Hi all, am thinking of buying the HUMAX FOXSAT HDR - would you recommend this as a replaement for SKy? AM fed up of paying a fortune per month for channels I don't really watch. Do you know if you receive your regions channels - I'm in Wales so would expect to see BBC Wales etc.
HUMAX foxsat HDR - thinking of buying
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John Duncan
Well-known member
Yup, it's regionalised so that you enter your postcode on the box so that it knows which derivative to send you. Note that usually other regional BBC (or ITV or whatever) channels are usually available higher up the EPG.
As for whether it's better than Sky, you suggest you don;t watch much more than the terrestrial channels so probably yes, unless you have a hankering for lots of HD content - the much-vaunted "Free HD" channels from BBC and ITV are sporadic at best, though no doubt it'll get better over time.
As for whether it's better than Sky, you suggest you don;t watch much more than the terrestrial channels so probably yes, unless you have a hankering for lots of HD content - the much-vaunted "Free HD" channels from BBC and ITV are sporadic at best, though no doubt it'll get better over time.
Thanks John for the information, thought it must be able to sort out where I live automatically. I do watch a bit of Sky, mainly Sky 1 and a few other channels like movies, but tend to watch more on terrestrial channels. We did buy a SKY HD box but found it is very expensive - thought that the price of the new box would pay for itself within 6 months now we've cancelled SKY. Now I have 2 spare boxes, SKy + and SKy HD - am buying the box as a replacement as with Freesat from SKy you are unable to record anything - which they don't tell you on the SKY website!!
What's the best HUMAX box to get? AM thinking of going for the one just under £300, but if there are any other HUMAX versions [or other brands] that are cheaper and are recommended I'd like to hear what other people think before I actually buy. Have got the £300 one on reserve in Argos for tomorrow so advice needed quickly please!! Especially what I shouldn't buy as well
Pretty much everything as John said. If you want premium content you need Sky. If you're happy with the Freesat lineup of channels then I doubt you'll be disappointed.
I've had the Humax HDR since November and I'm delighted with mine. There are one or two minor bugs as with any new product but firmware updates will correct these no doubt. The box is fully functional which is the main thing and mine functions well.
The only major gripes there are concern ITV HD recording and some missed recordings but it seems in the main these appear to be broadcasters EPG programming issues not Humax issues. eg. ITV seem to frequently forget to programme the EPG with HD info when a programme is transmitted in HD leaving you unable to record it in HD except manually. However, that appears to be their fault not the Humax's as the Humax can only record what the EPG says is available.
Overall I'm delighted with my box. Only restrictive thing I've found is the size of the hard drive - 320gb simply wasn't enough for me and I filled mine in 6 weeks during the run up to Christmas, I've now retrofitted a 1TB PVR drive from Western Digital and have loads of space although technically such a move does invalidate the warranty.
The Humax is the only Freesat PVR currently available BTW.
General opinion seems to be that of all the Freesat boxes available, the Humax are the best.
I've had the Humax HDR since November and I'm delighted with mine. There are one or two minor bugs as with any new product but firmware updates will correct these no doubt. The box is fully functional which is the main thing and mine functions well.
The only major gripes there are concern ITV HD recording and some missed recordings but it seems in the main these appear to be broadcasters EPG programming issues not Humax issues. eg. ITV seem to frequently forget to programme the EPG with HD info when a programme is transmitted in HD leaving you unable to record it in HD except manually. However, that appears to be their fault not the Humax's as the Humax can only record what the EPG says is available.
Overall I'm delighted with my box. Only restrictive thing I've found is the size of the hard drive - 320gb simply wasn't enough for me and I filled mine in 6 weeks during the run up to Christmas, I've now retrofitted a 1TB PVR drive from Western Digital and have loads of space although technically such a move does invalidate the warranty.
The Humax is the only Freesat PVR currently available BTW.
General opinion seems to be that of all the Freesat boxes available, the Humax are the best.
Many thanks Alsone, and for the advice from John, seems like the Humax new box will be worth its money then. We just want to replace the Sky subscription with a viable alternative. We don't usually record loads of stuff, except on holiday times like Christmas, but the capability should be big enough for what we need.
Would either of you get the cheaper Humax box for £150 or get the new one for £300?
Would either of you get the cheaper Humax box for £150 or get the new one for £300?
