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I have owned the HDR-2000T for 13 months now (previously good experience with PVR 9200T)and found that some scheduled recordings fail whilst others are only 43 minutes long when they should be 60 minutes or longer. The file says ‘Recording failed: lack of signal do you want to play this file’ and I can then play the 43 minute recording. No other recording durations are seen, only 43 minutes and the end usually coincides with an advertising break on the commercial channels (may be a coincidence) but for BBC the recording length is 0 minutes with the same message.
At first such events seemed to be random and I have not seen any problems with our aerial & amplifier set up at other times to explain the failures. But I have now identified that this is a systematic problem to do with the unit staying in Standby for an extended period. Over the course of two 4 week holidays we have seen scheduled regular weekly recordings of a series record the full 60 minutes prior to our holiday and after our return but for the exact duration of our holiday most of the recordings are 0 or 43 minutes long.
Clearly the unit does not know we are on holiday so the failure to properly record during our holiday seems to be that prior to our holiday and on our return we regularly take the unit out of Standby to watch live programmes/recorded files but that for the duration of our holiday the unit remains in Standby.
The software version is UKTFAC 1.01.16, Loader UKTFAC 1.04, System ID 80BC.7E10, Update Version 12 Aug 2015. Neither Menu/Setting/Installation/Automatic Update nor Manual Update can find any updated software. Power Saving in Standby & Automatic Power Down are both OFF.
Possibly we could solve the problem by leaving the unit on at all times but then we have the issue of loss of sound if the Humax is ON when we switch the Samsung television on (a known problem of the Humax HDMI output handshake) that requires a power down to reset.
Has anyone else seen this problem?
Hi NeilD
I have 2000T sometimes it happens to me but not very often, it normally just the one channel that plays up.
I don’t think it is a fault with box but more to do with the EPG or broadcaster, like the other week my 2000T and my 4000T freeview play box would not record any programmes from E4, and yet the programme EPG was on the screen and the programme was on, so I had to record them manually ( padding ) to get them to record the programmes, and now it seems OK again and works OK on series link and one offs again.
I think the weather can also play a part in it as well, it maybe a good idea to manual record your programmes if go away then you know you will have them to watch when you get home.
As for the sound issues with 2000T it happens with most boxes on the HDMI, maybe it is a hardware fault that’s why Humax have never fixed it, but I have never had any sound issues with the 4000T freeview play box, I think they got that one right.
Suspect your box has the disappearing epg issue when recording using padding settings.
When you use accurate recording the box wakes up 15 mins before a recording is due to watch for the broadcaster to signal the recording start. During this period the box updates the epg.
With padding the box wakes up to make the recording at the scheduled time adjusted by the padding settings. There is no opportunity for the epg to add the extra days. as a result after 7 days without the box being booted you have no epg.
Two solutions.
Remove your padding options by setting on and off time to auto
or
Set a daily power on and power off timer for say 20 mins (early morning when you have no recordings is best) to give the box a daily update to the epg.
grahamlthompson
Thanks for the advice, I had padding options set to zero but have now set up the box to come on for 1 hour in the early morning to update the EPG. Time will tell if that cures the problem.
Hi grahamlthompson
Manual recording is just a option you can use if you having problems with the EPG, example EPG not filled in and you want to record a programme that’s on.
The Manual and Padding feature is available on most freeview devices with the exception of Youview boxes where you can only record via EPG only.
The manual recording is so can record a certain programme so you can decide what time your box starts recording it, and what time it stops (recording by the clock not the EPG).
Example there is a programme on tonight say channel 4 from 21.00 22.00 but for some unknown reason the guide is empty or the programme seems to always run over when you go to record it and you lose the end, you say set it to start at 21.00 and stop at 22.02, you can ether have as a once off, daily, Mon-Fri, Sat-Sun or weekly and you can always put them in folders with the 2000T.
Padding time is a feature where you can add minutes to the beginning and end of every recordings including EPG recordings provided they don’t overlap with the next recording on the some channel.
grahamlthompson – 53 minutes ago »
Suspect your box has the disappearing epg issue when recording using padding settings.
When you use accurate recording the box wakes up 15 mins before a recording is due to watch for the broadcaster to signal the recording start. During this period the box updates the epg.
With padding the box wakes up to make the recording at the scheduled time adjusted by the padding settings. There is no opportunity for the epg to add the extra days. as a result after 7 days without the box being booted you have no epg.
The HDR-FOX T2 Humax had the exact issue that you describe and Humax released a software update in February 2014 that rectified the issue by updating the epg as part of the early morning OTA check.
http://uk.humaxdigital.com/support/?product_id=2641&curr_page=sw_release
Did Humax not port the solution over to the HDR-2000T when the HDR-2000T was first released at the end of 2014?
