Media & File Server Bundle for the Foxsat HDR - Release 4 - PART 5

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Is it possible to use the web interface to stream recordings over the internet when away from home or to access the iplayer from outside the UK?

No but a slingbox might be used to access recordings away from home. You could use the software to copy existing recordings to a usb storage device and watch them anywhere though by taking the usb storage device with you.
 
They are fussy about USB sticks. Have you tried a different one (or two, or three)?

Don't know if this is of help but we did a lot of USB Flash drive & USB HDD tests on Technomate 5402s a while back, most USB flash drives were OK for data save some really cheapos off ebay [avoid IMO]... less were really good for recording video which is a much harder test & particularly multi recording of HD &/or very high bit rate (45Mb/s +**) broadcast feeds - the easiest to get hold of that did OK are/were SanDisk Cruzer Edge, [been very cheap at Tesco of late], [might be some fakes about on the net-don't just buy from anywhere]. For HDD WD My Passport never seemed to fail. Don't know if that transfers over 100% to the Humax Foxsats but there it is if it's help.

[** 45Mb/s broadcast feeds need very fast drives or HDDs btw ]
 
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Speed isn't important in AV drives, low power consumption, low noise and the ability to record a data stream without it being interrupted by data checking routines is.

For this reason high speed drives (7200 rpm) aren't really suitable for pvr use.

Sata3 is plenty fast enough. See the up to 12 HD streams here :

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701250.pdf

Sustained data transfer speeds between 110-145 MB/s depending on model.

The 2008 1TB sata2 WD AV-GP drive in my Foxsat easily records two HD channels and streams two existing HD recordings without issue.

For firmware updates an ancient snail paced small capacity USB stick will work best, any problems aren't down to speed but seem to be chip set related.
 
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Speed isn't important in AV drives, low power consumption, low noise and the ability to record a data stream without it being interrupted by data checking routines is.

For this reason high speed drives (7200 rpm) aren't really suitable for pvr use.

Sata3 is plenty fast enough. See the up to 12 HD streams here :

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701250.pdf

Sustained data transfer speeds between 110-145 MB/s depending on model.

The 2008 1TB sata2 WD AV-GP drive in my Foxsat easily records two HD channels and streams two existing HD recordings without issue.

For firmware updates an ancient snail paced small capacity USB stick will work best, any problems aren't down to speed but seem to be chip set related.

Interesting about Sata3, but it was only a reference to problems with USB drives & only USB 2.0 in fact which seems to be the problem -

I was surprised at the wide range of quality in USB flash drives sold, even though they are solid state, they obviously have wide ranging manufacturing tolerance limitations & underlying quality variations rather than headline sizes, a good acid test apart from going after a known good brand, is their video recording handling, if it can record video to a good level & replay OK then they really should be good for just basic data r/w jobs.
 
Interesting about Sata3, but it was only a reference to problems with USB drives & only USB 2.0 in fact which seems to be the problem -

I was surprised at the wide range of quality in USB flash drives sold, even though they are solid state, they obviously have wide ranging manufacturing tolerance limitations & underlying quality variations rather than headline sizes, a good acid test apart from going after a known good brand, is their video recording handling, if it can record video to a good level & replay OK then they really should be good for just basic data r/w jobs.

The foxsat can't record to usb drives, it can only copy content to the usb device and the speed is limited by the box cpu, it's a low priority cpu operation. You can replay full HD recordings copied to the usb device using the slowest stick you can find. Average bitrate for a HD recording made on the box will only be around 12Mbps. Jury is still out on using SSD drives (the constant writing and re-writing of the time shift buffer file is hard on solid state memory).
 
The foxsat can't record to usb drives, it can only copy content to the usb device and the speed is limited by the box cpu, it's a low priority cpu operation. You can replay full HD recordings copied to the usb device using the slowest stick you can find. Average bitrate for a HD recording made on the box will only be around 12Mbps. Jury is still out on using SSD drives (the constant writing and re-writing of the time shift buffer file is hard on solid state memory).


I've just [re] tested some (only on a Technomate's USB test utility) - the R/W W & R speeds on even old usb flash drives have improved with newer, faster, better processing in the stbs & you are right about the replay/ read ability, it's consistently very high, even on the worst crap, well the worst was 89Mb/s read on an empty drive which should handle even broadcast feed video [replay]- although I think it's down to quality if it consistently performs or fails periodically, which would still get it consigned to a drawer or the bin. Most tests here have been write - read - still a good thorough test IMO & avoiding cheap usb drives. [89Mb/s read usb drive still failed video playback in use]
 
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Anyone here got Twonky 5 running and fully licensed? I purchased a key for Twonky 8 and then asked them for a license key for Twonky 5, which they sent me, but I keep getting the "trial expired"
 
I fully licensed when it was Twonky 7 and used that key to register the Twonky 5 on my Humax HDR. Worked fine first time?

