Bargain Alert: New Ferguson HD DTT/Sat Combo Box - €63 before postage

the_one_&_only

Is this box the same as the older model were it will only take a maximum of a 750gb hard drive?

user1842

Bought one from Tony yesterday

Can anyone tell me how fast it changes channels?

Kristopherus

Kenny Powers wrote: »

On My Argos Edison Mini the CH+- buttons on the remote do nothing do they work on this? is it suitable for an elderly person if everything was set up first, they wouldnt be using the PVR functions etc. Just flicking through 1 - 9 and using the CH +- to change CH. Can the remote be set up to control the TV volume?

Thanks

If you flick through rapidly with the + & - function, it can get confused . If you flick slowly it will give you a quick summary of what is on a la $ly/UPC.You can also flick via the up/down button in the centre of the remote.

Kristopherus

Just tested the recording function again. You can record DTT and watch another DTT channel OR another satellite channel. You cannot record 2 channels simultanaeously. I have also found that when starting a recording a momentary slight pixillation occurs as the recording function kicks in. Nothing serious but it causes the sound & picture to be slightly out of sync. Now I have mislaid my HDMI lead & have connected via scart. I don't know if that's causing the problem.

Pangea

Kristopherus wrote: »

Nothing serious but it causes the sound & picture to be slightly out of sync.

Out of sync is a pretty serious, hate watching out of sync.

How is the recording function with this? Some mentioned you can just stick the external hardrive in but how does the recorded programmes show up? are they all labelled etc.
Its FTA and not Freesat right?

O'Prez

Kristopherus wrote: »

Just tested the recording function again. You can record DTT and watch another DTT channel OR another satellite channel. You cannot record 2 channels simultanaeously. I have also found that when starting a recording a momentary slight pixillation occurs as the recording function kicks in. Nothing serious but it causes the sound & picture to be slightly out of sync. Now I have mislaid my HDMI lead & have connected via scart. I don't know if that's causing the problem.

Does it stay out of sync? That's a major problem in my book.

JDxtra

Maybe your storage was too slow? Was it a USB key, or a hard drive?

philahern

O'Prez wrote: »

Does it stay out of sync? That's a major problem in my book.

I am testing one at the moment. I am seeing a huge problem with audio out of sync on all channels (seems to be worse on bbc hd and bbc 1 hd) I am considering sending it back.

STB

JDxtra wrote: »

Maybe your storage was too slow? Was it a USB key, or a hard drive?

Yes Jon... that might be the problem. Page 2 of the Manual.


1. In order to use an external USB memory, the memory must support the USB 2.0 standard. To ensure stable recording and playback, you must use a
memory with a recording speed of 9.0 MB/s or greater

Slower hard disk drives and flash memories may not function properly, have problems with recording (image jitter), or not function at all!!!

2. Only disks with one basic NTFS or FAT32 partition (we recommend using the NTFS format) will function properly. If you do not have such a format, prepare the disk on your computer before connecting it to the receiver.

3. Highly fragmented or used memories may also not operate smoothly or correctly.

4. External hard disk drives should be autonomously powered, since the built-in USB port is unable to provide sufficient power.

Kristopherus

Pangea wrote: »

Out of sync is a pretty serious, hate watching out of sync.

How is the recording function with this? Some mentioned you can just stick the external hardrive in but how does the recorded programmes show up? are they all labelled etc.
Its FTA and not Freesat right?

Fta, not Freesat. You get only Now & Next

The recording function involves connecting a usb stick or usb hdd. There is a button on the remote that calls up the recorded stuff and gives you a few options what to do.

Tony

I'm not seeing any sync issues on the box here but I do not have a hard drive plugged in.

philahern

Tony wrote: »

I'm not seeing any sync issues on the box here but I do not have a hard drive plugged in.

I thought it might be the hard drive I had plugged in but I removed it and rebooted the machine. Still a problem. Very noticeable in the tennis. Audio is about half a second behind video.

[edit] ITV1 HD is not watchable because of sync issues. No hard drive attached.

Kristopherus

O'Prez wrote: »

Does it stay out of sync? That's a major problem in my book.

Seems to be back ok at the mo.Could be the TV as well. Nothing major so far but just noticable when it happens.

channelsurfer2

Kristopherus wrote: »

Seems to be back ok at the mo.Could be the TV as well. Nothing major so far but just noticable when it happens.

try using a hdmi3 cable instead of a hdmi2 version.. it carries the sound quicker seemingly.
Mine should be here tomorrow so I will report on it over the weekend to see if I exeperience the same scenario.
(my tv a samsung has issues with the sync according to when I googled for solutions... changing the cable didnt work for me but it works for others , it reduced the audio sync slightly using a sygmatec box thats 3 years old.

Tony

Might be useful to try with a scart if one is available to see if the same issue occurs. I'm working on a box now to try and replicate the probelm.

willyb007

I have stumbled upon a firmware update here http://www.ferguson-digital.eu/en/download/func-startdown/1147/

Maybe, just maybe it mite resolve some problems, If not the sync issue, wouldn't it be better installing this new version of firmware anyways? Maybe this version is already installed on the receiver - it is dated 27th May 2011.

Tony

I think this is the current version which is in the box . Can anyone having this issue do a factory re set and then do a single transponder scan on ITV HD to see if there is any resolution . Also is anyone using my channal list and having sync problems ?

willyb007 wrote: »

I Maybe this version is already installed on the receiver - it is dated 27th May 2011.

