New Arris Freesat Recorder or Reconditioned Humax HDR1100S?

winterdune

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Hi all,

I'm ditching Sky and ordered a Freesat Recorder before seeing the thread about all the issues. So I might well cancel the order and get a reconditioned Humax HDR1100S if the picture quality is as good. I don't have 4k, just 1080. Are there any disadvantages compared to the newer Arris in terms of picture quality, sound, epg, in picking up a decent reconditioned Humax? I'm assuming the Humax won't have iplayer Netflix etc, but I have them on my TV.

Also a final question, does either the Arris or the Humax allow access to Channel 4 catch up in HD?

Many thanks and sorry for the noob questions!

Sean
 
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$ky Q?? Or $ky HD+???

The LNB type matters. Only the freesat 4k box will work with a wideband $ky Q LNB.

It's a simple enough job to swap LNB though.

Humax boxes will all be second hand. Humax Direct have non that are reconditioned by them for sale.

If you have a working UHF TV aerial and watch a main transmitter, with 6+ multiplexes, consider a Freeview PVR instead?
 
I've got Skyq and terrestrial reception is bad in my area. Hence I just want advice on whether a second hand or reconditioned Humax is a better choice than a new Arris.
 
freesat 4k is your simplest choice. Plug and Play. More tuners. Works with existing LNB. Has a long warranty.
(freesat 4k is aka Arris)

If you change the LNB on the dish, then a better choice might be an Enigma type box rather than a second-hand Humax with at best a very short warranty from a third party refurbisher? But that's a risk you may be willing to take?

As to which is 'better' you need to do your own due diligence and reading up. Remembering that few fully satisfied users post on forums like this.
Advice from random strangers on the internet is not necessarily a good thing ;)

All boxes have their issues and foibles. Especially when relatively new to the market.

Personally I'd go the Enigma type route or for a simple life a Freeview PVR.


NB If I had a pound for every time I've heard the phrase
terrestrial reception is bad in my area
in my working life I'd be extremely rich. A nearby (within 100m) Postcode would allow me to check that. Some locations are outwith terrestrial transmitter coverage, but they are relatively rare. Some places require an above average aerial installation (perhaps with masthead amplification) - but post-DSO digital terrestrial coverage is pretty good.
 
Thanks for the reply. Useful. A local aerial installer told me freesat every time at my address and lost my business in saying so, so I will trust his judgement. I did have an enigma box (ZGemma H7S) but didn't really get on with it. Too much fiddling.
 
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A local aerial installer told me freesat every time at my address and lost my business in saying so, so I will trust his judgement.
Recently? Some extra transmitters came into service at DSO to improve coverage.

You may need him to change that LNB, safely, if you go down that route and the Humax box.
 
I thought Norfolk was flat.
 
If you get an Arris, disable HDR support on the HDMI port you connect it to.
 
My Humax boxed packed up recently and I was very concerned about getting the Arris box, but tbh it's actually not that bad for me, yes it's a little slow to respond to remote control commands, probably a little slower than my old Humax (inexcusable in 2022 really) but it works as advertised and seems to do what its supposed to do, especially after the recent updates, the remote control is a pain in the A$$ so I use the Humax remote which is the same but the button layout is better. Only time will tell if it will be as reliable as my old Humax which I used every day for about 4 years but so far all is good.
 
East Norfolk is still too vague. I lived in Easternmost England for 10 years (Norfolk/Suffolk border: Lowestoft, but that area needs relay transmitters).

At DSO a relay was build for parts of Lowestoft on the site of a former Self-Help transmitter (College rooftop) and another for Great Yarmouth. The Gorleston relay was also upgraded.

But, hey, if you don't want help/advice on improving UHF TV reception it's no skin off my nose.
 
Yeah I don't want that help thanks. I trust my installer who lives in my village (n of GY as it goes). Just really wanting help with choosing between a new Arris and a second hand Humax.
 
n of GY?
 
Yeah I don't want that help thanks. I trust my installer who lives in my village (n of GY as it goes).
:rotfl: 10 miles North of GY is rather wet (the North Sea) and not on land :rotfl:

NNW is Horsey, perhaps (population 99) ?? THAT is a difficult reception location based on the Mill's postcode of NE29 4EF and Freeview's interference numbers. Wolfbane suggests it is clear line of sight to Tacolneston, and 50 dBuV though, some 26 miles distant. Which means the continental interferers are the issue via a clear sea path (and the reason GY and Lowestoft relays were built for the more populous areas).

Anyway it's a no brainer for you IMHO. Freesat 4k box

Arris are merely the suppliers of the boxes sold under the freesat 4k brand name.
 
LNB compatibility.
More tuners = fewer recording clashes.

Humax no longer make or sell freesat devices so support will be minimal and you're buying 2nd hand.
If that's what you want then the Humax Foxsat-HDR with custom firmware is worth considering... but a new LNB would be required.
 
The OP tried something similar - see post #6 above.

So freesat 4k it is. ;)

Out of interest can the Freesat 4K be accessed via Android devices on other TVs.
My mate loves how I work with my VU+ but he wants total simplicity like a bought off the shelf Freeview box however he would like to access it from other rooms.
I've told him that I've never touched my software since messing around when I first bought it but he reads too many forums and thinks E2 receivers need to be messed with every day.
Also would he be able to put IPTV on the Freesat 4k?
 
Recordable 4K TV Box and skim read through the Arris (aka Freeview 4k) thread.
But NO to q1 - it's not in freesat's model to do that sort of thing (HDCP issues, probably).

Get your mate the same setup as you have and provide him user support if / when required?
 
Get your mate the same setup as you have and provide him user support if / when required?

I'm still responsible for PCs I built in the early 90s onwards and satellite systems I fitted in the 80s with D2Mac boxes so I don't want another one added to the list :)
 

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