Humax HDR-1100s Freesat vs Sky for GUI, ease of use?

dinneenp · 13-03-2017 10:43AM #1

Hi,
My Sky contract is up and I'm slow to renew with them as it's expensive over the course of a year. Someone recommended a Humax HDR-1100S Freesat+ HD Box

I know it doesn't have Irish channels.
Anyone able to comment on how it compares to the standard Sky box for usability/GUI, recording etc. The great thing about Sky is the interface is very slick, no freezing (UPC!!!).

Thanks,
Patrick.

decor58 · 13-03-2017 11:22AM

Have been using Humax for about 18 months without any problems, no freezing, auto updates, series link, netflix, YouTube. Been using FTA for about 10 years, best boxes I've had.

dinneenp · 13-03-2017 11:43AM

decor58 wrote: »

Have been using Humax for about 18 months without any problems, no freezing, auto updates, series link, netflix, YouTube. Been using FTA for about 10 years, best boxes I've had.

thanks.

One last question- I presume there's no combi box that'll give me irish and UK channels & ability to record?
Cheers,
pa

decor58 · 13-03-2017 03:50PM

dinneenp wrote:

One last question- I presume there's no combi box that'll give me irish and UK channels & ability to record? Cheers, pa

You can record on most combi boxes, on the more basic ones the sat epg is just now and next, you can get more complex boxes, 7 day epg etc, but they take a bit of setting up, software wise. You can see the various threads on here so the support is available.

MBSnr · 13-03-2017 04:09PM

^^^
For ease of use I ended up getting a 1100s and a Walker PVR (Saorview) for the family. We found though that we hardly ever watch the Irish channels - Only RTE1 and RTE2 and virtually never record. The other Irish channels consist mostly of programs available in better quality on the 1100s anyhow (TV3/3e/be3 are all repeats of ITV's output).

To be perfectly honest we could have just bought the 1100s and just watched RTE1/2 live when required.

basill · 15-03-2017 12:17PM

The road you want to travel down will ultimately be dictated by how tech savvy you are. There are combi boxes with triple tuners (soarview, and two DVB-s) plus the ability to record your programmes to a NAS or hard disk drive. These boxes will have a 7 day epg linked from the internet. Most of them require you to be savvy enough to upload a disk image and maintain the box (reflashing the image, rebooting every now and then and updating software). In my opinion you won't ever get the ease of use of a sky box but then in return you get to save loads of money and can have your own programme guide and recordings in whatever order you like and no longer be reliant on Sky force feeding you.

BUT if you are no good at IT/networking then your options are to either (1) get good at it or (2) stick with Sky (3) go with an inferior combi box which will probably only have now and next epgs and be quite limited in its features.

Its worth noting how the other members of your family are going to react when suddenly you present them with a new box which will take a bit of getting used to. Also if they are no good at IT then are you going to be around to get it working again or will you get it in the ear about them not being able to watch Corry!

Search boards for discussions of the Amiko Alien Triple Tuner and Edison Mega boxes for more info.

dinneenp · 15-03-2017 12:48PM

MBSnr wrote: »

^^^
For ease of use I ended up getting a 1100s and a Walker PVR (Saorview) for the family. We found though that we hardly ever watch the Irish channels - Only RTE1 and RTE2 and virtually never record. The other Irish channels consist mostly of programs available in better quality on the 1100s anyhow (TV3/3e/be3 are all repeats of ITV's output).

To be perfectly honest we could have just bought the 1100s and just watched RTE1/2 live when required.

This seems like the best option at the moment I think.
The 1100s is meant to be 'as close to Sky GUI' as you'll get some people have said.
And for RTÉ, I'd be the same, there's not that much on it we watch. Champions League & a few other show.

Cheers,
Pa.

kooga · 15-03-2017 02:58PM

I have both a humax freesat box and freeview box which allows me record both the irish and uk channels

jelutong · 15-03-2017 03:21PM

Keep an eye on Adverts.ie and DoneDeal. I bought a Panasonic DMR-BS880 for Freesat and a Humax HDR-FOX T2 for Freeview at a total cost of €170.

galtee boy · 15-03-2017 05:07PM

basill wrote: »

The road you want to travel down will ultimately be dictated by how tech savvy you are. There are combi boxes with triple tuners (soarview, and two DVB-s) plus the ability to record your programmes to a NAS or hard disk drive. These boxes will have a 7 day epg linked from the internet. Most of them require you to be savvy enough to upload a disk image and maintain the box (reflashing the image, rebooting every now and then and updating software). In my opinion you won't ever get the ease of use of a sky box but then in return you get to save loads of money and can have your own programme guide and recordings in whatever order you like and no longer be reliant on Sky force feeding you.

BUT if you are no good at IT/networking then your options are to either (1) get good at it or (2) stick with Sky (3) go with an inferior combi box which will probably only have now and next epgs and be quite limited in its features.

Its worth noting how the other members of your family are going to react when suddenly you present them with a new box which will take a bit of getting used to. Also if they are no good at IT then are you going to be around to get it working again or will you get it in the ear about them not being able to watch Corry!

Search boards for discussions of the Amiko Alien Triple Tuner and Edison Mega boxes for more info.

