Recommended Freesat + PVR box

OldBlade

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I am currently using an old Sky box to get free satellite from a dish that came with the house I'm in. I want to be able to record programmes easily and also replace the old Sky box with something more uptodate. I don't want a subscription so I'm looking for Freesat.

Please could you recommend a combined Freesat and PVR box?

Many thanks
Pete
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Freesat tell you everything about themselves on their web site, including the machines for receiving their service: freesat - Subscription free HD Satellite TV through a Digital Box
You'll find that Humax is the make that's mentioend most on the forum, usually favourably, but that's not necessarily a recommendation.
Logiciel
 
Thank you Logiciel for your welcome and your advice. I have seen a few reviews of Humax boxes and am concerned by the number of reports of buggy software. I don't know whether these are isolated cases or whether Humax software is generally of low quality. Any thoughts?
 
Thank you Logiciel for your welcome and your advice. I have seen a few reviews of Humax boxes and am concerned by the number of reports of buggy software. I don't know whether these are isolated cases or whether Humax software is generally of low quality. Any thoughts?
The Humax (HDR-1000S) is the first of a new generation of freesat PVR's.
There were a few bugs in the original software which was updated earlier this month. The freesat user interface (designed by freesat) will be identical on other (future) makes of G2 units.

Humax hardware is high quality and well made.
 
Yes, I think it's just that one, new and different, model that's produced the reports of faults.
Most reports on other Humax machines have been favourable and the company has a good reputation.
 
I think it's dependent on what a person is looking for in terms of a) features and b) cost. While the HDR-1000S is a pretty impressive box, the older Foxsat-HDR running custom firmware offers a better features to cost ratio, although the balance will be addressed somewhat if/when the HDR-1000S gets 4oD and Demand5. As discussed in another thread, if readability of text is important (for example, when running on smaller HDTVs and or CRT SDTVs, or when buying for older relatives) then the Foxsat-HDR is much easier to see from distance due to simpler interface and larger, very humanist sans-serif font used in the interface.

The main point is, both are good, it's all dependent on which features you need and your usage scenario. For most people that only need core features (watching/recording Freesat channels) the stock Foxsat-HDR is fine and you can buy one and pocket the difference. Whereas the newer HDR-1000S is more powerful with a more advanced interface, a slowly growing feature set and a slightly better picture overall.
 
I would describe the picture difference as much more than "slight" I have both models and the difference viewed on the same TV (Philips) is significant, both when viewing HD and SD.
 
I would describe the picture difference as much more than "slight" I have both models and the difference viewed on the same TV (Philips) is significant, both when viewing HD and SD.

If I had one knocking around to extensively A/B test on the same HDTV I'd probably agree with you. But looking at it from the perspective of your average person it's slight; trust me, as someone who deals with all kind of people when doing tech support, there are plenty of folks out there who can't tell the difference between HD and very well upscaled SD.

An interesting use of the word.:confused:

Heh, yeah I suppose it is. Pretty standard typography term though: for example, Windows 7 uses Segoe UI as a main font, which counts as humanist sans serif, not terribly different from the typeface the Foxsat-HDR uses, whatever that's called.

Newer TiVo boxes with the HD interface use a humanist sans serif too, but it's more condensed with tighter kerning. Having a good font of that type is important when designing a box with a ten foot interface which will be driven by an IR remote from distance.
 
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Thanks - I thought I knew about words, and knew about humanism, but that was new to me, and it turns out it goes way back to the start of printing.
 
Yeah I've learnt a little about typography over the past few years and I never knew there was such an art to it! It's good to know what makes a decent user interface, especially if maximum visibility is important.
 

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