Foxsat or dmr-bs850 or dmr-xs350

thayes

Hi,
I need advice on which Freesat PVR to go for, Humax Foxsat HDR (320GB) or the panasonic DMR-BS850 or the dmr-xs350.
They will be connected to a 50in pioneer (500a).
3 different beasts in a lot of ways, but an all in one box is appealing, especially as they are reduced due to new models at the moment. Alternatively I would have to buy a blueray or DVD player to go with the Humax.

My concerns are:
Humax
1- with the Humax, you can't add FTA channels without switching modes and then you loose the freesat EPG?
2- menu speed response times?
3- I don't think you can record any FTA channels unless you are in FTA mode?

DMR-BS850
1- Menu speed, this is my big concern. I have read a good few posts that say menu changes are very slow (a few seconds). (I am used to a sky box which is fast, and I just bought the cheap Bush SD fressat and it is grand also. I don't think I would like anything slower). (The EPG on the Bush is really nice, 29.99 in Argos.)
2- Can you add FTA channels without changing from Freesat?
3- Can you record FTA channels while still in Freesat mode?
4- How good is DVD playback (I have no Bluerays at the moment)?
5- How good is Blueray playback (for future reference)?

DMR-XS350 (not so bothered about blueray tbh)
1- Is it the same as the 850, just without blueray?
2- What is DVD playback like on it?

I appreciate any replies. I am really struggling to decide which way to go, but I want to order something this weekend.

Many thanks for any advice,

Tom.

slegs

No freesat box allows you to add non Freesat FTA channels to the Freesat EPG. This is part of the spec that binds the manufacturers to having certification.

thayes

Hi, thanks for that.

I was of the understanding after reading a review, that the bs850 could add FTA channels (individually) while in Freesat mode. I realise these added channels probably would not have any EPG info as these FTA channels would not be part of the Freesat EPG, but the review didn't say of they could be recorded.
I assume the review may have been misleading or didn't detail the procedure for adding additional channels correctly.

Any thoughts on which one is best?

Thanks for your help.

slegs

thayes wrote: »

Hi, thanks for that.

I was of the understanding after reading a review, that the bs850 could add FTA channels (individually) while in Freesat mode. I realise these added channels probably would not have any EPG info as these FTA channels would not be part of the Freesat EPG, but the review didn't say of they could be recorded.
I assume the review may have been misleading or didn't detail the procedure for adding additional channels correctly.

Any thoughts on which one is best?

Thanks for your help.

Dont know as I havent seen the EPG on this box but I would doubt that you can add non Freesat channels to the Freesat EPG. If you can I am sure you would be able to record them (they would only have now /next data)

The Humax gets very good reviews..

thayes

Many thanks.

Martin_F

slegs wrote: »

No freesat box allows you to add non Freesat FTA channels to the Freesat EPG. This is part of the spec that binds the manufacturers to having certification.

No PVR maybe....

But the Bush, Grundig & Goodmans non PVR boxes do (or at least close enough) - They add channels @ 3000+ which you can get to by going down from 101.

Martin_F

thayes wrote: »

Hi,
I need advice on which Freesat PVR to go for, Humax Foxsat HDR (320GB) or the panasonic DMR-BS850 or the dmr-xs350.
They will be connected to a 50in pioneer (500a).
3 different beasts in a lot of ways, but an all in one box is appealing, especially as they are reduced due to new models at the moment. Alternatively I would have to buy a blueray or DVD player to go with the Humax.

My concerns are:
Humax
1- with the Humax, you can't add FTA channels without switching modes and then you loose the freesat EPG?
2- menu speed response times?
3- I don't think you can record any FTA channels unless you are in FTA mode?

DMR-BS850
1- Menu speed, this is my big concern. I have read a good few posts that say menu changes are very slow (a few seconds). (I am used to a sky box which is fast, and I just bought the cheap Bush SD fressat and it is grand also. I don't think I would like anything slower). (The EPG on the Bush is really nice, 29.99 in Argos.)
2- Can you add FTA channels without changing from Freesat?
3- Can you record FTA channels while still in Freesat mode?
4- How good is DVD playback (I have no Bluerays at the moment)?
5- How good is Blueray playback (for future reference)?

DMR-XS350 (not so bothered about blueray tbh)
1- Is it the same as the 850, just without blueray?
2- What is DVD playback like on it?

I appreciate any replies. I am really struggling to decide which way to go, but I want to order something this weekend.

Many thanks for any advice,

Tom.

The Humax menu response times are probably better than the Bush SD box. The Bush SD box menus & EPG are far inferior to both the Humax boxes.

No experience of the Panasonic - but for the right price they are probably a reasonable bit of kit - was half tempted myself.

I'd recommend the Humax though as a good piece of kit. The one main advantage of the Panasonic is record from the Scart input - which I presume is a capability?

AFAIK - there are 2 Blue ray pannies - 250GB & 500GB - the DVD version is I think a 250GB - but aside from the optical drive & HDD size I think they are the same units. Personally I would not go for a 250GB unit.

Have you read the product pages on http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk ?

thayes

Hi, thanks for the replies. I just tried the cheap Bush SD unit, and the menu system is grand. I prefer it to the sky box! So if the humax is better that is a big plus. I'll try adding an extra channel later on.

I have had a good look for feedback before posting this, but it the fine detail that makes the difference I guess. I would like to try one as I want to be sure about the menu speeds.

The humax a good few other benefits, you can upgrade the HDD, you can archive to HDD via and use a computer to burn the content to DVD etc. But it is nice if you can do this within the 1 device.

Watters electrical outside Dundalk (on the castleblaney road have the panny in stock, so I might drive up tomorrow).

drBill

Afraid I can't offer any advice on the FTA vs Freesat mode as I never switch between the too.
But personally I've found the Humax menu response times to be pretty much instantaneous except for when it's accessing the HD for the first time, or opening up a subdirectory with a large number of recordings which can sometimes take up to 10 or 20 seconds if the machine is 'cold'.
The only real gripes I would have about it are:

• I can't use it to replay 3rd party files (.avi, .mpg, etc) (well ok I can, using a freeware utility called av2hdr, but it's a bit cumbersome)

• the remote is a bit weak and the machine won't pick it up if you're too far off centre from the front of the machine.

But otherwise I think it's a fantastic piece of kit and very happy with it.

thayes

Thanks to all who replied. The panasonic will only connect to one satellite I understand, while the human may connect to 2. I am trying to think ahead for saorsat! hence I will probably go for the humax.