Loading ...Freesat has today confirmed it will be partnering with Sagemcom as lead manufacturer for the development of its next generation set-top boxes, due to launch in early 2012 (G2 Spec).
Freesat have also confirmed that Humax would be producing new boxes later in 2012, which puts to bed any suggestion that they would be launching a new FOXSAT-HDR early next year. We don’t have a clear indication yet which other manufacturers would be involved.
Emma Scott, Managing Director of Freesat, said;
Freesat has worked closely with both Sagemcom and Humax in the past and we are pleased to be partnering with them again on our exciting next stage of product development.
We have now hit the 2 million sales mark, beating our original projections and adding more homes each quarter than any other TV platform. An important part of our success to date has been the quality of our technology and the manufacturing partners we work with.
Freesat will release further details of its next generation set-top boxes later in 2011.
September 8th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
To admin: What will the new humax pvr do that mine won’t?
steve 1Quote
September 8th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
To admin: Do you know the expected price for both the Sagemcom and Humax boxes?
alexanderQuote
September 8th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
@alexander
With more than 12 months before launch, I suspect that kind of information hasn’t even been discussed yet.
adminQuote
September 8th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Can you Answer mine admin or is it to early
steve 1Quote
September 8th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
@steve 1
It is possibly too early to say, but there is some useful information on the G2 spec (rumours) here:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/ocean-blue-teases-freesat-g2-features
and here:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/freesat-g2-spec-diseqc-single-cable-pvr-on-demand
Suspect the main difference from your existing box will be the additional Internet based functionality and possibly the inclusion of YouView. Technology moves on so quickly that other features may be present that don’t even exist yet!
adminQuote
September 8th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
My Humax DVR which I have had for 2 1/2 years is still chopping off the ends of programmes, eg Bourne film – last sat – ITV AND the EPG still has major faults. Will I have to buy another machine to overcome these very basic problems?
Mr GrumpyQuote
September 8th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
@Mr Grumpy
You should just be able to increase the buffers each end of the recordings in case programmes start/finish late and don’t update the EPG. Have a look in the menus for the option.
adminQuote
September 8th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Mr grumpy it seems to me ch4 and ch5 are pretty bad they record to early then chop the end off.BBC and itv1 seem pretty good its not the recorder it relys on a signal from the broadcaster
steve 1Quote
September 8th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
@ Steve #8
I have noticed that Channel 4 have an ad break five minutes before the end of a program and now go straight from one program to the next. It really annoys me as you often miss the start of programs on other channels.
I stopped watching 5 some time back partly because I got annoyed with those animated pop ups near the end of shows advertising the next program.
Kevin Ver1Quote
September 9th, 2011 at 7:49 am
The problem starts when you got 2 programs recording to end at same time say 8pm and u got one starting at 8pm u know they will be a conflict
steve 1Quote
September 9th, 2011 at 7:56 am
@steve 1
Better to miss the start of a programme than the end; especially now every programme seems to have been Americanised (sp) with 10 minutes of “whats coming up” clips!
adminQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 8:09 am
At this rate we will have room full of set top boxes, one for each channel .and an extra one for adds.I think i will call time on it all.
GlynQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Not a bad idea Glyn, there are some great books about!
DipperQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 9:30 am
It would be good if Freeview could attend to some of the basics, such as “out of sync with picture speach” on all Freeview channels via Midhurst transmitter last night
brian mayoQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 9:39 am
@brian mayo
This is a Freesat site, not Freeview in case you are getting mixed up?
adminQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Apolgies Admin, I’ve got both FreeSat & FreeView
brian mayoQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Good advice if something clashes see if its on another time like digging for britain at 9pm its on again @ midnight bbchd so you can record it then a bit like itv1+1 or ch4+1.and the channels that are not flexible you can work around them with the flexible ones.
steve 1Quote
September 9th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
I wonder if Humax will be able to resolve the three minute wait whilst the EPG is loaded by the end of 2012.
ricstoQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Ah… I remember the good old days when it was just BBC TV B&W and 405 lines (no distinction of BBC1 as there was no BBC2 to confuse). I think the rot set in when that channel with adverts started up!! Seriously though, where does all the money come from to fund all this technology, let alone all the programmes. Thank heaven for Freesat, I couldn’t hope to afford Sky (and I find more than enough viewing choice available on Freesat, even too much at times!
