Hi,

On my current freeview PVR there is an option to disable the buffer so that the box is not constantly recording and the HDD can therefore spin down when not recording/plying back.

Can any existing Humax owners confirm if this is an option on the HDR-1000S freetime box?

Yes this is an option.
I don't think I'd be too happy disabling it myself as it comes in handy now and then if I need to rewind or if I decide I want to record what I'm currently watching and have all of it if its in the buffer rather than from the point I press record.

I second Gonzo's post. The disk drives used in pvrs are specially designed to run continously. eg

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=150

A 1TB drive in my Foxsat-hdr has worked flawlessly since NOV 2008. It must do 10-12 hours every day.

Thanks for the info, I'm weighing up a potential freesat purchase at some point as we are on a relay Freeview transmitter and the more complete channel choice would be good.

I understand that many make use of the buffer and the features it offers, but after owning a PVR for more than 5 years with this switched off I know it's not something I'd use!

As one of those sad guys who likes to switch off everything when not in use, this falls under that category for me and may save me few pence

The ability to effectively record 3 channels at the same time can be very handy sometimes.

Does that work? Sounds like it could be very handy indeed!

Do you have to wait for one to stop before storing the buffer?

Yes basically you need to make sure the 3rd channel is time shiftable. For instance you could set two recordings for BBC1-HD and BBC-HD and set a watch recording for say CH4-HD starting before the two BBC-HD recordings and ending afterwards. If you turn on the TV after the two BBC-HD recordings have started you should be watching CH4-HD. If you press the record button it will tell you that 2 recordings are already in progress. As soon as the first recording finishes the CH4-HD recording will start from the beginning of the programme (at least it did on 1.0.16, not tested on 1.0.22 yet ), using the buffer to get up to real time content.

Thanks, this is really handy to know.
There's been plenty of times when 2 recordings are in process on my 9200T and we're watching a third my wife has asked if we can record it which I say no as its already recoding 2 at the mo.

For me having the buffer switched on is the main plus of owning a PVR. My better half has an overwhelming urge to make comment on everything we watch so I spend half the night pressing rewind.

One of the interesting things about HDDs is that they actually function for longer if they have fewer on-off cycles.

The HDD is also used to store metadata and cache downloads, so if you sleep the disk while the product is active there may be many more spin-ups/downs during user interactions, these will cause seek delays and also some extra quantity of energy peaks which are also undesirable.