Foxsat-HDR wont see Astra 19.2

Greenfingers

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I've been going round in circles trying to put my Foxsat-HDR into non Freesat mode.

I already receive all the German channels via the satellite tuner in my TV, but have now bought the Humax box to enable me to record these channels. I assumed that by simply swapping the coax cable from my TV to the Humax, I would be able to tune into the same channels, but alas the Humax box seems to be locked in Freesat mode.

Other people seem to have managed to access the Freesat mode toggle switch by first tuning into a Freesat channel and then using the Freesat interface to select the non Freesat mode. This doesn't work for me, because my dish is already set up for Astra 19.2 and therefore won't find any Freesat channels!

I am now also wondering if this box will actually let me record non Freesat programs, which is what I got it for anyway!

Is this Foxsat box therefore encrypted to tie you into using the Freesat platform, or does anyone know a way around this?

I guess the next option would be to buy another satellite recorder - but which one?

Pulling what's left of my hair out now and any help would be much appreciated.
 
If factory reset so a first time install is initiated, whether by accident or purposely, then a freesat tune is required. THAT requires reception of the freesat home transponder on 28.2 East.
NB it auto detects single or dual cable inputs at that stage so do set it up as you will use it on 19.2.

After that you can access the Manual Tune feature to tune any transponder and only then does the option of freesat/non-freesat appear.

This box is NOT really the best PVR for the job you intend it for - but it can do it.

You need reception of 28.2 East and the home transponder first. (Take to another dish if necessary to start then never do a freesat tune or reset?). Or install a second lnb or second dish (beware UK T&C planning laws).

Many TVs will allow recording to USB hard drives - but then other TV tuner use can be very limited. What is your TV, how many satellite tuners?
 
Thanks very much for the concise explanation Rodders.

In fact, it is a used Humax box that was already populated with Freesat channels and even then would not let me use the interface, due to an overriding 'no signal' message.

I can't find the signal detector I used all those years ago to align the dish to 19.2, but even if I did align it to 28.2, it sounds like a very clunky affair tuning into Freesat channels to access the switch, then moving the dish again to find the channels I actually want. I have a spare lnb, so could see if I can pick up 28.2 using a bracket on the same dish, but that might be a bit hopeful with a 60cm dish (Oxford area).

The TV is a Panasonic TX-P50G20BA, which has 1 sat tuner and 1 DVB tuner. It does have 2 usb slots and an SD card slot, which I have read can be fussy about formats. I am not very tech savvy and have never tried using these for recording, but would be happy to try if I knew how to proceed.

My goal is to be able to set programs to record in my absence, so perhaps a different set top box would work better - any pointers?
 
The TV manual should explain how to record through the USB socket.
 
Thanks Logi. I think the main issue with using the USB socket is having to program recordings via the TV's 'Viera' system, which will only work in conjunction with its own EPG. The TV's non Freesat DBS EPG is next to useless, providing only 'now' and 'next' listings, so the upshot is that even armed with the knowledge of what you want to record in advance, there is no way of inputting the instructions.
 
It would be a lot easier if you could find a way around that!
 
Don't bother with the TV recording function. I have a GT60 with sat and uhf tuners... once one is used for recording you can only watch an external device (AV sources), a recording, or internal Apps. It ties up both tuners regardless that only one is needed!
Nor does it do series link.
Your set, being older will be even more like a DVD/HDD analogue recorder than mine!

It is straightforward enough to set manual recordings, daily, weekly, weekday and weekend though I found - but I have had a fair few Panasonic DMR-xxx recorders in the past.

7 day epg on German satellites will rely on suitable sat receivers... and that's most unlikely to be the Foxsat-HDR. In fact this suggests without the Custom Firmware the -HDR is virtually useless German TV on a Humax Freesat Recorder

You'd be wise to consult with an expert satellite installer who is fully across all the possibilities for German satellite TV. Google should find some.

The UK supplier installer I found suggests that the best are based on use of internet sourced epgs as the 7 day broadcast one takes a long time to populate (due to it being cross-carried in the data of most broadcaster transponders, rather than our freesat/$ky systems of a home/epg transponder to make that quicker).

You will probably need a new dish with a twin-lnb setup for the best and most reliable performance.
 
How about a monoblock lnb and align the dish on 28.2E ?



