Are all Freeview recorders crap?
Discussion
I decided to be sensible and stop paying £30 a month for Sky+ and bought a Humax 9200.
What a complete, utter steaming heap of poo!
Suddenly I understand exactly why Sky, despite the prices and the poor customer service, are so far ahead of the market! Can it really be so difficult to make a half-decent interface?
The Humax is going onto Ebay, but are there any freeview boxes that get anywhere close to Sky+ for functionality or ease of use?
The worst of it for me is not just the lack of a series record feature, but also the fact that to even set up a daily or weekly repeat takes about 6 clicks from first setting it to record.
That and the fact that you can only set up 20 programmes to record. This sounds like a lot until you break it down... 3 of us with different tastes in viewing means 1 programme per person per day, and if you try to record everything not on the BBC so that you can skip the ads, it's ridiculous.
I really don't want to be shelling out a monthly fee, but if this is the best alternative, then Freeview just isn't an alternative.
Even if I only ever watch the free to air channels, the functionality and ease of use on the Sky+ almost makes it worthwhile!
What a complete, utter steaming heap of poo!
Suddenly I understand exactly why Sky, despite the prices and the poor customer service, are so far ahead of the market! Can it really be so difficult to make a half-decent interface?
The Humax is going onto Ebay, but are there any freeview boxes that get anywhere close to Sky+ for functionality or ease of use?
The worst of it for me is not just the lack of a series record feature, but also the fact that to even set up a daily or weekly repeat takes about 6 clicks from first setting it to record.
That and the fact that you can only set up 20 programmes to record. This sounds like a lot until you break it down... 3 of us with different tastes in viewing means 1 programme per person per day, and if you try to record everything not on the BBC so that you can skip the ads, it's ridiculous.I really don't want to be shelling out a monthly fee, but if this is the best alternative, then Freeview just isn't an alternative.
Even if I only ever watch the free to air channels, the functionality and ease of use on the Sky+ almost makes it worthwhile!Try Virgin Media (formerly ntl). Its like SKY+ and it automatically records all the best tv from that day and you can watch it for free. Its stored for 7 days after origional airdate aswell. Its how come i dont miss all the doctor who's !! it still costs money, but its much cheaper than sky.
Chris,
If you're on BT boradband at home have you considered "BT Vision"?
I must confess I'm in a similiar boat to yourself - although not had the courage to give up Sky yet until there's a genuine alternative.
There's also talk of Sky introducing their own terrestial digital services package too, in the summer!
K
If you're on BT boradband at home have you considered "BT Vision"?
I must confess I'm in a similiar boat to yourself - although not had the courage to give up Sky yet until there's a genuine alternative.
There's also talk of Sky introducing their own terrestial digital services package too, in the summer!
K
Network-wise, ITV are bringing something out to match NTL and Sky. Sadly, there's not a lot out there to beat Sky+, although the MSTV interface from BT Vision is getting there.
Dont forget Sky have had a two or three year headstart on this, and have thrown an awful lot of money at developing the UI.
Dont forget Sky have had a two or three year headstart on this, and have thrown an awful lot of money at developing the UI.
I have a Sony Freeview box and it works well, has a good menu and is very intuitive to use. If I don't use it for a few week it needs rebooting, which stumped me the first time, but now I know to keep my finger on the ON button for about 15 secs until it sorts itself out (info courtesy of Pher!)
BTW this is a Humax:
Oh sorry, that's a Hyrax - but it receives Freeview equally well
BTW this is a Humax:
Oh sorry, that's a Hyrax - but it receives Freeview equally well
Parrot of Doom said:
If you want the bees-knees in hard disc recording, you want a Tivo. I've had one for years, nothing not even Sky+ can beat them.
Get a lifetime subscription one from Ebay. Trust me, best hundred quid you'll ever spend.
Hundred quid? I thought they went for more like 200 to 300 on ebay?Get a lifetime subscription one from Ebay. Trust me, best hundred quid you'll ever spend.
Kermit power said:
I decided to be sensible and stop paying £30 a month for Sky+ and bought a Humax 9200.
What a complete, utter steaming heap of poo!
I love mine (and the 8000 I had before it) and I'm pretty sure the half-dozen or so people that have bought them on my recommendation do too. Your complaints about series links etc really boil down to the fact that the information to be able to do this in not yet broadcast in the FreeView signal - but it's on its way and Humax are on the case of updating their firmware to deal with it.What a complete, utter steaming heap of poo!
