Recordable Freesat Box

danjo-xx

Hi guys, I'm looking for a recordable freesat box (recording onto the box, not outside it)


€250 would be my limit, 320g would be more than ample for me, but if it comes with 1tb or more, so be it.


I had a humax 1100 but it gave up the ghost way to quick.




So where to get a good reliable recordable freesat box? and is Humax still the king these days.

Johnboy1951

Is this what you are looking for?

https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/set-top-boxes/recordable-4k-tv-box

https://www.freetv.ie/freesat-4k-box/

tv3tg4

Are therecRecordable saorview Boxes?

ei9go

tv3tg4 wrote: »

Are therecRecordable saorview Boxes?

Most Freeview hd boxes will record Saorview.
Channels will be numbered from 800 so you will have to edit them.
They won't work with series link because RTE changed something in the data to stop them recording.
They did originally work.

danjo-xx

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Is this what you are looking for?

https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/set-top-boxes/recordable-4k-tv-box

https://www.freetv.ie/freesat-4k-box/

Yeah like that freesat box but is there any cheaper alternatives to be had these days.

greasepalm

Linux boxes can be used for that and cheaper,eg Zgemma h7

2 models to choose from depending on what you want and 3 tuners.
H7s = 2 x sat tuners + 1 saorview tuner and can take internal/external hdd
H7c = 2 saorview tuners + 1 sat tuner.

More to record with sat

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/air-digital-zgemma/zgemma-h7s

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/satellite-and-terrestrial/digital-receivers/4k-uhd-digital-receivers/zgemma-h7c

Johnboy1951

danjo-xx wrote: »

Yeah like that freesat box but is there any cheaper alternatives to be had these days.

It depends on whether you want Freesat capability or not.
Do you definitely want Freesat or would Free to Air satellite suit?

If FTA then there are other options such as suggested above.

danjo-xx

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

It depends on whether you want Freesat capability or not.
Do you definitely want Freesat or would Free to Air satellite suit?

If FTA then there are other options such as suggested above.

Only Freesat will do I'm afraid so am I left with old humax boxes, like the HDR1100s that might be around, even this is £176,


A Branded Freesat box from Freesat,


Would that be it until the new Arris boxes are launched?

swoofer

do you mean these or is there another updated on on the way?

https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/set-top-boxes/recordable-4k-tv-box

greasepalm

Why so fixed on an expensive box with 1 year warranty for freesat am i missing something?

Johnboy1951

greasepalm wrote: »

Why so fixed on an expensive box with 1 year warranty for freesat am i missing something?

Is there a cheaper Freesat box?

danjo-xx

greasepalm wrote: »

Why so fixed on an expensive box with 1 year warranty for freesat am i missing something?

I'm in my 70's and the days of combi boxes for me are well gone:)

greasepalm

h7s is a triple tuner so a step up from a combo.Cheers.

swoofer

Out of interest what happened to your humax 1100?

danjo-xx

swoofer wrote: »

Out of interest what happened to your humax 1100?

I can't remember exactly but it just gave up the ghost.




Are there no freesat boxes, like manhattan etc that are capable of recording to usb, I suppose the drive would not be powerful enough, answered my own question I think:D

greasepalm

Have i missed what freesat does over an enigma2 receiver and can have internal/externally powered hdd or usb?

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/tv-providers-and-services/article/free-tv/what-is-freesat-asnpn9U2NsSA

swoofer

ease of setup its plug and play. No need for flashing, usb sticks, autobouquets, epg, images, skins, reboots, adding hdd, downloading plugins, adding picons, etc etc. in fact ts plain boring but dead easy to use so no fun, all that is left is watch tv.

this is one of the first boxes and good value.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/HUMAX-FOXSAT-HDR-Freesat-HD-Twin-Tuner-Recorder-320GB-HDD-PVR-HDMI/193862683578?hash=item2d231dcbba:g:PysAAOSwi-pgDYc9

brandonviewer

swoofer wrote: »

ease of setup its plug and play. No need for flashing, usb sticks, autobouquets, epg, images, skins, reboots, adding hdd, downloading plugins, adding picons, etc etc. in fact ts plain boring but dead easy to use so no fun, all that is left is watch tv.

this is one of the first boxes and good value.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/HUMAX-FOXSAT-HDR-Freesat-HD-Twin-Tuner-Recorder-320GB-HDD-PVR-HDMI/193862683578?hash=item2d231dcbba:g:PysAAOSwi-pgDYc9

