Joanne Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I'm after a freesat HD + with recording facilities box jobby. Seen this: Humax HDR1100S 500GB Black | Freesat+ Freetime Box 500GB Hard Drive PVR | Richer Sounds Anyone got one? Any good? Currently I'm on a subscription-less sky+ HD box and I do not have all the freeview like they said I would. Naughty sky.
LosOjos Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I don't own that particular box, but myself and family have all owned various Humax boxes over the years and they've all been fantastic. They tend to be a bit pricier than the competition, but well worth the investment in my opinion. If you can afford a Humax, go for it!
Joanne Posted December 3, 2015 Author Posted December 3, 2015 Cool. Initially I was under the impression that the box I wanted was £80... but actually all the features I want are in this box. Still cheaper than a sky subscription!
abillybob Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Listening to the CNET podcast the other day and they where speaking about SKY. Apparently SKY are looking into ways in the future to completely ditch the satellite and use an internet connection instead, the reason SKY costs so much is because they have to maintain a satellite (or multiple not 100% sure) and you're paying for that cost, plus their profit obviously. They reckon if they where to do the same service somehow via a internet connection instead prices for consumers would drop for up to 60%.
Dos_Box Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I was after buying a Humax box recently but the only thing that put me off was the lack of a Netflix app. I just want my Virgin Tivo box to die a horrible death now!
LosOjos Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Apparently SKY are looking into ways in the future to completely ditch the satellite and use an internet connection instead Yeah, they're starting to roll out such a service soon: Sky Q - Overview - Your wireless home entertainment system It won't be completely internet based, but it's a step in that direction. Essentially, this is how Virgin works already. They reckon if they where to do the same service somehow via a internet connection instead prices for consumers would drop for up to 60%. I doubt the cost to consumers will drop - Sky's costs will certainly drop, but they won't drop their prices much (if at all) as they'll be happy to rake in all that extra profit.
yugo Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Bought a refurb HDR-1010S 1TB a couple of months back and it has worked well, some of the menus can be a little slow to load but overall I'm happy with it.
Duranis Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Slight thread high jack but just in case someone has a quick answer. Is there a viable alternative to sky subscription if you want to have Sky Atlantic, Fox, Watch and Sci-Fi channel? There are only a few TV's shows we really watch and they are all on these 4 channels but I couldn't find any other single service that offered them all which would be cheaper.
Joanne Posted December 3, 2015 Author Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Slight thread high jack but just in case someone has a quick answer. Is there a viable alternative to sky subscription if you want to have Sky Atlantic, Fox, Watch and Sci-Fi channel? There are only a few TV's shows we really watch and they are all on these 4 channels but I couldn't find any other single service that offered them all which would be cheaper. I found the same... I umm.... "aquire" my programs somehow, magically. I want a normal box for casual viewing. I'll always "aquire" the programs I really like to watch whenever I want. I thought Watch was a freeview channel? Like Dave ? Am I wrong? Le edit - yes I am wrong! I cancelled sky after my £5.50 a month contract ended... best they could do was £27... LOL NOPE! Edited December 3, 2015 by Joanne
Dos_Box Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I found my Netflix subscription on a Roku 3 and a decent Kodi build (such as Andy's Build) on a dedicated media PC (I use one of these: Tronsmart Ara BJ19 | Tronsmart) can pretty much meet all of your viewing needs.
pooley Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 A mix of netflix, youtube, discreet torrenting and a not altogether 100% legal Sly box have me well enough connected not to miss anything.
mole Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Just bought one, well a HDR 1000s 500GB direct from Humax, graded but as good as new £99.99p plus next day delivery by DPD for £7. HDR-1000S 500GB
mole Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 https://recombu.com/digital/article/netflix-humax-narcos-jessica-jones
Nibiru Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Currently I'm on a subscription-less sky+ HD box and I do not have all the freeview like they said I would. Naughty sky. The Sky free channels have always been significantly different from the Freeview offerings. However the differences will be reducing in the next few weeks when 3 or 4 of the UKTV channels drop the encryption & go clear (Yesterday Drama & Really) (Standard definition versions only) Edited December 3, 2015 by Nibiru
Nibiru Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 Listening to the CNET podcast the other day and they where speaking about SKY. Apparently SKY are looking into ways in the future to completely ditch the satellite and use an internet connection instead, the reason SKY costs so much is because they have to maintain a satellite (or multiple not 100% sure) and you're paying for that cost, plus their profit obviously. They reckon if they where to do the same service somehow via a internet connection instead prices for consumers would drop for up to 60%. Sky transmit off 3 satellites - & they own ANY of the satellites they transmit on - they are owned by SES Astra based in Luxembourg. Sky rent their all capacity exactly the same as the BBC & ITV do. Sky have vastly overpaid for their last lot of football rights, and now its starting to show. It will be decades before the internet infrastructure in the UK is ready to turn off satellite tv signals - I live 1.5 miles from the local fibred town & I get 2.6meg at home. Which is just about ok for running youtube vids on!
jinnantonnixx Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I've got an ancient Humax Foxsat box and it's still trucking on. The menus are very clunky, but it's utterly reliable. Coupled with a Chromecast and Netflix and there's more than enough choice with which to fritter away my time. Virgin broadband-only coming into the house. No phone line.
steveking Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 I replaced my sky+ box with a humax hdr 1000s. Using the menu is a little slow, and you seem to need to press enter one too many times for most operations, but it works fine, is reliable and I'm happy that I ditched my sky telly sub for it. I also like that I can pause radio, which you can't do on the sky box. It doesn't have a built in rf modulator, so I had to buy one to let me carry on watching telly upstairs without rewiring the house - but that's not a big issue.
Joanne Posted December 4, 2015 Author Posted December 4, 2015 Thanks for the replies everyone. We have decided to go for the £189 Humax box. I want the + functionality and we want something that is reliable. Our sky+ HD box was a pig the entire time we had it, but I always managed to get it working again. I already have a tiny PC attached to the TV, but it's pretty bad at streaming HD (I think because of its inadequate processor) and I'd rather have the TV box as the main thing we use to flick through channels and stuff. Now where to buy it from. I know they have them in stock at PC World.....
TIOAOA Posted December 4, 2015 Posted December 4, 2015 Virgin broadband-only coming into the house. No phone line. @jinnantonnixx Do you get a good price for that? When I looked into it disconnecting the phone made my monthly cost rise
Poults Posted December 4, 2015 Posted December 4, 2015 From the link posted about Netflix coming to Humax boxes, apparently you can beta test it here: Beta
jinnantonnixx Posted December 4, 2015 Posted December 4, 2015 (edited) @jinnantonnixx Do you get a good price for that? When I looked into it disconnecting the phone made my monthly cost rise Not really. I pay £27.50 a month. It's an odd amount, but it's less than the standard BB only. I don't know why. I might look into getting the price down. Although there's a BT fibre cab in the street, I don't want to use rickety BT phone technology. Once you have cable, there's no going back. Edited December 4, 2015 by jinnantonnixx
Nibiru Posted December 8, 2015 Posted December 8, 2015 The Sky free channels have always been significantly different from the Freeview offerings. However the differences will be reducing in the next few weeks when 3 or 4 of the UKTV channels drop the encryption & go clear (Yesterday Drama & Really) (Standard definition versions only) The standard definition versions of Yesterday Drama & Really went clear in the last 24 hours & should be added to Freesat epg's 162/163/164 today sometime.
Joanne Posted December 8, 2015 Author Posted December 8, 2015 Nice. Really has some good "take your brain out" programming
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