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There seems to be a problem with PVR functionality of the FVP 4000T we recently purchased.
The box did not record programmes on receipt. After a first failed recording of a series, the programme was still listed as set for recording the series but it did not record. I tried to record a programme that started in 15 mins. It showed it as scheduled but nothing was recorded. Nothing is recorded when the record button on the remote is hit for live recording. Each time the box clicked every 1-2 seconds and makes a whirring sound ever 5 seconds or so; these sound like the box trying to establish connection to its HDD but failing.
Furthermore, in Settings all sub-menus of the PVR Settings were greyed out and only the first sub-menu (Remote Recording) can be highlighted. It is not possible to highlight Recording Options, Playback Options, Storage.
Nothing changes after rebooting or a factory reset.
This led to Humax replacing the 4000T. When a second box was received, all seemed normal up until time of first recording, when the box developed another clicking and whirring sound. It seemed the same issue recurred with the second box. The PVR Settings are greyed out again (we checked at outset and they weren’t prior to first attempt at recording – without changing any settings). A reset to factory default again changed nothing. The PVR Settings remain greyed out and cannot (after first failed recording) be highlighted, as if the first recording messed up something irrevertibly. Everything else about the box seems to work fine.
There doesn’t seem to be anything on the forum so far that is similar to this issue. Any suggestions as to what may be behind the issue would be welcome. I would hate to get the second box replaced (which we will have to do, it seems) and just have a third box get corrupted again because of a set up issue.
Additional info: We have signal strength and quality of 100% but only with a booster (Antiference P1200T – fitted a number of years ago with no problems since). When booster is turned off the signal strength comes down to about 50% meaning some channels cannot be identified. We had no such recording problems with our Humax PVR 9200T (which we recently had to add a SCART/HDMI converter to when we upgraded from a CRT to a Samsung Smart TV). Aerial is pointed at Bluebell Hill (Maidstone, Kent).
Barmingmag – 1 hour ago »
Additional info: We have signal strength and quality of 100% but only with a booster (Antiference P1200T – fitted a number of years ago with no problems since).
Signal strength of a 100% may be too high and saturating the tuners. You could tr fitting a variable attenuator and if that helps consider replacing the booster with a variable gain model. However I am not sure that this will fix your recording problems.
You haven’t said what happens with recording when the booster is off.
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like that may be an option. Do you think that the high signal strength or some other effect of the booster may be corrupting the tuner to the extent that it needs replacing? I say this as there does not seem to be anyway to get the 4000T back to the state it was in prior to the first attempt at recording.
If the box does need replacing again, it sounds like it is worth getting an variable attenuator and getting the signal strength down to, say, 65% (right?) prior to trying to record for the first time with a third 4000T. Thoughts? Thanks.
BB – 32 minutes ago »
You haven’t said what happens with recording when the booster is off.
Interesting idea. It would not record initially when booster off and the 4000T kept doing that horrible whirring sound it has done since the first failed recording.
Previously factory re-sets had not helped. Yet, this time I tried a factory reset after the booster was off (after seeing your post). The signal strength is about 49% on Tuner 1 and quality 100% still. Result: 1) The whirring stopped. 2) It was able to record and playback one of the available channels. 3) Not all channels are available (eg Channel 91 Frontrunner) due to the worse signal strength.
I guess there may be a sweet spot that means I can both a) increase the signal strength to allow more channels by either attentuating the existing booster or putting in, as suggested, a variable gain booster, and b) not be such high signal strength that the 4000T gets saturated tuners and won’t record.
Next step is to get a variable attenuator tomorrow and see if we can find that sweet spot. Or does that not sound feasible?
The whirring sounds like a hard disk issue. Is there a menu option to check the health of the disk like on the HDR Foxes?
Mcmad – 4 minutes ago »
The whirring sounds like a hard disk issue. Is there a menu option to check the health of the disk like on the HDR Foxes?
I thought so too. You will see from what I posted just earlier that I managed to get it going again. After doing so, I did the HDD test and all good. Looks like it may be something to do with signal strength is knocking off the tuners and, after recording, making the HDD in accessible.