Swoofer, can I ask you one quick question on this before i plunge in to bid on it?
Can I just plug in the satellite cable that's currently going into the back of my non sub sky box and record away? Also can I plug in an aerial cable and record saorview the same way. The photos don't really show this. I have an amiko for recording but it's not "wife friendly" with recording on to an external hdd.
Thanks in advance

NIMAN

brandonviewer wrote: »

Swoofer, can I ask you one quick question on this before i plunge in to bid on it?
Can I just plug in the satellite cable that's currently going into the back of my non sub sky box and record away? Also can I plug in an aerial cable and record saorview the same way. The photos don't really show this. I have an amiko for recording but it's not "wife friendly" with recording on to an external hdd.
Thanks in advance

I have that Humax box for about 11 years now and still going strong despite a new style Humax giving up the ghost on me.

This box will just accept cables that are currently going into your sky box, but it's a satellite receiver only and will not accept the aerial lead to give you saorview channels unfortunately.

brandonviewer

NIMAN wrote: »

I have that Humax box for about 11 years now and still going strong despite a new style Humax giving up the ghost on me.

This box will just accept cables that are currently going into your sky box, but it's a satellite receiver only and will not accept the aerial lead to give you saorview channels unfortunately.

Thanks niman,I might run with that.the reason I would be happy to have the ability to record from satellite. The only saorview channel that we really watch is rte1 and I can sometimes pick up stuff that I've missed depending on whether the rte player is working or not. It's really hit or miss. Great for watching the ads and then unable to access the program!!!

swoofer

If you have an amiko then you should be able to handle a combo box. The best one one here is the Zgemma H7S it comes with 2 tuners for sat and a tuner for saorview. It takes an internal HDD. It will come with an image flashed and I always say go for openvix as its the easiest.

The best place to buy used to be world of sat but with brexit I dont know what the new price will be. We are waiting on a few replies.

I did a buy option just now and its £139.74 INC HDD with delivery but ex uk vat. And I think irish vat plus customs may be added.

Has your tv got Saorview?

As for RTE player....

brandonviewer

NIMAN wrote: »

I have that Humax box for about 11 years now and still going strong despite a new style Humax giving up the ghost on me.

This box will just accept cables that are currently going into your sky box, but it's a satellite receiver only and will not accept the aerial lead to give you saorview channels unfortunately.

Thanks niman,I might run with that.the reason I would be happy to have the ability to record from satellite. The only saorview channel that we really watch is rte1 and I can sometimes pick up stuff that I've missed depending on whether the rte player is working or not. It's really hit or miss. Great for watching the ads and then unable to access the program!!!

brandonviewer

swoofer wrote: »

If you have an amiko then you should be able to handle a combo box. The best one one here is the Zgemma H7S it comes with 2 tuners for sat and a tuner for saorview. It takes an internal HDD. It will come with an image flashed and I always say go for openvix as its the easiest.

The best place to buy used to be world of sat but with brexit I dont know what the new price will be. We are waiting on a few replies.

I did a buy option just now and its £139.74 INC HDD with delivery but ex uk vat. And I think irish vat plus customs may be added.

Has your tv got Saorview?

As for RTE player....

Thanks swoofer,
The problem with my amiko is that I need to record onto an external hdd and I find it hit or miss. I'm using a 16gig so maybe it's a bit small.
When you mention openvix, I'm lost immediately.
I suppose what I really want is a sky type box which is very user friendly with an internal hdd. The zgemma hd7 looks like the real deal but brexit might scupper that. I've read on another thread about a new box expected to be launched shortly which looks like a good option.
I have two fairy new Samsung smart TVs but neither have the ability to record as far as I can see. Both TVs are fed by an aerial and free to air sky boxes with English cards. Both saorview. I use all4 for catch up as well.
Thanks again

greasepalm

Bugger brexit using a H7S here and can use internal/externally powered hdd.

Wos has a lot of clients in Ireland and can post over here.

If you have extra feeds in room your Saorview could record on box and view tv

Sat tuner on tv 28.2 view on that and record on box on 28.2,if you had another feed handy 28.2 on box it gives you record and view options.

If you had a motorised or diseqc setup could use that for more viewing.

Amiko does hdd need setting up correctly on box before using?

swoofer

What is that other box?

