Humax PVR-9300T Freeview+ Recorder, 320GB Hard Drive, Twin Tuner HDMI+ REMOTE

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I have a 9300t 320Gb and wanted to upgrade the drive; I'm having to constantly manage capacity and it's getting 'glitchy'. The plan was to put the new disk in, format it and if all was well, transfer the files from the old disk. Unfortunately I hit a snag; here's what happened:

So that's it. A neat, classy set-top box that works well, is sensibly priced and would be a real pleasure to live with. Sounds like a deal to us... I have read on these forums about a command line utility which can run on Windows to copy recordings but ideally unless the drive is completely shot would like to copy them to the new drive. Is this fairly easy to do from a Linux live CD? An idea maybe is that since you can replay them is to get a HDMI splitter (example only) and connect the PVR to a TV and a PC via the splitter and then use a video capture card in the PC to copy and save the videos to maybe an external HDD connected to the PC.We've read that early versions of the Humax suffered from considerable fan noise, but our sample (sporting later firmware) was fine, humming away at acceptably low volumes throughout our time with it, save for a brief gust of noise each time you start up.

It just seemed to be a major shame that this very good PVR should be rendered totally dysfunctional by a relatively simple and not uncommon HDD failure and then for the solution from tech support being return your box for an exchange unit either paid or free......this proprietary format takes the HDD out of any real use for anything outside the PVR until it is reformatted to ext3 or other non proprietary format......... If you're a regular Superdrug shopper, you can now earn more freebies and discounts under its Health & Beautycard loyalty scheme, as the retailer has launched new 'VIP Rewards' as part of it.

The 9300T has twin tuners and a clever hard disk storage system that enables you to watch one programme, either live or pre-recorded, whilst recording another, or even to watch two different programmes at the same time with the picture in picture function. However, if you do a lot of recording of single programmes, or of whole series’, you’ll appreciate the main benefit of the PVR-9300T over the PVR-9150T in the increased storage available. The 320Gb hard disk is capable of storing up to 200 hours of television, so you could even record every single episode of The Wire if you wish. This could present a minor problem for those who want to integrate the PVR into an existing Freeview set-up, but for those looking to "go digital" for the first time, it is less of an issue. The drive is a 3.5" SATA II drive. You would do better to consider a drive specifically designed for PVR usage. This is one drive that is suitable Link to EBuyer

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With the picture quality and ease of use of the award-winning PVR9200T, but with twice the hard-drive size, the addition of an HDMI output capable of delivering upscaled pictures to make the most of your flatscreen TVs, and some truly useful new recording options this new Humax would make a fantastic upgrade to an existing freeview box. So because for me this data has no long term or external value my belief is that it is better to return a potentially broken HDD to its raw factory shipped state so that generic utilities can be run to test and assess it. It isn't a standard disc format and there are no published utilities for examining and dealing with Bad Sectors and other low level stuff that may cause it to fail. Full formatting is never a bad thing - its a bit like spring cleaning! However, there are restrictions – if you’re recording two channels on different multiplexes, then you can only watch a third channel if it’s on the same multiplex as one of the channels being recorded. But if you’re recording two channels on the same multiplex, then you can watch a third channel from any multiplex. It sounds complicated, but trust us, it’s a very useful feature.