We've recently upgraded from a cheap PVR (the one with the mirror finish) to the 9200T and while the extra recording capability is really nice I found the usability somewhat lower. While the cheap one's remote had big buttons for the recorded programs and programs scheduled to record the humax hides the list of recordings under the slidy bit and relegates the programs to be recorded to an option inside the menu.
Further with the humax although you can set up recordings using the EPG you trying to do so on a program that's already started just switches you to that program, very annoying!
And on the subject of the EPG the humax won't do a full height one, it only gives you five channels with an info pane at the top which doesn't seem to be toggleable (and doesn't show you any information about the selected program).
I did consider this model because of it's very low standby power consumption (0.6w compared to 6w for the 9200T and 15w(!) for the topfield 5810) but with reconditioned 9200Ts availible direct from Humax for £110 and the non-functional USB port on this the choice was made in favour of the older one.
p.s. There is also a very good comparison chart between various PVRs that helped tremendously here: http://www.pvrjunction.co.uk/compare/
"In fact the only operational flaws we could find were minor ones - to enter the list of recorded programmes, you have to enter the setup menu rather than simply hitting a button on the remote."
On the 9200T there is a button that loads the list of recorded programs as a pop-up and keeps the TV in the background. Drop the flap on the remote and its on the top row second from the right (little box with a few horizontal lines), I'd be surprised if they have removed that from the latest version.
Humax's are groaning under the weight of their own extensive functionality; complicated menus, options and button presses that get in the way of doing the basics: watch tv, record it, play it back. Whilst Sky+ may cost a minimum £10 / month and have a couple of annoyances that are way overdue a fix, watching TV, recording it and playing it back are lessons in simplicity. Having switched to a Humax from Sky+, we've all but stopped using live pause and recording of TV. Putting recordings and planned recordings in different screens is moronic. Not showing the day of the week, but the date it was recorded? Stupidity in design rarely seen outside Yugo's R&D* lab. There's Sky+ and there's everything else. Nothing comes close. And this from someone who loathes the Sky monopoly.
And TR, whilst I'm on my soapbox: any review of any PVR that doesn't show several screengrabs of the EPG: 0/10.
* Yes, yes, it was probably just some bloke in a corner office with some crayons.
I have a PVR-9200T and I must say that, although it's different to Sky+, it's every bit as easy to get through.
Having just 1 button to get to the TV guide or to your list of recorded programs beats the menus my dad has to drill into to get his recordings & viewing all sorted. Plus being able to see the TV while selecting what to record is brilliant. And as for not showing the day of the week it was recorded - I'd much prefer to have the date it was recorded personally so that when I'm listing my recordings by title I can see which order the programs were shown quickly & easily.
Sky+ is nice and easy enough my dad (who doesn't work these things out easily) likes it but I much prefer my PVR. Each to thier own and what they get used to first I guess.
The one thing that I did have to do with my PVR is remove the sliding bit at the bottom - there's 2-3 of those buttons I use all the time and having to slide that down was getting irritating.
'... a response to customer feedback said that a USB port wasn't a key feature'
What! That IMHO is absolute rubbish (both the fact & the reason)! How are you supposed to archive the stuff?! The reason I have delayed upgrading from my 8000T (or whatever its called :) was because I want a decent archive facility (i.e. not having to reply on recording off the SCART). A friend has the 9200T and says the bundled Humax SW is rubbish but that third party apps to the job well (slow speed but quality high) and I had hoped they may have improved things with the 9300T. I think this omission is more technical and/or political (i.e. I seem to remember that Humax have cited copyright issues in the past).
Bah! Another contender consigned to the `oh so nearly` bin.
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