What has happened over the last few years is that Enigma2 boxes have got a lot of followers and with a bit of reading are easy to use. It takes a little while to get the language but openvix is the name of the software you would load on the box. There are quite a few version and they are called images. Like openatv, Openix, Pure2, Openpli and so on

With a bit of patience and know how you can actually set up an enigma2 box to work just like sky but with the added benefit of having saorview as well. So say you get the zgemma h7s and put open vix on it then you add sky skin and it will look like the following. It appears daunting but beliee me with a bit of patience its not that difficult.

When link opens scroll up.

https://www.linuxsat-support.com/thread/133484-updated-slyk-1080-r19-install-faqs/?postID=598826#post598826

you may have to join

Say the model of those TV's and we can check to see if they can record to usb.

brandonviewer

Thanks swoofer,
Had a look at that link but I might as well have been looking into a bush. All Greek to me. I'm hoping to buy a box, attach a satellite lead, and possibly one from the aerial and start watching and recording. Hoping wos would preload the appropriate software.
I think that the box I saw mentioned was a new model from arris but can't be certain as it was a few months ago. People were saying that it was on the way but were holding off to see if any teething problems.
My newest tv is model UE43ru7 100kxxu and the older one is UE40h 6500st.
No record button on either remote

athlone573

If you still have that Humax 1100s, try putting in a new hard drive! It's incredibly easy to do, very little disassembly required, and the hard drive is a known point of failure on those boxes.
I used a 1.5tb drive from a defunct sky box but I think any 3.5inch drive will work.

If not, I would consider buying a new one!

I like the ease of use of the Freesat although the zgemma H7s seems like the current choice if you're willing to get hands on with configuring channel lists and suchlike.

greasepalm

I have a Sony 55" 4K and has 2 sat tuners with the ability of recording if needed.

swoofer

Yes its an Arris 4K at £199 for 500gb drive, humax have stopped making them.

athlone573

I see that - the new Freesat branded recorder isn't supposed to be as good as the Humax?

Has anyone bought a Zgemma box from England recently, any holdups with Brexit?

It would be nice to be able to get Channel 4HD (now that it's gone from Freesat) and a few other HD channels on the same list, if its not too complicated.

greasepalm

Do you not just add the new channels in as it still works in the clear.

https://en.kingofsat.net/find.php?question=channel+4+hd

When was the last time box got a scan?

Gerry Wicklow

athlone573 wrote: »

I see that - the new Freesat branded recorder isn't supposed to be as good as the Humax?

Has anyone bought a Zgemma box from England recently, any holdups with Brexit?

It would be nice to be able to get Channel 4HD (now that it's gone from Freesat) and a few other HD channels on the same list, if its not too complicated.

This user is our current guinea pig to see how it goes.

Sorry mr_cochise

athlone573

greasepalm wrote: »

Do you not just add the new channels in as it still works in the clear.

Not possible in Freesat mode, C4 stopped paying for the HD version on the EPG. I couldn't be bothered with non freesat mode.

I think the box auto retunes but I do rescan it now and again to vary the UK region.

Anyway, that's a digression from the main quest...

alexmaxoks

to be honest I can not understand why people still using boxes? If you are not going to use card***ng or use your box as anything dodgy - get yourself smart TV ))
SMART TVs in the range 400 euro or even less have DVB-T2 and DVB-S2, so you can connect aerial and satellite dish directly without using the box. (I am not talking about walker or similar rubbish tv)
advantages? One remote, spare wall socket less wires....

greasepalm

I also have a good smart tv twin sat and saorview but also have boxes as if i record on that i can view anywhere in house.

Gerry Wicklow

alexmaxoks wrote: »

to be honest I can not understand why people still using boxes? If you are not going to use card***ng or use your box as anything dodgy - get yourself smart TV ))
SMART TVs in the range 400 euro or even less have DVB-T2 and DVB-S2, so you can connect aerial and satellite dish directly without using the box. (I am not talking about walker or similar rubbish tv)
advantages? One remote, spare wall socket less wires....

I have a Samsung Smart Tv with all the tuners etc. BUT the interface and functionality of the Zgemma blows the Sammy out of the water. Switching channels or streaming from other devices is much quicker and easier, I can also record multiple channels at once as sods law dictates, the only good shows worth recording must be on at the same time.
I would have to switch to UK Freesat mode to get a 7 day EPG and then give up access to many channels including CH4 HD.
Also I only need one remote as the box controls the TV.
Although the Sammy is only 2 years old, Youtube is the only Smart feature still working as TVs don't update their software often enough.

greasepalm

One reason why i did not buy a Samsung but Sony and its android.

