Aug 2017 19:00:37 +0100, tim... wrote:
>
>> "Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:olvhg9$aoe$1...@news.albasani.net...
>>> Everything is set to go up in price a lot in the next year or so, so now
>>> is the time to jump.
>>
>> OTOH the price of Freesat boxes hasn't moved in the past 3 years, despite
>> 1
>> and a half iterations of Moore's law
>>
> In Humax's case, that means dropping functionality in favour of glitzcrap
> and upping the running power by 20W.

um, no it doesn't

it means that you ought to be able to drop your price because your build
costs are lower (as the components now cost less)

This *is* what happened with the Freeview SD boxes.

It's really what ought to be happening with HD boxes

If what you mean by glitzcrap is "smart" functionality, then I agree

I think manufacture of "FreeSat/View Plus" logo-ed boxes should be required
to offer non-smart options of their box (at appropriately reduced prices)
(obviously only the owner of the TM can do that, we can't legislate for it).

Not because I'm a luddite who doesn't want that functionality.

but because I already have 2 devices in my living room that provide me with
that functionality, and I don't want to be forced into paying over the odds
for a third when all I want to do is upgrade my video recorder to a fucking
bigger disk.

> In a well-known, specialised AV shop the assistant told me that he
> wouldn't
> buy a Humax.

but what would he buy?

I once went into a specialist HIFi shop looking to buy a high quality
"Integrated" unit

despite having several such products on offer that I asked him to compare
the pros and cons of for me, all he did was spend 5 minutes trying to
persuade me that I should "upgrade" to separates.

I walked out.

It's all very well saying that "I wouldn't buy a Humax", but not if his
alternative is "not a set top box" at all.

tim

[Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd]

> > Sky Q uses a new wideband LNB that means the boxes have 12
> > tuners with only two LNB connections, one for each polarisation.
>
> how does that plug into communal systems?

In theory, wide band LNBs simplify communal systems since only two LNB
signals need to be distributed, instead of four for dual band systems,
but a wider bandwidth is needed. Such a system would be useless for
existing freesat dual band boxes.

Sky Q boxes are designed to work with a new communal multiswitches
system using dSCR (digital single cable reception) which delivers up to
16 satellite signals to the Sky box down a single coax from the switch,
enough for the 12 tuners. The dSCR multiswitch also works with
existing dual band Sky boxes and, freeview and freesat.

Full technical explanation of Sky Q and dSCR at:

http://www.ableis.co.uk/archives/4606

and you can buy Triax TMDS dSCR multiswitches at:

https://www.satellitesuperstore.com/sky_q_multiswitch.htm

A five input, four output multiswitch is £250 which would feed four Sky
Q boxes, up to 16 outputs (£770).

Angus

[tim...]

"Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd" <an...@magsys.co.uk> wrote in
message news:memo.20170804...@magsys.adsl.magsys.co.uk...

>> > Sky Q uses a new wideband LNB that means the boxes have 12
>> > tuners with only two LNB connections, one for each polarisation.
>>
>> how does that plug into communal systems?
>
> In theory, wide band LNBs simplify communal systems since only two LNB
> signals need to be distributed, instead of four for dual band systems,
> but a wider bandwidth is needed. Such a system would be useless for
> existing freesat dual band boxes.

As I thought (on nothing more than a guess)

everyone has to go out and buy a new machine at the same time (or all
subscribe to Sky Q, when most of then want nothing to do with Sky ABCDEF...)

Good luck with that one.

tim

[David]

Thanks.

Half decent specification with two satellite tuners and a 1TB HDD plus a
WiFi dongle all comes to £250.

Hard to justify the extra £60 over the Humax HDR-1100S 1TB and way above
the £69 (and scrabble some disc bits together) for the HB-1000S.

[PeterC]

On Fri, 04 Aug 2017 11:32:47 +0200, Martin wrote:

>>In Humax's case, that means dropping functionality in favour of glitzcrap
>>and upping the running power by 20W.
>

> Humax Freesat boxes have increased functionality and have nothing I would
> describe as glitzy.

Interesting - better the devil I know...
The increased power is daft - this is the 4th PC I've built and now the
whole rig is lower power than the 14" colour CRT that I had.

