Freeview HD v Freesat?

[bitchstewie]

I want to ditch Sky and the built in Freeview HD tuner in my (new) TV is rubbish as in awful interface and dog slow.

I think/hope a standalone Freeview HD or FreeSat box could make a world of difference as the Sky box is old(ish) but the interface works brilliantly smoothly and intuitively.

Humax seem to be the main name for these things but I guess there are two questions:

• Freeview v Freesat?
• Which box?

Something with the Now TV and maybe the TV Player app built in would be nice.

Opinions welcome please as nobody seems to have these things on demo to try out.

[bitchstewie]

It's a shame there doesn't seem to be a single box that can do the lot.

I may just try a Manhattan T1 as for £35 it's a good way to see if I can live without Sky (god that sounds so sad!!).

Edited by bhstewie on Saturday 19th January 18:06

[bitchstewie]

Thanks all.

I'm trying not to spend a fortune on "just" a Freeview box as from the reviews a £35 Manhattan T1 does actually look like it'll do the job.

I have a still unopened Roku stick that should be fine for "app" based stuff.

I still find it staggering that brand new TVs from such major brands come with such awful Freeview tuners built in in terms of interface and usability.

[bitchstewie]

I got the Manhattan T1.

Makes me laugh how good it is for £34 compared to the inbuilt tuner. Literally sts all over it.

[bitchstewie]

OK so it's been a week or so and other than the odd movie I haven't watched Sky at all.

The world hasn't ended.

The £35 Manhattan box is excellent for Freeview but I'm wondering whether it's worth spending a little more for more functionality.

I noticed there are some makes (Zgemma?) that combine Freeview HD with Freesat HD but they look a little "DIY" in that it's proving difficult to understand how the UI looks and feels.

Are they worth looking at?

I would love if there were a "one stop box" that has Freeview, Freesat, NowTV and possibly TV Player inbuilt, but I think that's looking for a unicorn, right?