RonQuote
September 9th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
I had to do another factory reset on my humax pvr I kept on waiting and waiting to set recorder.do you think humax has a look at this site they need to pull there finger out.
steve 1Quote
September 9th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
I wouldn’t like Freesat to have subscription channels even if they are optional.
I would like Freesat to find ways of improving the high definition pictures which are very good, but are they future proof?
I should think it possible for satellite broadband – but would it disturb other commercial interests?
Frazer PalmerQuote
September 10th, 2011 at 1:30 am
Humax think theres nothing wrong with waiting for the EPG, they changed the design to make it that way. Its not even a bug according to them so it wont be fixed.
It does make you wonder if they actually use the boxes themselves.
SLQuote
September 10th, 2011 at 9:13 am
@Frazer Palmer
I agree, if anything I would prefer freesat compatable boxes that, when you pay a small fee, say £10 and no more, can access a certain amount of channels that vanilla freesat doesnt offer. They could do that with viewing cards..
MatthewQuote
September 12th, 2011 at 10:10 am
10 Steve 1: with twin receivers in these boxes, you would think there would be some clever logic to buffer the start of the new programme in memory until the previous programme finishes – maybe something for the G2 spec if it’s not there already.
Al CatrazQuote
September 13th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
To get back to the main topic, just what is meant by “lead manufacturer”? And why was Sagemcom chosen? Who was the previous lead manufacturer if there was one and why the reason to change?
lawrence PearceQuote
September 13th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Sagemcom make very poor receivers. I bought the 320GB HD model earlier this year and there were very noticeable problems with the recording on the machine i.e. freezing, not recording correctly. Also it did not display 4:3 ratio channels in 16:9 so that it did not fill my widescreen. When I called Sagemcom and explained this (as I did not have this problem with Sky) I was told that the receiver does not have anamorphic widescreen capabilities unlike Sky boxes. Odd really as I returned the receiver and bought a Technisat HDFS and it displays all channels correctly.
LeeQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 12:31 am
@Lee: It’s hard to tell, but are you saying you WANT your picture to be in fatty-vision just so it’ll fill up your screen?
I really don’t get people who can watch things in the wrong aspect ratio – I’m really sensitive about that; I can tell very easily when something’s off.
MuzerQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 8:20 am
The Samsung SMT-S7800 is G2 Ready, needing only a firmware update according to Samsung.
MikeQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 9:01 am
So when is humax going to sort the problem out I was told early Sept now its mid month.can anyone shed light?
steve 1Quote
September 14th, 2011 at 9:17 am
I bought the 500GB Sagem DTR94xxxS and it kept freezing all the time requiring the mains plug to be pulled,it would freeze during playback if I paused the recording as well as at random times when going through menus, & also it got very hot at the bottom. I returned it to Best Buy on the Saturday for a full refund and got the Humax Foxsat-HDR 500GB and I’m very happy with it and I also like how it gives you the option to record in HD or SD.
SagemCom shouldn’t have been given the lead manufacturer for the G2 boxes Humax or even Samsung should have been given the lead manufacturer roll and SagemCom go the way of the Harverd boxes and lose Freesat Certification.
RolandQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 10:12 am
You get what you pay for with sagem. Humax is a good quality machine but they got to sort out this new software issue sooner rather than later
steve 1Quote
September 14th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
What were Freesat thinking giving SagemCON the lead roll it should be Manhattan, Humax, Samsung or Technisat.
Tony HalesQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Who makes the Bush freesat box for Argos now. It used to be Harvard but if they have lost Freesat certification (if) it must be another manufacturer.
