Freeview set top box?

Graham W

Graham W

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Graham
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Ok ladies and gentlemen. I'm after recommendations for a set top box to record and give me access to "Catch Up Telly".
I've had a snoop around t'internet and they seem to vary wildly pricewise and are made by companies I've never heard of!

We've just had a shiny new aerial to access Freeview so it's time to tell Virgin to shove it with their £84.00 a month.

What do I need?
 
I have a humax Freesat box that records, rewinds and catchup tv. It also has YouTube, Netflix apps etc. Cost £185 but it’s a pretty decent box.

My only complaint is that it takes a while (60+ seconds) to start up.

Oh, you can also download an app for remote recording, viewing TV guide and other stuff.
 
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Another vote for Humax here.

They're generally reliable (though some models have been buggy in the past) and their customer service is very good.

If you're of a 'gadgety' disposition you may be interested in the forthcoming Amazon TV Recast device that was recently announced:

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/first-look-amazon-fire-tv-recast

Not currently available and there's no UK launch date yet; but if you have a 'Alexa' ecosystem and want to stream your recordings to other devices it might be worth waiting for.
 
Having never heard of Humax, and having done a bit of further research, they do seem to be the "Go to" people.
@Uncle Fester I'm not really "gadgety" at all telly wise. I leave that sort of thing to my good lady wife.

(I don't understand why electricity doesn't spill all over the carpet when I un-plug my gramophone!)
 
Humax are very good at updating the software in their boxes, happens automatically overnight. You can sometimes get a good deal if you go to the Humax direct website where they sell refurbs.

https://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/special-offers.html
 
we did virtually the same earlier this year and told sky to do one , now got Freeview and the lad has signed up to Netflix for £7.99 a month and that gives us multi room through our apple t.v boxes . cant really say I have missed sky apart from the pause thing , we have catchup t.v for anything important , and Netflix allows you to pause if needed
 
Graham W said:
We've just had a shiny new aerial ....

What do I need?
Click to expand...
Don't overlook the fact that "On demand" stuff (iPlayer etc, what you called "catch up telly") is delivered via the internet. So you'll need to work out how to get an internet connection to your set top box. Some have WiFi built in, some require a wired Ethernet connection.
 
Graham W said:
(I don't understand why electricity doesn't spill all over the carpet when I un-plug my gramophone!)
Click to expand...

To prevent the electrons from spilling, leave the plug with the prongs facing up. NOT on the floor though - treading on a plug is second only to stepping on a Lego brick...
 
StewartR said:
Don't overlook the fact that "On demand" stuff (iPlayer etc, what you called "catch up telly") is delivered via the internet. So you'll need to work out how to get an internet connection to your set top box. Some have WiFi built in, some require a wired Ethernet connection.
Click to expand...
That's ok Stewart, the tellybox is right next to where Virgin nailed their router/modem thing. :-)
Nod said:
To prevent the electrons from spilling, leave the plug with the prongs facing up. NOT on the floor though - treading on a plug is second only to stepping on a Lego brick...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip Nod...I'm on it.
 
Graham W said:
Ok ladies and gentlemen. I'm after recommendations for a set top box to record and give me access to "Catch Up Telly".
I've had a snoop around t'internet and they seem to vary wildly pricewise and are made by companies I've never heard of!

We've just had a shiny new aerial to access Freeview so it's time to tell Virgin to shove it with their £84.00 a month.

What do I need?
Click to expand...

Most modern televisions will already have Freeview built-in. So if your television is not more than say about 10 years old, you are likely to be able to watch Freeview now.

However if you still want to record programmes, I don't know much about STB (Set Top Box), as I usually use a DVD Recorder with built-in HDD. You could get one of those HDD Recorders which would do the same job.

But other than having a new aerial, there is nothing much apart from checking if your television do have built-in Freeview and getting yourself a STB.

Unless you want to consider the type of cables, in which case I would suggest HDMI cables rather than the SCART ones.
 
Another happy Humax owner here - I've now bought 4 - but that anything has ever gone wrong, but mum, daughters etc - much easier to use then mum's old (Sony?) one.
 
I bought a BT HDD set top box that could record freeview HD channels for £60 and once connected to the internet via ethernet (they never have WiFi which is a pain if you have the box downstairs and the router is upstairs), the BT software automatically reinstall itself as Talk Talk as it is my ISP. But it seems that all HDD set top boxes (be it BT, TT or Virgin) appears to be Humax in heart.
 
Got a second hand YOU VIEW box, for a tenner. Its a HUMAX BOX with added YOU VIEW built in its an ex BT box I think, works a treat though and has a 1TB drive built in..
 
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