Freesat HD - cheapest decent box?

rjgb

Hi all,

Not sure if there is already a thread relating to this (had a look but couldn't see one).

I am interested in getting Freesat HD, and wondered if anyone had seen any good deals on Freesat HD boxes. We've just moved into a house that has a dish up, and there are two satellite leads coming into the lounge. Not convinced that we need a recorder though, as we don't watch that much TV!

I've heard Humax are the leaders in the field, Grundig and Goodmans are OK, and Bush are about average.

I'd prefer a Humax for less than £100. Possible??

What's the best price anyone has seen at which I could buy a Humax HD box? Price to beat is £127 (here: http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/444855/HUMAX-FOXSAT-HD).

What's the best price anyone has seen at which I could buy an HD box from another manufacturer? Price to beat is £99.99 for a Grundif here: http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/444332/GRUNDIG-GUFSATHD

Thanks in advance! :beer:

rjgb

OK, some progress already...!

Humax Foxsat HD at £119.95 at Richer Sounds

(http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/product/freeview-freesat-pvr/humax/foxsat-hd/huma-foxsathd-box)

macman

Hummy is well worth the extra £19.95 over your budget.
But why not buy a refurb direct from them at £89, it still comes with a 1 year warranty, as opposed to the 2 years you get from new:
http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=10070&cat=stb

rjgb

macman wrote: »

Hummy is well worth the extra £19.95 over your budget.

Hi macman - Why do you say that? Does it give a better picture quality or more useful features, compared with other brands?

rjgb

macman wrote: »

But why not buy a refurb direct from them at £89

That looks like a good idea. They say it is repaired to an "as new standard".

Have you (or anyone else!) any experience of buying a Grade A product from Humax? Did everything go smoothly and work OK?

macman

rjgb wrote: »

That looks like a good idea. They say it is repaired to an "as new standard".

Have you (or anyone else!) any experience of buying a Grade A product from Humax? Did everything go smoothly and work OK?

The Humax interface is just so much better than anything else on the market (I'm speaking as a PVR 9300T owner, but the interface is similar).
A refurb should be just as good as new as they will have been repaired and tested individually. In many cases they are not even faulty, but just returns which cannot then be sold as new, possibly very minor cosmetic damage which you can't even see. The only downside is the shorter warranty, but if anything is going to fail then it's probably going to happen in the first year anyway.
Personally I'd pay the extra for a PVR, but that is your choice.

rjgb

As I say, we're not too fussed about recording TV etc, so no need for a PVR.

However, if we were to later change our minds, would it be possible to link the Humax Foxsat HD to any kind of *separate* digital recording device?

If so, are there significant advantages/disadvantages of doing this?

macman

You could connect it to a hard disk recorder. But I'd just eBay the Freesat box and upgrade to a Foxsat PVR.
If you try a Humax PVR, I'm certain you'll buy it, as the record/delay/series record operation is so intuitive. I hardly ever used to do timer recording with my old VCR, now I record things all the time, as it's just a couple of clicks.

almillar

rjgb - a lot of HD content is likely to have anti copying flags attached so that it stays stuck on a device, so you may not be able to record in HD.
You'd also have to set 2 timers to record a programme, and obviously run 2 devices. I'd take macman's advice and either be prepared to sell and upgrade, or buy the HDR now.

Retro_Bunny

I've got the Bush Freesat HD receiver, a cheapy £69 from Argos a while back and it's perfectly okay. ITV HD on the football is very good. Easy to use etc and simple remote.
I couldn't see the point of anything more expensive, when there's only two HD freesat channels anyway, and most programmes on these aren't available in HD either.
Will probably upgrade once more HD comes available or go for recorder.

rjgb

Just to tie up this thread - I got the refurnished Humax HD Freesat box for £89 + p&p. Dead easy to set up, get all available channels, and crystal clear HD pictures. Couldn't ask for more! It even arrived just over a day after I ordered it. :j

What's better is that the BBC has announced that iPlayer will be trialled from later this month! Will be able to get it through the Ethernet connection.

So that's a tip - get an HD box and ensure it has an Ethernet connection (I expect most or all do). You'll then be able to get BBC programmes on demand. I expect other channels will later follow suit (perhaps within the next 2 years), thus reducing the need for an expensive device to record any programmes.

That's MoneySaving! :beer: