Humax Freesat box's

[NikNak]

Hi guys....

We're looking at getting a PVR device (that's a personal video recorder to you and me :lol: ) and have narrowed it down to the Humax range of Freesat models.

'she' wants to be able to watch tv, pause tv, record tv, catch up tv, eat tv, sleep tv, blah blah blahhhhhh.... i'm sure you get the picture.

Anyway.... can anyone shed any light on the pros & cons of the unit they sell which has built in wifi..? i mean... why is it needed..? the other models they do in the same price range all seem to have exactly the same functions... except for the built in wifi... but is available via a dongle.... as an extra.

This one has built in wifi...
http://www.johnlewis.com/humax-hdr-1010 ... te/p431431

and this one doesn't...
http://www.johnlewis.com/humax-hdr-1000 ... p231674035

and this ones the same (no wifi) but with a smaller hard drive...
http://www.johnlewis.com/humax-hdr-1000 ... p231732135


Cheers in advance guys....

Nick

 

[paultnl]

The WiFi makes it easy to get software updates off the Internet and use catch up services such as iPlayer assuming that you already have a WiFi network.

 

[NikNak]

Yes we have wifi.... and i've got a couple of ethernet plug-in adapters too (due to a few poorer wifi spots)

But why wifi...? surely any software updates would come via the satellite dish..?

or is it for 'pay-per-view' type channels..? i.e. video/film streaming etc..?

The young lad in Currys was as much help as (homer) explaining the virtues of nuclear energy.... :shock:

 

[paultnl]

Sorry, I didn't explain it very well. The main reason for needing an WiFi is for BBC iPlayer, 4oD, Demand 5 and ITV Player which are delivered over the Internet. Humax would have to pay a large amount to Sky to get updates delivered via satellite so Internet is their preference.

Humax are a good manufacturer but it may be worth looking at the TV offerings from your ISP for comparison, my mother has just got a very good deal from Talk Talk and thinks their box is easier to use than the Humax Freesat box that I set her up with a few years ago though this may be due to a newer design.

 

[woodfarmer]

I have two humax PVR freesat boxes. They are excellent. They also do software updates via satellite.

There are good reasons to have freesat rather than freview.


We use ethernet wired in for all our internet. ATM.

 

[mseries]

The without wifi one is SMART meaning it will deliver content from the internet such as BBCi, it needs some sort of connection for that. This is nothing to do with satellites or terrestrial tv broadcasting. Why wifi ? you may not have a wired LAN close by, may not want home plugs.

 

[woodpig]

As long as it's got an RJ45 for your router (and it's near by) then you don't need Wi Fi.

Can I ask, why are all those boxes linked so fugly!

Isn't there an issue with picture quality with Freesat sometimes? Just asking.

 

[DiscoStu]

I've looked at the specs and I'm a little confused the top model has wifi but the 2nd model doesn't. However the second model appears to be confusing a little. It says it is internet ready via a wifi dongle. But it also says it is smart and has on demand services and that it has an RJ45 socket (cabled network port). I would think that option 2 will be able to be networked via Ethernet but I would just ask John Lewis to confirm as it says it is Internet ready via wifi dongle. If you will have the box near your router then I'd suggest cabling as the best option regardless.

The top option does appear to allow you to send video and music to the box from smart phones etc. So it will act a bit like Apple TV. Which might be something you might like? It will also link to media servers but I'm guessing you don't have one based on the original question, so it's probably irrelevant.

 

[WoodMangler]

Isn't there an issue with picture quality with Freesat sometimes? Just asking.

My mid-priced Humax HD FreeSat is much better picture quality than the el-cheapo Manhattan box from Curries, so it's partly a case of getting what you pay for. Also, Freesat reception tends to degrade a lot more than ground-based FreeView in really heavy rain.

 

[woodpig]

Isn't there an issue with picture quality with Freesat sometimes? Just asking.

Freesat reception tends to degrade a lot more than ground-based FreeView in really heavy rain.

This was what I was wondering. I'm interested in getting a new TV so was pondering Freeview or Freesat. I didn't really want to get a dish anyway so I'll go with Freeview I think.

I wonder if most content will end up coming via broadband sooner or later?

