IFA 2008: Humax Quietly Unveils Freesat HD FOXSAT-HDR PVR Comments

I'm a Humax fan and the new box looks great but does the ethernet port let me get any closer to my ultimate goal of recording programs on one PVR and playing it on another in a different room? (Not to mention pausing a show in one room and resuming play in another) Or do I have to go down the PC in the living route to achieve that goal?

I see that this does sky's trick of recording one channel while you watch another, how many LNR's does it use then? The one porblem I have with my SKY box is that I only have 1 LNR (I am in a flat with a shared dish) and it plays merry hell with the sky box because there is no way to make it realise that you only have 1 LNR, meaning that when you try and record something it usually fails unless you are watching the channel!

If this box has the function to know how many LNR's you are using so that it will automatically record using LNR 1 (for example) then thats it, im sold

Hmm, also £299 for the box seems somewhat expensive, I know its not a fair example but you can get a sky HD box from ebay for £140...

...it's not a fair example though, is it. That's £140 for a box that you can't even record anything on unless you pay either a £10/month "PVR-tax" or have a Sky subscription. After 18 months of a £140 + £10/month the Humax will actually be cheaper...

Also, remember that you have to pay an installation fee of about £80 for Freesat so that's another eight months before the Humax will be cheaper.

"Also, remember that you have to pay an installation fee of about £80 for Freesat so that's another eight months before the Humax will be cheaper."

Not if you already have Sky+ (as I do).
£ 299 sounds like a bargain compared to Sky+ HD which is currently about £ 150 for the box + £ 60 "installation" (i.e. a man plugging it in) plus £ 17/ month basic Sky channels PLUS another £ 10 HD mix...

In reply to Stelph, if you want to watch one channel and record on another, you will need two independent feeds from a multi-output LNB unless you are tuning to two channels that are the same polarity on the satellite. This is because the receiver sends either volts or audio tones to the LNB to tell it which polarity to be on, it cant be on Vertical and Horizontal polarity at the same time.

As stated above, installation with freesat is optional, but what Sky HD box off Ebay for anyone that doesn't already have a dish is going to include free/cheaper installation than that anyway? The installation issues are the same with either box.

You can easily buy your own dish and fit it yourself, they are not very expensive and if you need another input you can change the LNB on your current dish easily and cheaply.

Oh yes, I forgot that you hav to pay £10 a month if you dont have a contract! My bad, maybe the price isnt so bad after all :-)

In reply to bj33790 thanks for the info, Ill look into it!

Apart from, an at present, non-existant or feeble ITV HD, what proggies will be available NOW, over what so many of us have enjoyed for the best part of two years.
This system may be the future, but we will only be sure if the BBC and others, do a lot better (more) than they are at present.
Existing Sky subscribers are better of keeping their kit, £10 pm each for HD and Sky Plus at most, is cheaper than buying this box and even those subs may get terminated or reduced, in the near future.

BBC HD is also available on Freesat but Sky HD has by far the best selection of HD Channels, although it comes at a cost, as mentioned.

Still Freesat has ITV HD which is one more HD channel then my current V+ Box has (only BBC HD on Virgin). Actually I'm seriously considering Freesat, if only so I don't have to pay a monthly fee for TV but I was hoping the Humx PVR would be cheaper.

Plus, I'm sure you can fit the dish yourself but for someone like me, with little to no DIY skills, that would be a step too far.

"Existing Sky subscribers are better of keeping their kit, £10 pm each for HD and Sky Plus at most, is cheaper than buying this box"

How can on on-going subscription at £10/month be cheaper than a one off payment - it will depend on how long you subscribe for. In addition you'll have *no* ITV-HD with a Sky HD box.

"...and even those subs may get terminated or reduced, in the near future."

On what information is that based? I'd fully expect the cost of freesat PVRs to drop too - both Humax post-launch and with Metronic coming on-line with their own product next year.

"FYI - Sky HD+ box is currently £75 but still carries the £60 install fee."

Where's that? I find it pretty unlikely that you can buy a new Sky HD+ box for £135 installed that does not entail also having a Sky subscription...

