The only real annoyance during the initial set-up is the intrusive online activation process, which requires you to provide your address, telephone number and credit card details even if you don’t want to sign up for the Sky Player or other optional on-demand delights such as Hellenic TV. You should be allowed to use the basic Freeview features straight out of the box, without being pestered for your credit card until you specifically choose to use the optional paid-for services.
Main FetchTV menu
However, once the activation process is out of the way the SmartBox performs very well. In addition to the standard eight-day EPG, the remote control also allows you to activate a special FetchTV menu that provides access to the BBC iPlayer and Sky Player. The BBC iPlayer worked well, producing image quality that was comparable to ordinary standard-definition programmes.
Programme summary
The Sky Player is certainly an attractive option too, although the content available here will depend on what you choose to pay for. Sky subscriptions range from £15 for the most basic package up to £41.50 per month for all the sports and movie channels. The good news is that you can sign up for one month at a time, so you can just dip into it for occasional events such as the French Open tennis or that football malarkey.
Sporting choices
The SmartBox also provides its own fairly modest selection of on-demand movies and other programmes, with older films such as Armageddon typically costing £2 each and more recent releases such as Paranormal Activity at £3.50.
dth="501">
COMMENTS
They want my credit card details?
Then they can chuff right off.
Locking up??
WTF? Why can't these idiots make shit that works for this kind of money?? IPVision (and Jobs haha) I'm looking at YOU!
8320HD recordings locking up
Yes, the 8320HD has a annoying habit of freezing/locking up.
On my Humax...
padding the recordings cancels the ability to series link. So I ditched padding (which never really worked o the Umax anyway) and I haven't missed an ending since.
@Picked up the 8320HD myself
Me too - I'm liking it as my old Humax is getting crankier by the week. Except:
I find the handset a bit fiddly and unresponsive.
iPlayer, if the content is actually unavailable once play has been pressed (as I sometimes have found it to be on the web), freezes the box up, from which there is no recovery. The only way to reboot is to pull the plug, there's no off switch. Thank you, Flash??
The EPG is annoyingly polluted with ads for FetchTV.
Pause/rewind/forward is not as usable as I'd like. Humax much better (when it works)
Don't think the epg is searchable like the Hummy though :-(
I'm liking the media streaming/networking etc.
There's no need to sign up to anything during setup any more, you do it on the web later.
When I first switched it on it only found 20 channels, but a rescan found them all later (phew!). After I plugged the aerial straight in, not via 2 other devices.
Paris, because she only sort of works, too.
Apart from HD it feels like a £50 box not a £200 one. plus £50 for the (wireless) networking and ability to save to pendrive I guess. So - Jury's kinda out.