Hi Luke,
Most of the time it works fine with the EPG it just every now and again it decides to play up, but it was the first time E4 as played up, but as I said it was the same with the 4000T with E4, but when I recorded it manually it was OK with the right information very strange, it lasted 3 days and now both boxes are recording fine on E4 via the EPG.
This what I think it was a EPG / broadcaster fault or weather, but as I said I had to manual timer record the programmes even though the guide was filled in OK and the info was there, but what programmes I set on both boxes through the EPG would not record any on E4, but the other channels recorded OK.
As for the software updated yes I think Humax did update it on this issue but not sure.
You say the box doesn’t know you are on holiday. However, I’m not so sure. There have been so many posts/threads by people on this and other forums who regularly report flawless recording all year yet come back from a holiday only to find their planned recordings have failed.
I have had this happen to me many years ago when we had Sky. I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories but I do find these occurrences a little odd.
bill63 – 31 minutes ago »
Hi Luke,
Most of the time …
Thanks for the lengthy reply but that has nothing to do with my question to Graham!
From your reply to graham I think you may have misunderstood what Graham was saying. Graham was posting about how the epg gets populated and not how it gets used!
Luke – 1 hour ago »
grahamlthompson – 53 minutes ago »
Suspect your box has the disappearing epg issue when recording using padding settings.
When you use accurate recording the box wakes up 15 mins before a recording is due to watch for the broadcaster to signal the recording start. During this period the box updates the epg.
With padding the box wakes up to make the recording at the scheduled time adjusted by the padding settings. There is no opportunity for the epg to add the extra days. as a result after 7 days without the box being booted you have no epg.
The HDR-FOX T2 Humax had the exact issue that you describe and Humax released a software update in February 2014 that rectified the issue by updating the epg as part of the early morning OTA check.
http://uk.humaxdigital.com/support/?product_id=2641&curr_page=sw_release
Did Humax not port the solution over to the HDR-2000T when the HDR-2000T was first released at the end of 2014?
I don’t have a 2000T so no way of testing if that’s the issue. It’s the failure to record while away from home that suggest something similar is going on. I don’t subscribe to the theory the box knows you are on holiday
, other than it doesn’t get booted for several days. You could test the HDR-FOX-T2 by booting it without the aerial for a few days in a row and watch the epg shrink.
grahamlthompson
A further thought.
If I had given it much thought I would have assumed that when recording the unit would update the EPG so with a number of regular record entries each week we were away the EPG would have kept upto date. But it looks as if when in record mode from standby the unit does not update the EPG, it is required to be switched on to do so. So recordings are terminated – 43 minutes must represent a recording limit in the software in the absence of an EPG finish time.
Of course, there is nothing in the manual to indicate this shortcoming.
We had seen odd programmmes not recorded or only 43 minutes recorded previously but never been able to identify a cause – I even considered returning the unit as it was in guarantee but was reluctant to lose the recordings we had on it. It was only when viewing the recordings for a 10 episode series we started recording before going on holiday which continued after we got back that it was obvious the 43 minute recording were only whilst we were away, either side of our holiday we had the full 60 minute recordings.
So, thank you for your help, the Power On/Off solution should be the answer.
NeilD – 5 minutes ago »
grahamlthompson
A further thought.
So, thank you for your help, the Power On/Off solution should be the answer.
No guarantees but worth a try certainly.
Faust
Are you really suggesting the software has a Volkswagen type Defeat piece of software to identify that the unit has not been switched on for 7 days so we must be on holiday and it will only record for 43 minutes to upset us?
I prefer the EPG not updating suggestion from grahamlthopmson.
NeilD – 3 hours ago »
So recordings are terminated – 43 minutes must represent a recording limit in the software in the absence of an EPG finish time.
I am not sure about the use of the word “must”; nobody has ever previously postulated that there is a default recording limit and I don’t recall reports that involve termination after 43 minutes. I suspect there is probably an alternative explanation.
Martin Liddle
Over the past year we have had numerous recordings that have prematurely terminated at 43 minutes, none at any other time. This would represent some hexadecimal or binary number within the software to terminate a recording if an end time is not known. A prudent inclusion in the software as, otherwise, the recording could go on forever, filling the hard drive and deleting all other recordings if MENU – Settings – Preferences – Recording – Auto Delete is activated.
You do not suggest an alternative explanation and I cannot think of any other logical explanation for premature termination of recording at a consistent fixed time so ‘must’ is the correct word.
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