aimdev – 37 minutes ago  » 

Anybody know what the disk manufacturer is on the noisy units?, because the noisiest disks I have ever encountered were Seagate, the quietest, and always selected are Western Digital.

Incidentally, my disk used to run 27/7, till I turned off the Media Server option, not required.

Usually Seagate Pipeline AV drives.

andysue – 41 minutes ago  » 

GCDBONES123 – 4 hours ago  » 

So unlike Andysue I actually got a response (2) back from Humax customer support yesterday. The first response just asked “Is it on a glass shelf?” That was it, no boiler plate were really sorry you’re having issues or were suprised to hear about that as our machines are thoroughly tested to prevent noise.

I wrote back and explained (Again) that it was on a tempered glass top on built in bedroom furniture but that putting felt feet or a cloth underneath or even lifting the machine physically made no difference when the HDD was chuntering. They wrote back again within minutes of my reply and said the vasy majority of complaints we get about noise is where the machine is on glass. END. No we can look into it for you, no were sorry, nothing!

Think it told me 2 things:

1) Humax are well aware and this is an issue of some volume (no pun intended).

2) They dont care, unless it hits their bottom line sufficiently they will carry on risking the odd return in order to skimp on build quality to hit a price point and achieve margin and just re sell the returns as graded machines rather than invest in getting it right out the gate.

Richer sounds however responded to my review and have been excellent. I have video and audio to demonstrate and will try and pop in after the snow clears. Machine is still doing it but less frequently so will monitor for a week and see how it goes. In ‘quiet’ mode its audible but bearable, when it has its little fits it make me want to return it straight away.

At least you got a response!

Richer sounds in Solihull a year ago stopped dealing with Humax because they had so many problems from customers & only sold the Panasonics.

It shouldnt matter what you put the Humax on. Mine was on top of the panasonic which is on top of a glass shelf.

You shouldnt hear it at all. send it back like I did. It instantly makes you feel better. Then buy the 4000 & feel even betterer

Odd

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/digital-set-top-boxes.html

I have 3 boxes close to where I sit and a 4th further away. They are all on glass shelves.

Humax HDR-1000S 2TB Seagate Pipeline Originally had 2TB WD-AV-GP that failed after about 2.5 yrs.

Humax FVP-5000T 2TB Seagate Pipeline (Replaced original 500GB Seagate Pipeline purely for storage reasons)

Humax HDR-FOX-T2 Original 500GB Seagate Pipeline

Humax Foxsat-HDR WD AV-GP 1TB – replaced original 500GB Seagate way back in 2008.

The top 2 are frequently recording two channels at once at the same time. The only time I can hear a drive is when one of them spins up in a completely quiet room, after that to hear if the disk is running I have to put my ear close to the box.

Minstrel SE – 2 hours ago  » 

I soon realised that the narrow margins on my unit are dangerous territory for me. Really I would have needed to pay more and I would have done that if I had known they were skimping and cutting corners…

I am prepared to pay double the amount or more for my next pvr and sadly it probably wont be a Humax

I’d also happily pay double the current price for a 5000T with adequate memory and processing power for the tasks it’s expected to perform.

But I think you and I are in the minority and sadly, no such option exists – with Humax or any other brand. I was looking at the alternatives on Amazon only this morning and they’re all about the same price and all seem to have to have the same defects if the reviews are anything to judge by.

The only possible exception – the Panasonic DMR-HWT230EB Smart 1TB @ £390 – has now been discontinued and even that looked far from perfect.

As one wag commented: “If you enjoy having your screen totally covered every five minutes by a message telling you that your clever Panasonic device has found new channels then this is the product for you”.

What’s really annoying is that the 5000T would be a really great product if it wasn’t so appallingly slow. But perhaps the early demise of the Panasonic DMR-HWT230EB really does show that there just aren’t enough UK PVR punters with deep enough pockets to choose build-quality over price considerations.

