Humax 1080p FVP-5000T 1TB Freeview Play HD TV Recorder - Black, 2017

I bought this before Christmas on a fabulous deal. I bought this to replace an older model that I wanted to update.Firstly I spent a couple of hours setting up the unit, it was easy and once set up everything was how I liked it.The speed of remote response, well yes it is slightly slower, after a month I am used to it.The Auto Turn on via HDMI, this is a great feature, I agree it is slow and difficult because it takes about 10 seconds for any response, it does work but slow. The issue is that the red "On" led is along the bottom of the unit and it is difficult to see that it has changed colour.My unit is nice and quiet.I am happy with the remote functions, it is easy and is has "learnt" more than enough of my Samsung TV features.I am happy with the picture quality and recording features.My old unit had a one press feature to wind on a fixed time, say 30 seconds, 1 or 2 minutes, this unit also has that but it is longer winded and I have already forgotten how to do it!!Overall I am pleased with the unit and I think for most people they will find it ideal.

The Humax FVP 5000T triple-tuner 1TB DVR works extremely well and has been totally reliable in everything I’ve eventually managed to ask it to do. About half an hour after unpacking the box I was able to record three different programs on three different multiplexes and watch a fourth (also on one of those three multiplexes) all simultaneously.Recording quality is excellent in HD and SD, the blurb is accurate.The optimum picture setting is to use the 1080p output if the monitor/TV will accept it on the HDMI. This is because then the off-air motion vectors can be used to interpolate the de-interlace at the same time as decoding the DVB-T signal; results are visibly much better when the two tasks are combined in just this one operation.The audio and picture were correctly co-timed, and I did not need to adjust any relative offset, although the option is available on both this recorder and the TV. I left the audio volume control on maximum level and this then matched the audio volume maximum from a Blu-ray player and the TV’s own internal levels, so changes are not required at the TV when switching between sources.Catch-up and Streaming are very low on my list of priorities so I’ve not bothered to examine them in any detail except to find out if they work. Those I tried were OK but with variable quality, despite being wired via Gigabit Ethernet to rock-solid fast VDSL+ internet.At about 11 Watts while recording it uses less than half the power of my previous Humax, and this is a welcome bonus.It is necessary to set the stand-by power option to allow the aerial loop-through power to be left On when the recorder goes back to standby if one wants to use the TV or another recorder following this one in the rf path.Standby On runs at about 5 Watts, standby Off is less than half a Watt, but aerial signal is not passed through.An unexpected benefit of leaving this On is that when a program time changes, the recorder can pick it up and reschedule automatically, but if Off it might miss it.I bought the 5000T to replace my trusty old HDR-Fox T2 1TB recorder which has now passed beyond any economic repair. At the time I was looking, the 5000T was the best option to meet my requirements for occasionally watching live TV or recording it for later more convenient viewing.Skipping ads or searching for relevant bits in recorded programmes is almost as easy as on the old Fox-T2 except the 5000 requires more button presses to change modes instead of simply using alternative buttons.This applies also to setting up recordings, and with all the button presses and menu navigation it is really quite slow, almost a pain, especially when compared with the Fox-T2.If you are used to a simple old-fashioned intuitive interface where the buttons have sensible labels and layout, then the 5000T Remote Control talking to counter-intuitive Freeview Play is awkward to use with a very steep learning curve and often requires multiple presses for many previously simple single-press operations! The user interface and remote control on the 5000T is very poor compared with the quick, intuitive and simple Fox-T2 which did almost as much and certainly all I ever wanted.Reading the instructions is essential, and even then, not all the possible commands are listed. Experimentation is a good way to learn them, provided one is not in a hurry to reach a specific item before running out of time. Ideally borrow a small but articulate child and ask them to explore the machine’s capabilities, and then tell you what they find.

I’m uncertain why this has received a number of poor reviews. This box turns antenna fed tv into the best that freeview can be. Here’s just a few highlights; Easy setup, built in Wi-fi, can record four channels at once, although cannot play live tv at the same time, you can still watch all the recorded channels though like the +1s, CBS etc, Netflix, Many catchup tv apps, easy user interface. My highlight is that it curates all the catchup apps to give you a curated categorised selection, you can skim through without having to search through all the separate apps, Quality 1080p picture but no more. These are just a few of its features. Many users have said it is slow, I didn’t find this to be so, they said the Wi-fi easily dropped out, not happened to me. That the UI was difficult to navigate, it couldn’t be simpler! This is a great box, it’s not cheap but it’s worth it ... and I’m not easily pleased!

Echoing what many others have said here, it's a decent piece of hardware but is really let down by its software. If you're used to the Sky or Virgin Tivo systems you'll find operating this feels like wading through treacle, it's often slow to respond to the remote and lacks the structured and polished feel of the big players.One particular gripe for me is that it can't show a continuous video at x2 (the slowest..) fast forward, it just hops forward in jumps meaning you can't follow the sports action if you want to FF through the boring bits.Shame really, with it's multiple tuners I was hoping this would release me from the increasingly expensive Virgin contracts, but despite the potential cost savings this Humax offering just isn't good enough.EDIT to add:- I've now replaced the Humax with a Freesat 4K PVR, this is like night and day compared to the Humax. It has well laid out, visually attractive and responsive software, records up to 4 programs at once and even manages to deliver the simple task of displaying FF video in continuous motion, something the Humax fails to do at even the slowest FF speed.Sky Q (with wideband lnb) dish setups on ebay for less than £30 if you want to go the Freesat route.