Gerry Wicklow

greasepalm wrote: »

One reason why i did not buy a Samsung but Sony and its android.

The Sony i had before this was even worse. The motherboard failed twice under guarantee. When it failed the 3rd time the shop gave me the Sammy instead.

alexmaxoks

greasepalm wrote: »

Do you not just add the new channels in as it still works in the clear.

https://en.kingofsat.net/find.php?question=channel+4+hd

When was the last time box got a scan?

Scan does not always help. If the box old enough you have to manually add frequency in transponder list as it could be missing updated transponder

Channel 4HD - 11126V, 22000, 5/6

hope it helps

greasepalm

Ahh i love the invisible channels as things are always on the move or dead.

NewClareman

swoofer wrote: »

ease of setup its plug and play. No need for flashing, usb sticks, autobouquets, epg, images, skins, reboots, adding hdd, downloading plugins, adding picons, etc etc. in fact ts plain boring but dead easy to use so no fun, all that is left is watch tv.

this is one of the first boxes and good value.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/HUMAX-FOXSAT-HDR-Freesat-HD-Twin-Tuner-Recorder-320GB-HDD-PVR-HDMI/193862683578?hash=item2d231dcbba:g:PysAAOSwi-pgDYc9

I had one of those, but gave it away, last summer. It was reliable but very slow to respond to commands.

Fat_Fingers

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

The Sony i had before this was even worse. The motherboard failed twice under guarantee. When it failed the 3rd time the shop gave me the Sammy instead.

This is something I too was disappointed with. I've paid a premium for Sony with Android TV and after few months menu was stuttering and freezing, often requiring a reboot just to have to do the same again in 20 min

Replaced it with Samsung. No issue with Samsung but here there is a lot of bloatware and you cant remove it. Absolutely annoying I cant even update Samsung firmware that TV is asking to update as there are too many apps , so its asking to uninstall apps but all the apps are their own bloatware that can not be uninstalled. So a different kind of rubbish ..

greasepalm

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

This is something I too was disappointed with. I've paid a premium for Sony with Android TV and after few months menu was stuttering and freezing, often requiring a reboot just to have to do the same again in 20 min

Replaced it with Samsung. No issue with Samsung but here there is a lot of bloatware and you cant remove it. Absolutely annoying I cant even update Samsung firmware that TV is asking to update as there are too many apps , so its asking to uninstall apps but all the apps are their own bloatware that can not be uninstalled. So a different kind of rubbish ..

You only said you did a reboot and not a unpower tv for 10 mins or so as it resets things. I had a Q102 app failed to work and after tv was unplugged and plugged in again it updated the apps.

horse7

Any help https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/1407841/best-freesat-hd-boxes

Fat_Fingers

greasepalm wrote: »

You only said you did a reboot and not a unpower tv for 10 mins or so as it resets things. I had a Q102 app failed to work and after tv was unplugged and plugged in again it updated the apps.

Thanks for suggestion, I turn off TV every night and every morning is looking to update.
BTW, someone mentioned Freesat mode on Samsung TV, never heard of this. What is the process if anyone knows? Is it real freesat mode or just FTA as I already have on Samsung tv

swoofer

say the exact model of the tv and you should not power off at night. Freesat gives you a nice epg layout and you may have that already but you have to input a UK post code to get it.

greasepalm

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

Thanks for suggestion, I turn off TV every night and every morning is looking to update.
BTW, someone mentioned Freesat mode on Samsung TV, never heard of this. What is the process if anyone knows? Is it real freesat mode or just FTA as I already have on Samsung tv

But if you have issues on tv its the unplugging bit as its like a factory reset for android.

dulpit

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

Thanks for suggestion, I turn off TV every night and every morning is looking to update.
BTW, someone mentioned Freesat mode on Samsung TV, never heard of this. What is the process if anyone knows? Is it real freesat mode or just FTA as I already have on Samsung tv

LGs have freesat. But it will only work if you set your tv region to UK first, and then scan satellite. If I leave TV set to Ireland and scan you get the channels, but not freesat EPG. So worth checking that?

Gerry Wicklow

Samsungs usually download the update overnight as it is a biggish file 1Gb+. There is also a manual option buried in the menus to check for an update. Once you OK it, the update can take a while. One one occasion it was more than 10 minutes.