Can never figure out why somebody hasn't set up a business, selling a plug and play version of the box you talk about, with satellite 7 day epg etc already loaded ?
Also, if not a lot of recording is required, some of the combo boxes have quite good recording facilities via USB/external hard drive using timer recordings. Timers can be set to record a programme daily/weekly etc. I know it's not as good as series link, but with access to the various players now widely available, it wouldn't be the end of the world for the odd recording to fail or record the wrong programme if the channel made last minute changes.

MBSnr · 15-03-2017 05:08PM

dinneenp wrote: »

This seems like the best option at the moment I think.
The 1100s is meant to be 'as close to Sky GUI' as you'll get some people have said.
And for RTÉ, I'd be the same, there's not that much on it we watch. Champions League & a few other show.

Cheers,
Pa.

The interface is good. Very professional looking but takes a few more key presses than are necessary at times to do simple things - although I'm comparing it to the Sky EPG from 1.5 yrs back. But but otherwise it's easy to switch over to using it. Occasionally it'll need a reboot - mostly due to the TV Guide failing to fill with detail - but no more often than the Sky box got rebooted.

The Walker PVR's GUI is much more basic... Has a few bugs as well. I find it often crashes if paused and rewound on the HD channels, losing the 30 min buffer, meaning the buffer starts from 0 again. Annoying as that....

Capt'n Midnight · 17-03-2017 11:28PM

Seeing as how playing around with satellite kit can be more educational than moving wallpaper , I use an old Humax Foxsat with additional features added. https://hummy.tv/forum/forums/foxsat-hdr-customised-firmware.38/

So now I use the Freesat box for UK TV. Series link , auto channel updates, red button and all that goodness.
Irish TV live on telly.
Also have Saorsat on the Freesat box with a diseqc switch , takes a bit of setting up and only has RTE and TG and have to schedule recordings manually, but the custom firmware means it's got a web interface so it's not too bad, just cut/paste from an online TV guide. As said above TV3/3e/Be3 don't have much that isn't on Freesat , and in HD in man case.

Thanks to mediatomb it can also stream recordings, (if you are brave you can share out to the interweb) and 0.ts is the time delay file which resets when channel is changed so near enough to live streaming, and you can change channels with the web interface.

It doesn't have a 7 day EPG for Irish channels and only recognises a Tivusat decoder CAM about one boot in five. Also it's a bit slow.

2012paddy2012 · 17-03-2017 11:32PM

Excellent box ..Highly recommend...Most tvs now have saorview built in ..Just the one box ..same function as sky box ....

TheDriver · 19-03-2017 09:22AM

Highly recommended box

dinneenp · 19-03-2017 12:45PM

Hi,
We currently have Sky, a dish on the roof for. Just a few questions-
1.So the box costs €238- and you can simply plug it in & easy set up?
2. Do you need a second cable going to the dish to be able to record one show and watch another?
3. If I want Irish channels as well & user friendly for whole family a Saorview box is what i need? What price is one with good GUI & do I need a separate dish for it. what's total cost for getting it up and running please?
4. what's the main difference between 1100s and http://www.freetv.ie/freesat-plus-kit/?

5. lastly any way to get Nick cartoon channels, the kids really like that? Would an android box work for that?

Thanks,
Pa.

FRIENDO · 19-03-2017 02:03PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Seeing as how playing around with satellite kit can be more educational than moving wallpaper , I use an old Humax Foxsat with additional features added.

How do I go about doing this,
Can I just download a software onto a usb and load it onto the Humax Foxsat, or do I have to do it on a computer?

I would like to do this also and have the Saorsat channels on the same epg, but I'm not very good with computers.

The Cush · 19-03-2017 02:12PM

dinneenp wrote: »

1.So the box costs €238- and you can simply plug it in & easy set up?
2. Do you need a second cable going to the dish to be able to record one show and watch another?
3. If I want Irish channels as well & user friendly for whole family a Saorview box is what i need? What price is one with good GUI & do I need a separate dish for it. what's total cost for getting it up and running please?
4. what's the main difference between 1100s and http://www.freetv.ie/freesat-plus-kit/?

5. lastly any way to get Nick cartoon channels, the kids really like that? Would an android box work for that?

1. Yes, basically plug and play if you have a dish in place, UK postcode required during setup to set the UK regional channels you want

2. Second cable required for PVR/recording function to the dish plus a spare output on the LNB on the dish arm.

3. Do you have a Saorview compatible TV at the moment? Aerial required for reception of Saorview. A local installer will be the best person to give you a price for installation.

4. The kit includes dish, cabling etc.

dinneenp · 21-03-2017 12:58AM

Thanks for the replies. One last question-
How would the interface on the Humax compare to a combination box, like this http://www.freetv.ie/edision-os-mega/

I imagine not as slick but would it be good, easy for family to use? I know it takes a bit of tech know how for setup but I'd get someone in for that.
Thanks again,
Pa

rollotomasi · 27-03-2017 06:26PM

dinneenp wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. One last question-
How would the interface on the Humax compare to a combination box, like this http://www.freetv.ie/edision-os-mega/

I imagine not as slick but would it be good, easy for family to use? I know it takes a bit of tech know how for setup but I'd get someone in for that.
Thanks again,
Pa

The Humax interface is pretty slick.

Movie Maestro · 27-03-2017 07:26PM

Excellent review of the Humax 1000s interface compared to Sky, bit of strange guy in his bare feet but well worth a watch! I actually watched this before I got the box a couple of years ago

Humax HDR-1100s Freesat vs Sky for GUI, ease of use?

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