Humax HDR-2000T Review - Performance and Verdict Review
Performance and Verdict
A capacious, easy-to-use Freeview PVR with nifty network features
Sections
- Page 1 Humax HDR-2000T Review
- Page 2 Setup and Operation Review
- Page 3 Performance and Verdict Review
Humax HDR-2000T – Performance
The Humax delivers pristine high-definition pictures, with rich, fulsome colours and razor-sharp detail. Brightly-lit studio fare, like the ITV’s awful game show Tipping Point, looks dazzling – the red coins are deeply saturated and close-up of contestants’ faces reveal a plethora of fine lines and pockmarks.
Big budget dramas like Atlantis on BBC One HD look even better, combining natural colours, smooth gradation and crisp detail to give the exotic scenery and stone-clad interiors a cinematic look. Fast-moving sport is capably handled too – during Match of the Day 2, players are tracked smoothly and the outline of the ball remains stable.
Even upscaled pseudo-HD stuff like ‘Allo ‘Allo on BBC Two HD is enjoyable, despite the black bars on either side. The drop in quality when switching to a standard-definition channel is certainly noticeable, with a slightly gauzy, soft look to the picture, but again it’s perfectly watchable thanks to the radiant colours and overall stability. The great news is that these pictures look identical when recorded onto the hard disk
As for general performance, it changes channels very quickly indeed, avoiding the long pauses you get from some PVRs, while digital text and interactive services work smoothly. Menu browsing is a blissfully fast experience too.
Its online performance is excellent, finding content on our laptop with minimum fuss and streaming video from BBC iPlayer smoothly. SD web video suffers gauzy detail and jagged edges but opt for the HD stream if available and the results are dazzling.
Should I buy the Humax HDR-2000T?
It may lack the glamour and marketability of the YouView-equipped Humax DTR-T1010, but the HDR-2000T is still a fine Freeview PVR
It ticks nearly all the boxes on the checklist. Easy to install and use? Check. Flexible recording functionality? Check. Generous features? Try DLNA, internet apps and USB media playback for size.
Throw in a capacious 500GB hard disk capable of storing hi-def pictures in pristine quality and you’ve got yourself a terrific PVR that could only be improved with a couple more catch-up TV services and built-in Wi-Fi to access the network features more easily.
Verdict
Despite the absence of YouView and Wi-Fi, the Humax HDR-2000T is a first-rate Freeview PVR with flexible recording, nifty network features and impressive pictures
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Value 9
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Features 8
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Performance 9
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Design 8