Kristopherus

channelsurfer2 wrote: »

try using a hdmi3 cable instead of a hdmi2 version.. it carries the sound quicker seemingly.
Mine should be here tomorrow so I will report on it over the weekend to see if I exeperience the same scenario.
(my tv a samsung has issues with the sync according to when I googled for solutions... changing the cable didnt work for me but it works for others , it reduced the audio sync slightly using a sygmatec box thats 3 years old.

As I said I cannot find my damn hdmi cable and I have a 3-pack on the way from ibood, So I'll have to wait:(. My tv is a Sammy as well, of 2007 vintage.Not full HD, but jogs along nicely at 720p. Have a full HD one that I'll hook up over the wke-end and test for any differences. But all that is dependant on the hdmi cables arriving:).

Tony

Have you seen any problem on the scart output ?

Kristopherus wrote: »

As I said I cannot find my damn hdmi cable and I have a 3-pack on the way from ibood, So I'll have to wait:(. My tv is a Sammy as well, of 2007 vintage.Not full HD, but jogs along nicely at 720p. Have a full HD one that I'll hook up over the wke-end and test for any differences. But all that is dependant on the hdmi cables arriving:).

philahern

Tony wrote: »

Have you seen any problem on the scart output ?

I've tried using a scart and the problem is still there. I tried a factory reset, removed all channels and did a single transponder search for ITV1 HD and the problem is still there :-( I also tried all the video output settings and the audio out settings nothing seems to solve the issue.

Kristopherus

Tony wrote: »

I think this is the current version which is in the box . Can anyone having this issue do a factory re set and then do a single transponder scan on ITV HD to see if there is any resolution . Also is anyone using my channal list and having sync problems ?

Thats true. When you go into the Tools menu, the 1st option is Information. When you examine that you will see all the software versions.Also the 2011...... statement should be read backwords to see the date of that upgrade. All of them are May 2011, so it seems to be smack up to date.

Tony

I was able to see a slight delay on ITV HD when using my channel list which was made using a network search . I did a factory re set and did a single transponder search on ITV HD which looked fine so I then did a satellite and terrestrial search (non network) and so far everyting is ok . I'll leave it running and check back later . I'm wondering if the network settings are not 100% correct so I'd avoid using the channel list i posted earlier in the thread just in case. I'll check the pids etc on the channel editor for ITV HD and check for any discrepancy between it and what lyngsat is showing.

philahern wrote: »

I've tried using a scart and the problem is still there. I tried a factory reset, removed all channels and did a single transponder search for ITV1 HD and the problem is still there :-( I also tried all the video output settings and the audio out settings nothing seems to solve the issue.

stephene

Just thought I'd throw my 2c in here....
I have a Panasonic TH-46PZ81 which has a built-in Freesat tuner and I've noticed sync issues on ITV-HD over the last week or so.

After some googling I found this http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f184/itv1-hd-210415/

I've got 2 ITV1 HD channels, as that's all you get on FTA - ITV London and ITV Granada. ITV Granada is the one you want to keep, as this has mpeg audio, compared to ITV London (and probably the others) which uses Dolby AC3. I think it's ITV's implementation of AC3 audio that causes the problem, although I have no idea why; my other HD channels with AC3 play fine. Interestingly, if I play ITV1 London through my Dolby amp via S9's digital audio out, it's in sync. So it's something to do with how the downmixing is handled, by the box itself or the TV.

Handily, Granada broadcasts the video at a higher resolution compared to London, so it should be the best option anyway (unless you are using a surround set up)

So a postcode change might sort it out...

Stephen

philahern

Update: I did a firmware update even though it seemed like the same version and reloaded my channels. The sync issue is still there but doesn't seem as bad. Still though that kind of thing would drive me mad.

On another note, the box is able to get an ip ok but doesn't load up any web radio channels at all. Says it's downloading but stays at 0% Could be an issue with connection but I don't think so.

swoofer

try this, when watching a prog with a bit iof lip synching, press the pause button, screen should freeze, then release pause, may fix the problem.

gb--

philahern

Gonna leave it for now and come back to it later. Thoughts so far:

Positives -

• Picture looks great.
• Box looks small and neat
• Record on same mux and also record sat watch dtt
• MkV playback looks great
• Easy to arrange channels with editor
• Time between channel changes is fine for me

Negatives -

• USB in the front
• Audio sync problem
• Extra info is not available in epg, just the program title
• Haven't been able to get web radio working

One_More_Mile

philahern wrote: »

Gonna leave it for now and come back to it later. Thoughts so far:

Positives -

• Picture looks great.
• Box looks small and neat
• Record on same mux and also record sat watch dtt
• MkV playback looks great
• Easy to arrange channels with editor
• Time between channel changes is fine for me

Negatives -

• USB in the front
• Audio sync problem
• Extra info is not available in epg, just the program title
• Haven't been able to get web radio working

Oh man - I sure hope there is a patch for the above- even the heap of junk Lidl box I have at home gives me some details of the program!

Tony

Yeah as I've said previously the USB in front was something we made them aware of some time ago but they have chosen to leave it where it is .

If you press "info" twice and then three time you can get now and next programme info

philahern

Tony wrote: »

If you press "info" twice and then three time you can get now and next programme info

Yeah it works for the satellite channels but for dtt channels there is no info.

Tony

philahern wrote: »

Yeah it works for the satellite channels but for dtt channels there is no info.

I see , sorry did not check that . We''ll record a stream and send it to Ferguson to see if theres a solution but this may take some time.