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Although we moan about products a lot — a lot — we’re usually highlighting minor problems. When we reviewed the Humax 9300T recently, however, we noted that the fan noise was more than a minor issue. It was so bad, it stopped us from recommending an otherwise excellent video recorder.
Because we’ve had nothing but praise for other Humax products, we even tested two review samples to make sure the first wasn’t faulty. Unfortunately, although the second was better, it was still too loud for our liking. Humax, it seems, has been listening, because it has announced an over-the-air software upgrade to fix the problem.
The company says the update will turn off the fan unless it’s absolutely necessary. With the current software version, the fan is on constantly, even if the internal temperature of the machine doesn’t require it. That means if your PVR doesn’t get especially hot, you’ll never hear that ghastly fan again. The temperature of your PVR can be controlled by keeping it in a cool area, away from other electronic equipment. The cooler you keep it, the less you’ll hear from the fan.
To obtain the update, you should make sure your 9300T is left on between 27 and 29 November — you can leave it in standby, just make sure you don’t switch it off at the wall and that it’s plugged into your aerial. The PVR will download the update automatically and you should find greatly reduced fan noise as a result. There is also a similar fix for the 9150T, which will be sent out between 5 and 8 December.
It’s pleasing when a company listens to feedback and does something to rectify problems, so we congratulate Humax for this. We’ll be testing the software update when it goes out this week and updating our review with our conclusions.