 

[woodfarmer]

As long as it's got an RJ45 for your router (and it's near by) then you don't need Wi Fi.

Can I ask, why are all those boxes linked so fugly!

Isn't there an issue with picture quality with Freesat sometimes? Just asking.

I live in France, near 300 miles outside the footprint for Freesat. Using a 90cm disc I have superb quality PLUS what I didn't realise until some years ago when we bought our first HDMI Tv set, the boxes will upscale ALL output through its HDMI socket not just the HD TV channels so we now get all our programs in HDMI (1080i). The upscaling is so good I can't see the difference between SD and HD sources.

These Humax boxes are very popular with expats in Spain and there they can be over a 1,000 miles outside the reception footprint. The reception is better than Sky and free

They also do on demand via rj45 but I have never tried that.

 

[gregmcateer]

I have two humax PVR freesat boxes.

Really, WF ?


How do you find time to do some of your excellent woodwork - surely you must spend all waking and sleeping hours on catchup and recorded viewings!?! :?

(PS I have the old fashioned Humax and am pleased with it - will go to freesat when I can be a*****d)

 

[woodfarmer]

I have two humax PVR freesat boxes.

Really, WF ?


How do you find time to do some of your excellent woodwork - surely you must spend all waking and sleeping hours on catchup and recorded viewings!?! :?

(PS I have the old fashioned Humax and am pleased with it - will go to freesat when I can be a*****d)

we have one in front room primarily wifes, and another in another room full of war films and dads army recordings
Surprising how often both are going at same time recording, as they always put all the good stuff on at the same time. rarely watch live tv, i just look ahead on the schedule 1-2 times a week and flag what looks to be interesting, then we watch what has been recorded. can fast forward over the adverts that way,

 

[Baldhead]

We have a freeview tele and a Freesat (Humax) box, we got the Humax when we told Sky to 'stick it where the sun don't shine', the connections to both Sky box and Humax box are the same.
My BIL has a Humax freeview box, the channels he receives are the same as our freeview tele, the Humax freesat box receives different channels to the Humax freeview box and freeview tele.

Baldhead

 

[flying haggis]

cheaper from here, direct from humax



https://www.google.co.uk/url?url=https: ... vpvxBJU4Pw

 

[mseries]

I have two humax PVR freesat boxes.

Really, WF ?


How do you find time to do some of your excellent woodwork - surely you must spend all waking and sleeping hours on catchup and recorded viewings!?! :?

(PS I have the old fashioned Humax and am pleased with it - will go to freesat when I can be a*****d)

we have one in front room primarily wifes, and another in another room full of war films and dads army recordings
Surprising how often both are going at same time recording, as they always put all the good stuff on at the same time. rarely watch live tv, i just look ahead on the schedule 1-2 times a week and flag what looks to be interesting, then we watch what has been recorded. can fast forward over the adverts that way,

That's what we do. We have two PVRs, in different rooms. They are both SMART with DNLA client and servers. Once connected on the LAN we can use one machine to view recordings made and stored on the other machine.

 

[WoodMangler]

This was what I was wondering. I'm interested in getting a new TV so was pondering Freeview or Freesat. I didn't really want to get a dish anyway so I'll go with Freeview I think.

I didn't have any choice - terrestrial TV signals simply don't make into my valley in Wales.

I wonder if most content will end up coming via broadband sooner or later?

I hope not, the broadband here won't even support Skype sessions.

 

[mseries]

Without and real usage stats, I think we probably watch more content that's delivered via broadband* as opposed to broadcast TV.

 

[woodfarmer]

Without and real usage stats, I think we probably watch more content that's delivered via broadband* as opposed to broadcast TV.

Think yourself lucky there, I can't get broadband as the farm is too far away from the telephone exchange

 

[Michael7]

Nick,
The difference in price might be that the more expensive box is the more recent version. Now that Christmas is past we are going for the Humax youview box. There is a T1000 model and a T2000 model and from reading reviews the T2000 is a lot nippier when going through menus. Its about £80 more but I am prepared to pay more for something that I hope will last (our current Humax PVR is getting on 6 years now but is starting to play up ).
BTW I phoned Humax about November time asking about the youview features. He said that Humax has no control of youview but did tell me that a 1TB version was in the pipeline and could be out by February time.

Michael