Hi
We've just got rid of Sky and now I want to replace my Freeview single tuner HDD with a Freesat twin-tuner HDD and wondered if anybody could recommend or warn me against one? Just been looking at a Humax HDR 1010S.
My Smart tv has links to BBCiplayer and Channel 5 On Demand but when I try to access ITV player through my tv via browser it takes ages to load (I gave up in the end!) so thought I would have more luck with a Freesat box.
A new box would need to have access through my wifi and not an Ethernet cable

Any help/advice would be great

The HDR 1010s has WiFi built in so that's a good option for you, the HDR 1000s is another option but would require a WiFi dongle.
To get full use out of the box you would need 2 feeds from your satellite dish so if you only currently have a single feed LNB then it would be wise to change it to a Quad LNB.
You can still use the box on a single feed but you will be limited in what you can watch when recording another channel.
As you had Sky then you probably already have a Quad LNB anyway.

Thank you. Yes we have two feeds from our satellite dish. Just wasn't sure if Humax were reliable/any good. Thanx for letting me know about the Wi-Fi

Humax are, if not the very best, up near the top of the tree.

There are plenty of 'supermarket clones" that the major supermarkets, Currys and Argos flog under various brand names. In many cases the only difference between them is the badge glued to the front. They've all come out of the same factory using the same bits.

Humax are not one of these clone brands. If you visit the Freesat sub forums of the Satellite forum on DS I suspect you'll see more mentions made of Humax than any other brand.

Thank you. That's my mind made up then! Humax it is

To get the VOD services a device needs built-in support, an app.
The iplayer and demand 5 on your TV aren't links to the services, they are dedicated modules written in code your TV understands.
The browser loads internet pages but does not have the capability to run the PC-specific code those pages deliver to watch the VOD services.
Any device you want to watch ITV player through, must state that capability in the specs (ie. Youview or Freetime).

Just echoing others really, Humax is really the king of Freesat (and for that matter, Freeview) recorders.

Both the HDR-1000S and the HDR-1010S support Freesat Freetime, the more advanced EPG that allows you to just scroll back through the EPG for up to 7 days to quickly locate and watch catch up TV. You can also access the main on demand services via dedicated Apps, so have access to some of the box sets available from 4Od for example.

The only major difference between the two machines is slight styling changes, and the fact that the 1010S is the latest model and is apparently slightly faster in operation.

Both machines can also access media available across your home network, so you can play media from your PC on your TV without having to directly connect your PC to it.

Just one slight thing to bear in mind, for dual channel recording and everything in the one box note the HDR prefix. Humax make another box with a similar model number, the HB-1000S which lacks a built in hard disc for recording, you need to supply your own, and it only has a single tuner.

The 1010S is identical to the 1000S apart from two features

1 It's White not Black

2 It has a built in WiFi option, the 1000S needs to use the separate dongle if you want WiFi using a usb port. A Wireless Bridge will work using the LAN socket.

If I remember correctly it was the first to be offered with a 1TB drive.

I think the confusion is down to the HDR2000T the replacement for the HDR FOX T2, this is a faster box.

Cheers Graham.

I'd be tempted to just go for the 1000S then and use powerline adapters or Ethernet cables for a more reliable connection.

Sounds very sensible to me

TBH a white one in my case would look out of place in a rack with two HDR FOX T2's and a HDR1000S . They all share a single Cat 5 cable back to my router along with a Foxsat-Hdr, a Blu-ray player. a Denon Amp and my laptop using a high speed internet switch.