I have to say there's been some great input on this forum and little of the sniping and criticism that often appears (on some forums/posts). The Digifusion forum always felt very supportive and there was a great sense of community spirit and selfless member contribution to the greater benefit of all, myself included.

I'm feeling well served by the community input here too. The advice feels well grounded and balanced. I can feel a Humax with my name on it calling from a distance......... Oooh a techie getting in touch with his spritual side and it's not even POETS day (P*** Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday)

Cheers to all contributors
MarkA

The big difference for me between the 9200 and the others is the USB port. Mine is permanently hard-wired to the computer and I regularly copy things across to keep for posterity or, in the case of radio programmes, broadcast to my FM radios using one of those transmitter things intended for cars (actually it's a bit more complicated than that, but you get the point). Speed of copying is not an issue for me, I tend to let it happen overnight. I don't know if Humax have been leant on by rights holders to remove the functionality from later boxes (the USB socket is still there) or whether it was price or other reasons, but I shall miss it when the time comes to get an HD box.

Assuming that Humax fix the EPG update bug introduced with v.23 I would have no hesitation in recommending it.

I believe that is only true of the original production boxes.

It is quiter here than previously because some of the notorious snipers have moved on to pastures new. Last time I checked they were busy sniping at their new target (Philips/Pace). hummy.org.uk is also a very good resource if you do decide to go the Humax route.

Now that was a little gem! Thanks!

Don't think anyone has mentioned the TUTV boxes: Thomson etc., yet, which are now sorted and are quite a bit cheaper too

They offer the TUTV 14 day epg which might be missed by Digifusion fans (as well as Freeview 8days with "accurate recording") and they can be picked up for a nominal sum because of the bad vibes which are, in our experience, not really justified either. In fact I believe TUTV inherited the responsibility for the 4TV epg but please correct me if I am wrong about that!

Our Thomsons have beeen just fine too but IMO PQ is inferior to Humax and I think they are constantly running in standby with the associated noise and power consumption. Again please update this if indicated! We just turn it off with a remote power plug when not using it, occasionally leaving it on to receive the epg update in the morning, and use it as backup when the humax cannot record anything else. (Humax has a limit of (25?) series links)

General TUTV operation is as quick or sometimes quicker than Humax, especially Teletext which is lighning and the menus and functions might seem a lot simpler, perhaps because of a lack of fancy functions The remote is better for the same reasons, and search for up to 14days is clearly ahead.

Humax does have a very useful adjustable progress bar so you can navigate to particular point and skip for adverts but this can be simulated on TUTV boxes with the right programmable remote. Otherwise IMO the main functions are not deficient so if price is a consideration......

I know it's only been a few days but I've got quite a bit of info on the Humax boxes thanks to you guys here.

Assumptions:

1. Can't afford HD (and bedroom TV too small anyway, although lounge is HD 'ready')
2. Don't want the hassle of satellite
3. Want something reasonably stable, bug free and with possibility of future manufacturer support for a year or two
4. Don't need or want bells and whistles. No need for HDMI nor USB port. SCART will do me fine.
5. A lively user forum would be good for hints/ tips/ fixes.
6. Need an interim solution for a couple of years maybe until HD matures.

As far as I can see, a Humax 9300T (or even a 9200T) fits that bill almost perfectly.

What 'quirks' should I know about either of these two boxes before parting with my cash?

I have a question about the Humax 9300 operation:

Does it record in standby, without powering up fully? i.e. 'record unobtrusively in the background.'

(My old Humax 8000 powers up when recording and as it does so, it switches the television's A/V inputs, which is annoying and 'in your face'. I know I can snip the scart pin... but for ease of use, etc.)

My 9300 records without powering up and switching the TV over to HDMI.

It does however throw up a daft banner across the screen while you're watching one channel to tell you it's just started recording another!

Ex Digifusion Owner

My 9300 arrived today, but as version .19. Looks like I have just missed the window for the OTA update.
How long does the .23 take to load via pc? Or should I wait for the next window?

Don't update yet!!!

As you will have seen from other threads in this forum, there are problems with v.23 and EPG updates.

Though the response to the remote might be sluggish at times it appears that it is only a serious problem in those areas where analogue has been switched off - and you're not due at least until next year.

Hang fire until the next version is released.

About 10 minutes. Do you have the cable and serial-port on the PC - otherwise I would advise to wait (approx 2 weeks) for the next OTA broadcast update.

Thanks!!

It is mandatory for Digifusion owners to have the RS232 cable.

Thanks both for a prompt reply.

Thanks.

As Tealady says, all us Digifusion owners are only too familar with Hyperterm and serial cable updates to our digiboxes!

This being the case, if v23 turns out to be a bit crappy, then it should be very simple to regress to the previous version?

Yes you can easily install any version that takes your fancy. What works best may depend on whether you are in a Pre DSO, DSO underway or Post DSO region. Note that with the Humax you don't use HyperTerminal but have a choice of a couple of Humax utilities or my own Flash9200.

The cable required is a null-modem cable. This is an RS-232 serial cable where the transmit and receive lines are crosslinked. They can be bought very cheaply, but non-cheap sources are available. Mine is over long and very thin but has always worked fine using the Humax WDN4OAK+ software currently available from the Humax Support "Center" and using it with either of two different USB/Serial adapters or on one occasion a PC with a serial port.
One download page is: http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/suppo...ategory_seq=63
Click on the page's hyperlink called "Download Instructions and there is a hyperlinbk for downloading the instructions and the current Humax firmware update application WDN4OAK+. A disadvantage of this application over Martin’s is that it needs a free com port in the range of 1 to 4.

I wish all PVRs were as ease to update as the Digifusions. Although the Humax is not that more complex I was surprised at the simplicity of Digifusions when I updated an Inverto.

But where do you get the previous versions from? I have just spent 15 mins trying to find 1.00.18 but the nearest I have got is a 404 page with a load of hex.

Why do you want 1.00.18? PM me and I can email it to you.

I need a minimum of 7 days access to my recorders to conduct a full user cycle. I was given 1 ½ days. I had an issue not triggered by football. At the time I thought it was probably broadcaster error but now I’m not too sure.
I.e. Why do you say “turns out”?
Edit: IMO this now makes the Vestel better than the Humax V23 for TV programmes. (Humax still 'wins' for radio by a mile.)
2nd Edit: Humax still 'wins' for radio by far more than a mile.)

Because my box is at .18. In #36, Me says don't update, but you say
I thought I would try .23 and if it does not suit, I can revert to .18.
I have PM'd you

OK but the better version to downgrade to if you don't like 1.00.23 would be 1.00.19.

I noticed that the 9300T units in Comet are pretty expensive (£180) which is about £80 more than I want to pay for a Digibox PVR!

Perhaps Humax Direct is the best place to go (albeit a 'Grade A' product)?

It's a 1 year warranty (as opposed to 2 for brand new) and you can send it back under the distance selling regs if you don't like it.

£148.99 delivered at Amazon. If you only want a digibox then maybe the 9200T will do you (less than £100 delivered from Humax Direct) or try to locate a Topfield 5800 250GB from Currys/PCWorld on clearance for £79.97 (IMHO the best option).