Freesat box problem

str8y

I have a 2 year old freesat Humax 1100s box with USB port for recordings, however, now the box isn't registering that the USB is connected and I can no longer set recordings. (or view the ones I have)
(I have checked/replaced USB cables and HDD so definitely a problem with the Human box. I have also done a factory reset on the Human box)

Can this be fixed?

Or, If I get a new Freesat box, are there ones which have a AV Scart Connection?
Scart connection is the only option for me as my TV HDMI connection does not work.
Also, If I get a new box I would need it to get the non-freesat channels as I currently use the the Non Freesat Mode (handy function) on the Human box for the music channels.
I have done a quick search online for freesat boxes but am having trouble quickly finding a suitable replacement Freesat box. Any Irish websites you could recommend?

Sorry for so many questions!

andy1249

str8y wrote: »

I have a 2 year old freesat Humax 1100s box with USB port for recordings, however, now the box isn't registering that the USB is connected and I can no longer set recordings. (or view the ones I have)
(I have checked/replaced USB cables and HDD so definitely a problem with the Human box. I have also done a factory reset on the Human box)

Can this be fixed?

Or, If I get a new Freesat box, are there ones which have a AV Scart Connection?
Scart connection is the only option for me as my TV HDMI connection does not work.
Also, If I get a new box I would need it to get the non-freesat channels as I currently use the the Non Freesat Mode (handy function) on the Human box for the music channels.
I have done a quick search online for freesat boxes but am having trouble quickly finding a suitable replacement Freesat box. Any Irish websites you could recommend?

Sorry for so many questions!

These boxes failing in such a way that storage is not detected is common , thats why humax lost the freesat contract.
Arris make the freesat boxes now.

Scart is obsolete , its SD only and SD looks terrible on new TVs, no new TVs have scart port and no new boxes or devices have it.

The Tiviar alpha plus box has scart , but its an old box and may be hard to buy now.
Its an enigma 2 box , it can do everything a freesat box can do and more but takes some setting up , there is a big thread on here about it.

You need a new TV , maybe get one with a freesat tuner built in and recording capabilities.

Johnboy1951

You can get a SCART to HDMI converter that might do what you need ....

str8y

andy1249 wrote: »

These boxes failing in such a way that storage is not detected is common , thats why humax lost the freesat contract.
Arris make the freesat boxes now.

The Tiviar alpha plus box has scart , but its an old box and may be hard to buy now.
Its an enigma 2 box , it can do everything a freesat box can do and more but takes some setting up , there is a big thread on here about it.

Thanks for that.
Looks like the new Freesat Arris box is a dud according to the reviews unfortunately.
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.freesat.co.uk
Regarding the enigma 2 box I am not very tech savvy, I think I might just keep the Humax without the recording function working, ( a bit annoying, but I'll survive) and hope a better Freesat Box comes online in future.
I had considered getting a Humax with built in Recording, however impossible to find new and even the 2nd hand Humax boxes online are crazy expensive and the added expense of UK import charges of circa £50 on top .(Thanks Brexit!)

Thanks for the info, I appreciate the response.

str8y

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

You can get a SCART to HDMI converter that might do what you need ....

That's good to know, Thank You!

Nowso

str8y wrote: »

I have a 2 year old freesat Humax 1100s box with USB port for recordings, however, now the box isn't registering that the USB is connected and I can no longer set recordings. (or view the ones I have)
(I have checked/replaced USB cables and HDD so definitely a problem with the Human box. I have also done a factory reset on the Human box)

Can this be fixed?

Or, If I get a new Freesat box, are there ones which have a AV Scart Connection?
Scart connection is the only option for me as my TV HDMI connection does not work.
Also, If I get a new box I would need it to get the non-freesat channels as I currently use the the Non Freesat Mode (handy function) on the Human box for the music channels.
I have done a quick search online for freesat boxes but am having trouble quickly finding a suitable replacement Freesat box. Any Irish websites you could recommend?

Sorry for so many questions!

check the harddrive on your laptop or another device as the drive could be corrupted and need to be formatted

str8y

Nowso wrote: »

check the harddrive on your laptop or another device as the drive could be corrupted and need to be formatted

I have checked, thank you!

str8y

andy1249 wrote: »

You need a new TV , maybe get one with a freesat tuner built in and recording capabilities.

