BT Software Update 32.143.0 / 3.8.70

Alex

Hi All,

Please feel free to discuss BT Humax Software Update 32.143.0 / 3.8.70.

This is a maintenance software release for BT devices which contains no new features.

Thanks,
Alex

rich_rsf

Cannot record since this software update

botus

Hi, I was watching Bond films over christmas / new year on ITV 1 HD and the quality was truly shocking

usually switching on my BT box using its 1080P settings the jump in picture quality is huge vs the Panasonic TV tuner's 1080i settings.  But since the new update on the BT box to 3.8.70 the change is for the worse.  The change has come with this update - it had NEVER changed before it was always incredible picture quality - I had to go back to the Panasonic tuner this was unwatchable...

Its horrific - this update has slipped to half the quality it used to have, I rebooted and rescanned all channels no change at all -and its not just that channel the whole box has slid in picture quality till its now only fit for the bin - I spotted a new setting in picture menus to select something - put that to auto and it crept up maybe 10% but its slid back on this software release by 60% 

As for Apps Prime is almost unusable - Prime used to be as sluggish and hard to work with at Nettflix now is... but Prime has a two second lag at each key press.  Been like it for almost year but its getting slower and slower, 1 second lag morphing to two seconds progressively deteriorating during each update

Software Update 32.143.0 / 3.8.70.

Roy

Hi @botus

I have this update on both of my T2100 and my T4000, and the picture is as good as ever on both. So what you are reporting certainly isn’t universal.

I guess the new setting you found was HDMI Frame Rate Matching? 

This is a good thing to turn on, but addresses possible picture judder rather than anything else, at least according to this description of it on the Amazon Fire TV:-
https://www.aftvnews.com/explanation-of-the-new-frame-rate-matching-feature-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/

I’m amazed you can apparently tell 1080i from 1080p, though; I can’t, though 1080p is theoretically superior. But both my active YouView boxes are connected to 4K TVs, so what I am watching is upscaled anyway.

What is the model of Panasonic TV you have there, and what is the model of YouView box?

But the only thing I have ever come across which affects the picture quality of a YouView box on a given TV versus the broadcast picture, is when each input on the TV has its own picture settings, and you have to set them individually; if you set the broadcast picture exactly how you want it, then the picture from an input still on the default settings isn’t going to look as good.

One thing you could maybe try, besides the above, is rewatching a recording you made before the update. Does that look as good as it always did, or has that suffered this deterioration also?

Re Prime, mine is sluggish on the T2100. I haven’t tried it on the T4000; but both TVs have a native Prime app that we use instead anyway.

Roy

rich_rsf said:

Cannot record since this software update

@rich_rsf

Is this still ongoing, or did the issue clear up?

If still ongoing, what happens, precisely, when you try to record?

botus

Hi Roy,

thanks for the reply, don't get me wrong - lots of my friends and family don't seem to be able to see the difference between SD and HD broadcasts.  And the BT2100 is still a picture "you could watch".  But if it was a decent broadcast and their was something worth viewing I always switched to the BT2100 box (using its 1080p setting) where you got "a big uplift in added sparkle to the picture on any signal, any channel, any broadcast"

but the bond films seemed horrible - so I flipped on the BT box expecting to see the improvement, but it went backwards... (the same magnitude of uplift from the Panasonic tuner to the BT box but in reverse (never had that before)...  its like two clicks of the sharpness adjustment have been taken away

it was fine all the way through the last Strictly series on BBC1 HD - so I guess its ALL on the back of this update which I got after the main series finished - but why and how did they break it?

Yes, the new setting I found was HDMI Frame Rate Matching - seeing the picture quality decline (trying to watch the bond film) after rebooting and rescanning all channels, the picture was still shocking and noticeably lower than the Panasonic tuner could manage  - so I had a look round and found this new setting.  Putting this to auto added a small glimmer of improvement but still a long way from what it had....

My TV is a Panasonic plasma VT50B, best TV on sale worldwide in 2012 with a 50 quid HDMI cable... only the seemingly better hi end OLEDs now offer a picture quality that's any better - but to my eye's "they are tiring after a while the blacks seem fake and the over all impression is its rather artificial"....

