
Humax HDR-1000S Freesat+ recorder with FreeTime
TV from space, time travel by broadband
The all-new Freesat recorder has arrived, after a long gestation, sporting a nifty user interface and the FreeTime system that integrates catch-up services such as the iPlayer and ITV Player into a programme guide that goes back in time, as well as ahead for planning hard disk recordings.

Viewing in style: Humax toys with design ideas on its glossy HDR-1000S Freesat box sporting smooth corners and tapered sides
There are inevitable similarities to the recently launched YouView. The first off-the-shelf YouView product to hit the shops was also made by Humax and the (non-discounted) prices are the same. The basic version of the recorder has a 500GB capacity, with a 1TB edition available for £299.

The EPG also goes back in time, linking through to the relevant online catch-up player, like TiVo and YouView
As with YouView, the backwards EPG is one way of launching the relevant online player to catch recently missed shows. There is also a separate menu page for accessing each player individually and browse around. 4oD and Demand 5 both have icons here, though at the time of writing, they were still “coming soon”. A remote-controlling mobile app, similar to the Sky+ version, is also in the works.

A standard set of connectors, including the all-important Ethernet port – a second USB port is at the front
The twin-tuner HDR-1000S is quick and easy to set up. If you are an ex-Sky customer, or there’s a dish on the building, that’s all you’ll need, plus a broadband connection for networking and/or catch-up TV. Humax recommends a wired Ethernet link (or Powerline adaptors or Wi-Fi dongle) with at least 2Mbps of speed. If you don’t have a dish, you’ll need one fitted. You can use the receiver in “normal” set-top box mode to view – but not record – free-to-air satellite channels that aren’t part of Freesat’s line-up.

The Showcase menu is Freesat’s pick of recent or upcoming shows
The new Freesat TV guide starts with a simple now and next listing. Press Back on the cursor and you can browse what you missed and – if available online – go straight to the catch-up player. Press Forward on the guide and you can set future recordings in the usual way, with prompts for HD versions, series links and alternative showings, again, when available. There’s also a curated area called Showcase that picks upcoming TV highlights or recent ones using catch-up.

A near-identical remote control to Humax’s YouView box, and pretty user friendly
The overall search feature appears on a different page than the guide and works for future TV and radio programme names, though not catch-up TV, differing from YouView here. You can sort the EPG by genre if you want to narrow down channels by type. Catch-up TV is not searchable unless you go to the individual portal – such as the iPlayer section – and look there.

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COMMENTS
Would be nice if it had a DVB-T tuner too. I suppose Humax want me to buy a whole new box for that?
Another HDR owner here, and I'd like to know whether they've learned how to make a remote that works from more than 5 feet away; if it lets you record the buffer as a program; if they've avoided the bug with paused TV and a subsequent scheduled recording on that channel; and all of the EPG and performance stuff mentioned by everyone else. I still quite like the HDR, but it was let down by problems that keep niggling, because you come across them all the time.
Well done and extra points if you've managed to actually buy a modern TV that DOESN'T have a dvb-t tuner in it.
I suppose you mean so that you can record on it though.
Why would you need it if you have a twin tuner dvb-s2 pvr, with catch up, though?
Maybe if it also had a teas made, it would be better?

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