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Any decent Freesat PVRs on the market yet?


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Old 18-10-2013, 23:40
Grand Dizzy
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I bought the lousy Poo-max Foxsat 4 years ago. Words can't describe how much I loathe that machine. The worst PVR I have ever used. Total piece of junk. Though for a while it was apparently the best of only about 3 models on the market.

Now today I decided to have a quick look around and it seems we finally have a few new models on the market. So can anyone tell me, are there any decent Freesat PVRs on the market yet?

Features that matter to me (in order):

Very important[list=1][*]Two tuners (or more)
[*]Fast controls/interface that responds instantly. (The Poo-max was nightmarishly unresponsive.)
[*]Ability to re-order and delete channels. (No way I'm scrolling through hundreds of channels I never watch, or having the channels in some random order.)
[*]Fast and responsive playback control/fast forward/time jumping.
[*]Automatic programme searches (for automatic scheduling of programmes that have no series link data, or you just want to tell it to record anything containing certain words)
[*]Ability to connect to a USB device to back up recordings to PC.[/list]
Quite important:
[list=7][*]Large EPG with plenty of channels/time on screen at once, as well as on-screen Programme Info (instead of having to press "Info" to see what a programme is, as with the Poo-max)
[*]Controls to easily select, move and delete multiple files, so you can keep everything in a tidy place (without having to go into a special file management area, as with the Poo-max).
[*]A delete button! (Instead of having to press like 5 buttons to delete something, as with the Poo-max)
[*]Good remote with comfy, distinctive buttons that you can find without looking at them.[/list]
Would be nice:
[list=11][*]Is there anything with channel logos in the EPG yet? (Or is that privilege still exclusive to us Topfield+MyStuff owners?)
[*]A box that wasn't full of bugs and maybe had the occasional software update? (No names here but take a guess! )[/list]
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Old 19-10-2013, 00:26
-GONZO-
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Currently the best Freesat+ boxes on the market today are the HDR-1000s and HDR-1010s which do have all the channel logos on the EPG .
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Old 19-10-2013, 12:27
Grand Dizzy
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Currently the best Freesat+ boxes on the market today are the HDR-1000s and HDR-1010s which do have all the channel logos on the EPG .
Oh cool, thanks. I had a quick look at the HDR-1000 GUI and I am very impressed.

It seems Humax are still going with their "dark and gloomy" colour theme (see the suggestion I made a while ago for a more attractive Foxsat colour scheme or this). But still, it's an attractive design and I am thrilled about the channel logos.

Have Humax have finally provided the option for an HD interface? From what I've seen it looks that way.
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Old 19-10-2013, 12:40
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Humax only really make and maintain the box, the design of the UI is all Freesats doing.
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Old 19-10-2013, 12:48
Grand Dizzy
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Humax only really make and maintain the box, the design of the UI is all Freesats doing.
Oh, thanks for clearing that up!
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Old 19-10-2013, 13:31
REPASSAC
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...............
Have Humax have finally provided the option for an HD interface? From what I've seen it looks that way.
All handled by the PVR chipset.
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Old 19-10-2013, 15:29
Grand Dizzy
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All handled by the PVR chipset.
I'll take that to mean there is an HD option then! Very pleased about that

Still feel it's a shame that they don't make use of HD to display more channels on the EPG (as I have previously illustrated: pic 1, pic 2, or pic 3).
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Old 19-10-2013, 15:59
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I'll take that to mean there is an HD option then! Very pleased about that

Still feel it's a shame that they don't make use of HD to display more channels on the EPG (as I have previously illustrated: pic 1, pic 2, or pic 3).
No offence intended, but I don't like those at all
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Old 19-10-2013, 16:08
tgabber
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It sounds like you might be better off building yourself a media-centre PC with a dual-tuner HD satellite card. That way you can customise the software to your heart's content.
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Old 19-10-2013, 16:11
ab48uk
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It seems Humax are still going with their "dark and gloomy" colour theme (see the suggestion I made a while ago for a more attractive Foxsat colour scheme or this). But still, it's an attractive design and I am thrilled about the channel logos.
I'm afraid your colour scheme is rather gaudy for my taste. The HDR-1000 GUI looks great and the whole EPG works well for me - apart from this:

