[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by nwhitfield

Indeed; though I do actually use Z wave for some of the lighting in my home; mostly the living room, but a couple of others. It gives me a handy control for the various wall lights, scene options, and a burglar deterrent (ie random) option.

But it's so little used in Europe that the equipment still has yet to reach a reasonable price, and there's not a really good range of UK equipment.

What I dont understand is concept of z-wave in a PVR which is connected to the internet anyway?

I thought the idea was to be able to control the unit from a remote location to set up recordings etc when away from the home - surely something that can be done with a tiny webserver sitting running on the box - I know this is something that Humax are looking into - so would be surprised if 3view were not (actually no I wouldn't anymore).

It seems strange to spend all the money licensing and integrating z-wave into a baord which will have little if no use for the first year+ if at all.

And to integrate it into the 3view box so a few people are able to switch their lights on and off (yes I know I am dumbing its use down here a bit) - how is that justifable cost over say sheilding for tuners or a plastic case instead of a metal one?

In my opinion yet another waste of resources from 3view sorry to say.

[everett_psycho]

I can see why it's there. If it takes off and you had lighting and stuff like that running off it would you not love to be able to tinker with it from your armchair through the 3view box? They are just trying to put everything in one box

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by everett_psycho

I can see why it's there. If it takes off and you had lighting and stuff like that running off it would you not love to be able to tinker with it from your armchair through the 3view box? They are just trying to put everything in one box

But would you not prefer a box that works as a PVR and works reliably without locking up and crashing first?

After all - you cant do anything with your lights if the PVR is unresponsive due to needing to be rebooted!

And I can get up and turn my dimmer switch up and down as much as I like and get the exercise of getting out of the chair at the same time!

[everett_psycho]

Originally Posted by dazzlingdaz

But would you not prefer a box that works as a PVR and works reliably without locking up and crashing first?

After all - you cant do anything with your lights if the PVR is unresponsive due to needing to be rebooted!

And I can get up and turn my dimmer switch up and down as much as I like and get the exercise of getting out of the chair at the same time!

woah calm down you sound like a fitness fanatic with that dimmer switch

You could do loads with your lights while trying to work out why you cant see any TV channels to keep you entertained. If the thing about interferance is true thoug hZ-wave is daft as it wont be helping their cause (this is based on my knowledge of Z-Wave which is nothing except a concept to me).

Who knnows the Z-wave mmight not work well at all in the box, the idea was there and it's a good one, just a shame theirs mistakes in other areas.

[mrash]

And I can get up and turn my dimmer switch up and down as much as I like and get the exercise of getting out of the chair at the same time!

You could also get up to turn the channel over too

[everett_psycho]

Originally Posted by mrash

You could also get up to turn the channel over too

don't be ridiculous people never did that

I get up to make dinner, now if they'd built that in i'd be impressed

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by everett_psycho

Who knnows the Z-wave mmight not work well at all in the box, the idea was there and it's a good one, just a shame theirs mistakes in other areas.

I understand its a good idea - but do you not feel that considering the use to cost ratio of implementing z-wave into the box (which I don't know but imagine it's not cheap) - that that money invested could have been spent elsewhere in making the PVR a hell of a lot better?

Having a unique selling point is of course a great idea - but the unit must function as intended first.....for example if there was a brand new microwave on the market with X-wave that allowed me to control my lighting and even wash my car for me via the microwave - but it never cooked your food correctly....would you buy it?

No - because it didnt perform its PRIMARY function and thats where 3view are getting distracted here - widgets, internet browsing, iplayer, you tube, sky player, z-wave......NONE of which works successfully yet (youtube is close!) and yet the basic function of the PVR doesnt work properly either!!!!!

You know the old saying if you start with poo and keep adding to it - all you get is a bigger lump of poo.

[pmcgsmurf]

Originally Posted by nwhitfield

If there were a need and a demand for faster general purpose CPUs as part of a SoC, then companies would be making them, or designing them. But there isn't really much call for it; even were 3View to think it necessary, they wouldn't be able to buy such a beast right now.

Check out some of the Vixs chips.

[LittlePhil]

A poster over on DS said he had got i player working on his 3 View box using t i n y u r l . c o m / t v i p l a y e r
I tried it and got the i player home page all right, but couldn't play anything..
I may have a fault on my web browser... (it lets me click a few pages then just "throbs" away... forever!

Can others try it and see what happens?

Thks
Phil

[Shakatorres]

Received mine today but did not have a lot of time to play with it as had to go out (and it took a while to setup and tune).
I can confirm that the tuners are NOT shielded (as I had to open to have a look).
Used it for about 30 mins and it only locked up twice, set some recordings and will check tomorrow and give a more detailed review and some pictures.
First impressions is that it is over engineered and they have complicated the simplest of tasks like setting recordings.

