Anyone recommend a Freeview recorder?

[mikmas]

Thinking of ditching Virgin Tivo and currently scouting around for a Freeview recorder to attach to a DB capable roof aerial.
Not really wanting anything too fancy and must have a user friendly interface - definitely under £200. HD not essential.

Come across a few from Humax and a couple of Panasonics that get reasonable reviews and fit the bill but wondered if anyone has experience of any they would be willing to share.

[mikmas]

I guess no one is using one of these then ....

Now moot as I hit the button for a refurbed Panasonic DMR-HWT250 this evening (£139 from Panasonic UK on eBay)

Plan is to switch off the Tivo box and trial this over the Xmas period.
If we get on with it OK then we cancel the TV and phone from Virgin and just keep their broadband - total saving = £360 p.a. ... which is nice :)

Basically we realised that we never use the landline and mostly watch via catch-up, Netflix, etc which is all available direct via the TV, so the rest was superfluous.

[hifi_dave]

Had Humax for years and always with small, niggling problems. When the latest Humax went wrong, a few months ago, we got a Panasonic as the TV is Panasonic. Different class altogether. The picture is far, far better and has many adjustments you can do to get it just the way you want. It is also much easier to use than the Humax.

[Gazjam]

Used to love my Topfield box, nit sure if thet are still kicking about.

[mikmas]

Had Humax for years and always with small, niggling problems. When the latest Humax went wrong, a few months ago, we got a Panasonic as the TV is Panasonic. Different class altogether. The picture is far, far better and has many adjustments you can do to get it just the way you want. It is also much easier to use than the Humax.

Did read some similar complaints from users about Humax units which put me off a bit; good to hear that Panasonic get a thumbs up - particularly as mine arrives tomorrow :)

[mikmas]

Used to love my Topfield box, nit sure if thet are still kicking about.


Didn't come across the brand in my searches - although there is a Topfield satellite box on Amazon so seems they are still in business...

[mikmas]

Oops - just discovered I can record directly from the TV onto a USB drive .. including scheduling recordings from the programme guide in advance. Nothing mentioned in the guide Samsung included in the package and didn't need it while using the Tivo box so never really gave it a thought.

I guess that why they call it a 'smart' TV - whoda thunk :doh:

The interface is decidedly clunky though and limited to one channel at a time so will probably end up keeping the box (which also has other great features).

[ReggieB]

I've always been happy with Humax PVRs. We've had about three now. I find them easy to use.

[MikeMusic]

Still have my original Tivo box and still using it.
You can pick them up for buttons or even free.
No HDMI. Scart out only

[julesd68]

Now moot as I hit the button for a refurbed Panasonic DMR-HWT250 this evening

I've had one of these for a while now and am very happy with it - definitely the best box I have had so far ...

[mikmas]

I've had one of these for a while now and am very happy with it - definitely the best box I have had so far ...

Have to say I have absolutely no regrets - bar the slightly sluggish TV schedule menu. Picture is brilliant on both HD and SD and recording is simple and works well. Some great features when using catch-up TV.

Only other snag I've come across is that it has problems recognising some jpegs via USB ... ironic considering they were ones taken with a Panasonic Lumix camera :scratch:

[Hypnotist]

Had Humax for years and to be honest not been that troublesome, currently have a Humax Fox T2 HD and its never caused any concern, records all the wifes recording and mine without issues, BT also get Humax to make their boxes for BT TV.

As a side note if you leave BT TV the box still works as a Freeview Box, BT will say it won't and send it back to recycle it, their lying keep it and use it yourself.

[dave2010]

Our first Freeview PVR was lovely - was it a Fusion? It had a nice feature to allow videos to be compressed to save space. However ours packed up more or less a year after we bought it, and we had it swapped for a Humax under the 1 year guarantee. We've used Humax ever since, though switched to a Humax Freesat box years ago. We also have a BT YouView box which is quite good, and of course that can pick up channels from the internet.

I do hear that some of the Panasonic models are better, but we have no personal experience.

If one wants to keep some of the videos for a very long while, then it's possible to copy the video files from a Humax box to a hard drive. If the video is SD it may then be possible to view the files using video players, such as VLC, on a computer. For HD files this is not, AFAIK, possible, as the files are encrypted. It is possible to record audio this way too.

It is not possible to migrate data from a BT YouView box - there are no outputs.

Using a hard drive with a smart TV works, but it may be impossible to use the files with any other software - even the SD video, and perhaps even the audio from radio channels. I have only recently discovered the use of drives with smart TVs - and so far I think it works with a hard drive, and a USB memory stick, but I can't get it to work with an SSD I made up - the TV doesn't recognise the storage - YMMV.

One other solution is to use one of the tuner sticks or boxes to feed into a computer. I know someone who really recommends Elegato devices - and they may provide a means of avoiding some of the issues with most other PVRs.

[Minstrel SE]

In my experience Humax have gone off the boil and be very wary of the 2000T which was/is riddled with issues like a noisy hard drive and motherboard which intermittently wouldnt recognise HD or sound functions untill booted up twice or more. They fixed the sound issue with an update but its never been a fully satisfactory product..see the Humax forum

I stuck with it and modded the noise issues myself voiding the guarantee. Nice picture, recordings and control interface when it boots up properly.

My advice is audition a few and be prepared to spend more than entry level prices on one. The Panasonic unit didnt inspire me and Ive heard the interface was clunky. I should have tried one out though and really should have returned the Humax to the shop

[Ammonite Audio]

I’ve had a few Humax Freeview PVR boxes, including the BT branded one, and all have had excellent picture quality and reasonable ergonomics, but they don’t seem to last forever. After the last one died I bought a Panasonic 500GB PVR which had such poor picture quality compared to the Humax that I took it straight back to the retailer and bought the BT branded YouView box. Lately, I also tried one of the latest Humax Freeview Play PVRs and its picture quality also trailed that of the older box (also the BT), but still way better than the Panasonic.