Richard CrichtonQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I’ve got a bush hd box not pvr in the bedroom had no problems with it at all even with ch4hd and bbc1hd and bbchd moving to s2 I think I got that right.great little box.
steve 1Quote
September 14th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
@Richard Crichton No one makes the Bush boxes for Argos now that Harvard have lost the Freesat certification. If you put the cat number in for the Bush Freesat PVR you get the nolonger in stock message on the website.
RolandQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
The whole situation is a little confused but my understanding is that the brand name Grundig have lost their contract, but Bush (and maybe Goodmans) continue to be available.
adminQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
@Admin If that is the case then why have Argos pulled the Bush & I think Goodmans branded boxes from sale?
RolandQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
@Roland
I wasn’t aware they have, still selling from their website and showing in the latest catalogue. It might be the case that their contract has gone too, but have large volumes of stock to clear. It will become clearer in the next few months when any stock they have would be depleted (sp). £29.99 for the SD version does suggest end of line stock but Argos I think have a pattern of how many pence to indicate to staff it is end of line, i.e. £29.79 or similar.
adminQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
@35 Roland
Just put in 5321557 for the Bush Freesat SD box and it’s in stock in the Glenrothes shop. Also put in 5322460 for the Bush Freesat HD box and they are showing 3 in stock
Richard CrichtonQuote
September 14th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Argos ( Home Retail Group) owns the Bush Brand. But i do not know if the box’s have been withdrawn.
Rob DQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 5:22 am
Speaking of the Bush SD Freesat box in Argos, I had this box for a while, but it was nothing like the picture in terms of appearance, which was odd as they showed the current picture on the website. Good box regardless.
MatthewQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 6:47 am
Argos are rubbish showing the wrong picture.they show a picture for humax freeview pvr with a freesat humax pvr
steve 1Quote
September 15th, 2011 at 7:09 am
29 (Steve 1) – Humax are on the case with this, trust me on this one!
NeilQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 8:12 am
I will hold you to that neil!
steve 1Quote
September 15th, 2011 at 10:35 am
Straight from the horses mouth at IBC mate!
NeilQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 11:04 am
If it is early September for humax to sort the mess out I think I will buy them a calendar!
steve 1Quote
September 15th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I would have thought adding a new lead mfr a good idea, especially seeing as G2 is supposed to have stuff like diseqc which to date only humax had included. Let’s also hope they can manage to integrate the freesat and nonfreesat modes so we can set up recordings and see full(er) epgs on all channels that we receive.
RozzoQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
CORR: and Technisat, albeit that is a single tuner with usb recording
RozzoQuote
September 15th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
To rozzo and others I haven’t used my usb input on my humax pvr yet what can I do with it.can I download stuff from humax on Flash drive or is it for putting stuff onto humax?did the early 320gb have this usb?
steve 1Quote
September 16th, 2011 at 10:27 am
@49 steve 1
You can delete files or copy files to/from external devices. Transfer your recordings onto an external hardrive etc.
@48 Rozzo
Technisat is a great single tuner box with usb recording. Has handled every update from Freesat perfectly with absolutely no attention required by the end user. It just works.
Tony HalesQuote
September 16th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Technisat HDFS with usb HDD is what I have and generally pleased with it too. Would like to have had a combined mode though rather than 2 separate modes. Pity they haven’t brought out a twin tuner version with freesat as they have developed new ones for their German markets.
RozzoQuote
September 17th, 2011 at 9:20 am
I emailed Technisat an asked about the twin tuners that are available on the German market and if they might make a freesat branded box. Unfortunately they say they don’t have any plans at all to do this. Could this be the end of the Technisat brand on Freesat? Would be a shame if it was. I would by a twin tuner from them straight away.