Sometimes a programme to be recorded is shown as such in the programme guide - but not in the list of planned recordings. In such cases the recording may or may not happen, or be incomplete. I'd sure like to know why this is.
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Old 19-10-2013, 16:18
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Sometimes a programme to be recorded is shown as such in the programme guide - but not in the list of planned recordings. In such cases the recording may or may not happen, or be incomplete. I'd sure like to know why this is.
Could you give a bit more of an example please as this is something I've not seen myself or reported elsewhere?
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Old 19-10-2013, 17:34
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Could you give a bit more of an example please as this is something I've not seen myself or reported elsewhere?
I'll try to get back to you on that, as I've watched/ deleted all instances. Hopefully the problem will happen again soon! The next two evenings (Saturday and Sunday) may trigger it, as it seems to be when we have lots of stuff to record back to back on (say) BBC1 HD, whilst recording something else on ITV HD.

Sometimes I'll try to watch a third event simultaneously, or overlapping - which I believe cannot always work successfully. Perhaps I'm not paying full attention to the clash warning messages?

Many thanks for your interest.
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Old 20-10-2013, 01:06
Grand Dizzy
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No offence intended, but I don't like those at all
Well to clarify they weren't supposed to look attractive (they were just taken from the original design, which I hate), my point was that with an HD EPG you could get a lot more information on the screen than just 7 lines. That was the only point.

Surely everyone would prefer to see, like 30 channels on screen at once rather than only 7?
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Old 20-10-2013, 05:09
REPASSAC
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...............
Surely everyone would prefer to see, like 30 channels on screen at once rather than only 7?
On a computer screen maybe but on my TV I would have to get up and walk over to read 30 lines.
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Old 20-10-2013, 07:48
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Well to clarify they weren't supposed to look attractive (they were just taken from the original design, which I hate), my point was that with an HD EPG you could get a lot more information on the screen than just 7 lines. That was the only point.

Surely everyone would prefer to see, like 30 channels on screen at once rather than only 7?
No not really, there would be just too much on screen.
At a push, maybe just to see what's currently on each channel now, but for myself I'm someone that's not even too keen on the Now & Next menu that's currently on the <free time> boxes as I much prefer to use the full EPG as it's easier to see at a glance as to what's on and how long it's got left and what's coming up etc.
As the phrase goes, 'Less Is More' and the <free time> boxes have got that just right.
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Old 20-10-2013, 08:27
sealion
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Why don't you look at the numerous FTA boxes on the market that will do everything you ask for and considerably more. I have had a few different models but the Vu+ I have at the moment I cannot fault. Better EPG, recording facilities etc etc. I particularly like the ability to record a Freeview channel, two or three different FTA Satellite channels and watch or chase play a pre-recorded programme all at the same time.
Before anybody says you can't use you $ky card, yes you can.
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Old 20-10-2013, 22:13
Grand Dizzy
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No not really, there would be just too much on screen.
I'm someone that's not even too keen on the Now & Next menu that's currently on the <free time> boxes as I much prefer to use the full EPG as it's easier to see at a glance as to what's on and how long it's got left and what's coming up etc.
Well I normally prefer a regular EPG to now and next. My point was I would rather see more channels on screen. My Toppy Freeview PVR shows 11 at once which I think is a good amount, but I would love an HD EPG that showed more at once.

As the phrase goes, 'Less Is More' and the <free time> boxes have got that just right.
Never heard of "free time" boxes before. I will have a look at them, thanks.

Why don't you look at the numerous FTA boxes on the market that will do everything you ask for and considerably more.
Hmmm. I wasn't really aware of any FTA boxes aside from Freesat ones but from what you say they sound perfect. But presumably FTA boxes don't have an EPG? (Otherwise why would anyone buy a Freesat PVR?)
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Old 21-10-2013, 00:42
Grand Dizzy
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As the phrase goes, 'Less Is More' and the <free time> boxes have got that just right.
Well I have tried to find out about Freetime.

The Freesat website is SO unhelpful! I really have no idea how Freesat think anyone will be interested in buying a Freetime box without any kind of images or graphics to illustrate what it is and what it does. All they give is a pretty boring, vague list of bullet points.

But from what I can gather, Freetime seems to be a kind of on-demand TV service which uses your Internet connection to allow you to watch a library of TV programmes that have been on TV recently. So a bit like iPlayer only for all channels and in your living room. I think?

