Humax HDR-FOX T2

NOT A 5*

Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD Twin Tuner with 1TB Recorder

Have had this for 1 yr 1 week and it says the harddrive in no longer working and has to be formatted. So basically it's lost everything we recorded for the last year. I'm now wondering why we bothered to pay over £300 for this 1TB unreliable recorder. It has become my worst electronic purchase ever and I doubt I will ever buy Humax again. 

Like many reviewers I was quite impressed with it when first purchased although have found it experiences many minor niggles which others have found too and posted on various forums. But the loss of the hard drive makes this a useless product. 

My advice DONOT BUY. Look at other forums, others have had the same problem as me. Will update on what Humax respond.

Bought one of these a couple of weeks ago to replace my dead panasonic dvd/hdd recorder.  Overall I'm exccedingly pleased with it,  my only complaint is that the play/FF/REW/Stop/Pause buttons are TINY!   Surely some of the most frequently used buttons on a PVR shoudl be bigger so I don't have to peer at the remote closely!

Was most impressed last night when there was a trailer for the new episode of Ab Fab, and a green button appeared at the top right of the screen saying 'book it' or something like that,  pressing that popped up a window allowing me to add the program to my recording schedule.  Not a feature I've seen before, but definitely one that I like! 

After many years happily using a 9200T, upgraded to the Fox T2. I wasn't expecting any major problems, but I have encountered a couple. One is particularly annoying in that the Humax doesn't sync with my TV correctly (for the moment I have a workaround see below). This is reported by other users, but only seems to effect some TVs (there is no definitive list of which), and has been made worse by the Feb 2011 software update, where the problem is particularly bad if the Humax starts recording from Standby. Humax are aware of the problem and are working on a fix but have no release date for the fix. I have a Samsung UE 46C6530 TV. The second issue is sound volume differences between HD and SD channels, this a problem for all PVRs but seems to be worse on the Humax.

Something that seems to work for me (but not necessarily for you) is:

• At first usage on a day Switch on TV first and then the Humax. Will get "No Signal" message on TV
• Switch off TV and Humax.
• Switch on TV first and then immediately switch on the Humax (this time they "see"/sync with each other)
• Leave on the Humax (to prevent it going into Standby and thereforefore the Sync problems associated with this (also ensure the power saving options in the Humax Settings are off)
• Use Timer option on the Humax to switch the Humax off at the end of the day.
• Next day repeat the above!

Note: other users report switching the Humax on first waiting a few seconds and then the TV works for them. Sometimes I found this has worked but have found the above approach more reliable.

Well the manufacturer has been promising us one for quite a while now (we were given a demo of the prototype months ago), and as I understand it the 3View box still has to be certified by Freeview.

PaulHunter22 - the review is referring to other set-top boxes, not TVs.

Thanks Andy. Instead of waiting for a free one, can't you just buy one?

This product gets five stars, but what other Freeview HD recorders have been tested yet? Can we get a head-to-head review? I'm mainly interested in seeing how the Humax box compares with the box from 3view.

What's the point of shelling out for this when the Humax HD-FOX T2 will have PVR capabilities with Octobers firmware update?

Hi Clare,

The point I'm making about the Sony TV is that I don't have to the switch resolutions of the HDR FOX T2 at all.  Therefore the problem the Review refers to is not going to be a problem for everybody.

Quote from the Review:

"Unlike some of its other products, Humax doesn�t allow you to output the original video signal � you have to switch resolution to suit a 576i SD or 1080i HD broadcast or stick with one resolution for all, which means using the box�s internal scaler � not ideal."

My Sony Bravia TV (KDL 32S2010) DOES allow automatic switching of the resolution - no hassle for me!

Have to say- this box applies too much noise reduction or poorly processed SD pictures when on HDMI. It needs the option to output the original resolution too.

SD picture quality is quite poor compared to my old Humax9200T via Scart and my TV's own internal tuner.

Setting it to 576i on HDMI improves things but it still isn't as clear or sharp as scart!!. The Freesat box and the other HDMI enabled Humax products are just the same.

@Late8: Humax gives resolution formats of 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576p, 576i. I would of though this means it can output the original source resolution.

I've just evaluated all the leading HD PVR contenders, and ended up buying the Digital Stream DHR8205.

At £200 and the Humax at £300 I have to challenge WHF's "Best Buy" status for the Humax! The DS is easily as good, and arguably better in some areas.

The test of the Digital Stream here says "Just tops the pile in its price class, but it's expensive". So why then award the Humas as its 2010 product?!

I do wonder whether there is a Humax bias going on here!

Regards to all,

Jonathan

Thanks for the feedback Andy, very helpful.

I'd love to know then what makes the Humax worth another �100 over the others?

And did you copmare the two side by side to make your assessment?

Wondering if anyone can help? i'm looking at getting a new freeview+ HD???, so far im looking at the Humax, but unfortunately i don't know enough to pick one out without getting burned again, and at the same time can anyone recomend a decent Arial Booster please? cheers

I bought the Humax HDR-FOX T2 to replace a Humax PVR-9300T. There was nothing wrong with the 9300T but I wanted both HD channels and USB facility.

At first I was frustrated with the USB feature as all my downloaded films were displayed vertically stretched and pressing the screen format (wide/16:9 etc) buttons on both TV and Humax did nothing to correct this. I emailed Humax who admit the T2 has "Issues" regarding the playback of videos from USB memory sticks/devices. Eventually after 3 email responses they finally came up with a solution. Longwinded but it works. If anyone has a similar problem, post on here and I'll tell you what to do.

The T2 plays back downloaded MP4 format You Tube videos and you can organise them in folders just like on a PC. This is a great feature as finding stored videos is very easy and quick.

Pros: Lovely to use and wonderful screen menus. Great features.

Cons: Orange LCD display. Plus the most frequently used buttons: Play, Pause, Stop etc are very small and too close together. You have to switch a light on the see which button you're pressing, unlike the 9300T's remote which was easy to use in the dark by touch alone. Also, "Auto Display Format" doesn't work for films played from a USB memory device.

benb, we STILL haven't received the 3View box for test, despite numerous requests, but we did publish a roundup of four Freeview HD boxes in our Sept 2010 issue. You can read the reviews here:

http://www.whathifi.com/Reviews/Digital-TV-boxes-Reviews/Freeview-Reviews/

jonathanD, the Digital Stream was tested in August in a sub-�300 PVR roundup between it, Philips, Sagem and Technika so was considered a bit pricey in the context of that test (as opposed to up against the Humax).

As it's now dropped to �200 (�199 at John Lewis I see), that makes it excellent value and a worthy buy.

There's no Humax bias, it's still a very well sorted product and worth the price premium in our opinion.