Hi Pete,

the lowest standard resolution of a tv picture is around 576 lines to build up the picture of what you see on the screen. Analogue tv has now been switched off so everybody receives digital tv pictures of at least this resolution.

The older VHS vcr’s had a resolution of around 185 lines, some were better than others.

This means when you record from freesat to your vcr you are only going to be able to record around 1/3 of the available picture/signal, which used to be acceptable for viewing tv, but even 15-20 lines of recorded ceefax used to be a problem on VHS. This is why, even years ago, VHS always looked worse than the broadcast live tv. Nowadays with everybody watching digital the difference between VHS and broadcast tv is like night and day.

Broadcasters assume all the viewers are now watching on at least a digital 576 line resolution so text doesn’t have to be as big on the screen as it used to be.

There are some things you can try, but it probably won’t make much difference. If your vcr has two scart sockets then use the one marked tv to connect to your tv, rather than the rca-scart lead and set the vcr output and tv input for s-video or rgb if possible, try cleaning the heads on the vcr.

At the end of the day though, you’re fighting a losing battle, keep the vcr for cherished video tapes only, it’s not really fit for purpose in a digital world.

A modern recordable freeview/freesat box is pretty easy to operate these days. there are a lot of people here who will have a recordable box for their main tv room and use a simpler box in another room to either watch live tv or to connect to and playback from the main recordable box

Hi Pete,

am I correct in thinking you have a Foxsat HDR in the kitchen and a HB1000S in the lounge, both have satellite cable connected and both work?

If so, are they connected to the internet and how, i.e. do you have a router, if so where is it physically in relation to the boxes, and is one or both boxes connected to it and how?

Unless I’m missing something, at most all you need is a pair of network home plugs, around £25 for a 500mbps pair to get the boxes network connected, I don’t have a HB1000S, but once network connected I assume it would be able to view/playback anything that’s recorded on the Foxsat HDR. Alternatively a small portable 500GB or 1TB £40 – £50 can be connected to the HB1000S and you can record on that as well.

I guess I haven’t fully understood how everything is or isn’t connected, but if you want to watch recorded programmes in another room it should be too difficult. Using VHS tapes would be a last resort. I’m not a keen fan of video senders, but if you have one and it works well for you then that maybe the way forward. However, if you do have two working boxes and they are not network connected then that would be the first thing I’d sort out with a pair of network homeplugs.

Hi Pete,

that’s why I was asking about a router.

No, you don’t need a PC or a router, but connecting them up to a router and internet would make sense as you’d be able to make use of catch-up TV on the HB1000S and iplayer on the foxsat hdr.

The most basic setup would be to get a pair of homeplugs, something like:

http://www.ebuyer.com/453841-trendnet-500-mbps-compact-powerline-av-adapter-kit-tpl-406e2k

or

http://www.ebuyer.com/512619-zyxel-500mbps-mini-powerline-adapter-kit-twin-pack-pla4201v2-gb0201f

I’d personally go for a 500mbps speed, you don’t need gigabit. These plug into the mains and communicate with each other via the house mains internal wiring and work really well and don’t use much power, plug and forget.

The next step depends on whether you have a router and where it is physically.

If the router is close to the hb1000s or foxsat and has spare network ports then connect one of the humax’s directly to the router, connect one of the home plugs to the router and connect the other home plug to the further away humax. Read up on Raydon’s custom firmware and install it on the foxsat hdr, make sure you install and switch on the Twonky4 media server option. You should be able to view recorded foxsat hdr programmes on the hb1000s as well as get catch-up tv on the hb1000s and iplayer on the foxsat hdr

If the router is miles away from either humax, consider buying another pair of homeplugs, one for the router, one for each humax and one spare or for the pc/laptop etc. Install Raydon’s custom firmware on the foxsat hdr. You should be able to view as above.

If the router is miles away and you don’t want to buy a second pair of home plugs, connect the home plug to the router and foxsat hdr, install Raydon’s custom firmware on the foxsat hdr, disconnect the home plug from the router and connect to the hb1000s, set up the network address manually on both humax’s. You should be able to view foxsat recorded programmes on the hb1000s.

If you don’t have a router, read up on Raydon’s custom firmware and installing from usb. Install Raydons custom firmware on the foxsat hdr from usb. Connect a home plug to each of the humax’s, manually configure the network. You should be able to view as immediately above.

In an ideal world, your router will be close to one of the humax’s and you’ll need a pair of homeplugs for around £25 and install Raydon’s custom firmware on the foxsat hdr, tweak the custom firmware options and enjoy. If your router is miles away, I would buy a second pair of homeplugs.

I’m not aware of a single link to information where it will give you everything you need step by step; however there is a ton of information and many posts on the subject. Don’t be put off by the jargon, it’s not that complicated once you’ve done it.