Not my kind of thing in that case. I just like to tell the box what I like and let it sort out all the recordings for me. I'm a planner. Don't think I've ever wanted to watch what I missed. (Plus, I don't have Internet in my living room and don't want to install it there.)
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Old 21-10-2013, 07:39
sealion
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[QUOTE
Hmmm. I wasn't really aware of any FTA boxes aside from Freesat ones but from what you say they sound perfect. But presumably FTA boxes don't have an EPG? (Otherwise why would anyone would buy a Freesat PVR?)[/quote]

I cannot for the life of me understand why people would buy a 'Freesat' box with all its inherent restrictions.

Also, I did say that FTA boxes have ( IMO ) a better EPG which is updated automatically from either a transponder or the internet. The ability to add/delete or put channels in any order is a big plus.
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Old 21-10-2013, 08:31
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Well I have tried to find out about Freetime.

The Freesat website is SO unhelpful! I really have no idea how Freesat think anyone will be interested in buying a Freetime box without any kind of images or graphics to illustrate what it is and what it does. All they give is a pretty boring, vague list of bullet points.
They used to have a whole section of the site dedicated to <free time>, anyhow here's their video of what it's all about.
http://youtu.be/TMXgNrZG6j0
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Old 21-10-2013, 13:17
Grand Dizzy
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I cannot for the life of me understand why people would buy a 'Freesat' box with all its inherent restrictions.

Also, I did say that FTA boxes have ( IMO ) a better EPG which is updated automatically from either a transponder or the internet. The ability to add/delete or put channels in any order is a big plus.


You're telling me you can get a box that views FTA channels, with an EPG… and it isn’t a Freesat box!?

Oh my goodness! Where do I get one! Why have I never heard of this before? I would never have bought the Foxsat if I’d known you could get FTA boxes with an EPG. I thought the EPG was what made Freesat worth getting.

I hate Freesat! I hate it so much. I just want to watch all the Free channels. I don’t want stupid Freesat and I don’t like it. Freesat is evil.

I am now asking myself the same question as you. Why on earth would anyone, ever buy a Freesat box? This is a serious question. Why are people buying them? How is Freesat making any money? Is it just suckers like me who didn’t know there was anything better?

I am in shock, and SO glad I made this thread! Thank you sealion!

They used to have a whole section of the site dedicated to <free time>, anyhow here's their video of what it's all about.
http://youtu.be/TMXgNrZG6j0
Thank you very much for that
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Old 21-10-2013, 14:05
sealion
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I stand by everything I said in previous threads and in particular my comments in thread #16

There are a considerable number of FTA boxes on the market and I have personal experience of about 6 after I too was dissapointed with the Humax.

I have, after extensive research, settled for a Vu+ of which there are a number of models to suit any pocket. I can direct you to one of the many reviews of their machines but here is just one example. http://www.avforums.com/forums/satel...o2-review.html

There is a dedicated Forum to the OpenViX image (operating system) that I have settled on again after trying out a few different offerings. The main reason being the look and functionality of the EPG.

One other major advantage to me is the ability to choose the software and total look (skin) of the menus/screen to my own choosing.

I could go on all day but YouTube has many reviews as does the numerous Forums on the Internet.
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Old 21-10-2013, 15:34
Grand Dizzy
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Thank you sealion! I really appreciate all your advice and the link. This has really changed the direction I was going in and without you I would never have known, thank you!
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Old 24-10-2013, 23:12
Grand Dizzy
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By the way, when you copy videos over to the PC from the Foxsat, does anyone know what the two other files are? You get a .ts video file, but also an .nts file and an .hmt file. I have never deleted these in case they are needed to play the .ts file but it would be nice to delete them if I can.

Anyone know?
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Old 25-10-2013, 07:02
REPASSAC
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By the way, when you copy videos over to the PC from the Foxsat, does anyone know what the two other files are? You get a .ts video file, but also an .nts file and an .hmt file. I have never deleted these in case they are needed to play the .ts file but it would be nice to delete them if I can.

Anyone know?
They contain information only used by the Foxsat - Programme position (for resume), programme info etc. Other files can be also present one for each bookmark (generated by housekeeping) which are contained within a folder with the programme name prefixed with a full stop.
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