Humax box help please?

merlin1

Hello all, I have just read numerous threads on downgrading sky tv to freesat and it would seem the general consensus is to pay out for a humax freesat box instead of paying sky £10.50 a month to keep the recording option. (being able to record is a must for us)

I wondered though if you could advise on which box? I have been looking at this one -

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-blu-ray/digital-tv-services/freesat/humax-hb-1000s-freesat-hd-with-freetime-box-21656672-pdt.html#longDesc

- however it doesnt have an inbuilt hard drive, it does take a usb external hard drive. I have a 500gb external hd that i can use. could i then use this hard drive to plug into my laptop to watch the recorded programmes also?

Or... On humax direct (managers special) they have a humax box with an inbuilt 500gb hd for £159.00 AND usb connections. can I move recorded programmes from the box to my hard drive and watch them elsewhere? would it be worth the extra £30.00 than paying sky a tenner a month over a year? and the extra £60.00 over the first box?

both boxes appear to have smart tv options in the specs and both are HD with "freetime"
I'm really just trying to suss out whats best, and i'm finding it a bit of a minefield, although i am confident that freesat will suit me as all the channels i watch are available.

So all you humax users, what would you recommend? I certainly wouldnt want to pay any more than than £159 that much i do know

Many thanks in advance
Merlin x:)

Kurtis_Blue

You really need the freesat PVRs with in built storage, as they come with twin tuners.

Meaning you will be able to record one channel whilst viewing another, you will find this is difficult if not impossible with a single tuner.

merlin1

Thank you that's a definite vote for the more expensive one then! I do indeed watch one record another and i would miss that option.

Is it possible to choose where the programe records to should i plug in an external hard drive ? or 'drag n drop' from the box to the hard drive do you know? It's no major thing but being able to do so would blow the sky+ box right out of the water! :rotfl:

Its a shame I cant save my recordings on the sky+ box somehow, but heyho,

almillar

If you're going to stop using your Sky+ box, there's a tasty 3.5" (desktop) hard drive in there that you can use in an enclosure or another computer.
Freetime box is the best Freesat box if you can stretch to it, especially if you're gonna use on demand stuff.

merlin1

Thanks almillar will i be able to access my recordings of the the sky+ hard drive or is it encrypted?

The deed is done - i've bought the 500gb humax freesat with freetime and have cancelled my sky tv subscription, so now all they are providing me with is the phone and broad band happy days and cheaper bills

Merlin x

almillar

Nope. You can take it out, plug it into a PC, copy it to another drive then put in another Sky box, but the VIEWING or RECORDING is only enabled by the card in the Sky box decrypting it. The exception to this would be BBC programming, which is not encrypted. Still not sure if you can view it outside of a Sky box. You do know that if you really want to keep stuff from your Sky box, you can plug a recorder into the SCART, SVideo or Composite plugs of the Sky box and copy them over? Sky call this archiving. If you've a DVD burner or something, or even an old VCR, you can keep whatever you like off it. And no, your new Humax can't record from the Sky box before you ask ;-)