All posts by Benny London
Below are all of Benny London's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Liz Falconer: Digital TV has a very complex set of standards which allow for a multitude of variations in formats. Consequently, there can be all manner of differences between TV channels, differences between programmes on the same channel, and even differences during an individual programme as it goes in and out of commercial breaks. Often, transmitted streams don't even comply with the standard. HD streams have the additional hassle of copy protection, which is a whole can of worms in itself.
Generally, boxes cope pretty well with the many complex tasks they have to do, but occasionally certain channels will not work on certain boxes. Such is the nature of digital TV.
It's likely there is something specific to the STV HD stream which is tripping up your equipment, and this can occur anywhere in the path from tuner to screen.
I can't obviously analyse the transport stream from this far away(!!) but I'd be astonished if the streams for the individual HD channels were all formatted identically. Or that the data streams presented to the TV had identical formats for every channel.
If I were in your position, I would definitely want to try the Hummy with a different telly. It's a matter of eliminating possibilities and trying to pin the problem down to a specific piece of equipment. (BTW I assume you have HDMI directly from Hummy to Panny. You're not going via an amplifier are you?)
Regarding your tuning problem... You could try attenuating the RF signal while you auto-retune (a lead with only 1 wire connected might do). The idea is to get the signal from the aerial so weak that the Humax can only just about pick up the contents tables from the desired transmitter but won't detect any other transmitters. Afterwards, you can put the normal lead back again.
Don't forget to unplug the Hummy before you fiddle with the aerial connection. That warning notice on the cover is there for a reason!
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Monday 26 September 2011 2:27PM
Liz Falconer: I've had similar problems with a Humax HDR Fox T2 down here in The Midlands. Following switchover last week, my auto tune did exactly the same as yours. It told me there were multiple transmitters, but only gave me a choice of one. I then had umpteen '800' channels as well as the correct channels. Switching from SD to HD even went to the wrong HD channel.
Rightly or wrongly, I put it down to bugs in the HDR's firmware, and I doubt that any amount of factory resetting or scanning aerial-less would change a thing.
I didn't bother with manual tuning. I just deleted the '800' channels (you can select them and delete them all in one go). I was left with the proper list of channels, with their correct names and numbers, and all was well. Easy really.
Regarding the flicker on STV HD, this could be nothing to do with the reception. I think it is more likely to be an issue with the HDR not talking to your TV properly (for lots of possible reasons). My advice would be to check you have the latest firmware from Humax's web site, as they have fixed lots of bugs, including some with the HDMI interface.
HDMI is well-known for compatibility problems, especially with older TVs. My HDR wouldn't work at all with my Samsung TV until I upgraded the HDR firmware. Could you borrow a TV (or a PC monitor) of a different make to yours and see if you still get the problem? Your TV itself might even need a firmware upgrade.
Finally, just changing the V-FORMAT from 1080i to 1080p or 720p (or whatever) might be sufficient.
I don't want to offend jb38 or anyone else here, as this really is a great site, but sometimes a different kind of expertise is required. If my suggestions don't help, you might find that someone on the Humax forums can sort you out.
Good luck! And let me know how you get on.