LeeQuote
September 17th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Unfortunately they appear to have alienated quite a few retailers with their changes in policy with regards to warranty claims and pricing structure; so it seems unlikely they have a long term future as a Freesat brand, though hope things can be resolved and they remain, as the HDFS product itself is arguably the best single tuner HD receiver available.
adminQuote
September 17th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Sorry admin for being a pain is there any new news with humax and the software issue?
steve 1Quote
September 17th, 2011 at 10:50 am
@steve 1
Updates in the comment section of the appropriate page here:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/humax-foxsat-hdr-please-wait-issue
adminQuote
September 17th, 2011 at 11:14 am
5 weeks old now a date would be good.I know its up to humax not freesat
steve 1Quote
September 17th, 2011 at 11:21 am
@steve 1
The comments are from last week, not 5 weeks ago:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/humax-foxsat-hdr-please-wait-issue#comment-42392
adminQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Steve 1: It’s on it’s way, patience is a virtue!
NeilQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Neil have we got a humax date?do you know more than admin?sorry admin
steve 1Quote
September 19th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
@steve 1
Neil know’s more than me, without doubt
adminQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
What’s your best guess admin what channels we may have before christmas?
steve 1Quote
September 19th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Bit hard for me to say given the conversations I’ve had, but I’d like to think we’ll have a HD addition from channel 4 and possibly 5* and 5US, but we shall see.
adminQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
@ Neil,
Your right, patience is a virtue, as Panasonic PZ81 owners are only too well aware however my patience has finally run out and I have treated myself to a Samsung UE55D8000, I must say that the picture quality on both HD and SD is far superior to the Panasonic. I’ve even ditched my Panasonic blu-ray home cinema in favour of a bose sound system.
RussQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
@russ bose should be better at that price.how much is it again!you need a mortgage
steve 1Quote
September 19th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Steve, there’s some interesting things in the pipeline, some confirmed others not. Things move quick in this industry so what may be on the cards one Month may never come to fruition the next.
New higher profile channel additions are much more likely to appear between now and Christmas to benefit from seasonal advertising and also of course it helps Freesat’s marketing so beneficial for everyone!
Keep an eye here for the news first
NeilQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Neil you should have your own forum
steve 1Quote
September 19th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Hey, I heard that!!! :p
adminQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Off subject, but just had a reply to a question I asked a dew days ago on the official SES Facebook page.
I asked “Any news on 1N ? Has testing finished ? When will it start to move to 28.2E ? How long will it take to get there ? And when will it be operational ?”
The reply today..
“Hello Phil, ASTRA 1N succesfully completed testing and is now on its way to 28.2E. We will issue a press release when the satellite becomes operational in October. Christopher.”
http://www.facebook.com/SES.YourSatelliteCompany/posts/261818577183663?notif_t=feed_comment
PhilQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Steve, admin does a mighty fine job keeping us all updated on news from the Freesat platform so there’s no need…
Good news on Astra 1N as it seems like it’s been testing for an eternity! Lets see how long it takes for her to drift around the arc.
NeilQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
When they start using astra 1n I will dance to the birdie song! Or black lace or maybe sonia maybe not!
steve 1Quote
September 19th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Well I’d dust your old 7″ singles off as she’s going in to service shortly after arriving at 28.2E.
NeilQuote
September 19th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Speaking of high profile channel launches, something like Comedy Central would go great on Freesat, they have 3 different channels(1 is a +1 version) but still, I’m all for shock launches of channels no one expected.
MatthewQuote
September 20th, 2011 at 12:35 am
Yep, there’s loads of smaller encrypted Sky packaged channels that would be great on Freesat. Unless advertising and the general economy improve then they’ll all go running to Sky for a share of the subscription pie, however one saving grace as a result of the current economic climate is that more Freesat units will be sold (as has been proven from Sky churners alone this year) so the more users on the platform, the more attractive to broadcasters to jump on-board.
NeilQuote
September 20th, 2011 at 10:49 am
518 Massive R&B added to epg
Mark SQuote
October 27th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Read all the posts about Sagemcom on the various web forums, they don’t come out very well in light of their recent decisions. Some very upset people about.
Mutley359Quote