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Old 20-04-2010, 19:53
redrob2
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I'm sorry if this seems like a really basic question, but can anyone suggest which freesat recorder I should buy.

All the talk on the forum seems to be about the Humax FOXSAT-HDR (I'd probably go for the 500GB drive) and not much else. I already own a Freeview 9200 that I have been happy with so I'm used to hearing lots about Humax bugs)

I have two questions, is there a better machine out there,

and

Is there an next gen amchine on it's way, if yes when is it due.

I have seen mention of next gen mockups but can't find much more about it.

Thanks for any help provided.
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Old 20-04-2010, 20:34
NewWorldMan
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Is there an next gen amchine on it's way, if yes when is it due.
Humax have one but won't say yet when it's due.
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Old 21-04-2010, 13:36
mjsheffield
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Get the Panasonic DMR-B750. Knocks spots off the Humax, better quality SD and HD pictures, more reliable and a Blu-Ray recorder to boot. No contest!!
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Old 21-04-2010, 14:08
GaseousClay
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Get the Panasonic DMR-B750. Knocks spots off the Humax, better quality SD and HD pictures, more reliable and a Blu-Ray recorder to boot. No contest!!
Why would you want to spend double the money for a box that doesn't even buffer live TV? or doesn't let you search for programmes within the EPG? or still doesn't have iplayer?
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Old 21-04-2010, 17:33
mjsheffield
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Why would you want to spend double the money for a box that doesn't even buffer live TV? or doesn't let you search for programmes within the EPG? or still doesn't have iplayer?
Because of the better quality pictures you get from out of your television from the Panasonic unit which is what you should be looking at, not the number of bells & whistles the recorder has that are in most cases rarely used. Also, as far as price is concerned it would cost just as much to purchase the Humax and a decent blu-ray player (never mind the blu-ray recording facility you get with the Panasonic) than to purchase the DMR-BS750.
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Old 21-04-2010, 17:55
GaseousClay
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Because of the better quality pictures you get from out of your television from the Panasonic unit which is what you should be looking at, not the number of bells & whistles the recorder has that are in most cases rarely used.
Using the Scaler from the TV in many cases will give a better picture without the extra cost. The live buffering isn't exactly bells and whistles it's a feature that many users consider standard for a PVR.
Also, as far as price is concerned it would cost just as much to purchase the Humax and a decent blu-ray player (never mind the blu-ray recording facility you get with the Panasonic) than to purchase the DMR-BS750.
As far as price is concerned archiving to BD-R is prohibitively expensive. Archiving to BD-RE even more so. Archiving via usb devices like external Hdd is comparatively cheap.

If you prefer the Panasonic BD recorder that's your prerogative, I'm just offering a different view that I hope is more helpful to the OP than just stating in closing..

No contest!!
when clearly there are other aspects to be considered.
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Old 21-04-2010, 18:37
White-Knight
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All the talk on the forum seems to be about the Humax FOXSAT-HDR (I'd probably go for the 500GB drive) and not much else.
I think you've confused it with the Panasonic specs. The Humax only has a 320GB hard drive as standard.

http://www.humaxdigital.com/global/p...foxsat-hdr.asp
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Old 21-04-2010, 18:45
richard_g_uk
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I think you've confused it with the Panasonic specs. The Humax only has a 320GB hard drive as standard.

http://www.humaxdigital.com/global/p...foxsat-hdr.asp
Foxsat HDR with 500 GB available here direct from Humax:-

http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product...=10087&cat=stb
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Old 22-04-2010, 10:56
Badvok
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Using the Scaler from the TV in many cases will give a better picture without the extra cost.
Which is of course something my Foxsat does NOT allow me to do! (Because it fails to send the correct aspect ratios down the HDMI link for 576i programmes I either have to constantly switch mode on the TV or put up with the poor HDR scaler, the latter being the simpler option especially where the wife and kids are concerned.)
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Old 22-04-2010, 11:10
grahamlthompson
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Which is of course something my Foxsat does NOT allow me to do! (Because it fails to send the correct aspect ratios down the HDMI link for 576i programmes I either have to constantly switch mode on the TV or put up with the poor HDR scaler, the latter being the simpler option especially where the wife and kids are concerned.)
Mine sends the correct aspect but since the recent firmware upgrades it does have a large overscan when set to 576i or 576p. I agree it's very annoying.
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Old 22-04-2010, 13:07
mjsheffield
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Which is of course something my Foxsat does NOT allow me to do! (Because it fails to send the correct aspect ratios down the HDMI link for 576i programmes I either have to constantly switch mode on the TV or put up with the poor HDR scaler, the latter being the simpler option especially where the wife and kids are concerned.)
I rest my case, you get a better quality picture from the Panasonic than from the Humax with its poor HDR scaler. If you pay up to £1000 for a decent television why put up with an inferior picture? It all depends on what sort of value you put on picture quality.
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Old 22-04-2010, 13:26
grahamlthompson
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I rest my case, you get a better quality picture from the Panasonic than from the Humax with its poor HDR scaler. If you pay up to £1000 for a decent television why put up with an inferior picture? It all depends on what sort of value you put on picture quality.
You forget that you can still use RGB scart for SD pictures, the HD picture quality is excellent. The Panny lacks a lot of features that you get with a hdr.