As far as i'm concerned i think the introduction of Freesat from the BBC & ITV is great. It is free as an ongoing sevice albeit, once you have forked out for the installation, supply of chosen equipment. Though Freesat offers a somewhat limited selection of channels in comparison to SKY at present, that seems to be changing all the time, with new channels constantly being added. Granted the current suggested price of the pending Freesat DTR/PVR box is a tad expensive at £300 in comparison to SKY, i believe that as with most equipment electronical, this will inevitably fall in price and with the competion, probably have to fall quite quickly.That's competition for you!!I think Sky is going to have to re think a lot of it's subscription charges at this rate as quite simply it's going to lose a huge amount of it's market share in this line, anyway!

As with most people, the reason i'm for FREESAT is it's essentialy a free service and unlike my present Sky freesat, where most of the channels on the EPG i can't access anyway,all channels shown in Freesat's EPG you can access and at no extra charge as with SKY's premium channels!! My only gripe at present, is that the PVR shortly due on the market only incorporates twin tuners! unlike Virgin's V+ box that has three tuners, i would love to see someone like HUMAX/ SONY etc introduce a quad tuner box! so there would be no need to have two boxes installed if you ever wish to record more than two channels simultaneously! still i guess it's the old syndrome,the more we're offered on the market, the more we want!!

Spec sheet says
"Simultaneous viewing of one channel and recording another channel"

Seems like carefully chosen words i.e. is it able to record 2 channels simultaneously - maybe also watching one of those being recorded in chaser [or a third channel on the same mux] or watching something previously recorded?
And if all these video streams are HD...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=815966
It's obvious the links posted on here dont, well, link.

An AV Forums thread to the effect that £75 HD box & £30 install were offered in The Sun.
There has and still is speculation that Sky may cancel the £10 HD sub soon and free/no subs for 12 months IS used to close deals with waverers.
c128, your are correct to say it depends how long you subscribe, that was I thought understood in my post, because I refer to NOW, maybe the future will bring growth and appeal to Freesat, but not getting ITV HD is hardly an argument against staying with Sky, at the moment.

very interested in this and been waiting for freesat pvr humax but the £300 talking price seems steep will you get a equal package if i just bought a humax freeview hd receiver and bought a hd recorder separate to save on cost ?

"c128, your are correct to say it depends how long you subscribe, that was I thought understood in my post, because I refer to NOW,"

As you are making a comparison, based partly on cost, between a one-off payment for freesat against a continuing subscription for Sky, the continual subscription you will need to pay is absolutely key. Clearly existing Sky HD subscribers are better staying with Sky now as, well, there's no freesat PVR available at all. However, when there is, we need to be clear on one thing: there is absolutely no evidence whatsover that Sky have any intention of removing the £10 PVR-tax that you must pay, at a minimum, to have anything other than a Sky HD box that cannot record. Were they to do this, the argument would be different, but anything else in this area is, at best, pure speculation.

"...but not getting ITV HD is hardly an argument against staying with Sky, at the moment."

...and the FTA HD channel that "pips" ITV-HD and justifies a £10 subscription is...what?

In reply to George Catleugh's comment of 1/9/08, re: possibly buying a separate HD recorder with an Freesat HD receiver to save on cost, at present, i'm under the understanding that for the Freesat sevice there is no separate HD recording device? I'd be delighted to be proved wrong though!! However, i should imagine that by the time one forks out for an HD receiver and a HD recording device( should one become available on the market) i suspect one would be better of in terms of cost and space to just purchase the Freesat PVR in the 1st instance!

...and the FTA HD channel that "pips" ITV-HD and justifies a £10 subscription is...what?

Channel 4HD, available NOW! as it has been for the last eight months or so, when many early adapters committed to their AV strategy and invested in boxes & installs.
Most people taking Sky packages don't pay "Plus" subs anyway, that's £120 pa less to come out of any price comparison.
I do gree there is speculation, the reason I employed the word in my first post and I hope Freesat prospers, especially if it provides a good alterative to paying through the nose to enrich Prem league players, even though I adore a good football match as much as the next pleb.
I actually long for the day when HD is just considered 'normal' TV, but for the moment I have to make a judgement on where to place my precious AV quids allowance.
Happy viewing to you and all.

I've been waiting for this. I just bought the Foxsat HD receiver to check that it would work with my dish but I'm going to take it back and wait for this.