The Foxsat-HDR does support diseqc switching. The CF does allow manual non freesat recxordings. Not sure if you can auto switch to a 19.2E transponder to record though. Adding the channels using a all channels blind search on 19.2E should find all FTA content.
 
That's all interesting reading and maybe suggests I should have researched this further before buying this Humax box!

Rodders' comments about 7 day EPGs raises the issue of programming recordings in advance (what I'm really looking for is a way to record German Eurosport, RTL and Servus broadcasts). My current setup allows me to watch these channels live, but I would like to preset the motorsport content to record, so functions like series record are useful to me.
 
I would like to preset the motorsport content to record, so functions like series record are useful to me.
Your only hope of that sort of functionality is with a specialist Enigma satellite PVR probably with internet supplied EPG
 
Your only hope of that sort of functionality is with a specialist Enigma satellite PVR probably with internet supplied EPG

In terms of functionality, all I really require is the ability to specify which channel to record at which time, because I can look up TV schedules on the internet and I'm only talking about 3 or 4 programs per week.

I think I get what you are suggesting, but Enigma is beyond my current realm of understanding. Having said that, from the limited reading I've just done, perhaps it makes sense to build a system that incorporates IPTV functionality too. This again is unknown territory for me, so I'll go away and do some learning up before saying something stupid.
 
An update: I went through the procedure to realign the dish to 28.2 and populate the freeview channels on the Humax, which worked fine. So I realigned the dish to 19.2 and verified the signal by retuning the Panasonic's satellite tuner to all the German channels again as normal. Then, after sucessfully setting the Humax to non freesat mode, I did a 'manual' retune. It found some of the 19.2 channels, but not all those that the Panasonic tuner had, so the upshot is that I still cannot get Servus HD (channel 54) and a lot of the other channels I want to watch!

Am I missing something, or is this because the Humax has an inferior tuner?
 
Am I missing something, or is this because the Humax has an inferior tuner?
The Foxsat has a reputation for having quite sensitive tuners, so unlikely - but not impossible.

You'll probably need to manual tune the wanted transponder(s) by also manually adding the specific frequency, polarisation, DVB-type (-S/-S2), and Symbol and FEC rates?

I have found that, when adding transponders in non-freesat mode for ITV regions, not all the settings are available in the drop-down menus.

So I suspect it's maybe just not scanning all the transponders, for some reason? (I don't auto scan to avoid having hundreds of unwanted channels stored). ;)
 
Thanks again Rodders, I think you may have hit the nail on the head, because I did the manual tune using only the prelisted transponders. In any case, the link in your earlier post reveals the limited recording facilities of the Humax in non Freesat mode, so it's probably not going to provide a satisfactory solution for me.

I'm surprised that what seemed a simple ask has turned out to be so tricky - after all, if I can watch these channels, then why is it so difficult to record them?
 
Freesat devices works exceedingly well for freesat channels. Not as well for non-freesat.

If you are only wanting to record a few 19.2 channels on your Foxsat it's just a matter of either:
a full auto scan to get all possible channels then Edit and delete a pile of unwanted channels...
Or
Manual input of the parameters to store just the ones you need.

Then it's just a matter of setting manual timers for the programmes.

It's a steepish learning curve but a bit of further reading and perseverance should get you there?
 
I've spent too much time getting nowhere with this and my ageing brain doesn't see IPTV as manageable unless it is available in a simple, plug and play format.

So now my revised goal is simply being able to receive Freeview TV and live satellite TV from Astra 19.2E, but on an newer TV. The old Panasonic plasma is consuming around 350 watts and having also owned a TX-58GX800B for the last year, I appreciate how mid-range TVs have improved.

Is there a good 55 -58" TV with a built in satellite tuner, or can anyone recommend a standalone DBS tuner that can access the German transponders?
 
You’d normally keep Freeview and satellite separate but a glance at Amazon shows they have a receiver for both, at £35.
 
You’d normally keep Freeview and satellite separate but a glance at Amazon shows they have a receiver for both, at £35.

Thanks for that Logi. My question is more about satellite receivers that are compatible with non Freesat broadcasts. The Humax box that I already have works fine for Freesat, but seems very limited when tuned into Astra 19.2.
 
There is only the one receiver for Freesat but many for satellite.
They should cost even less that that one for FV and satellite at Amazon.
 

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