Freeview set-top-box specialist Humax is the unlikely winner in the race to deliver an affordable digital LCD TV with an in-built PVR digital recorder. But, while there's little doubt that the company's experience in tuners and recording devices has borne attractive fruit, can the LCD panel's match up to such lofty ambitions?
There's certainly nothing wrong with the video connectivity. In fact, a socket or two is pretty much provided for anything you could think of plugging into the set. Three Scarts are on offer, with two RGBenabled. S-video and regular composite AV inputs are catered for, and a component input is provided which handles both NTSC and PAL progressive scan as well as 720p/1080i high definition sources.
A PC can be connected through the standard VGA port (with corresponding stereo sound through mini-jack), but the coup de grâce is the DVI socket with full HDCP support. Not only does that mean you will be able to receive Sky's forthcoming HD broadcasts, but utilise the benefits of a host of new DVD players with video upscaling, such as Samsung's HD-945 (with a HDMI/DVI adaptor).
It also gives a cleaner picture from a media PC, than through standard VGA. There's one final surprise too. Tucked around the back is a USB 2.0 port for link to an external hard drive, which allows HDD recordings to be transferred from the internal drive. It means that recording space is only limited to the size of the external drive you attach - a major bonus if you don't particularly want to back everything up to DVD.
Aesthetically, this doesn't upset the fascia of the TV, as all connectivity is tucked away out of sight (around the back or on the side). Thought has clearly been put into matching bigger brand displays with its glossy black frame and smart, bottom-ranged speaker grille.
However, it's the interior gubbins that elevate the Humax to class leadership along with an impressive features list.
