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32 Comments
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Andy
MennellI use a 1TB Humax High Def Freeview one (the model number of which escapes me) which is great APART FROM the regular “OTA” (Over the Air) software updates they keep doing. These so-called updates completely negate the benefit of the “Series record” function and is an absolute pain as the updates go on for days on end so you can’t record what you want. If you’re on holiday or away from home, you’ve had it. You can’t turn the updates off, there is no facility. Humax don’t seem to care about this. Also, the most common buttons on the hand control, the play, pause, and fast forward ones are all so tiny that you have to keep putting your glasses on to operate them.
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MennellSorry I haven’t made my point clearly enough there, the OTA updates STOP ALL THE RECORDINGS YOU HAVE PRE-PROGRAMMED.
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Tim K
I Replaced an old Humax 8000T 80GB with a Fox T2 HD 500gb, It’s a huge improvement over the old one, the image is far better, HD is great, and the on screen menus are far clearer and much simpler to operate. I only ever filled the 80gb twice, so the 500gb should be ample for a few years yet. Its not very clear on how to delete folders, but deleting individual; recordings is pretty straightforward. I’ve not seen any problems relating to updates, as per previous reviews, but i do agree with the buttons being a bit small. Its a poor mans Sky + , without the charges. We wouldn’t be without one now, it’s freeview TV on demand, especially with BBC iplayer on board.
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chris
hewsonHi Tim, to delete your folders, go into media select the folder that needs ditching, press the OPT+ button underneath the volume rocker, then follow the onscreen prompts. Good luck! Chris.
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Gerry
I’ve a had the Freesat PVR for over 2 years now. It’s been tremendous and is highly recommended for those who can live without SKY. A mild irritation is that the remote control is very directional but with excellent HD picture presentation and ease of use when recording individual programmes or series from the TV guide, it’s about as good as it gets.
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Tina
Gerry, I’m with you. The remote only works within 20 degrees of the front panel. Very annoying. Other than that I love my Freesat PVR.
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Billy
GibsonI own a fox sat HDR which i have had for a couple of years,have had no problems with it so i recommended my sister purchase a humax which she has done and is really happy with her new machine.
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wanderer
I bought a Humax model unknown, no problems as far as reliability.
Some functions fairly complicated, otherwise a very reliable box straight forward connection to your Sky aerial.
Recommended to anyone, however you still need to pay your BBC license, for what I don’t know. -
Eddie
I have a four old FoxSat HDR which performed performed perfectly until the hard disc failed about six months ago. Replaced the disc myself with a 1Tb disc which has operated perfectly since. Now I have double the original recording capacity. Humax gets my vote because of the ease of repairing it.
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Barbara
I bought a humax pvr 9200t approx 4 years ago. Worked really well good picture quality and sound, some channels though would scramble and say no or bad signal, sometimes on channel 4 but I could change to channel 800 to avoid the scramble. Just last week I lost sound which I was able to restart and fix but a week later sound then picture went. It is still cheaper than having a tivo, which I considered, but decided to buy Humax pvr 9300t which seems to be exactly what 9200t was but takes longer for programmes to load up. I think a very good buy for freeview, pause, rewind and recording tv. I would recommend.
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dunkan
I liked my Freesat Humax, but sold it in favour of a Panasonic blu-ray recorder; while the Humax allowed searching of the programme guide, you cannot edit recordings – meaning you’re stuck with commercials. When I queried this, Humax told me it would have been illegal for them to include the feature. Happily the Panasonic gives every bit as good recordings, AND allows editing…
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John
We had a Humax 9200T which worked very well for a few years, then started playing up. Humax claimed that this was because the signal protocols were changing (fair enough) and that an update was imminent … things got worse and worse over the months but then all of a sudden it was ok.
Humax product support is almost worse than useless. They don’t care and don’t help. There are several forums of dissatisfied users, but most all agree that when the PVR works it is great.
A couple of years on we have bought a Humax Freeview HD+ PVR (which is ‘Fox HDR’ on the manual but not on the box, so well hidden that Richer Sounds didn’t know it – but amazon etc list it with the Fox name). We got it just to benefit from HD, a daughter now is happy with the (very) old one. Quite pleased with the picture quality but you’d think that they had never created a PVR before. The control is poorly designed, as others have often said, and the interface leaves a lot to be desired. They seem to have thrown out all the experience they gained with the earlier model, including some functionality.
We never watch ITV live but record and then skip the ads which is a pain but better than the ads. It’s not until you fast forward through a program that you realize how much time is spent on ads. Sometimes we even wait half an hour after the program starts to watch the recording and finish at the same time.