Dead easy to swap the hard drive for a 1TB drive.

Unlimited amount of archive storage using usb, a 1TB drive costs about £60.00, work out how much that's going to cost you in BD blanks.

Can now play back external video from USB including HD camcorder footage

Capability of viewing 3rd channels while recording two

Can record BBC HD and ITV HD without encryption

Can time shift some third channels while recording two (it's actually recording 3 channels at the same time)

Usable with only one lnb connection with a surprising degree of two recording and third viewing options. Anyone on a communal system with only 1 lnb available would be mad to buy a Panny.

You made wild claims about the reliability of the Panny vs the hdr. Mine has been flawless since NOv 2008. Panasonic have a woefull record in making pvrs. They made a twin tuner freeview pvr, it was an absolute disaster. They never got it to work reliably and finally took it off the market.

Oh and you get iplayer, how long is it going to take Panasonic to provide it they have not yet got round to providing iplayer for their first generation TV's
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Old 22-04-2010, 22:23
redrob2
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Thank you all for your advice. I had considered the Panasonic because it has the blue ray recorder (meaning I could ditch both my humax Freeview recorder and my sony DVD/HDD) but it would have to be a LOT cheaper for me to do that.

I think I will stick to my prefered option of the Humax, maybe going for the smaller drive and upgrading to the 1TB drive mentioned above. Do you have to be careful about type and make of drive you select, i know there were ones to go for and ones to avoid when I upgraded my Humax freeview.
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Old 23-04-2010, 00:44
White-Knight
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Foxsat HDR with 500 GB available here direct from Humax:-

http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product...=10087&cat=stb
I stand corrected.

@redrob2, there's another thread on here about that. Highly recommended you go for an external hard drive option rather than internal if upgrading as it takes the load off the internal PSU.

WD PVR specific drives are the most used such as http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=615

Don't go over 1TB as there are real problems getting larger drives to work.
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Old 23-04-2010, 12:24
finbaar
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The Panny is very expensive. I saw one just as they were released and thought they were a nice bit of kit. As for the picture being better, well I am biased as I think the whole HD thing is a lot of emperors new clothes. I have seen many tellies with HD pictures and haven’t really been able to tell (or care) if it is any better.

The most important thing about a PVR is the recording function (to me anyway) and I am pleased I didn’t waste my money on the Panny as it is pretty shocking it is missing a basic feature like live buffering never mind the others things. Very, very over priced imho.
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Old 23-04-2010, 23:05
redrob2
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Once again thank you for the advice, I'll give it all careful consideration
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Old 24-04-2010, 11:38
stanandjan
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I have just renewed the Breakdown Insurance on the PANNY as the RAM facility is worth it's wait in gold.
.so to all you Panny haters.

Stan
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Old 23-05-2010, 16:47
redrob2
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I went for the Foxsat HDR with 500 GB and love it so far. I've had a 9200 so was able to jump straight in and work most things out withour reading the manual but think I'm going to have to take a look for the finer detail.

Thank you all for your advice.
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Old 26-05-2010, 08:35
kingsmeadow
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You forget that you can still use RGB scart for SD pictures, the HD picture quality is excellent. The Panny lacks a lot of features that you get with a hdr.

Can record BBC HD and ITV HD without encryption
How do you manage this ?? I can't do it
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Old 26-05-2010, 09:02
GaseousClay
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How do you manage this ?? I can't do it
You need to switch the box over to non-freesat mode first and then the important bit is to return it to standby, then reboot and the box will then record BBC HD and ITV HD without the encryption.
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Old 26-05-2010, 09:05
kingsmeadow
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You need to switch the box over to non-freesat mode first and then the important bit is to return it to standby, then reboot and the box will then record BBC HD and ITV HD without the encryption.
Brilliant, now all I have to do is figure out how to move to non-freesat !!
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Old 26-05-2010, 09:23
GaseousClay
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Brilliant, now all I have to do is figure out how to move to non-freesat !!
The option to switch modes only becomes available if you have done a 'manual tune' so if you've not done that you need to press the menu button then select 'Setup' > 'Manual tune' and press the OK button, Options on the next screen should be Transponder 'All' Network search 'Disable' Scramble type 'FTA' and Channel type 'All'. Now select the Search option and press OK. The box will search for loads of Free to air channels (FTA) and when complete the set top box will be automatically set to the new Non-freesat mode.

To switch between Freesat and non-freesat you need to press the menu button and select the 'settings' option and at the bottom of the screen is an STB mode which can be toggled for each mode. Press exit or the back button to escape the current screen or return to the video output.
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Old 26-05-2010, 13:44
kingsmeadow
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To switch between Freesat and non-freesat you need to press the menu button and select the 'settings' option and at the bottom of the screen is an STB mode which can be toggled for each mode. Press exit or the back button to escape the current screen or return to the video output.
Many thanks...now if only I could record from the "RED BUTTON"
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