Humax Foxsat stuck while searching for channel updates

[dponsford]

Hi there, hope you guys might be able to help me out.

It seems about once a month my pvr tries searching for new channels and updates and fails to complete.

This has the effect of breaking any recordings that were scheduled (they are not recorded) until I reboot the box. This is not usually a problem, as the TV is on every night, but having come back from a week away with the t&s to find nothing has been recorded.

I have the latest firmware, loader etc.

Is there anything I can do to stop this auto-searching / updating?

Thanks, dp

 

[grahamlthompson]

Hi there, hope you guys might be able to help me out.

It seems about once a month my pvr tries searching for new channels and updates and fails to complete.

This has the effect of breaking any recordings that were scheduled (they are not recorded) until I reboot the box. This is not usually a problem, as the TV is on every night, but having come back from a week away with the t&s to find nothing has been recorded.

I have the latest firmware, loader etc.

Is there anything I can do to stop this auto-searching / updating?

Thanks, dp

That's wierd the box should check for upgrades every night provided its left in sby and it should not affect your recording schedule, just the reverse because it refreshes the epg.

What you describe sounds like the power cut bug that was fixed in firmware 1.00.15. IF Menu/System/Diagnostics says you have 1.00.17 somethings wrong.

Initially try powering off the box for 5 minutes or so. If that fails to fix do a factory reset.

 

[dponsford]

That's wierd the box should check for upgrades every night provided its left in sby and it should not affect your recording schedule, just the reverse because it refreshes the epg.

What you describe sounds like the power cut bug that was fixed in firmware 1.00.15. IF Menu/System/Diagnostics says you have 1.00.17 somethings wrong.

Initially try powering off the box for 5 minutes or so. If that fails to fix do a factory reset.

Hi Graham,

The box does not go into standby (I have auto standby disabled), I have it so it stay on all the time, just easier to get to work with my AVR setup, and Harmony remote.

The recordings are scheduled, but appear as 'broken', as the pvr seems incapable of receiving any transmissions when in this state.

I defo have 1.00.17 software.

Incidentally, I also had the issue that others reported about change back to GMT, when recordings that were previously scheduled were out by an hour, until I rescheduled them.

The original problem does not happen often, but as it is completely impossible to predict when it is going to happen it is making the pvr less than useful.

I'll try the switch-off for 5 mins and see how I go form there.

Cheers, dp

 

[dponsford]

Hi Graham,

The box does not go into standby (I have auto standby disabled), I have it so it stay on all the time, just easier to get to work with my AVR setup, and Harmony remote.

The recordings are scheduled, but appear as 'broken', as the pvr seems incapable of receiving any transmissions when in this state.

I defo have 1.00.17 software.

Incidentally, I also had the issue that others reported about change back to GMT, when recordings that were previously scheduled were out by an hour, until I rescheduled them.

The original problem does not happen often, but as it is completely impossible to predict when it is going to happen it is making the pvr less than useful.

I'll try the switch-off for 5 mins and see how I go form there.

Cheers, dp

Your reply to the other thread i posted in interests me:

Normally you will get the chapters but they won't have the thumbnail pictures, just be blank squares. If you don't put the box in sby you lose far more than the pretty thumbnail pictures.

I do get the thumbnails, not on every single program, but on lots.

So, perhaps all my problems are because I don't put the unit into stndby, when i switch everything else off?

dp

 

[grahamlthompson]

Your reply to the other thread i posted in interests me:

Normally you will get the chapters but they won't have the thumbnail pictures, just be blank squares. If you don't put the box in sby you lose far more than the pretty thumbnail pictures.

I do get the thumbnails, not on every single program, but on lots.

So, perhaps all my problems are because I don't put the unit into stndby, when i switch everything else off?

dp

You should put the box in sby every night, if you don't because you have a problem getting a Harmony to reliably wake the box. It's probably costing around £30.00 or more every year in Electricity, in low power sby the box uses less than 1 watt, in use up to 50W, not to mention the constant writing of the time shift buffer to the HDD. If we say an extra 40W for 16Hours a day that equates to 40 x 16 x 365 watt hours = 230 units/year. At 15p/unit thats £35.00. Any channel changes made won't be picked up either until you manuallt re-tune. does your box now work with CH4HD ?

To make the Harmony reliably boot the hdr try the following

Check you have removed the near invisible screen protector from under the flap.

Look at the round window in the flap for the ir receiver. If it's got black lacquer on it, scrape it off carefully (A finger nail will do it).

If your Harmony supports macros replace the power toggle command in the activity by sending three zeros instead. 0 boots the box, 000 is not a valid channel so you get 3 shots at a boot.

 

[grahamlthompson]

Hi Graham,

The box does not go into standby (I have auto standby disabled), I have it so it stay on all the time, just easier to get to work with my AVR setup, and Harmony remote.

The recordings are scheduled, but appear as 'broken', as the pvr seems incapable of receiving any transmissions when in this state.

I defo have 1.00.17 software.

Incidentally, I also had the issue that others reported about change back to GMT, when recordings that were previously scheduled were out by an hour, until I rescheduled them.

The original problem does not happen often, but as it is completely impossible to predict when it is going to happen it is making the pvr less than useful.

I'll try the switch-off for 5 mins and see how I go form there.

Cheers, dp

The box has to be in sby overnight at clock change to make the required changes. All my recording schedules carried on as normal

 

[dponsford]

You should put the box in sby every night, if you don't because you have a problem getting a Harmony to reliably wake the box. It's probably costing around £30.00 or more every year in Electricity, in low power sby the box uses less than 1 watt, in use up to 50W, not to mention the constant writing of the time shift buffer to the HDD. If we say an extra 40W for 16Hours a day that equates to 40 x 16 x 365 watt hours = 230 units/year. At 15p/unit thats £35.00. Any channel changes made won't be picked up either until you manuallt re-tune. does your box now work with CH4HD ?

To make the Harmony reliably boot the hdr try the following

Check you have removed the near invisible screen protector from under the flap.

Look at the round window in the flap for the ir receiver. If it's got black lacquer on it, scrape it off carefully (A finger nail will do it).

If your Harmony supports macros replace the power toggle command in the activity by sending three zeros instead. 0 boots the box, 000 is not a valid channel so you get 3 shots at a boot.

Yeah, I sure do have C4HD - I expect I manually re-tuned when I heard it was being launched.

Have taken your advice and set things up as suggested. Hope I wont have to report back here

Thanks for all your help.

dp