Verdict

Pros

• Excellent operating system
• Terrific live and recorded picture quality
• Attractive new design

Cons

• No built-in Wi-Fi
• No USB media playback or DLNA
• Identical spec to DTR-T1000

Introduction

The DTR-T1010 is the replacement for the DTR-T1000, Humax’s first venture into the world of YouView – a place where online catch-up TV lives alongside terrestrial digital broadcasts in perfect harmony. That means you can use the DTR-T1010 like a regular Freeview PVR but with the last seven days’ worth of programmes thrown in. The idea is that you can access all content, be it online or broadcast,
in one place, without having to search disparate Smart TV menus or pay
subscription fees to VirginMedia or Sky.

Humax DTR-T1010 – Design

The main difference between the T1010 and its predecessor is the radical redesign – it sports a more eye-catching silver fascia contrasted by a black finish on the rest of the body. It
looks great, and the silver finish certainly adds a touch of elegance,
but we’re not entirely sure it looks better than its predecessor – after
all, the DTR-T1000 hadn’t exactly been beaten with the ugly stick.

The silver fascia sports a large LED display panel on the left-hand side that displays the current TV channel. In the middle is an illuminated direction pad that allows you to control onscreen menus up close. It’s quite bright, and it can’t be dimmed in the setup menu. Gone are the small hard buttons of the DTR-T1000, replaced by touch-sensitive controls, which again makes the T1010 feel classier than its predecessor. In fact, build quality is excellent across the board. On the right-hand side of the fascia is a drop-down flap that hides a USB port.

Humax DTR-T1010 – Connections

There’s a generous selection of sockets on the back too, including two crucial connections – HDMI output and Ethernet. The former pipes hi-def pictures to your TV, while the latter connects to your router (or a Homeplug) to stream catch-up TV from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Five – more on that later.

They’re joined by an optical digital audio output to send Dolby Digital Plus to a sound system; Scart, composite and analogue stereo outputs; another USB port; plus RF in and loopthrough.