Correct me if I'm wrong but there are no standalone HD recorders available that could be used to record from a Freesat HD or Sky HD box even if you wanted to cut corners for a few pounds.

If you can record two different channels at the same time with this then I'll get it. Playing back previously recorded material does not require an additional tuner so I would expect to be able to do this.

"Channel 4HD, available NOW!"

Ahh...4Upscaled - you're quite right, forgot about that. Either way, C4 viewer enquiries have responded to folk that have queried 4HD's potential FTA-ness in the future with "Neither the HD Channel 4 service or the +1s are currently avaiable, but we
hope these will be added in the coming months".

"Most people taking Sky packages don't pay "Plus" subs anyway, that's £120 pa less to come out of any price comparison."

No, it really shouldn't come out of any comparison, that's comparing apples with oranges rather than apples with apples. Sky exists as a premium *content* package for those that want it - and good luck to them. The discussion here is about the viability and value of a non-subscription freesat PVR for those interested in viewing and recording FTA channels usign an EPG - the cheapest comparable Sky model with regard to FTA channels is the Sky HD box with the £10/month subscription to ensure you can actually record something.

I really did understand the discussion and wish Freesat well, also for you, when you get one.
Keep us imformed.

From the spec sheet: "Simultaneous playing of transmissions over HDMI, composite or SCART"

Well SCART will be SD and HDMI will be SD&HD obviously - but what about Component? Will this be able to output HD content (720p/1080i)?

I ask since I bought my very expensive (compared to nowadays) tv just before the industry invented HDReady, seemingly, overnight & so have no HDMI inputs (I don't intend to replace my TV anytime soon).

I *really* want to see next years F1 coverage in HD on the BBC - I just hope Auntie is listening! :).

"Well SCART will be SD and HDMI will be SD&HD obviously - but what about Component? Will this be able to output HD content (720p/1080i)?"

If the experience of the Foxsat STB is anything to go by, then I expect the answer will be "no" - a later firmware update lead to HD output over component being disabled.

well with my question dated 1.9.8 asking about stand alone pvr and freesat hd separate devices there is also the panasonic tv with built in hd freesat receiver. so there will be a need for such a hd pvr wont there ?

@c128 Is the Foxsat STB you mention for Sky or for Freesat? i.e. will Freesat be more flexible than Sky Freesat in this regard?

I meant that last bit to be rhetorical of course :) (i.e. Will Freesat be more flexible than Sky Freesat in this regard, I wonder?)

"@c128 Is the Foxsat STB you mention for Sky or for Freesat?"

As in this, Humax' current freesat offering :
http://www.humaxdigital.com/freesat/default.asp

Search over on AV Forums for the related threads - component output of HD was disabled in a later revision of the initial firmware.

@c128: bah and humbug! yet another no go for me then - 2012 it is then for my HD OTA viewing :(

any idea when this will go on sale in uk

If your serious about your AV experience I think the Humax/Freesat route is the future with the only downside at present being Sky's HD content dominence which i'm certain is only temporary as many many more stations are expected to be added. Freesat broadcasts in 1080i wereas Sky is only 720i, so if youve got an expensive AV set up surley you want to recieve the best picture possible and the Humax does a very good job having veiewed the current HD Fressat tunner which also has a far slicker EPG and graphics making SKY's EPG and channel selection look pre-historic.

Being new to all this, where is it stated please that FreeSat broadcasts in 1080i ??

Are there any more specs on this model ?
Also does anyone know if the iCord PVR on Humax global (http://www.humaxdigital.com/global/products/product_stb_satellite_icordhd.asp) site will work in the UK, as it looks to be slightly better, two lnb inputs, record 4 programs at once, USB host for conencting USB HDD

Sorry if I'm being dumb here, but can someone confirm or otherwise if this will be the same as Sky plus in its entirety? I haven't seen mention of the ability to pause live TV for example. Thanks

Re. The recording side of this.Anyone know if recording will in fact still be possible with High Definition Copy Protection already here or on the way & if i understand correctly somehow built into the HDMI cables.

Is it out yet? (they said Novemeber, but it's almost December now)
Can we go and have a play with one somewhere to see if the UI is "a champ" or "a dog"?
When will we see a decent review like on this site?
When will other firms like Topfield be releasing a Freesat HD PVR?
How much longer must we wait??