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| 1. | Tamara Bioylin | | 2. | Bill Colborne | | 3. | Carl Kirby | | 4. | John Fisher | | 5. | electrohead | | 6. | David Mellor | | 7. | wotslice | | 8. | Dave Oliver | | 9. | Gerald Racklin | | 10. | Maurice Allen | | See all active members |
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 Average Rating: 4 out of 5 No. of Reviews: 6 Weight: 0 RRP: £215 Description: Twin tuner freeveiw PVR 160gb, ablility to record two programs while watching a third.
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|  | | Posted: 06/02/07
Updated: 09/10/07 | | 'FANTASTIC' | | Strengths:
Excellent picture quality
Easy to set-up and use
Good quality of construction, twin receiver and playback functions are marvelous.[Update 09/10/07] Programme search function by name and Genre.
Driver Updates from Humax mean that as Freeview / Digital matures I'm not having to upgrade machine as new features become available I can just download new drivers from Humax and the machine is upgraded, cool or what! | | Weaknesses:
Some useful functions such as commercial skip are hidden under the remote flap.
Manual organisation is not particularly logical or intutitive and doesn't describe the LED display, but this is minor because the OSD menus are easy to use.[Update 09/10/07] The 9 Pin serial port for Laptop connection to download the upgrades is now a little bit of a pain as few laptops have anything other than USB. Not too bad as a converter fom Maplin is about £5.00 | | Overall:
I used to have a Pace Freeview box, OK most of the time but saw lots of bad pixellation on some channels and had to wait to for the EPG to load every time you hit the channel list. Realy didn't see the advantage of Digital TV in terms of picture quality.
On the Humax picture quality is sharper, better defined and don't think I've seen any pixellation yet or if I have it's minor so from a quality perspective it's streets ahead. OK the EPG takes a little time to load, I've just come from a system where you got this delay every time you went to channel list so this again to me, while a niggle is a huge plus.
The HDD is quiet even when recording on standby and the record / playback features look set to change the way I watch TV. Recording is just a matter highlighting a programme on the EPG and hitting a button to be reminded or record it. I've had the machine a few days (5/2/2007)and can confirm that it includes programme padding up to 5 minutes and the unit I have also seems to have a UHF loopback socket so those niggles are gone on new units.
Only real niggle is that on my old basic Pace system I could re-number my channels so didn't have to use the EPG to select programmes. Can't seem to this with the Humax, but on the plus side it does give a channel preview and the EPG once loaded stays loaded unless you go to standby. [Update 09/10/07] One month in and this has changed the way I watch TV. The EPG can be sorted by Genre and Name so you can search ahead for films or your favourite programme and set it to record. Biggest problem now is finding the time to view all the stuff I used to miss. Quality still excellent, disc capacity is proving to be more than I can watch, on the plus side I can time shift Cbeebies Bed Time Hour forward from disc storage if we need the kids in bed early!
6 Months on and I'm seeing some real advantaged in Humax's commitment to Freeview through their website driver updates. Some of this stuff will come over the terrestrial updates but some is website only. I've just downloaded an update for PDC to get over those clumsy programme start / end buffers and it looks like there are more goodies to come as the service as a whole is updated like being able to set a recording from a programme advertisement and series link. (Yes I know sky does this already) |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Build | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 19/02/07 | | 'GOOD PERFORMANCE - EASY TO USE' | | Strengths:
Simple layout, clear audio via SPDIF, Ample HD size. | | Weaknesses:
Bulky box, software update via serial cable (from PC). | | Overall:
Had mine a few days now and find it very easy for all my family to use.
Pity it can't record via the SCART socket but it is very good at what it is. Good freeview tuner.
Files transfered to PC then burnt to DVD are of good quality and for the number of times I want to archive a programme to disc, I can ommit the need to purchase a model with DVD recorder attached.
Happy with the purchase. |
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| | | | Performance | | 80% | | Build | | 60% | | Value | | 60% |
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| | | | Posted: 16/01/07 | | 'A VERY WELL DESIGNED PVR' | | Strengths:
Picture Quality.
Speed.
Capacity.
Record 2 Channels, watch a third.