Minstrel SE – 4 hours ago  » I think its more that I want Humax to be the best. I spent years with their 8000T so I know they can make very nice products.

That’s exactly what I’m always saying.

After many years of using a Humax PVR9150T which was fast, absolutely reliable never missed a single recording I was a hard-core fanboy, unwilling to even consider another brand. All the more so as the PVR9150T was my third attempt at finding a trustworthy PVR after two that crashed frequently, missed recordings and were complete junk.

Quote:

I would like to try a 4000 or 5000 myself but I have been a bit put off

I can certainly understand that.

But for all my whining about the 5000T’s slowness, the fact is that it’s 100% reliable and doesn’t mess up recordings and that, for me, has to be the number one priority. And since that holds true even when it’s recording four programmes at once I’m pretty sure that there’s nothing else that’s better – or even as good – on the market.

It also has superb picture quality and the on-demand services – which I never used till recently – work flawlessly.

Given all that I think the 5000T is excellent value for money, and if I’d be even happier with a higher-specced machine that cost considerably more, I can see that I’m probably in a minority and that such a product would make no commercial sense for Humax, given the small size of the UK’s PVR market.

Tend to agree that Humax aim to hit a price point which the market dictates. Yes the 5000 is not an expensive machine but as it stands today probably carries a £50 premium over its main competitor from Panasonic (I could have had £1TB Panasonic model for £30 less than 500GB Humax though found prior Panasonic model far too slow).

Like you guys I have been with Humax for many years and have always considered them to be the gold standard of PVR manufacturers. Every machine they made that I have owned had minor issues but I’ve also been very frustrated with Panasonic PVR’s so appreciated the Humax offering. A shame that their slight so what attitude to the noise issue has really put a dent in my brand loyalty, especially when what we’re talking about could probably be resolved with ~£1 worth of rubber mounting and insulation material. (Though maybe I’m unaware of heat issues?) My last 2 Humax models both had annoying ‘features’ that I just don’t expect from the brand.

Think the PVR market may well be shrinking anyway, as is the subscription market from Sky and Virgin in favour of streaming. Having just updated both my TV’s they both have inbuilt PVR and catch up/streaming functionality as well as media player capabilities that would probably suffice for most people. (Or an Amazon Firestick for £30 achieving most of the same) I do think there would be a market for people who still appreciate a PVR’s flexibility and would be prepared to pay more for that but maybe the market just doesn’t exist? Though if you look at MP3 Players being killed by smart phones the only market left now is for high end connoisseurs?

I generally agree with what you are all saying but what price point dictated the market and is that not just a recipe for catering to the lowest common denominator customer?

I would have been in the market for say a £300 plus player and I just would have stuck that on my credit card if it was a quality product I had faith in.

I was looking for a standard looking box with a lineage from the 9300 and the Fox. I thought Humax had got the economies of scale with the 2000 and we all like a buy which appears to save the pennies. I know the 4000 and 5000 are priced higher but the chocca mocca looks and top mounted controls arent my cup of tea.

In the real world a tv shelving system gets crowded and I like stacking boxes and not fashion statements.

I dont feel comfortable any more in the £150 to say £250 price sector because margins are tight when VAT and everthing is accounted for.

Now I would have thought that any bad batch of drives would have set an alarm claxon off at the Seagate factory. The servo/heads on that drive seems too loud but I had little experience of what a High definition always buffering TV drive does.

It wasnt right though because it would disturb tv viewing at any volume.

The experience of Humax customer service was a shock and they just said take it back. No offer to guide me to a fine product or make me feel better. In not so many words is was tough luck and take it back buddy. Almost as if they hadnt made the thing and were taking no responsibility. Im not sure I would trust them again as that creates a bad feeling.

So if its a lowest common denominator market with no customer aftercare what is Humax coming to? We are the people paying our money to state the obvious

I think there is a market for what I want and Im not sure Humax will cater for it again. This is why I watch what is being said about the 4000 and 5000.

Best wishes