I have now put the booster on again and retuned channels to get them all again. It has recorded the newly found channels (eg Channel 91 which is not available without the booster). I have now asked it to record a programme and a series coming out of standby (which I recall may have been a trigger issue). Can there be some combination of coming out of standby and high signal strength that makes the HDD fail to record and become inaccessible?
Next step is to get a variable attenuator tomorrow and see if we can find that sweet spot. Or does that not sound feasible?
That’s what I would do. Around 80% should be enough.
Barmingmag – 4 hours ago »
Sounds like that may be an option. Do you think that the high signal strength or some other effect of the booster may be corrupting the tuner to the extent that it needs replacing?
I think that is unlikely; there have been may reports of signal strength that is too high and no previous indication that it causes permanent damage.
I say this as there does not seem to be anyway to get the 4000T back to the state it was in prior to the first attempt at recording.
I think the box has another problem besides the signal strength.
If the box does need replacing again, it sounds like it is worth getting an variable attenuator and getting the signal strength down to, say, 65% (right?) prior to trying to record for the first time with a third 4000T.
My feeling, based on experiments with our HDR-2000T (which may have a different scale for signal strength), is that around 80% is optimal.
My feeling, based on experiments with our HDR-2000T (which may have a different scale for signal strength), is that around 80% is optimal.
Thanks. Sounds like a plan.
Update.
With a 5-1000MHz Variable Attenuator (0-20dB):
1) Brings the unboosted signal when on BBC1 down from 48% signal strength to an understandably unusable 24% when on max attenuation.
2) Brings the boosted signal when on BBC1 down from 100% signal to 87% when on max attenuation.
3) Brings unboosted signal on BBC1 HD from 48% to unusable 24%.
4) Brings boosted signal on BBC1 HD from 100% to 91% with max attenuation.
It would suggest that an unattenuated boosted signal is way more than 100%, hence possibly overloading the tuner.
When I had the set-up with signal boosted with max attenuation, as per 2) and 4) above, the problem of HDD access recurred and factory resets usually did little.
After many attempts at doing factory reset which failed to address the HDD access / recording issue and maintained the whirring sound every second or so, I left the box switched off, with all cables unplugged overnight in a state which was at the start of the set-up. Next morning, it set-up normally and was able to access the HDD. It showed some recorded programmes (from the first ‘failed’ attempt; and this was after doing a factory reset with HDD format!) which I could not see previously and showed stats for HDD Status. A HDD Test was normal. It recorded live TV. I set it to record programmes overnight. The next morning, we were back to the same issue – no HDD Status, no access to PVR Settings, whirring noise every second or so.
I again left if off overnight unplugged, with no cables attached, in the state at the start of the set-up. This morning it again worked fine, HDD Status normal, HDD Test passed, PVR Settings accessible (though not changed), no whirring sound. Despite the factory reset including HDD Format, the programmes which had been set to record the previous night were now accessible (suggesting that the HDD format did not work). Again, I was able to record live TV. All good.
However, I noted that the Time Shift Recording (TSR) was not working (first time I recall trying to use this function). Live TV could not be paused (and this was after being on the channel for at least 5 minutes or so). A crossed out yellow circle appeared in the top right corner of the screen whenever Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind was pressed. I could not see anything in the manual or troubleshooting guide to help, so decided to do another factory reset. This led to the same problem of HDD access (as described) recurring. It also did not fix the TSR issue. After the reset, the Pause button now has a message “This function does not work while retrieving data for time shift buffer. Try again in a few seconds.” (ie not the crossed out yellow circle this time!) Whether a few seconds or minutes, the same message keeps reappearing and the TSR does not function.
The issue does not seem to be resolved in any stable manner and there is some sort of recurring HDD access issue that makes this box unusable or highly unreliable. One wonders if a box exchange would help.
Further thoughts welcome. Thanks.
Barmingmag – 36 minutes ago »
One wonders if a box exchange would help.
That is certainly the route I would be going down.
Update: After procrastination, HUMAX Direct have exchanged the box. So far, so good with the replacement. The test will be when I try and record a series to start when box is in sleep mode. That seemed to be a possible trigger for the previous two boxes. Here’s hoping.
For info, no further issue in the intervening period.
As a matter of interest and perhaps for the benefit of others, what are your p[resent signal strength/quality readings.
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