The IBC 2009 show in Amsterdam this year has seen a dramatic increase in DVB-T2 related news, and it’s great to see announcements from manufacturers keen to let everyone know they will be providing FreeviewHD ready set top boxes in the first quarter of next year.
The Humax Freeview HD single tuner (receiver only) version wil allow recording direct to USB
Joining Pace in early 2010, Humax will also be providing FreeviewHD set top boxes (HD-FOX T2), and they tell us that by the summer a flagship Humax Freeview+HD PVR will be here called the Humax HDR-FOX T2 . Technical details are still thin on the ground however the Humax HDR-FOX T2 will most likely feature the new and acclaimed high definition user interface and Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) which was successfully implemented into the iCordHD+ PVR. We’d like to mention there will be a USB port on the single tuner HD-Fox T2 set top box receiver which will allow recording direct to a USB key or USB hard drive via a software update soon after launch.
Other highlights being introduced into the new Humax Freeview+ HD PVR include a Network connection in order to support catch up TV services, like BBC iPlayer at first, and Sky Player later on in the year. The network connection will allow customers to connect, stream and transfer recordings to other devices and PCs in the home. For example, recordings on the Humax HDR-FOX T2 can be streamed to – and controlled via – a Humax Freeview HD set top box that you may have in the bedroom for example (Humax Freeview HD STBs will also include a network port at the back).
Humax were on the verge of providing a high definition capable Freeview PVR in the UK two years ago, but then the industry veered in the direction of DVB-T2, which would require different hardware in order to receive HD broadcasts. The HD PVR project had to be shelved while DVB-T2 developed and so instead this lead to the face-lifting of the older PVR-9200t (see PVR-9300T/PVR-9150T).
The new Humax HDR-FOX T2 will be built on a high performance platform using the very latest hardware, and this will enable high end features which haven’t been provided on Freeview PVRs before. Humax had earlier attempts at DLNA-type features for its UK Freesat+ PVR, like streaming between PVR/STB/PC, but in proof of concept work the first generation machine suffered from performance issues which couldn’t be brought “up to scratch”, as a spokesman put it. Bob Hannent, Chief Technologist at Humax believes Freeview HD will be an exciting platform: “We have greater ambitions for next generation products because the next generation hardware will sustain more features and from day one we can plan”. Humax also said the next generation tech will be made available to customers on the Freesat platform.
Pricing hasn’t been confirmed by retailers, however the Freesat High definition PVR was released at £300 last year, and the Freeview+HD recorder should be around the same for the standard 500GB model. There will be an optional 1TB model on the HDR-FOX T2 , produced in more limited numbers, too. At this early stage the estimated release date is June.
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Estimated time of arrival
15/12/09 EDIT: Humax ETA is Summer 2010
29/01/10 EDIT: Humax ETA is Q3 2010
18/05/10 EDIT: Humax ETA is end of July
30/06/10 EDIT: Humax ETA is w/c 09 Aug
Related Posts:
Will Humax learn from mistakes with their Freesat HDR box?
1. Timers failing to record after a power-cut/cycle?
2. Play/Record/Pause/FF/FR/Stop buttons too small on the remote?
3. Two layers of plastics covering IR sensor rendering remote ineffective.
4. No buffer recording.
5. Restricted media/recording operations when recording.
6. Convoluted media/recording management.
Good list donkey_kong what about mistakes from the first generation of PVR’s like not holding the EPG in memory…
That may be true, but they still produce the best PVR’s available today.
What else comes close?
I’ve been using a PVR9200T since launch, and it’s worked flawlessly.
If they’re the best, I’d hate to see the worst!
I had a Sky+ box for 3 years and been totally happy with it. Then since getting a PVR9300, its been such a disappointment. The spec list reads pretty similar and gets good reviews but it seems like a half-arsed attempt at a PVR. Just basic things it doesn’t do like holding the EPG in memory and it taking hours to populate the full EPG, then put it in standby for a minute and its gone! Or recordings losing the last few minutes of programs. A pile of ****!!
… and don’t forget the lock up issue on the PVR9300. Humax have lost my faith in their products from that fiasco which has still not been resolved!
I suspect the Humax, like a lot of recorders simply record according to the times listed in the schedule.
Sounds like the older Humax models need a software update to include autopadding and an epg that
updates within minutes rather than hours, like our pvr-9150t.