Oh and I hate the clicky remote, so cheap.

[mrash]

Originally Posted by Shakatorres

Used it for about 30 mins and it only locked up twice, set some recordings and will check tomorrow and give a more detailed review and some pictures.
First impressions is that it is over engineered and they have complicated the simplest of tasks like setting recordings.

Oh and I hate the clicky remote, so cheap.

Only locked up twice in 30 mins? I dont think even my fetch did that so quick...

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by Shakatorres

Received mine today but did not have a lot of time to play with it as had to go out (and it took a while to setup and tune).
I can confirm that the tuners are NOT shielded (as I had to open to have a look).
Used it for about 30 mins and it only locked up twice, set some recordings and will check tomorrow and give a more detailed review and some pictures.
First impressions is that it is over engineered and they have complicated the simplest of tasks like setting recordings.

Oh and I hate the clicky remote, so cheap.

Be prepared for many more lockups! - I think the average is 3 a day.

As I suspected the production boxes are minus the tuner shielding - if you don't mind taking another peek - could you post a screenshot of your board - I would be interested to see if the lugs are still there showing where the sheilding SHOULD have been supplied - please make sure you fuzz out your board number though (or they could trace you back if you want to send it back warranty wise).

Also if possible can you get in really close with some macro shots so I can see the chip numbers on the board.

[Sluggg]

Originally Posted by Sluggg

I'll suck it and see before I pass judgement - good or bad.

I've sucked it and it's now boxed up waiting for the courier to collect I'm afraid. Very disappointed that its not lived up to expectations after waiting for so long. More negatives than positives so its a no from me. Nevertheless, I hope 3view do succeed eventually, they were excellent when I phoned for a refund BTW.

[Shakatorres]

Originally Posted by dazzlingdaz

Be prepared for many more lockups! - I think the average is 3 a day.

As I suspected the production boxes are minus the tuner shielding - if you don't mind taking another peek - could you post a screenshot of your board - I would be interested to see if the lugs are still there showing where the sheilding SHOULD have been supplied - please make sure you fuzz out your board number though (or they could trace you back if you want to send it back warranty wise).

Also if possible can you get in really close with some macro shots so I can see the chip numbers on the board.

Will get some photos tomorrow and fuzz out any evidence that it was me

Not really the place but seen on hummy.org a mew HDR update is available

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by Shakatorres

Will get some photos tomorrow and fuzz out any evidence that it was me

Not really the place but seen on hummy.org a mew HDR update is available

Yes brilliant update!

• EPG Find lockup issues resolved
• Corrupt recording names resolved
• EPG navigation optimised
• HDMI improvements *
• Resolved Audio issues on playback to TS files
• Resolved display circle when in Standby (Orange)
• Resolved SD / HD volume difference

So much for Humax taking ages to issue a fix - and only 13.1 meg too - compare that to the 200meg+ download for 3view!

and WOW - the guide is amazing now using the page up/down buttons i can cycle though all of the 100+ channels in under 1 second!

Unfortunately now I can see no reason to purchase the 3view under any circumstances.

It seems like the people on DS are starting to come to that conclusion too - getting more and more "got it, tried it, wanted to love it, tried it some more, put up with the quirks, can't do it any longer, boxed up and sent back" stories now.

My thoughts now turn to - would you pay £300 for a device which if the company fails you have no support for and the box doesnt even work correctly as PVR as is now either? You could basically be left with a non returnable lunch box?

[dazzlingdaz]

Ahhhhh if only 3view got a pound for every time someone on the forum posted "doesnt work" "should work but doesnt" "doesnt work correctly" "hope that works soon" "wasnt in this firmware" or "boxed up and sent back" - maybe they would have enough money to cover the costs of shielding the tuners :D

Cant wait for the piccies Shakatorres!

[dazzlingdaz]

Over on DS they are complaining about the padding / non accurate recording which is due to the guide having to be downloaded from the web currently (OTW vs OTA) - the OTA now/next is updated every two seconds and so is far more accurate providing you can decode it!

the OTA EPG also features the CRID's which stops the other problem which is recording repeats of the same program.

Unfortunately if 3view goes to OTW because of the encryption issues - they will have to come up with a method of marking these as such on IPG - but there will be nothing they can do about the accurate recording unless they are able to read the now/next programme data somehow.

[petrev]

Hi

As far as I am aware NOW info is separate from the EPG and is not encrypted.

Having watched the 3Few threads for many months and despite Beta users assertions I have never seen it proved that the £View ever did AR actuated recordings. Some posters have said their recordings started exactly on time etc. but this is the opposite of AR which should vary and start/end late or early depending on actual broadcast times. I don't think they have ever implemented AR and just use "Padding" as their method.