Yesterday I heard someone extolling the virtues of Tivo, including catchup ITV without the ads – how wonderful. (But you can’t record catchup.) Also the ability to record three programs at once (one more than we can). Given what I heard, I would seriously consider going for such a service if we had not purchased the ‘Hummy’.
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Diane
CameronI have had the Humax HDR-FOX T2 for eighteen months and am delighted with it. Able to record two different channels at the same time whilst watching a third. It is by far the simplest recording device I have ever owned and the HD picture is superb.
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Fath
We had problems at first but an OTA software upgrade cured the problem.
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Martin
I have a 9200 which I have had for about four years. The unit itself is quite good but I did get caught in the problems when the transmission of certain data changed. i.e. freezing, very slow to respond to the remote control, etc. At one time it became a real pain to use. I got in touch with Humax, eventually, and was told that they were waiting for a software update from Korea. It took at least six months for an update to come through, I took part in the beta testing with a direct web download and then transferred it to the unit. It has solved most of the problems. The only issue I still have is that the remote control can sometimes issue more than one command, e.g. push play and the programme goes back to the beginning which it should do if you push the play button twice. Even taking extreme care to push the button once it sometimes has a mind of its own. Also noticed that when trying to clone the commands to a programmable universal remote control it takes ages for the universal handset to understand the command. On other handsets it is instant. Perhaps the latest handsets are better. Support has been better than for my previous PVR as, when it went wrong after two years, the manufacturer refused to mend it and said that there were no spares available anyway!
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scott
I have a Humax 9300 and would not recomend one to my worst enemy. The signal keeps dropping out, it is 10 time slower to respond to the buttons than my old cheap unit, and takes over 1 minute before it comes on. Very unresponsive throughout. Don’t buy on. It also blanks out my TV picture for 10 seconds every hour at a quarter to the hour even when switched off. Horrendous. Will bin it as soon as i can afford to replace it.
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mb
model pvr300t approx three years old. Cannot amend start/finish recording times when using series record, frequently chops last minute or two of tv programs, especially on channel five for some reason. Have to agree Humax have disappointing customer service.
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DaveI’ve had several Humax machines over the years and they’ve all given me problems of one sort or another. My Foxsat HDR’s remote is on the blink, with the essential OK button barely working. I’ll be looking at alternatives, next time, albeit with regret.
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Jon
Our Freesat Humax PVR is excellent but two niggles: deleting recordings would be so much easier with a delete button, and the remote control has to be pointing exactly at the box. A useful feature is the ability to view a range of non Freesat programs, eg other region’s ITV, including in HD which is not available on our Freesat service (you can also put in a postcode fo r another region if desired, a bit fiddly).
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Snowdin
My wife and I tend to have different tastes in TV so we have a his and hers. As a non-techie she finds the 1TB Humax really good, clear, reliable and easy to use and programme. She especially likes the way series are put into their own folders, very helpful after a long haul holiday, though I keep nagging her about deep vein thrombosis! Software downloads have not, so far, caused a problem and they are switched on. The Panasonic I use is similarly reliable but I find the software interface less user friendly.
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Jilly
We have been fairly happy with our pvr300t for a couple of years, though agreeing that the remote is fiddly. Now, however, having set several recordings on one channel on one evening to record, and double-checked them, we often find that not all programmes have recorded and they have disappeared from the schedule list, which can be disappointing!
Also wondered why whole series weren’t recording and am pleased to have the answer re OTA downloads. -
george
Have had a 9200 Freeview PVR for several years now and overall I’m very happy with it. Had the software problems mentioned above but since the software update the unit has performed well. To the complaints about missing start and finish segments of recorded programs and lack of series recordings I would suggest that the broadcaster could be at fault – these are all controlled by codes transmitted with the programmes themselves and the broadcaster has been known to get these wrong (note the Channel 5 comments by mb above!). The PVR only acts on these codes. Always make sure that automatic software updates are on and leave your PVR off at night but do not switch it off at the wall i.e. leave power going to the PVR and it will download any new software that is released. To anyone experiencing problems, check the level, number, of the software installed on your PVR – have a look round the menus or refer to your manual and check your software number with the ones on the Humax website or telephone the support line.
All in all my 9200 works just fine now and so does my friends and I’m going to buy another one for Freesat.-
hewsonHi George, if you are thinking of buying a Humax FreeSat PVR, hang on, there’s a new model coming this year and if it’s as good as the FreeView+Fox T2 it will be a cracking machine! Regards, Chris.
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D J
DigweedI have has a Humax 9300T for some time which has worked well. In December 2011 I was informed of a software download and again in February 2012. I tried to get the download but no New software was found. I now understand that as we are not yet up to date with the new digital set up the aerial signal whilst showing a 10 rating is not good enough quality to allow the download.The unit has been placed in the hands of someone with a better aerial.