Remember that the £150 box doesn't record, but it's still very good.
I find that, for some reason, recorded programmes on the PVR actually look better than they do live.
I live in Wales and find that being able to watch the English Channel 4, other BBC 1 regions and ITV London a bonus.
I mainly watch BBC 1, 2 and 3, BBC HD and News24, together with ITV 1, 2 and 3, Channel 4, more4 etc. and although I'd like to have something like the History Channel, I already have more to watch than I have time for, so I'm quite satisfied.
I find that, for some reason, recorded programmes on the PVR actually look better than they do live.
I live in Wales and find that being able to watch the English Channel 4, other BBC 1 regions and ITV London a bonus.
I mainly watch BBC 1, 2 and 3, BBC HD and News24, together with ITV 1, 2 and 3, Channel 4, more4 etc. and although I'd like to have something like the History Channel, I already have more to watch than I have time for, so I'm quite satisfied.
DenP:
Remember that the £150 box doesn't record, but it's still very good.
Isis you need to be careful not to confuse the models as DenP says if you want the PVR.
The £150 Humax is the Foxsat. This is a decoder ONLY.
The £300 Humax HDR is the combined decoder and PVR. This is currently the only PVR for Freesat.
DenP:
I find that, for some reason, recorded programmes on the PVR actually look better than they do live.
You should feed that back on the Digital Spy forums where I also post under another user name. Its read by Bob Cat who's the Humax intermediary and who feeds back all feedback to the development / technical team.
I posted about this a while ago because I too find the recorded SD picture better than the live SD picture on playback.
Remember that the £150 box doesn't record, but it's still very good.
Isis you need to be careful not to confuse the models as DenP says if you want the PVR.
The £150 Humax is the Foxsat. This is a decoder ONLY.
The £300 Humax HDR is the combined decoder and PVR. This is currently the only PVR for Freesat.
DenP:
I find that, for some reason, recorded programmes on the PVR actually look better than they do live.
You should feed that back on the Digital Spy forums where I also post under another user name. Its read by Bob Cat who's the Humax intermediary and who feeds back all feedback to the development / technical team.
I posted about this a while ago because I too find the recorded SD picture better than the live SD picture on playback.
Hi all,
just to let you know that we bought the Humax PVR this weekend and set it up yesterday, brilliant piece of kit. Hubby set it up in no time and what a great picture. Soon found out how to record etc, works perfectly and very pleased with it. One thing hubby wants to knwo is what shoudl we set the Freesat box to - 720p or 1080i with out telly which is Samsung LE 32RB, optimum picture 720p maximum in 1080i. Telly picture is 16.9 at the moment.
Any advice gratefuly received.
just to let you know that we bought the Humax PVR this weekend and set it up yesterday, brilliant piece of kit. Hubby set it up in no time and what a great picture. Soon found out how to record etc, works perfectly and very pleased with it. One thing hubby wants to knwo is what shoudl we set the Freesat box to - 720p or 1080i with out telly which is Samsung LE 32RB, optimum picture 720p maximum in 1080i. Telly picture is 16.9 at the moment.
Any advice gratefuly received.
Iv also got the Humax Foxsat HDR and i think its great especially since im now not paying monthly subscriptions to sky! Obviously there are less channels than sky but to be pretty honest with you most of the channels on sky were repeats and the movies you can get via love film or something for cheaper so im very happy with mine.
At the start it was a bit hard to get used as i was unsure if programmes were on record but after like a week it was fine. The box itself is a nice looking box and it sit in my unit easily so its out of the way & its smaller than sky+ box. The HD channels are great hopefully more will be upgraded soon to the humax foxsat hdr box and the fact that i can access the iplayer etc lets me catch up on all my missed soaps! over all i think the humax foxsat hdr is great but if you want a choice of loads of channels you might be better sticking with sky.
At the start it was a bit hard to get used as i was unsure if programmes were on record but after like a week it was fine. The box itself is a nice looking box and it sit in my unit easily so its out of the way & its smaller than sky+ box. The HD channels are great hopefully more will be upgraded soon to the humax foxsat hdr box and the fact that i can access the iplayer etc lets me catch up on all my missed soaps! over all i think the humax foxsat hdr is great but if you want a choice of loads of channels you might be better sticking with sky.
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