I hear your woes about number of programs you can record but at the price, get two and record four programs at once
It's not a problem for me because I tend to use mine mostly as a scratchpad to save me watching ads - although the USB link to the laptop is handy for burning films onto DVD too.Jderh said:
Try Virgin Media (formerly ntl). Its like SKY+ and it automatically records all the best tv from that day and you can watch it for free. Its stored for 7 days after origional airdate aswell. Its how come i dont miss all the doctor who's !! it still costs money, but its much cheaper than sky.
I'm not sure if VM/NTL are rolling out different interfaces for different areas (ours is now principally black) and sucks goats as a hobbie. It's slow, cumbersome and the layout means you're almost sure 'that's' where a program is supposed to be but... no. It's actually over there. The naming conventions have all changed and to be quite honest it really does show how good Sky's interface is (only ever had the most basic Sky box). Ohh and you regularly loose the EPG or it's just plain... wrong.
It's cheaper than Sky... for a good reason IMHO.
ThePassenger said:
Jderh said:
Try Virgin Media (formerly ntl). Its like SKY+ and it automatically records all the best tv from that day and you can watch it for free. Its stored for 7 days after origional airdate aswell. Its how come i dont miss all the doctor who's !! it still costs money, but its much cheaper than sky.
I'm not sure if VM/NTL are rolling out different interfaces for different areas (ours is now principally black) and sucks goats as a hobbie. It's slow, cumbersome and the layout means you're almost sure 'that's' where a program is supposed to be but... no. It's actually over there. The naming conventions have all changed and to be quite honest it really does show how good Sky's interface is (only ever had the most basic Sky box). Ohh and you regularly loose the EPG or it's just plain... wrong.
It's cheaper than Sky... for a good reason IMHO.
But apart from being completely technically inferior and more expensive, yes, Sky+ is better.
The Humax does everything Freeview allows it to!! As such I have one and have recommended it to friends. Nope it doesn't do series link but it's on it's way and at least it doesn't cost am arm and a leg in subscriptions. It also is pretty reliable given the descriptions of SKY+ given on this forum.
I find my Humax fantastic, and yes I have used sky+.
It may be more difficult to set a weekly recording than sky+, but come on, what you've jsut described takes all of 20 seconds. Its really not that much of a pain is it...
I also find having the picture whilst in the programma guide a very good idea.. my old box used to lose the picture, like your describing sky+... Stupid idea, cos you'd miss bits!
The time slip and record functions work brilliantly on the humax aswell.
It may be more difficult to set a weekly recording than sky+, but come on, what you've jsut described takes all of 20 seconds. Its really not that much of a pain is it...
I also find having the picture whilst in the programma guide a very good idea.. my old box used to lose the picture, like your describing sky+... Stupid idea, cos you'd miss bits!
The time slip and record functions work brilliantly on the humax aswell.
tank slapper said:
I am quite happy with mine. Update the firmware on it. The latest version increases the number of programmes to 50 as well as sorting a few bugs. Series link will arrive eventually, though not all the freeview channels are transmitting the necessary data yet.
Where do I get the latest version from?I've looked on the Humax website, but that says the latest is December 2006. I'm already running this version, and it definitely limits me to 20 programmes.
Kermit power said:
tank slapper said:
I am quite happy with mine. Update the firmware on it. The latest version increases the number of programmes to 50 as well as sorting a few bugs. Series link will arrive eventually, though not all the freeview channels are transmitting the necessary data yet.
Where do I get the latest version from?I've looked on the Humax website, but that says the latest is December 2006. I'm already running this version, and it definitely limits me to 20 programmes.
Pioneer PVR here - works a treat and is utterly simple to use (even the wife can operate it!). Its not a twin tuner model, as they dont seem to do PVR with HD and DVD as well as Freeview in the same box, but since my telly has Freeview built in its not a problem.
Its reliable and works well. A friend has just bought one which is twin tuner. Oh god, I cant remember the name of it though. Its quite powerful and is not a major brand. You can even upload programs to it so that you can do funny things with it. Looks great, works well and a great price (about £270 all up for a massive disk capacity too!), but cannot for the life of me remember the manufacturer! If I was in the market for one now this is what I would get.... anyone know what I am talking about?
Its reliable and works well. A friend has just bought one which is twin tuner. Oh god, I cant remember the name of it though. Its quite powerful and is not a major brand. You can even upload programs to it so that you can do funny things with it. Looks great, works well and a great price (about £270 all up for a massive disk capacity too!), but cannot for the life of me remember the manufacturer! If I was in the market for one now this is what I would get.... anyone know what I am talking about?
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