From what I’ve read of humax recent pvr technology, starting with last years PVR for freesat,
those now have pretty much the best accurate recording performance and recording clash
management in the UK. As a freeview user interested in a freeview HD PVR this is a very good
sign Humax are starting to move forward with finding the right technology platform with which
to base their PVRs these days. The old stuff is simply too out dated and never had performance
room to cope with series link and accurate recording, let alone slow guide
I’ve watched the PVR “scene” in the UK for a few years, and always found the dominance of Humax very strange. Their machines are, by any reasonable measure, awful. For years they’ve been dogged by rebooting/freezing problems (blamed on “dodgy” broadcasts and “rogue” MHEG), missed recordings, hard drive corruption etc – but the bugs are only the half of it. The EPG being lost in standby has been a *feature* of every box they’ve made from the original 9200 to the latest 9300 some 4-5 years later, their users have howled about it endlessly for all that time, and yet nothing has changed. The strangest thing is that even after complaining to each other on forums and elsewhere about all the problems, Humax owners will still religiously tell each other – and anyone else who asks – that the Humax is definitely the best PVR on the market, bar none. Sadly, these days, they might even be right since there’s naff all competition anymore – the sheer weight of Humaxer’s seems to have all but crushed it.
Humax do make the best PVR’s but nothing is perfect.
The EPG storage problem is a pain but easily worked around (I only put my box into standby on a night). The only other annoying thing mine does occasionally is miss the last minute or so of a programme but this is down to the broadcaster not sending out the ‘accurate recording’ signal at the right time. You can switch ‘accurate recording’ off and pad to your hearts content if you prefer.
On every other front in the years I have owned it it has been faultless. I had plenty more problems with my Sky+ box (e.g. failed recordings, recordings I couldn’t watch, recordings with the wrong information against them etc).
I need a device with a good timer that transfers files easily to a PC and can play back in mpeg (.ts) Hopefully the next Humax will allow this. I travel around a lot and do not want my recordings tied to a device but need to take them with me. Slingbox has to do for the time being. I have used an archos av700tv up to now for my freeview recordings. If anyone knows of a pvr that does what I need please let me know.
Those who think the Humax PVRs are bad should try living with a Panasonic one!
I’ve had a Humax 9200T for a couple of years and it is the most unsatisfactory piece of electronics I have ever bought. Problems: freezing (I spend lots of my time on hands and knees looking for the on/off switch on the back to fix it), occasional failure of volume control on remote during playback, momentary blocks of picture missing during playback, epg taking forever to load and when loaded not stored in memory in standby. Humax have had plenty of time to fix at least some of these faults with a software upgrade but appear to have done nothing.
Some protest talk about the old pvr rather than the new one in this comments section. Two problems picked out here is the apparent go slow/non-response to the remote which can also look like a freeze up, and the slow to populate EPG which is lost when the old unit is switched off.
It may interest some if we relay Humax tell us there is a solution to both problems which they are planning to broadcast as a software update in a few weeks. A number of customers have obtained beta software from Humax in the meantime, and it is pleasing to see happy reports that the non-response to remote commands resolved.
It will be interesting to see how the new cached EPG feature some people have been asking for here is implemented, and the reaction, when the final software is ready for mass broadcast to all receivers.
More information on this topic here: http://www.pvrjunction.co.uk/humax-software-release-to-increase-performance-and-cache-epg/
Does anyone else find the following annoying? –
With my current/old 9200T when I select EPG, I continue to get picture & sound without pause, but checking out the freesat pvr in stores it appears you loose both! Anyone know if this is down to Freesat or the box itself? What will the new 2010(Freeview) model do?
Ebay advertising for first of july 2010 9 available
And lets not forget it doesn’t cost a tenner a month to own the Humax PVR unlike the Sky+
Had a 9200t for couple of years now and never looked back, bought or advised friends and family different flavors of Humax (9200, FoxsatHD etc) and had no complaints from anybody.
E-BAY say a date given 19/7/20010
available for sale 16th august
delivery tomorrow 12th august
arrived direct from humax direct up and running after i switched on at the back .
super delivery given a time slot of one hour on tracking spot on!
Jim
Humax HDR Fox T2
Just got one yesterday from currys using 5% off code (Offer ends Wednesday 1 September at 23:59) after clicking through http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ first, to get an extra 3% off.
Currys Price £299 (Free delivery)
-5% code £285
-3% cashback £275
Pros: Good picture, easy to use, good features.
Universal remote can control TV DVD & Audio using codes in the manual.
Can set the skip time to 4 minutes to skip adverts.
Cons: No picture in picture like old models, HD channel sound is too low compared to SD channel sound, Display on front of box is too dim and hard to read.
HDMI doesn’t switch TV to AV channel like a scart lead does.
Can’t switch between tuners with a swap button like my old Thompson DHD 4000, so you can’t swap chanel and go back without losing whats in the buffer.
When you press instant record doesn’t record from the begining of the program, you have to rewind to the place where you want recording to start.
When fast forwarding and rewinding you sometimes lose the sound and have to press pause and then play.
Not much to watch on HD channels yet.
Before you buy, make sure you can get HD at your post code