Loading ...We’ve had an official response from Humax on this issue, which we wanted to share with you. The response came through Louise at Wildfire, the PR agency for Humax. The statement itself is from Bob Hannent, Chief Technologist of Humax Electronics Co Ltd.
Humax is aware that some users of the FOXSAT-HD have experienced an issue with lip-sync on Dolby 5.1 broadcasts and we want to reassure our customers that we are working hard to resolve this.
We’ve collected data from the emails and phone calls that we have received from our users and, with the cooperation of Freesat and engineers at the BBC, our engineers are analysing this in order to solve the problem as quickly as possible.
Humax remains committed to providing best in class digital TV products and we welcome constructive feedback from our users to help us better understand any problems. The best way to contact us directly is by emailing the Humax team at freesat@humax-digital.co.uk.
Assuming that Bob Hannent is bob_cat, ex-contributor from DigitalSpy, we’d welcome him sending any news to us (through your PR agency if required) and we’ll post them on here for all to see and discuss.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I purchased a Humax HD when they became available but am unable to alter the picture ratio with the remote. Although I have it set on auto it not change on this setting or manually.
Although there has been some general improvement following the download on the 30th June I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of new channels and having to keep changing to none-Freesat for my regional news. yesterday ITV were supposed to be showing a movie in HD but i couldn’t access it
‘Frustrated’ of Bath
Michael McCarthy
July 7th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Michael - The issue of “lack of new channels” isn’t Humax’s fault. The lip-sync and ratio issues are though.
July 7th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
“committed to providing best in class digital TV products”
Anyone unfortunate enough to own a Humax F2-Fox T will tell you this is a blatant lie. It is now 2 years since I was told by Humax to expect a firmware update fixing this Freeview box’s memory bugs. I am still waiting.
When I buy a Freesat box it will not be a Humax.
July 7th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
sorry not good enough
it doesnt tell us anything we dont already know,and that is it isnt working
as it should be
i know im always the negative one on here but at the moment its hard not to be
anything else in regard to freesat and humax
July 7th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
that statement sounds like the kind of answer that a polotician would give.how come no organisation can ever just say whats going on and WHEN we might see the problem fixed. i still think its a issue with live broadcasts as every pre recorded program i watch i dont notice the lyp-sync. Of subject a bit itvHD are showing the film Raw deal at 10:40 tonight. thanks to itv for letting us know (or did i just happen to stumble on it on a internet forum) Freesat/BBC ITV need to pull there finger out in regards to advertising the product if they want to get people interested and at least give the format a chance to take of.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I notice Wezo says that ITV is showing Raw Deal tonight in HD which unfortunately I missed. Is there anywhere that tells us when ITV will be in HD rather than waiting for their logo to appear? If anyone did watch it, was there a Lip-Sync problem?
July 8th, 2008 at 6:52 am
steve itv hd is shown in radio times under the programme when been shown in hd
July 8th, 2008 at 7:04 am
steve it was listed under the tv listings on the itv website funny thing is i was there waiting for the prompt to press the red button so i could watch it in hi def but a hour into the film i was still waiting for a prompt and by the end of the film still waiting for a prompt. what another disappointing experiance from itv/freesat i know its still early days for the format but im starting to wonder why i bothered with freesat.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:40 am
It’s good to see that the lines of communication are working, that Humax have actually responded to the concerns voiced (even if it is little more than a holding reply). Humax obviously realise that the problem isn’t going to go away on its own, and so I take them at their word when they say they are working had to resolve the lip-sync issue.
Despite the teething troubles, the Foxsat-HD is a good sat receiver with specifications well beyond what is required by Freesat (just check out the hidden advanced menu).
Satellite TV/radio enthusiasts will know very well that it is rare for a receiver to be released without some software and/or hardware bugs (even the LyngBox, developed in association with the European Space Agency, has its problems, not to mention the Dreambox DM800, various offerings from Vantage, and so on, and so on). These problems get ironed out in the end. Admittedly, the Foxsat-HD is a slightly different case because it’s a mass-market product, but the basic principle remains the same: software/hardware bugs happen; they *shouldn’t* happen, but they do, and Humax is no different from other manufacturers in that regard.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
They’ve had 2 attempts at fixing this problem so far (i.e. the previous 2 firmware updates).
Fingers crossed it’s third time lucky.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
received this e mail from humax, hope this will be the end of this matter
Thank you for your email.
We are currently investigating the lip-sync issue that some users are reporting and intend to release a software update with the necessary changes so that the issue can be resolved for all of those that are experiencing it.
Best regards
Humax freesat Support
July 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I sent an email as you suggested and received the following reply
Dear customer,
We are currently investigating the lip-sync issue that some users are reporting and intend to release a software update with the necessary changes so that the issue can be resolved for all of those that are experiencing it
Kind regards
Humax freesat Support
Tel: 0844 669 8800
July 9th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Is anyone having problems with the teletext function on the humax foxsat box?
July 12th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Had the version 1.00.10 for a week now. My initial impression of it is not too good. The BBC HD Lip sync problem is still there. I also think the picture has become softer on HD. Not unpleasant but reduces the benefit of getting HD. However the picture on standard definition transmissions also seems softer. I am using a panasonic TH42PZ70BA plasma TV and the internal tuner freeview pictures are much sharper than those from the Foxsat box. This can clearly be seen when the credits come on after a programme where the letters are much sharper on the freeview. Really hope Humax can sort the problems out as I’m beginning to regret buying this box.
July 13th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Version 1.00.10 has fixed none of the issues it was intended for, e-mailed humax surport about problem, not much joy i dont think their any nearer to solving these issues as they could not give me a straight answer, my advice would be get your money back as 150 quid is a lot of money for something that has been released to early and still needs a lot of work, it seems we are not quiet ready for HD freesat and for all the HD channels you can receive (BBC preview, WOW), i dont think its worth it, SD channels are very soft in picture, this is very poor for what is ment to be the digital age. HD channels, well cant really say until they start showing mainstream programs throughout the day instead of the crappy preview, plus the problems with the box not working as it should, don’t bother…!. I hate to say it but if you really want HD TV i would look into sky as theres more channels in this format without compromise to quality and service, man i cant believe i just come out with that……..!
July 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I am hoping that Humax/Freesat/BBC are giving priority to the BBC HD lip sync issue. The number of people who have reported this problem, both on this site and others, suggests that it is not a small minority of users. It would be beneficial, in my opinion, if regular progress statements were issued by Humax. This may assist many of us currently wondering if we should keep or return our Humax boxes. The old adage of ‘keeping the customer informed’ may make many of us more tolerant.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Have bad lyp sync problems with Foxsat on SD and HD but not all the time on SD. Wimbledon player hit ball - sound came as ball crossed net. Last night watched live proms on SD and presenters mouths started talking way before words were audible, in fact sometimes the next person was responding while the last was finishing. Impossible to watch! I have the latest Panasonic TV and do not have Dolby, in fact it is switched off on the Humax. Have e-mailed Humax with same response as others. Frutrating to get so little response - problem not just HD and not just Dolby.