Pete

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by petrev

Hi

As far as I am aware NOW info is separate from the EPG and is not encrypted.

Having watched the 3Few threads for many months and despite Beta users assertions I have never seen it proved that the £View ever did AR actuated recordings. Some posters have said their recordings started exactly on time etc. but this is the opposite of AR which should vary and start/end late or early depending on actual broadcast times. I don't think they have ever implemented AR and just use "Padding" as their method.

Pete

since the EIT broadcasts all of the information

EIT pf actual (now & next), every 2 seconds
EIT pf other, every 5 seconds
EIT schedule actual (EPG) day 1, every 9 seconds
EIT schedule actual days 2-4, every 9 seconds
EIT schedule actual days 5-8, every 27 seconds
EIT schedule other day 1, every 54 seconds
EIT schedule other days 2-4, every 270 seconds
EIT schedule other days 5-8, every 270 seconds

It is faesable that the now and next would be encrypted along with the guide is it not? Have to wait and see - but I would hazzard a guess that they would encrypt the whole stream and not leave parts unencrypted? That way they force Freeview+ accreditation or a OTW other solution

EDIT - maybe someone with a box can reset it back to OTA instead of OTW and next time it starts corrupting can they check the now/next and see if that also corrupts - although this could be difficult to achieve because you'd have to sit there watching and watching the guide until it starts corrupting - since we have no schedule of when the BBC are testing their encryption and we know it doesn't appear to be all the time currently. Maybe we will have to wait until the encryption is turned on 24/7 when we will have a better shot at it.

[Gavtech]

dazzlingdaz.

You have been making a great deal of noise in this thread over the past few days ... and your signal-to-noise ratio requires some improvement.
This is the second time I have had to intercede.

A number of your posts have very close to removal for a variety of reasons.

Your general attitude in it is unwelcome and not in the spirit of this forum, where we hope members will make useful and helpful contributions and not carping and sneering for the hell of it.
Your posts that do make useful observations are welcome.

By all means make any criticisms and observations you wish to make about this product, but do so with due care and regard for others in the thread, the rules of this forum, and the law.

One point to be very clear about:
Any further outbursts of the paranoid aggression you displayed earlier in response to other members will not be tolerated, despite your implied threat to reserve the right to do so in your reply to me.

[kinhell]

Just to add something to the mix, I've written a feature comparison over on the 3viewer site - it compares the 3view box to the new Humax HDR-Fox T2. Hope everyone finds it useful.

[brookheather]

Originally Posted by kinhell

Just to add something to the mix, I've written a feature comparison over on the 3viewer site - it compares the 3view box to the new Humax HDR-Fox T2. Hope everyone finds it useful.

One point - the "Find" issue is now fixed with the new Humax firmware.

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by Gavtech

dazzlingdaz.

You have been making a great deal of noise in this thread over the past few days ... and your signal-to-noise ratio requires some improvement.
This is the second time I have had to intercede.

A number of your posts have very close to removal for a variety of reasons.

Your general attitude in it is unwelcome and not in the spirit of this forum, where we hope members will make useful and helpful contributions and not carping and sneering for the hell of it.
Your posts that do make useful observations are welcome.

By all means make any criticisms and observations you wish to make about this product, but do so with due care and regard for others in the thread, the rules of this forum, and the law.

One point to be very clear about:
Any further outbursts of the paranoid aggression you displayed earlier in response to other members will not be tolerated, despite your implied threat to reserve the right to do so in your reply to me.

I find this hard to believe - I have been making factual and educational statements and included sources where possible.

I note that many other users also posting negative comments that dont even warrant a warning:

"I've sucked it and it's now boxed up waiting for the courier to collect I'm afraid."
"Only locked up twice in 30 mins? I dont think even my fetch did that so quick..."
"Having watched the 3Few threads"
"Well, 3poo are sending out engineers"

And that's just from this page......

I have been making informative statements about the encryption of the EPG and asked members to help me track down whether the entire EPG is going to be encrypted by checking the now/next, I have researched into the EIT schedule that is transmitted and many other parts of the equipment - including making phone calls to the company.

As far as I am aware this forum is for prosective 3view customers as well as people that actually own the box (which I did briefly) - this isnt an "owners" thread only as the DS thread is.

everything I say is IMHO - and many times I have said that I wished that the company would succeed - it is their own undoing with problem after problem.

I am waiting on some hi res pics of the inside of a production box so that I can scan over the PCB and see if I can see anything that stands out as a problem - again taking my own time to do this.

Again - anything I do find as well as being posted her will also be fed back to 3view via telephone calls.

I personally was not burnt when onDigital went bust - but I know many people that were - and this type of forum wasnt around then - but I have a suspicion that if it was - and people such as myself took the time to post both positive and negative information about the box - that maybe a few less people would have lost money.