Shows "The Server is registered."... On my Server status screen.

How are you entering the key?
 
I'm using webif to set up recordings when I'm away and it works a treat. Is there another way that I can access my files when I'm away, similar to at home where I open the network folder and download the file to my laptop and play it? I have a slow, rural, internet speed at home so using something like slingbox to stream won't work. Downloading overnight and playing the next day would be great.
 
On "Browse Media Files" each file has an "OPT+" button. Click on the button and one of the options is "Download.
 
Thanks, I missed that. For some reason I have to open the file in a new tab in chrome before the options come-up, then it downloads OK. All I need now is a decent internet speed!
 
Just got a notification that iplayer will close in september 2016. Anybody know anything about this or what we can do to keep it?
 
Ah right. Thanks for that. Hadn't checked that in a long while (901) on the Humax. Seems it affects one of my TVs also but then, with FireTV Sticks in both now, it's not such a big deal anymore these days...
 
So my next question is what's a good replacement. You rate the firestick, what about chromecast or other alternatives? It's just for iplayer.
 
I also have a Chromecast (first version) and they are fine also but more limited compared to the FireTV Stick in that they require another device to initiate the "cast" to your TV. (smartphone, laptop, PC etc) If you are an Amazon Prime customer, the FireTV Stick offers much more... (and is self contained with its own remote)
 
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I have recently bought another Foxsat box and cross mounted with my original box using the NASMOUNT plug in. I have my boxes connected by Homeplugs to my network. This works well though whilst streaming HD content from one box to another I am suffering some stutter, has any one else any experience with this setup and if there is anything I can do to playback files smoothly.
One Foxsat is a 500GB and the other is a 320GB, don't know whether this has any bearing?

Many thanks
 
Hi Guys,
I hope the previous poster will forgive me for jumping in here just 3 days later with a completely different issue before they’ve received a reply to their own. But as a first-time poster to these forums I’m unfamiliar with the established protocol and I can see no other way of submitting this question in what seems to be the most appropriate place?

Apologies also for the length of this post but it’s a difficult problem for a “first-post-newbie” to explain and although seemingly a rare enough occurrence it has such a crippling effect on the box’s performance as to leave those equally less-knowledgeable as myself, pulling their hair out with frustration and suspecting that their box is now only fit for the bin.

It’s also an issue to which I can find only one other similar reference despite the wealth of information provided on this forum, and it took a good deal of time to locate that. So I thought it might be of benefit to others like myself, who have had the same difficulties finding any mention of this issue, and yet find themselves confronted with a seemingly ‘dead’ or ‘bricked’ Humax and are totally stumped by it.

I had Raydon’s custom firmware (v4.1.3) successfully installed over Humax factory firmware (v1.00.21) and running flawlessly on my Foxsat-HDR for 2-3 weeks with the box left on standby every night, and as countless others have commented, the custom firmware is an absolute joy to use and congratulations to all concerned. I wouldn't be without it.

Then, out of the blue, without any changes in the set-up, one morning I found the display panel’s backlight lit but otherwise the panel was totally blank. No text, no red standby or blue indicator lights, and the box totally unresponsive.

In the course of an extensive trawl through the forum, (releases 1-4 inc.!) I tried power resets, disconnecting/re-connecting cables, disconnecting the HD, even checking the capacitors (although this seemed less likely for the Foxsat-HDR). Some of these attempts seemed to have worked. But only temporarily. And the problem inevitably recurred a day or two later. Regardless of what I tried (short of giving the box a retaliatory smack with a hammer!) it remained totally unresponsive for the rest of that day. Eventually (several days later!) when I seemed to have ruled everything else out, it occurred to me that there might be some sort of clash occurring between the custom firmware and the nightly 3am housekeeping.

Because when I analysed everything that I’d tried, it seemed that …

1. With a normal front panel display showing, when left on standby overnight, by the following morning everything had ‘crashed’, and for the rest of that day, the box was totally unresponsive and nothing I tried made any difference.

2. Quite by accident I discovered that with a blank display panel showing (everything already screwed up) and left in that state overnight, (because by then I was devoid of all energy and hope, couldn’t be switching it off, and had just about lost the will to live) one power reset the following morning restored normal standby mode and everything progressed normally from there on.