I also have the BT 4000 but that again it produces strange results (though not tried for some time) - even on 1080 broadcasts its better pushing out a 4k signal and letting the Panasonic down scale to its 1080p capability - on the BT4000 box its significantly worse at managing the step down

Oh, I was counting the lag on the Prime app last night.  It varies, but many operations it can wait 3.5 seconds before responding to a key press on the remote.  Netflix used to be almost 100% responsive.  But both have been sliding Netflix now has the lag Prime used to have a year ago and Prime is now ridiculous. 

Roy

@botus

Don't get me wrong; I never doubt what people report, because it’s happening for them, if nobody else.

Here’s one from 8 years ago, where somebody reported an issue, no picture on Film 4, and I tried it and found the same thing, but nobody else reported it at all. And YouView couldn’t reproduce it; but on YouView talking to Channel 4, Channel 4 tweaked something, and the picture came back! Problem only on Film 4, only on YouView, possibly only on the Ridge Hill transmitter….

https://community.youview.com/youview/discussion/comment/14207600/#Comment_14207600

As a result of this experience, I have remained ever since entirely prepared to believe that even the most obscure single-user single-issue problem may be something objective that YouView, or even a broadcaster, will need to fix 😛

But to your posting. Firstly, SD is 576i at best; 1080i and 1080p are both Full HD. It’s easy to tell SD from HD when watching critically, though a lot of people leave TVs on SD because 1 is easier to type than 101, and you get Regional News on SD, not a red screen with steel band music for 30 minutes.

A T2100 feeding 1080p to the Panny is a perfect match, and yes, nothing before OLED has rivalled plasma. You should see our LG GX though, which even our son who had a Pioneer Kuro (max 720p!) says bests it.

But it’s a mistake to run the T4000 at 4K; there are still relatively few native 4K programmes for it to shine on, and with a 1080p programme on the T4000, I get better results by passing that to the GX to upscale, rather than upscaling on the T4000 and passing across a signal that doesn’t need any more upscaling.

And with the Panny, you may be upscaling 1080p to 4K on the T4000, asking it to invent 3 pixels in every 4, and then passing it to the Panny, to throw away 3 pixels out of every 4. What are the odds it will keep the right ones?

So I would run the T4000 at 1080p, which will pass every pixel to the Panny on a 1 for 1 basis from HD material; and even with UHD, it would be one single step-down, and in the T4000 only.

Though having said all that, I would be very surprised if the Panny could handle a 4K signal; I think it will be asking the T4000 to run at no more than 1080p anyway.

But either way, better to set the T4000 at that, and see if the picture improves.

By the way, which channel was showing the Bond films? And they were in HD, not SD? We watched Persuasion on Drama; SD or worse, it looked better on a small HD TV than our big 4K ones 😢

botus

Hi, will read your point tomorrow fully - just want to get this out there ASAP - this release needs to be pulled - it just crashed out and rebooted the box trying to get Prime to play a programme.  And as you found I got the strange no progress bug on channel scan (and the picture degradation issues)

I just realised that's 4 times in last week this release has crashed the box.  Had to power cycle the box as it became unresponsive for her earlier in the week... then a couple of nights ago locked up on me and now tonight twice in a row.

Even checked my fibre broadband and was getting fast 133 megabits (4 times fast than 18 months ago when Prime used to work just fine)

This evening everything normal, got in to prime all normal, select user all normal, selected the series all normal, selected the programme all normal ...but as egg timer went to spool the video the box locks up... and reboots itself.  That's exactly what it did 2 days ago...  Then I tried again and all normal, watch 4 episodes in a row all normal...  last night did the same all normal, no issues.  But tonight after the box rebooted I check to see if it had updated (same software release as per this post)  gave 5 mins to settle went back to Prime and exact same behaviour.  got in to prime all normal, select user all normal, selected the series all normal, selected the programme all normal ...but as egg timer went to spool the video the box locks up... and reboots itself

just did it a third time - went to check....ummm she's trying to watch same programme but  different series - seems that might be the link - but shouldn't crash this box surely - she's using amazon 4k box

Rohit

Hi @botus, 

Thanks for raising these issues. Please could you DM me the STB serial number so we can take a look at your box? (Under Settings, Device Information). 