MP3 and photo capabilities. | | Weaknesses:
Sound output is a little low.
| | Overall:
I have owned a number of PVRs over the past few years and kept coming back to the TIVO, which I loved for its 'intelligence'. This Humax is the first PVR that has been able to satisfy me sufficiently to move away from the TIVO for good. I can see myself owning this box for 10 years ahead, it is that good. |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Build | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 26/04/06
Updated: 05/06/06 | | 'GREAT PERFORMANCE BUT LET DOWN BY EPG' | | Strengths:
The PVR-9200T is well-built with clean an simple lines. It is reliable, quiet and runs cool. Picture quality is excellent and the large 160Gbyte disk means there is no need for long-play features. | | Weaknesses:
The 7-day EPG is not stored on the hard disk and can take several minutes to load when switching on from standby. Frustrating if all you want to do is record one programme and go out. Also, there is no time-bracketing feature so if programmes don't run exactly on schedule you can miss the beginning or the end. | | Overall:
Opening the box reveals a well built product with clear and simple documentation, a good quality SCART lead and a passable remote control. The only obvious omission being a UHF fly lead for looping the aerial connection through to the TV.
I hate plug-top power supplies and was gratified to discover a captive mains lead with a standard 3-pin plug. Set-up took just a few minutes and, switching on, the box took less time to find all the channels than it took me to connect it up.
Picture quality is excellent, only being limited by the quality of the broadcast and recording quality is indistinguishable from live broadcasts. Following power-on, the hard disk makes some clicking noises but this stops after about 2 minutes and the unit is then more or less silent.
The menu system is pretty intuitive and easy to use. One neat feature is that the PVR9200T remembers where you were in EVERY recording you have been watching so that you can instantly return to where you left off regardless of what you have been watching in the meantime - nice.
Niggles:
The EPG as already mentioned.
One of the most useful buttons, the one that shows the list of recorded programmes, is hidden under the flap on the remote with all the seldom used features (silly).
Initial power-on from standby takes about 30 seconds to respond to the remote and you're left wondering if you actually pressed the button properly.
Conclusion:
This is a great product and, with a few software tweaks, it could be truly excellent. See my review of the Digifusion FVRT100 and almost everything I criticised about that doesn't apply to the PVR9200T. The Humax just sits there and gets on with the job like any piece of mass-market consumer electronics should.[Update 05/06/06] Update 5th May 2006
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Humax have just released a new version of software that now provides the time-bracketing feature. Also, a much improved chase-play function. |
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| | | | Performance | | 80% | | Build | | 80% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 12/02/06
Updated: 06/03/06 | | | | | Performance | | 100% | | Build | | 80% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 09/02/06 | | 'BETTER PICTURE QUALITY THAN THE TOPFIELD' | | Strengths:
Great picture quality (for Freeview), both on reception and playback.
Easy set up - intuitive, clearly laid out menu.
Signal strength.
Record two channels while watching a third, or playback from recording.
| | Weaknesses:
Not HDTV ready (seen HDTV already - not impressed anyway) | | Overall:
Was unfortunate enough not be able to try out the Topfield in direct comparison with the Humax in-store. Plumped for the Topfield initially, having read reviews of it, bought one for home. Set up relatively easy, although instruction book has clearly been written by some techie geek in his basement - full of acronyms and flow charts. Didn't matter anyway, after spending a bit of cash on a telly with a decent picture, I was disappointed to see that the Topfield picture was poor - too soft for me: the hard drive didn't work anyway. So I took it back, and snapped up the Humax 9200. I was relieved to see that the picture quality is superb - sharp, with great definition, handling colours and blacks well, with no observable pixellation, and looks great on the Philips 9618 CRT. It also changes channels with fluency and minimal delay, and no lag typical of some other models (including the Topfield!). Signal reception is faultless with no drop or impairment since I bought it in November. The instruction manual is clearly laid out - 'family friendly' - and easy to follow with actual on screen set-up a breeze. When it comes to recording, just touch the red button if already in chosen show, with the option of extending record time by an extra few minutes just to be safe. If scheduling, this can be done through the on-screen EPG - once again at the touch of a button, with edit facilities available if changes need to be made. Playback is accessible through the drop down menu which lists all recorded shows in chronological sequence - simply a matter of highlighting chosen one and pressing play for viewing. The commercial skip function is a flaming godsend, jumping over irritating commercials and dropping you back straight down into the start of the show in a flash. With its capacity to record two channels while watching a third, combined with playback of recorded shows without messy videotape and all in a straightforward, easy to use layout, my girlfriend and I have got nothing left to argue about, and may have to have children just to bring back some friction to the relationship. Its also got a USB port on the front for software upgrades - presumably, could be used for recording on to a DVD burner, but frankly with a large hard drive still with hours of capacity left, I'm not that bothered at this stage. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the Humax. Obviously it's not for everyone, but if you're looking to bin the video, increase your recording capacity twofold and get great Freeview reception into the bargain along with good build quality, then I can't recommend it highly enough. In this world of hype, it's reassuring to find a product that does what it promises. |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Build | | 80% | | Value | | 100% |
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