For the past few days I’ve tested this theory by re-installing the HD as a matter of course and deliberately powering-down the box and unplugging it EVERY night and it has functioned flawlessly since. So (at the moment) it does seem my suspicions may be correct.

Catch 22 for all Humax troubleshooting novices like myself is that if they neglect to leave a similarly affected, ‘dysfunctional’ box powered-on in ‘blank display’ mode overnight (which is somewhat counter-intuitive) and instead, take what would normally be seen as the ‘safer’ more ‘sensible’ option of switching off/unplugging any ‘dysfunctional’ piece of equipment, before going to bed, they will never see any hope of resolving the issue.

This particular aspect of things can cause endless confusion when trying to troubleshoot and pin down the exact cause of the problem. In retrospect, it would, for example, seem that whilst disconnecting the HD, may have ‘appeared’ to have had a positive result, this was pure coincidence and a complete red herring. Disconnecting the HD would have followed-on from the box being left powered-on in “blank display mode” overnight (as in ‘2’ above) and then being powered-down the following morning (to safely disconnect the HD) and powered-up again immediately afterwards. In effect mimicking (2.) which would have yielded the exact same result regardless of the HD being connected or not.

I also had no difficulty accessing all the files with the Humax drive placed in a USB caddy and connected to my Mac.

The only reference I could find on this forum to anything like this happening was on an old Feb 2011 thread which had a post entitled “I think I’ve bricked my Foxsat HDR” (!)

Foxsat-HDR FTP and telnet working

(post #359 and Raydon’s reply #361)

There’s also a 2 min. video on You Tube … (link blocked ...look for "Humax Blue Screen")
which seems identical to what I’m describing and although devoid of commentary or comments it did serve a purpose in suggesting that I wasn’t entirely alone!

Fortunately for that previous poster on this forum, (in the link provided above) the problem seemed to have spontaneously resolved (I presume permanently) following one simple power reset. So there was apparently no need for him to respond to the detailed instructions which Raydon provided to resolve the problem.

I’m satisfied after a few days testing, with the HD re-installed and the box powered-off every night, that in my case, overnight housekeeping may be at the root of this problem and in the absence of any other suggestions I’ll be following those same instructions from Raydon in the hope of resolving the issue permanently.

I did notice prior to installing the custom firmware that although the Humax factory firmware was up to date (v1.00.21) the Loader version displayed was (and still is) the previous version U7_52 rather than the current version U7_54 but any information I came across suggested that the only difference in that loader upgrade was in regard to diseq switches etc. which in my case didn’t need to concern me, so I just installed the custom firmware over the factory firmware precisely as per Raydon’s instructions.

Can anyone make any sense of my 'findings' or explain why overnight housekeeping may or may not be at the root of the problem?

I was careful to follow the original CF install instructions precisely (1GB USB stick etc.) and I can only assume that it installed properly since v4.1.3 always displayed properly prior to Boot and the box was functioning flawlessly for the first 2-3 weeks. But should I consider removing the custom firmware prior to reinstalling it?

And if the solution is to re-install Raydon’s firmware (as Raydon described to that other poster) would it be advisable in my case to first update the Loader to U7_54 followed by a re-install of the factory firmware v1.00.21, followed by the custom firmware v4.1.3? Or should a simple re-install of the custom firmware be sufficient to resolve this glitch?

Any advice would be appreciated and apologies again for the length of this post.

ps ...just to be clear .. the box is functioning perfectly again, just as it is, so long as I remember to power it down every night to avoid 3am housekeeping.

Thanks.
 
This is a bit of a long shot but would there be any possibility of a work round for audio from a channel that is encrypted to be played on the foxsat? Basically I am trying to get the audio from Eurosport on 13E but the foxsat appears to be blocking this despite other FTA boxes being able to play the audio. I have recorded the channel and on playback the audio is heard for 5-10seconds then switches off, so it would seem something within the foxsat's system blocks the audio.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
 
After selecting channel 901 a page comes up saying iplayer will not be available after september. It gives a link which doesn't work in my browser however this explains: BBC iPlayer Help - BBC iPlayer (V2) closing on some older TV devices - Sept 2016. Just wondering if there could be a way to get a different version of iplayer.

BBC are indeed dropping support for the version of iPlayer on the Foxsat HDR:

BBC iPlayer Help - Humax BBC iPlayer Certified Devices

Interestingly, the HD-Fox T2 is still supported.

Raydon - what are the chances of being able to port the implementation of iPlayer from the T2?
 
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