In 2006, before Humax's HDCI-5000 was born, the HDCI-2000 was one of an elite breed. It wasn't the first FTA HD satellite receiver, but the 2000 could accommodate the cutting-edge H.264 and DVB-S2 standards.
You could use it to watch the BBC HD channel and also tune into the emerging European HD channels. Courtesy of its CI slots, the 2000 also made provision for European hi-def pay-TV.
Build and connectivity
The HDCI-5000 sells for about £100 less than its predecessor. The midi-sized 5000 is, alas, nowhere near as svelte in appearance, and the 2000's fluorescent display has been downsized to four green LED digits. In addition, you'll only find a single CI slot under the drop-down flap – the 2000 had two.
Front panel controls are minimal. There are no menu buttons, and so the blandly styled but solid handset is essential. And you'll need a PC to read the manual CD-ROM.
You get the (single-tuner) LNB input and output, component output, twin Scarts and optical digital output of the 2000, as well as its composite and analogue-audio socketry. Among these connectors is a switch that forces you to choose between component and RGB Scart.
Where the 5000 scores over the 2000 is in its provision of Ethernet connectivity. This terminal, which has so much potential, is described in the manual as a 'service port'. We hope Humax will do something useful with it in time.
GET CONNECTED: Humax have included an Ethernet port with the HDCI-5000, as well as the expected options like HDMI, component video and optical audio output
The 2000's RS232 port has gone AWOL. Humax has instead hedged its bets on the USB Host port – described in the manual as 'connecting to the USB memory or external HDD'. So can PVR functionality can be added?
Not at the moment. The USB port (also on the 2000) is currently provided for backing-up or restoring channel databases. No mention has been made of firmware upgrades here; these are (or will be) available over the air.
Setup
Unusually, the 5000 is compatible with SCD (Single Cable Distribution), a clever band-shifting system that allows up to eight receivers to be fed from a purpose-designed LNB via a single cable. SCD is one of the 'antenna type' options of the receiver's friendly 'setup wizard'. This also takes you through language, time-zone, default channel lists, dish configuration, initial searching and display configuration.
The wizard only covers simple DiSEqC switchboxes; further setup is necessary for motorised dishes. This wipes any previous searches from its memory; motorised dish users should cancel the search, let the wizard run its course and engage manual setup.
Which takes us to the slick and beautifully designed menu system, the options of which are divided among four groups. 'Preferences' looks after languages, time/ date and AV settings (such as Scart output, aspect-ratio, display mode and – if you're not using HDMI – lip sync correction).
From 'edit channels', you can delete, move, rename and restore channels. There's also the ability to import/export channel lists to/from USB – although we couldn't get this to work.
The third option is 'installation', and it's from here that your motorised dish is configured. From its 'edit satellite data' option, the satellites you can receive can be 'activated'. The DiSEqC positioner, which caters for 1.2 or USALS, is excellent – not only can you call on any positions residing in your mount's memory, but you have complete control over movement – continuous or (variable) steps in either direction. There's also a 'recalculate' function, and dish-limit setting.
You can search all transponders of the selected satellite, or just focus on one – it's also easy to define and store a new transponder for future searches. This is the closest the 5000 gets to manual searching. Parameters here are the expected frequency, polarity, symbol rate, modulation type (DVB-S or DVB-S2) and FEC. Disappointingly, no provision for PID entry has been made and blind-search is absent.
HD HAPPY: The HDCI-5000 had little trouble finding available HD channels, but Humax has yet to implement a workaround for accessing ITV HD
With a motorised dish searching couldn't be easier. You choose the satellite you want, the dish moves to the appropriate position, then you specify the terms of the search (free and/or encrypted, radio and/or TV) and off it goes. What a shame that automatic multi-satellite searches are not allowed.
Other installation menu options cover over-the-air firmware updates and a master reset. Finally, we have the 'system' menu, which reveals receiver and CI module status.
Navigation
Humax receivers traditionally score well in navigation terms, and the 5000 is no exception, owing to its fast channel-change and sensible use of the handset's coloured fast-text keys. Channels can be sorted alphabetically, or by conditional-access status.
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