networking question - Humax FOXSAT-HDR Freesat+ 320GB

eske

I'm about to cancel my" €70 a month" sky subscription and buy one of these Humax FOXSAT-HDR Freesat boxes

just wondering if you guys know

can I network the foxsat - it has an ethernet port doesn't it, so can I see the box from my network attached devices and copy recorded content onto my network folders.

i have a couple of netgear eva8000 entertainment routers attached to tv's around the house so they can play video and music from the network share.

so is this possible?

if so what format does it use to record video? avi divx mp4?

secondly when i get the box - it's just a case of entering a Northern Ireland post code to get the channel selection isn't it?

thirdly is there any downside to this? - I can't think of one - I'm happy enough with the channel selection except for missing RTE and I can view that on the RTE player.

finally is there a better box out there? Or is this it?

thanks for the help.

Bob_Harris

If you want digital RTE1/2 TV3 and TG4 plus the free satellite channels you might consider a combo box.

The AZBox HD (Elite or Premium) has an Ethernet port and is viewable over the network to share files.

The Humax FOXSAT-HDR has twin DVB-S tuners, allowing you to view different transponders than the one you are recording.

While the AZBox has a single DVB-T and single DVB-S tuner (well the tuners are removable so you can put whatever combination you want in). If recording, you can only view channels on the same transponder.

Paul Kiernan

The Combo boxes don't have the 7-day EPG which is only available on "Freesat" branded boxes. AFAIK this is because the EPG is copyrighted and non-Freesat manufacturers can't legally use it.

Does anyone know if any of the combo boxes have 3rd party firmware upgrades that illegally give you access to the EPG?

The Sagem 94250 is available for about £50 less than the Humax and is fairly similiar. Neither of these boxes let you edit out ads from recordings meaning you have to skip through them as you watch. Another option is the Panasonic DMR350 which has a DVD recorder also for £339 and gets rave reviews or the Panasonic DMR750 which has Bluray Recorder for £455.

Bob_Harris

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

The Combo boxes don't have the 7-day EPG which is only available on "Freesat" branded boxes. AFAIK this is because the EPG is copyrighted and non-Freesat manufacturers can't legally use it.

Does anyone know if any of the combo boxes have 3rd party firmware upgrades that illegally give you access to the EPG?

The AZBox does, as far as I am aware. At the very least it has the ability to grab the listings from the internet.

Paul Kiernan

The ethernet connection on the Humax is for accessing BBC IPlayer. I don't think it can be used for anything else.

Recordings can be copied onto a USB stick, though, and transferred to your PC. These are in .TS format and there are free tools available which will let you convert these to DVD format for archiving.

eske

Many Thanks for the speedy answers guys