Freeview HD receivers such as Humax's own HD-FOX T2 are great for watching subscription-free high definition TV but are no use when it comes to time shifting, as the copy protection police won't allow you to make HD recordings on to external devices such as a DVD recorder or PVR.
Hence the significance of Freeview+ HD, where several players are eager to cash in on a potentially lucrative market.
The HD-FOX T2 was the first ever Freeview HD receiver, but Humax sensibly avoided trying to cash in on the World Cup with a prematurely early release of its debut PVR – a lesson that Sagemcom will have learnt with its RT190-320 T2 HD, which was poorly received, and is only now properly ready for sale, having received numerous software updates.
Humax has a very good reputation in the Freeview PVR market, and the HDR-FOX T2 is expected to do a similar job for the company in the fledgling HD sector. The box certainly has its work cut out, with rival models appearing left, right and centre on an almost weekly basis.
Competing products
The HDR-FOX T2 joins the likes of the Samsung BD-C8500M, Digitalstream DHR8205U, Triax T2-HD 217 PVR, Philips HDT 8520, 3view 3VHD, Sharp TU-T2HR32 and the aforementioned Sagemcom among the Freeview+ HD fraternity, alongside as models including the Panasonic DMR-BW880, which brings a Blu-ray burner to the party, allowing you to copy HD shows in high definition on to Blu-ray.
The mega-bucks Panasonic aside, most Freeview+ HD boxes are priced at around £300 for a 500GB model, with one or two 320GB variants available for just £50 less.
The 3View model is easily the best value uniquely offering BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Facebook and Google online browsing, plus multi-media networking, with the promise of Sky Player to come.
As it stands, Humax's HDR-FOX T2 is geared up to enjoy VoD later in the year, with Sky Player and possibly BBC iPlayer joining the PVR party, courtesy of a software update.
For now, the box's non-Freeview talents are restricted to multimedia file playback from USB or DLNA compliant devices connected over a wired network.
Your comments (8) Click to add a new comment
geezer
February 14th 2011
8. When playing audio or radio a screensaver appears after a few minutes and hops about annoyingly all over the screen. I rang up to ask how to stop this and was told I can't. That's a deal-breaker for me, I couldn't stand having the screen doing that all day. So alas, it will have to go back to the shop.
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bigal06
August 27th 2010
7. RRP was expected to be £349 before launch but now more like £329. Many retailers are cutting the price of Humax's latest box to just £299 and with the current voucher codes this now comes out at £284. Check the latest prices at http://www.humaxfoxsat.co.uk/HDR-FOX-T2-Freeview/ - <a href="http://www.humaxfoxsat.co.uk/HDR-FOX-T2-Freeview/">http://www.humaxfoxsat.co.uk/HDR-FOX-T2-Freeview/</a>
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robin1
August 27th 2010
6. Humax informed me by e-mail that the HDR Fox-T2 will accept the current TopUp TV Anytime card. I do not have, or want, the ESPN card. Your review comments puzzle me. I now do not know whether to cancel my TopUp subscription or continue. I have two original TopUp boxes and they have both failed - as did every one of that manufacturers product I've possessed. Secondly, will the Humax box allow me to transfer actual or saved files to an external BluRay or DVD recorder or computer Hard Drive?
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opticsman
August 14th 2010
5. I have been looking forward to the release of the Humax Freeview HD PVR and I'm sure the HD picture quality is great. However I'm somewhat concerned that it cannot recognise my AVCHD .h264 camcorder files (the latest codec used by my brand new Sony HDR-XR550VE camcorder).
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bradavon
August 12th 2010
4. That's impressive you can copy media to the hard disk. I didn't think the Humax Freeview+ PVR could do this.
I still like the look of the 3view PVR more, which too will have BBC iPlayer (eventually).
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scarter
August 9th 2010
3. You haven't linked to the techradar review of the DigitalStream 320GB version that is functionally the same as the 500GB version mentioned.
[URL="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/digital-tv-recorders/digital-stream-dhr8203u-694518/review?artc_pg=4"]DigitalStream DHR8203U[/URL]
Update for the DigitalStream review - As of July 1st Update - DD5.1 SPDIF and faster EPG navigation.
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bob_cat
August 9th 2010
2. You can skip forward in the EPG by using the video skip buttons under the record button, same with most Humax products.
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philbean
August 9th 2010
1. The sound dropout is worrying as its a fault that has plagued many Freeview boxes over the past few years.
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