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ian
Overall I am happy with my Humax PVR. Occasionally it misses off the end of a programme. The remote control is very awkward to use compared to a Sky remote, I expect a product of this price to have a more ergonomic remote which works at a wider range of angles to the PVR.
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Jane
GriffithsHave had a 9300T for several years and more than happy with it. Seriously considered going back to the Virgin basic TV package with the new TiVo box, but were put off by all the charges for actually installing and activating the HD service and negative comments on the box itself, so upgraded to the Humax Freeview + HD PVR (HDR-FOX T2 I think) 500GB recorder last Autumn so that we could watch the Rugby World Cup in HD – not disappointed. The fact that i-Player is available is a bonus, just a shame that the other catch-up channels aren’t included. Kids love the fact that You-Tube is available “on the big screen”. I rarely view any advert-showing channel live – why waste your time? The ad-skip button is no problem and ads therefore barely noticeable. Storage capacity on this smaller model is more than adequate and we do record everything we can in HD.
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Tom M
Recently purchased a Humax 9300T recorder but had to take it back to Argos because it kept crashing and/or failing to record programs. Find it hard to believe this is a one off bad one, as I have seen comments elsewhere reporting similar problems.
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Alex
MalcolmPurchased HD FREEVIEW ITB Box in November 2010 and since then have had a further two as both of the others have failed with the box hanging/freezing and the remote ceases to work. When they work the picture quality is great but sadly as reported elsewhere on the internet with other Humax products they seem to pack in after about a year. They are expensive boxes which I would not recommend to anybody until such times that Humax sort out the problems with either the software or hard discs.
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Peter W
Purchased a Humax HD Freeview Box 1TB Jan 2012, the on screen TV guide is very dim and not easy to see and the sound is much lower than my normal TV level. Otherwise i am very pleased.
Any suggestions? -
Simon RP
I got a 9300 for my mum who’s in her 70s. I like a lot of things about it, but the series record function is unreliable at best – seems to miss the odd episode of things for no reason. Also, it goes through phases of crashing a lot – this isn’t good news when the owner is an older person who isn’t very teccy and doesn’t really want to be getting behind the machine to unplug all the time. Is the crashing related to upgrades? I think I’ve read that it is. Whatever, she’s had real problems with it freezing. Overall, I am pretty disappointed with it.
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Andrew W
KapherrI own a “bargain basement” Humax 9150T PVR; it originally cost around £110 & gave a perfect picture & sound at least equal to the original signal on my TV.
I had the first model for 22 months before the tuners packed up. I returned it to Richer Sounds in November 2011 where it was swapped out for a new 9150T model; note that they have a 2 year warranty on the Continent but only a 12 month warranty in the UK! (It is always worth buying goods from shops with good customer service!).
The replacement model also works fine with a perfect picture but occasionally, series linked recordings do not record, as with my first model. Also, I can’t get it to make an instant recording. NB. As with all PVRs, if you fail to record a programme, it is usually repeated later in the week or an hour later with “Plus 1″ programmes.
All in all, I am very satisfied with this PVR BUT I always keep an eye out for problems.
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Ruth
Humax 9200T-really impressed when purchased over 4 years ago!.
However, does sometimes “stick” ( cannot change channels)on any freeview Sky channels and subtitles do not always work properly. Need to turn off from mains and restart machine. Now-recording OVER existing recordings. Having paid 10p per minute to speak to an “expert” I was told to format high drive-bye bye all existing unwatched programmes. I then asked that if this didn’t work was it bri=oken? Yes came the reply and that was that!! Do I buy a new one or pay for Sky for a year?
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How do you rate Humax PVRs? [Poll]
We have reviews of all the current Humax PVRs in our reviews section and our PVR test programme puts them through an extensive series of technical and practical tests, but sometimes these don’t reveal the whole story. Occasionally there are gremlins and irritations that only reveal themselves through months,or even years, of regular use. That’s where Which? customer views come in – any Which? member can share their experiences of any product we’ve reviewed, to help other owners or potential buyers.
Do you own a Humax PVR?
This week we’re looking at what people are saying about Humax PVRs. If you own one you can help out other buyers by sharing your thoughts. Visit our PVR reviews and if we’ve reviewed your PVR, leave a review by clicking on the ‘customer views’ tab on the product page. Visit our customer views help page for a guide to reviews and to find out how you could win £600.
RogerS is pretty happy with the Humax HDR-FOX T2…
…but Puddlewump is unhappy about the picture quality.
Chris.Bark is pleased by the HD picture quality…
…yet another owner complained of ‘noise’ and poor service.
Visit our PVR reviews pages to leave your own of a Humax PVR or any PVR that Which? has tested.
How do you rate Humax PVRs?
Total Voters: 615