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In my view, the manual which comes with this excellent device rather lets it down. What do others think?
The first problem is that it is printed in greyscale, which makes the screen shots very difficult to read, and totally unrepresentative of the real thing. Even if Humax need to control their costs by using black and white for the hard copy (which is a bit penny-pinching for a machine costing over 200 quid) surely it wouldn’t be too much to ask for there to be a colour version on-line which users could download if they so wished?
The second problem is that it lacks any sort of introduction which explains the basic concepts. The instructions assume that you fully understand what it can do, and the circumstances under which you might want to use each feature. For many new users, this is not the case!
The third problem is that the manual doesn’t keep in step with firmware updates. The manual which came with my machine was clearly written for an earlier version of the firmware, and failed to mention new features such as the FTP interface. I appreciate that making frequent updates to a physical book isn’t easy, but there might at least have been an addendum – but nothing! Failing that, one might reasonably expect to find an updated manual on-line – but again, the one which can be downloaded is the same (out of date) one which came with my machine.
If any of the senior members of this forum have the ear of Humax, and feel that these are valid gripes, maybe something can be done about it. The machine itself is the best thing since sliced bread – it’s just a pity about the manual.
WT
The manual is kept short and simple so that it is not overwhelming at first read for new users.
Cost of producing large, detailed and colour manuals will increase the overall cost of the product.
Manufacturers can not and do not produce new updated manuals for each firmware release – there are notes that come along with each firmware to inform users of fixes, and if there are major changes, then there are electronic addendums.
This is just my view but probably reflect the truth. I would also rather they concentrate their efforts on fixing bugs and adding features, than producing Ikea-type manuals! Anyway, isn’t what forums such as myhumax.org are for? to fill in the missing info and help users? more effective in this age than a glossy manual – I would say!
It’s quite obvious from the content of many posts on the internet that not many people read the manuals anyway.
son_t – 6 hours ago »
Manufacturers can not and do not produce new updated manuals for each firmware release – there are notes that come along with each firmware to inform users of fixes
That’s ok if you buy an early version where the manual matches the supplied firmware, and then progressively update it.
But in my case, the HDR was supplied with the latest firmware but with an out-of-date manual. How was I supposed to know that I needed to look at firmware release notes?
You wouldn’t be very impressed if you bought a new car whose gearbox had been upgraded to 6 gears, but the driver manual only told you about five of them! OK, it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but you’ll see what I mean.
WT
Biggles – 5 hours ago »
It’s quite obvious from the content of many posts on the internet that not many people read the manuals anyway.
I’m sure that’s true – which means that they probably never get to find out about many of the features. That’s their choice – but it’s no excuse for not producing a decent manual.
WT
son_t – 6 hours ago »
Anyway, isn’t what forums such as myhumax.org are for? to fill in the missing info and help users? more effective in this age than a glossy manual – I would say!
Forums are great, but you shouldn’t have to rely on them for basic information.
I’m not looking for a GLOSSY manual – but an on-line version in COLOUR would be nice. The screen shots must surely have started out as colour pictures, and must have been converted to greyscale for printing. So why not put the colour version on line?
WT
rkm_hm – 2 hours ago »
You wouldn’t be very impressed if you bought a new car whose gearbox had been upgraded to 6 gears, but the driver manual only told you about five of them! OK, it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but you’ll see what I mean.
WT
I think I’ve had one of those 😉 – certainly had an estate whose manual was for the saloon and one whose manual for the radio was for the generic version not the one with touchscreen sat-nav etc.
It’s important that at launch the manual should have the relevant details but features which are added later can adequately be covered in addenda. I do agree with you though in that such addenda should be included with new units which ship with the latest firmware rather than having to look online for them.
I agree with much of the comment on the user manual. Still, it is better than the manual for the Samsung LED TV I bought at the same time.
There must be internal documentation for software upgrades and it would be no big deal to make the specification available online for users. Incidentally, I have just downloaded the PDF of the Humax user manual and the diagrams are much clearer, answering a query I had about bookmarks.
Bookmarks! I’ve been searching high asnd low for info on this. Can I ask my question here? Do PVRs, especially Which best buy Humax PVRs, do bookmarking? The latest Which best buy Humax Freeview HD PVR, the HDR Fox T2 doesn’t mention bookmarking in any publicity, and there isn’t a manual in the download list.
Further to my question, I got the manual (from Manual Owl )
It says you can place bookmarks in “scenes” – not sure what that means. “Scenes” in DVDs are arbitrarily allocated 5-10 minute sections used for locating a part of the film. How would a PVR recording have “scenes”? If you place a bookmark in a scene, does the bookmark mark the exact place, or the start of the scene?
Apparently, the PVR doesn’t automatically place a mark when you interruot your viewing of a recording. Ist that right?
daffodil -Apparently, the PVR doesn’t automatically place a mark when you interruot your viewing of a recording. Ist that right?
You don’t get a bookmark but it does remember where you viewed to. When you choose the recording again from the media list you get two options. Play from beginning or resume playback.
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