I've had a Humax P9300T for years and it does everything I need it to but it is becoming a bit tired and I'm going to need to upgrade soon.

My brain is going the same way as the Humax so which would be the best to change to? Are any of the current models similar to the 9300T? I watch a lot of recorded programmes and don't want to have to re-learn everything.

I'd welcome any advice

No none are similar. The Humax freeview choice would be between FVP-4000T and either HDR-2000T or HDR-1800T. The HDR-2000T and the HDR-1800T use the same software as each other and therefore their user experience is the same as each other.

The closest to the 9300T is the HDR-2000T/1800T but they are still different. The FVP-4000T looks as though it was designed by a different company.

An example of the HDR-2000T/18000T being more similar is in the rewind and jump buttons. The HDR-2000T/1800T has buttons which you just press once (like the 9300T) to jump forward or back. On the FVP-4000T it takes 2 button presses.
The HDR-2000T/1800T has a dedicated Information button. The FVP-4000T has different techniques for viewing the programmme information depending on where you are or what you are watching.
In the epg the HDR-2000T/1800T you can press one button to jump forward a day. With the FVP-4000T you keep a button pressed until the days come up and you select your day - you will then be taken to the lunch time programmes for that day.

Some things remain the same. If you ever have needed to manual tune your 9300T then you will still need to no matter which you buy as there are still circumstances where the Humax auto-tuning saves from a mix of transmitters causing recordings to be less reliable than they should be. For the FVP-4000T Humax may be working to correct this so that they can compete with other manufacturers.

What you will be loosing out on if you go for the HDR-2000T/1800T is that the FVP-4000T is more up to date with the functionality it offers and the standards it uses.

If you want familiarity don't go for the FVP4000T, it's a right dogs dinner.
The only advantage it has is three tuners, everything else is a frustrating nightmare. The software has been designed by someone who has never used a PVR.
It's your choice, but, it's an expensive lesson to learn...

Thank you both for your replies - I did trawl through the very long thread on the FVP-4000T and decided that it wasn't for me! I think the description of it looking like a meat pie was just about right - and it seems to work about as well as a meat pie!

I will go and look properly at the 2000T and 1800T, I've managed to cope with changing to a smart TV so I'm sure I'll cope!

Many thanks.

Be careful before dismissing the FVP-4000T; there are people who are less vocal that think it is a decent box. Also according to a post at myhumax.org a trial is about to start of a new software version that includes some user improvements. I haven't got one so I know nothing more than I have read. I do have an HDR-2000T which is a reasonable box but there are a few bugs that Humax have never bothered to fix,

All fine, except Humax don't have glowing record when it comes to changing things for the better.
Eventually the 4000T will probably go down the road of third party improvements once the right people decide that they need to replace their hacked Fox T2's...

The problem with adding 3rd party improvements to the FVP-4000T is that it will probably be more locked down then the HD/HDR-FOX T2s. The HDR-2000T and 1800T are.

I wouldn't entirely agree with you. In the past they transformed the 9200T with successive software upgrades and most of the issues with the HDR-FOX T2 were dealt with reasonably quickly. I would agree that the HDR-2000T hasn't had as much bug fixing as would be desirable.

Possibly but the people who have had a look think the FVP-4000T will be significantly more difficult to get access to.

The ''foxy'' utility also works on the 1800 or 2000 but not ''youview'' Hummys. I find it useful, since the bbc increasingly flags even SD channel films as ''don't allow usb file transfer'', but i like to watch recordings on pc or phone rather than tv set.

Thank you - plenty to think about. At least the new Humax is now in black.....but costs a lot more.

I've been speaking nicely to my 9300T and it's behaving so I do have a bit of time to research properly. I know I'm a technophobe and I don't like change but I am trying to keep up! I have grandchildren of 18 and 15 so I can't slip back too far!

I suppose I don't have to stick with Humax......

I was in the same position as you a couple of weeks ago. I replaced an 8 year old TV with a new smart set and have an old Humax 9200 PVR.
The new TV didn't have a scart socket for my 9200 so I needed a replacement PVR with a HDMI connector. After much research I decided to go for the HDR-1800 which I purchased from Humax Direct for under £100 including delivery. I went for the 1800 because it is a slightly newer model than the HDR-2000 but it does have a smaller hard drive ( not a problem for me). The remote looks a bit more cluttered than the old ones (9200 / 9300) but you quickly get used to that.

Another difference is that you need the 1800 switched on to allow the RF signal to pass through if you want to watch the TV using the TV remote. You could leave your old 9300 in stand-by and the signal would pass through.

I then connected my old 9200 via the component phono connectors until I have watched all of my old recordings.

It should pass through in standby if you set the "Power saving in standby" setting to off.

Thanks Martin I'll try that for convenience, but does that mean that the machine will be, in effect switched on at full operating power permanently? and if so, I may as well continue to switch it on and off with the TV.

No it won't be full power as thee will be no soumd or audio output to any of the outputs, there will be no buffer being recorded or other drive activity, there will be no (well hardly any!) power to the USB ports to name the more obvious ones. There are power consumption figures fore the 3 states somewhere - possibly in the manual or the advertising blurb?

Can you tell me which button - I've never found this in the HDR-2000T?

Agree this is a bit buggy - needs rebooting quite often, text doesn't always work, functions like video playback sometimes disappear and only return if you turn the box off and back on, etc.

Skip forward and back buttons used in the EPG go one day forward and back; fast forward and back buttons jump 2 hours.

To go forward, it's the button immediately above the GUIDE button. It's a right pointing arrow with a single line in front.

My main gripe with the HD-2000T is the sync slipping forwards on subtitles. They are almost useless after a few minutes. The old 9200T subtitles stayed in sync well so why the newer m/c cannot is a puzzle. While the BBC employs mimes to speak lines I have to use the subs.

Thanks for that, shows I don't read manuals! Now the text isn't working on BBC channels despite a reboot which normally cures everything...