We're aware of an issue where some Amazon Prime Video sessions present an error when trying to play content. Restarting the app or the box should resolve that but your problem sounds different. 

Could you also confirm what you mean by this?

she's using amazon 4k box

Thanks, 

Rohit

botus

Rohit said:

 Please could you DM me the STB serial number so we can take a look at your box? (Under Settings, Device Information). 

Could you also confirm what you mean by this?

she's using amazon 4k box

Thanks, 

Rohit

Hi Rohit,

thanks for the reply.

last night after my box crashed and rebooted itself three times (twice after power cycling the box and rebooting), I noticed the menus jumping back to the series she's on.... 

So we have two users in the house, she works via an Amazon 4k box and it fast and responsive.  And I use my BT2100 box - both of use on a wired connection using cat 6

I'll pm the other bits

botus

Hi, connected up the DTRT4000 and got this update

again no progress bar on channel scan (irritating and unnecessary to have removed it), oddly this box left the region selection on the correct setting, rather then the 2100 which was trying to encourage the wrong selection (Hannington rather the Crystal Palace) ?

On going to set up tells me I have an invalid HDMI set up, but had a working picture.  (4K setting is no longer there to select - wrong backwards step ! (as I said in earlier post referring to the DTRT4000 setting it at 4k and allowing the TV to downscale gave a much better picture) Only choices now, 1080p 1080i and 720. 

Set to 1080p and then enabled Frame matching and the picture went to rubbish.  Frame matching dulls down the picture and introduces motion blur SOE.  Got seasick watching Gillingham vs Leicester ON BBC1 HD and horrible horizontal judder on CH4 HD.  Switched off Frame matching and its much better.  Motion blur / judder goes away and a lot of sparkle and definition pops back to the picture.  So the implementation of this doesn't seem to work well.

jshortman

Roy said:

Hi @botus

I have this update on both of my T2100 and my T4000, and the picture is as good as ever on both. So what you are reporting certainly isn’t universal.

I guess the new setting you found was HDMI Frame Rate Matching? 

This is a good thing to turn on, but addresses possible picture judder rather than anything else, at least according to this description of it on the Amazon Fire TV:-
https://www.aftvnews.com/explanation-of-the-new-frame-rate-matching-feature-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/

I’m amazed you can apparently tell 1080i from 1080p, though; I can’t, though 1080p is theoretically superior. But both my active YouView boxes are connected to 4K TVs, so what I am watching is upscaled anyway.

What is the model of Panasonic TV you have there, and what is the model of YouView box?

But the only thing I have ever come across which affects the picture quality of a YouView box on a given TV versus the broadcast picture, is when each input on the TV has its own picture settings, and you have to set them individually; if you set the broadcast picture exactly how you want it, then the picture from an input still on the default settings isn’t going to look as good.

One thing you could maybe try, besides the above, is rewatching a recording you made before the update. Does that look as good as it always did, or has that suffered this deterioration also?

Re Prime, mine is sluggish on the T2100. I haven’t tried it on the T4000; but both TVs have a native Prime app that we use instead anyway.

jshortman

I have a similar problem, since the (3.8.70) update my DTRT2100 has much slower performance. I've also lost the preview images in "MYTV"

Roy

jshortman said:

I have a similar problem, since the (3.8.70) update my DTRT2100 has much slower performance. I've also lost the preview images in "MYTV"

@jshortman

Just in My TV/Recordings, or on the whole line RECORDINGS & WATCH LIST? And you still have them on, say, LIVE TV, and TV SHOWS?

Try touching the On/Standby button on the box for just over 8 seconds, until it soft reboots, and see if this clears the issue.

Come back for more advice if not.

botus

after the fight with Prime crashing, I had tried the 4K box as mentioned above

Now back on the 2100, I now get a green horizontal line on the screen as Prime programmes fire into life... its a 2mm or so height, full screen bright green horizontal line - much like the 2" thick interference effect HDMI handshake argument (that oddly only Humax like to bring to the party on their boxes), no other devices have ever done this.  Its there every time in the last week 1/3rd down the panel and lasts for 5 to 15 seconds then goes away and works perfectly

wasn't there till after I brought this box back up and is there all the time on Prime programming as each first starts to play (never in the menu selection only as a programme gets going) - I've only seen it on Prime