What is the future for the 9200 or indeed any other Freeview PVR once Freesat is launched next spring? What with HD being on the platform, I and many others will be purchasing a new PVR to be able to receive and record the new service-will support and OTA updates still be available for our old PVR's?
I for one very much hope that Humax have a new unit ready at launch.......

Freesat is a satellite service, nothing to do with freeview, DTT or owt, so the Humax would be unaffected.

I'm sure someone will launch a freesat PVR before too long though.

According to the Freesat website "Freesat is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV and includes many of the same people who brought you Freeview". My point is that given a choice to have Freeview without HD content, or Freesat with HD, the majority of users would surely purchase Freesat equipment. Humax will be providing a Freesat box so will sales and support of the 9200 fall?

There are many people (myself included) who do not want a huge plasma screen, are more than happy with the SD picture on a good 28" CRT set and have absolutely no interest in HD.

Coupled with the fact that satellite installation involves erection of a dish and cabling.

Bearing in mind that the original concept of Freeview was to provide more channels with, for many viewers, better quality with a minimum of extra kit - I think it's here to stay.

Yes, and as I have just helped to design and install a Sky multi-box/multi-room system for a friend, I can assure you that doing this for satellite is much harder than doing the same for terrestrial.

You need to do much more thinking ahead, put in a lot more cable of much higher quality, and it all ends up being quite expensive.

But there are technologies coming along that will help, such as SCR (aka Unicable) and better ways of distributing HD from a central box to the screens.

Ian

Would like an HDMI output just free up scarts. Got a free V Box ftrm BT yesterday and the upscaled picture from HDMI is great. Unfortunately if you record two things at once the 2nd never has any sound so back to its box and wait on HUMAX coming out with a new model !

Why should support fall? Humax already have a wide range of products (including several satellite receivers); I doubt that one more will make very much difference. It seems likely that at some point Humax will introduce a new terestrial PVR and at that point I would expect that software updates for the 9200 will be limited to urgent bug fixes.

The 9200 has to be near the end of its shelf life - it is over 2 years old...........

Support may well be limited to urgent bug fixes - they have a good record of that...............not!

You know the problem with “Technology” is that no matter how hard you run you can never quite keep up with it, so I stopped running!

2008/9 is the switch over to digital in my area (Somerset - UK). That means, on the face of it, I have to replace three TVs, two VCRs and I am at the moment researching what I will buy.

I bought a new Panasonic TV and VCR in 1997. However my Hinari (alarm) Sunrise TV1s I bought in 1987!. They all still give excellent pictures and in great condition. I had one problem with the Panasonic TV and the VCR is getting a little worn but no problems with the Hianris. So, you will understand I smiled a little when I read in the forum that the Humax 9200 is over two years old and perhaps “past its sale by date”. If I buy one I expect it will see me to my grave LOL.

From what you all have written I am thinking of buying the Humax 9200, mainly because it will allow me to continue to use my existing Hinari TVs via the RF modulator link. The Panasonic has Scart. This will allow me to spread the costs over a longer period (my pension does not go that far – thanks Mr G Brown)

I have tried Digital with a cheap Digital box from Asda (which lasted 2 months before I threw it away). So I know the signal is good with my existing Ariel.

Does anyone have any thoughts/problem on this setup?

Well, if a new/better model comes out, the current one goes on eBay and I buy the new one. Such is life!

Ian

humax are to launch a Hd receiver for freesat and an updated pvr 9200t in the new year see link
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...h-hd-box.phtml

You get a good signal using washing powder??

glamington - get yourself a Humax for a New Year present - you will not regret it - let the Asda test show you and everyone else you dares to think that there is another PVR worthy of the name (except maybe a Toppy).

I think there should be a ban on all other PVRs!!

The RF out can be sent through an amp to your other TVs and as you say the Scart will go to your Panny.

I'm looking forward to Spring when I can climb on the roof - stick a quad LNB on my dish - and get a Humax Freesat box.

Goodbye Sky - I just hope that Eurosport will pack up their Sky bags too and join Freesat early on.

Oh and don't bother to look on ebay for my 2 Freeview Humii - I'll be keeping them until they die - long may they live.

I'd be interested in that HD Receiver as long as it is also a PVR. I'd love to be able to pick up "some" HD content but am dead against paying any subscription price.

I have been waiting for a good satellite PVR for a while now. I had been interested in the Reelbox but that never materialised for the UK market from Germany. I have been waiting for the Lyngbox to materialise, but just looks like vapour-ware...

With the event of Freesat working up steam, we might be able to get something decent in terms of satellite PVR here in the UK. There are many boxes for the German market as they are satellite based rather than terrestrial...

Humax currently make many satellite boxes for a variety of markets. The one I was interested in, until I discovered it was for the Middle-East, was the ICORD - which boasts of recording 4 channels simultaneously (restricted by transponder combinations I think - equivalent to MUXes)... so there is hope of a good satellite PVR from them if that are interested in Freesat.

At the moment I have a Dreambox (Linux based reciever with PVR functions) but it is not HD. Also the EPG is the biggest flaw of satellite channels... when Freesat sorts itself out over how to maintain and send EPG info for the channels they carry then satellite would be a great alternative to terrestrial TV...

Stockland Hill (Westcountry) switches to digital on 1st May 2009 and Mendip (HTV West) switches on 30 April 2010, so you have a little longer than you're thinking.

As you know doubt have gathered I am new to PVRs. How many TV's can I run off of one Humax 9200? You seem to give the impression that I could link the Scart to the Panny and then run a lead to an amp and on to my two Hanaris. Or, have I read that wrong.

If I have not, do I assume that you get the same EPG on each and therefore could record from each or play a recording on each . There has got to be a limiting factor here I would have thought

Many thannks for the help

Glamington

You can only watch one output from the hummy at a time - the RF and SCART output will be the same - but you can be recording 2 channels and at the same time you can watch something you've recorded earlier.

So tonight at 7pm - now - you could be recording Question of Sport and Emmerdale and watch Strictly from last night.

Depending on the channels you are recording the hummy will also let you watch a third live channel.

If you are recording one channel and watching a second live you can pause the live TV - rewind it to watch something again - get a hummy it will definately chage the way you watch tele - if if it's only not having to find a spare tape!!

Thanks Blackcow, I gather that from what has been said. Does the 9200
do serial recording as well i.e. all of one series e.g. Emmerdale?

With the latest software (1.00.20) yes; the functionality is called series link.