I am sorry to say that most of my comments have been negative - but that is the nature of the box - a unit that doesnt provide HD channels on a transmitter at full power is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE - attenuators and new cabling has already proved not to resolve this problem in the Winter Hill area and yet they still continue to sell the unit to people within that catchment area, and hence why I am interested in seeing the PCB to see if any noise cancelling capacitors or Vcc is there on the board - it has already been confirmed that the sheilding isnt.

And yes - I have made a few jokes based around 3view but nothing which is in breach of the law, I have already apologised for the "bet" incident which I am assuming you mean as "regard for others".

I have already directed 3view to this forum, have given them my username and details and told them I am totally willing to take their box and see if there is anything I can do to rectify the issues if they wished to send me one I could open up. Again - I have had no response - just like the 2 emails I am STILL waiting for a response to 4 weeks down the line.

I think I will see if I can get hold of John Donovan myself tomorrow and put my points across to him directly and then post back here my questions and his responses.

This is not meant as a personal attack on the company - but a critical review of the unit and functionality, workings and failings.

I have heard worse statements come out of Jeremy Clarkson's mouth on Top Gear about cars that are terrible although I notice no censorship there?

Do you want me to refrain from posting anything negative from not on and post only positive things about the 3view box? I don't see that as being objective - but if that's what you want then please let me know.

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by kinhell

Just to add something to the mix, I've written a feature comparison over on the 3viewer site - it compares the 3view box to the new Humax HDR-Fox T2. Hope everyone finds it useful.

Please can you add to the Humax part of streaming that Thecus Media Server and Tversity on Windows 7 both work flawlessly - I have streamed over 90 hours of scrubs back to back

Also under nice touches - that the Humax offers "you might also like" recordings when selecting a program to record

Can you add a section for external keyboard / mouse and mark the 3view as the winner as I have tried the TomTop Rii keyboard which doesnt work on the Humax

Also can you add a section about Z-Wave and mark 3view the winner as Humax has nothing similar.

[brookheather]

Originally Posted by dazzlingdaz

Please can you add to the Humax part of streaming that Thecus Media Server and Tversity on Windows 7 both work flawlessly - I have streamed over 90 hours of scrubs back to back

None of my videos encoded with the latest Handbrake settings work with TVersity - older encodings are fine so it must be some newer aspect of H.264 which is not supported by the Humax - my WDTV works fine. I might try a different profile.

- Simon.

[dazzlingdaz]

Originally Posted by brookheather

None of my videos encoded with the latest Handbrake settings work with TVersity - older encodings are fine so it must be some newer aspect of H.264 which is not supported by the Humax - my WDTV works fine. I might try a different profile.

- Simon.

Thats odd because if you set "transcode where necessary" TVersity will re-encode it on the fly and should play everything.

Check you have the option turned on.

I have played the H.264 test files from Microsoft Showcase page - which I see they have now removed.

But I also downloaded the Elephants Dream from here : http://orange.blender.org/download - in glorius 1920 HD with AC3 5.1 Surround sound! - this plays perfectly whether streamed from TVersity or even played directly from a USB stick - maybe kinhell can download and let us know how the 3view gets on playing this 815meg file

[digitl]

Originally Posted by kinhell

Just to add something to the mix, I've written a feature comparison over on the 3viewer site - it compares the 3view box to the new Humax HDR-Fox T2. Hope everyone finds it useful.

Thought you might like to know that some of the 3view menus do wrap top to bottom and bottom to top, and that you're able to watch a programme recorded on one 3view box on another across a network. More on the latter on the News page at www.3viewpvr.info.

[kinhell]

Thanks for the input guys.. I'll update the feature comparison at lunch time.

@digitl - Re. the menu wrapping; when I had the 3view box, I didn't find any of the popup menus wrapped around. Are you on a beta firmware? I was using the 0909 version & it definitely didn't do it.

@dazzlingdaz - My 3view box has been sent back for a refund so I'll not be able to test that file. You could ask one of the other guys on the 3viewer forums to see if they can give it a try. When I tried DLNA (pre 0909) it locked up the box & it needed switching off/on.

[digitl]

Originally Posted by kinhell

@digitl - Re. the menu wrapping; when I had the 3view box, I didn't find any of the popup menus wrapped around. Are you on a beta firmware? I was using the 0909 version & it definitely didn't do it.

Did you check out the manual timers area? It's certainly in there on my box.

[kinhell]

Originally Posted by digitl

Did you check out the manual timers area? It's certainly in there on my box.

Hmm, I don't think I did. The places I noticed it not working were on the pop-ups that appeared when clicking on channels to record, then on playing back recordings where it presents you with some options. It's all getting a bit hazy now I've had the Humax for nearly a week