>
>>In a well-known, specialised AV shop the assistant told me that he wouldn't
>>buy a Humax.
>

> Bad advice, was he trying to sell you a more expensive make?
> Humax was recommended by Real Sound.

The place sold only Humax (except for a couple of Freeview boxen and I want
Freesat).

[PeterC]

On Fri, 04 Aug 2017 13:57:00 +0100, pamela wrote:

> Maybe it's a good product but the brand name Mutant doesn't exactly
> inspire confidence. It's sounds like something coined by
> enthusiastic playful geeks operating out of a garage.

Yup - and, judging by the setting up, typical Linux. The vids on YT say it's
simple - well, I'd have to do research on that!

[Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd]

> As I thought (on nothing more than a guess)>
> everyone has to go out and buy a new machine at the same time

Untrue, you seem to have given up reading half way through my original
comment which explains how multi-occupier properties can actually get
Sky Q, Sky HD, freeview or freesat through a single coax.

But the property manager does need to install new multiswitches. Sky
will actually subsidise the installation for new build, since it allows
them to sell Sky Q and offer rapid installation (no dish).

Angus

[tim...]

"PeterC" <giraffe...@homecall.co.uk> wrote in message

news:z2yztlhn9tk4.zmwqmmtlnx6z$.dlg@40tude.net...

the Hummy is rumored to have Linux inside

that's be why (with some help from hummy's poor standard of engineers) its
real time responses are crap

tim

[tim...]

"Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd" <an...@magsys.co.uk> wrote in
message news:memo.20170804...@magsys.adsl.magsys.co.uk...

>> As I thought (on nothing more than a guess)>
>> everyone has to go out and buy a new machine at the same time
>
> Untrue, you seem to have given up reading half way through my original

yes I did

sorry

I didn't realise that's what it was :-(

tim

[David]

On Sat, 05 Aug 2017 09:36:56 +0200, Martin wrote:

> On 4 Aug 2017 15:15:14 GMT, David <wib...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 04 Aug 2017 09:00:24 +0100, PeterC wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2017 19:00:37 +0100, tim... wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
>>>> news:olvhg9$aoe$1...@news.albasani.net...
>>>>> Everything is set to go up in price a lot in the next year or so, so
>>>>> now is the time to jump.
>>>>
>>>> OTOH the price of Freesat boxes hasn't moved in the past 3 years,
>>>> despite 1 and a half iterations of Moore's law
>>>>
>>> In Humax's case, that means dropping functionality in favour of
>>> glitzcrap and upping the running power by 20W.
>>> In a well-known, specialised AV shop the assistant told me that he
>>> wouldn't buy a Humax.
>>> For my next box it might well be the 4k Mutant or similar.
>>> https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/mut@nt-mutant-hd51
>>>
>>> If I can manage such an esoteric beastie. Fast boot and 13W running.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>Half decent specification with two satellite tuners and a 1TB HDD plus a
>>WiFi dongle all comes to £250.
>>
>>Hard to justify the extra £60 over the Humax HDR-1100S 1TB and way above
>>the £69 (and scrabble some disc bits together) for the HB-1000S.
>

> Current Humax boxes have wifi built into them.

Refurb ones dont! :-)

[David]

On Sat, 05 Aug 2017 12:23:55 +0200, Martin wrote:

> I have a refurbished HB 1000S. It has wifi built in. It gets its EPG via
> wifi.

As far as I know my current one doesn't.
Will await the new one (due early next week) with interest.

From <https://uk.humaxdigital.com/product/hb-1000s/>

"Home Networking
The HB-1000S offers exciting multimedia and home networking capabilities
when connected to the internet via the Ethernet, making it the heart of
any home. Play media content including photos, videos and MP3s directly
onto your TV using a memory device connected to the USB port, or connect
it to PCs or laptops around the home through your home router, using the
Ethernet port. Your friends and family will be able to see your holiday
moments on the big screen without having to crowd around your digital
camera.
If you don’t like wires or your router is in another room you can connect
your HB-1000S wirelessly via an optional Wi-Fi dongle which is supplied
separately."

So it seems that WiFi isn't built in but you can by a dongle as an extra.

I'm also puzzled by your comment about the EPG.
It implies that if you are not connected to the Internet then you won't
get an EPG.

Cheers


Dave R