Thanks, I will look into this further, I am a little restricted as only a 32inch TV would fit. Do you know Is it possible to easily store some NON-freesat Channels (ie Music channels) on these kind of TV's?

Nowso

str8y wrote: »

Thanks, I will look into this further, I am a little restricted as only a 32inch TV would fit. Do you know Is it possible to easily store some NON-freesat Channels (ie Music channels) on these kind of TV's?

try reset the box fully before goving up on it

andy1249

str8y wrote: »

Thanks, I will look into this further, I am a little restricted as only a 32inch TV would fit. Do you know Is it possible to easily store some NON-freesat Channels (ie Music channels) on these kind of TV's?

Storing channels is standard , regardless of what EPG they are on and most boxes and TVs can do this , Humax freesat boxes had some weird ( "Freesat" only ) rules that are not the norm.

Walker TVs are cheap , and have all the abilities you need for about 300 or so.

str8y

andy1249 wrote: »

Storing channels is standard , regardless of what EPG they are on and most boxes and TVs can do this , Humax freesat boxes had some weird rules that are not the norm.

Walker TVs are cheap , and have all the abilities you need for about 300 or so.

Thank You, I will look into this!

str8y

From an initial search it looks like a new TV with Freesat capabilities looks like a good option at the moment. If budget is not an issue, are there any recommendations for a good quality TV which has the following?..

32 inch
SMART TV with at least Youtube and Netflix (preferably one with the option to add other ones like RTE Player, 3 Player, All 4 etc)
7 DAY EPG for UK Channels from which I can set recordings.
Access to the UK FTA Music Channels that I can save without re-tuning

Thanks for all the replies so far, you have all been very helpful.

FileNotFound

str8y wrote: »

From an initial search it looks like a new TV with Freesat capabilities looks like a good option at the moment. If budget is not an issue, are there any recommendations for a good quality TV which has the following?..

32 inch
SMART TV with at least Youtube and Netflix (preferably one with the option to add other ones like RTE Player, 3 Player, All 4 etc)
7 DAY EPG for UK Channels from which I can set recordings.
Access to the UK FTA Music Channels that I can save without re-tuning

Thanks for all the replies so far, you have all been very helpful.

I will say that rather than paying too much more for a tv that may allow addition of certain apps (often limited). A fire tv stick or similar might be worth a look.

str8y

Hi, OP here, just updating on this.

After a week or two I realised 95% of my recordings were films and just how little I actually watch the UK channels, so I still have the non recording Humax box with 7 day EPG, and an old Thompson 222 receiver picks up the music channels (the Humax soon decided it didn't want to go to Non-Freesat mode )

Thanks for all your input.

athlone573

If you happen to have a spare 3.5 inch disk around, it is very easy to swap it in and see if it fixes the humax. The problem might be the main board rather than the disk, but it's worth trying.

lgs 4

str8y wrote: »

Hi, OP here, just updating on this.

After a week or two, I realized 95% of my recordings were filmed and just how little I actually watch the UK channels, so I still have the nonrecording Humax box with 7 day EPG, and an old Thompson 222 receiver picks up the music channels (the Humax soon decided it didn't want to go to Non-Freesat mode )

Thanks for all your input.

Is your Humax Box 1st or 2nd generation box . The 2nd generation Humax Box is only half the life of the 1st generation box. I had my 1st generation box for 11 years and 2nd generation only lasted 4 and half years. Now Zgemma H7S.
The same problems recordings failing and the box just shut down.

swoofer

There is a known issue with these boxes and it can be fixed for a small fee. How do I know? I have same box and got it fixed but while waiting
for return I set up an xtrend 10000 for swmbo and.. they are still using it. Box is now a spare.

To get it fixed you send it off to, digirepairs. Here is the link, the price has gone up but if you like the box its worth it.

https://www.digirepairs.co.uk/

look for humax repair. You need to create an account.

They are second hand on ebay but now expensive.

NIMAN

I had a Humax 1100, now since sold, which developed a HDD issue too.

Assumed hard drive had failed, so bought another and it was exactly the same, not recognised.

Only then did I read up on the issue, and found out it was a common problem.

athlone573

I swapped the HD in my humax 1100, I honestly can't remember whether the box had failed,actually thinking back now I just upgraded because I had a 1.5TB drive from a sky box. Anyway its working well now. It is very easy to swap though, no disassembly required.

Thanks for the link though, noted in case the box does go again.