Basic use

Pressing 'enter' accesses the channel navigator, and by default, the 'master list' of channels is displayed. Press the 'options' button, and you can access the 'all channels' list – a disappointing maximum of 6,000 – or sort channels according to provider. For more advanced sorting you have to select the main menu's 'TV (radio) lists organising' option.

From here, you can copy or remove channels from the all-channels list to the master list. The 'all channels' sorting functions include alphabetical order, free, new, HDTV, satellite and even language – but there's no ability to find a channel by progressively entering more of its name.

Another annoying characteristic of this receiver comes to the fore if you're using a motorised dish. When working through the all-channels list, the dish insists on moving to the currently highlighted one – a great way of wearing out your motor prematurely!

You have the six favourites lists (three TV, three radio), but we could find no reference to these anywhere in the menus. We had to wade through the manual to discover that favourites lists have to be turned on manually (this is a setup option). From then on, favourites can be defined by switching from the relevant master lists (i.e. radio or TV) to one of the three favourites.

This is daft – we would have thought that anyone wanting to remain sane would be using favourites by default. Disappointingly, you can't define favourite channels directly from the navigator. Rather than one button press, once they're switched on, favourites are available as a channel navigator 'option'. A more sensible system would be welcomed.

The EPG, which can program the timer directly, supports now-and-next and 7-day schedules. A neat feature is the 'SFI' button, which accesses an EPG now-and-next 'digest', complete with time-remaining bargraphs and the ability to proceed further through the schedules if available. This is tied in with Technisat's EPGPlus, an unusual system that involves downloading data from an unspecified transponder at 0.8°W.

Regrettably, the number of channels covered here is small and primarily Scandinavian, although a 'journal' function allows you to update user-defined channels from conventional DVB EPG. None of the UK's terrestrial channels is covered by the download, which is disappointing, given that on FTA (as opposed to Freesat) these broadcasters only offer now-and-next DVB EPG data.

Downloaded channels benefit from a 'genre' display mode for upcoming programmes, but this is denied to non-EPGplus channels that offer seven-day EPGs, such as the German ones. Odd, given the receiver's origins.

Other features include a picture zoom, teletext, subtitles and a useful channel technical information display, including bitrate and resolution. You'll also find a PiP function for insetting the picture of one channel into another. Only one of these can be an HD channel, which brings us to a severe limitation of the HD S2x.

Only one of the tuners is DVB-S2-compliant, which means that you can't view one HD channel while recording another (a twin-tuner model, the HD S2 Plus is forthcoming).

PVR and multimedia

Lack of dual-HD recording aside, the PVR functions rank very highly. An oddity to watch out for is that if the unit is in PVR mode, attempting to enter the menus will ask you if you want to stop recording. If you want to manually set or change the timer you'll have an interrupted recording.

However, you can still access the channel list and EPG – and play existing recordings, which are listed with a press of the green handset button. You can pause the current channel, kicking off the process of using the HDD as a buffer. You can then review, cue, jog/shuttle and play to your heart's content.