Home > Consumer Reviews > Humax PVR9300T 320GB Twin Tuner, PVR

The Humax PVR9300T is a Freeview box with two tv tuners and a built in 320GB hard drive, for those not in the know it means you will receive (signal permitting) all Freeview tv and radio channels currently being broadcast (not Top-Up Tv - the additional pay tv channels, these are subscription based) and due to having two tuners and a hard drive capable of storing 200 hours of programmes you can record 2 channels at the same time, watch a recording whilst making those recordings OR depending on the channel you may be able to watch a 3rd channel whilst making those 2 recordings, if this is your idea of tv heaven then welcome to the world of the Humax !

I previously owned the Humax PVR9200T and that is one of the best pieces of tech I have ever bought. The only real differences that this model provides is the greater hard drive capacity, an HDMI upscaling connection and it now sports the "Freeview Playback" badge where a box has to offer a standard set of features.

The box is definitely sleeker and better looking than its previous incarnation. Set up is simple, attach your tv aerial into the back of the box, connect the box to your tv using a scart cable and turn on. Initially the Humax will scan for all or any available tv and radio channels being broadcast in your area. You may not get all available channels if the Freeview signal in you area is weak or the aerial you are using is not strong enough. Once the channels are in and you have confirmed you can then adjust various settings to customise your Humax to your content.

To record tv programmes the Humax has an 8 day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) that it downloads via the skys above whenever the box is turned on from standby, you can then go through the days and channels clicking "ok" to record at your hearts content. I basically get my tv guide on a Saturday then start clicking for the week ahead - real couch potato me ! Be warned though, when the Humax goes to standby it loses the EPG and has to repopulate when it is turned back on. This is a niggle that annoyed many "9200" users and means that you have to wait a few minutes at least for the EPG to fully populate.

Those new to the whole PVR thing will enjoy being able to "pause" live tv. So you are watching tv, the phone rings, door goes...just hit the "pause" button and the live picture will freeze. In the background the Humax is cleverly recording the programme still to the hard drive. So when you return you can hit "play" and continue from where you left off, if you want to catch up just hit the "FF" button. Equally if you want to rewatch a scene or say a goal scored in a football match hit the "REW" button, the Humax does this as it records the programme to the hard drive temporarily as you watch it ! Clever stuff hey ?

"Chase Play" is another feature many will use. Where you have been recording a programme that is still in operation you can start watching it from the beginning and again using the "FF" button begin to catch up or "chase" the recording. If like me you detest adverts then I use this alot to skip them.

Another feature to mention is "Auto Padding", we all know programmes often start late or overrun. The Humax has options to automatically add so many minutes onto the beginning and end of a recording to ensure you don't miss that dramatic drum roll at the end of Eastenders ?!

The Humax does contain a feature where if a programme is running late it should automatically start and end with the programme, however, my understanding is that this only works when the networks send out a signal via Freeview, experience has shown this cannot be relied upon so I use auto padding to be safe.

Maintaining the hard drive is easy in terms of deleting unwanted programmes etc.

Finally the old "noisy fan" kerfuffle, Humax have now updated the software to resolve this issue via an over the air update. The box does this automatically, if your box does have a noisy fan do not worry as there will be a repeat of this eventually. By the way the noise of this fan will vary depending on where and how you store your Humax, my noisy fan was not a hinderance at all, maybe it depends on your annoyance gene ?!

If you are aware of Top-Up TV, the additional pay channels then there is a slot to enable the receipt of these channels.

Well thats pretty much the basics of what the Humax does, but what it does....it does brilliantly, it just sits there and does what you tell it to do, no fuss or bother. If this is your first PVR then you really will see a different way of watching tv with the Humax it is still the best Freeview PVR on the market.

I have been considering getting a PVR for some time now and have been reading the reviews of this 9300T. A friend had bought one and seemed pleased so, with the oncoming of Digital Switchover in the South West approaching fast (meaning my Sony Video will in effect be redundant) and my birthday last week, my family clubbed together and purchased this.

I have to say I find it an amazing piece of Kit. Already I find it taking over our lives - the problem is finding time to see all the programmes I have recorded already!

A few comments on the problems people are experiencing: -

i) The fan - apart from the initial power up mine has been silent. Checking the status I note that the unit was initialised in mid-December so it must have the latest software - a fact confirmed when I did an update test.

ii) The EPG - I don't know why others have a problem loading it as mine loads instantly - actually it is there instantly when I press Guide button. I know our Transmitter was upgraded for digital some two/three months ago, so it may be that there are problems in some Transmitter areas. I have found no problems and use it to record/reserve programmes without any problem. I must say I do this when tuned to BBC1 - don't know whether this gives faster access.

iii) Like others I do find it strange that there is a USB outlet that is non-functional. I do hope that there will be a software update to allow this to be used as the lack of an output device is a major and annoying fault. I did consider a DVD Hard disk recorder to enable output to another format but decided against this option.

iv) The picture quality is stunning, far superior to the Panasonic Freeview box I had previously (now doing a job on the ancient Sony TV in our Breakfast Room). It is powering a 9 year old Sony 28" Art Couture CRT and, as I say, giving stunning picture quality. Makes me think I'll stick with it and not buy a HD flat Screen. Who needs it?

Overall I'd recommend this unit to anyone thinking about making the move to a PVR.

Had this device for 6 months and the functionality of it is great, with one huge drawback - the constant locking of the device, requiring a re-power to clear. Not a big issue you may think, maybe not if you never record anything but quite annoying when you go on holiday for a week expecting all your favourite programmes to be ready for you on your return only to find the device locked about three minutes after you walked out of your front door.

Have spoken to Humax twice, first they had me 'reset' the device (something I had already searched the web for and done a couple of times), but I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt and reset the box again, and again, and again. The reset has absolutely no effect on the lock up, all it does is delete your programme reservations and force a channel search. I have spoken to them today (3/11/09) and they say a software update will be out within two weeks that will fix the problem. So, I will wait two weeks to see if the problem is resolved but it sounds very much to me like they are buying time.

:o(

The Humax personal video recorder has features that I could not find on any other similar machine. The ability to watch one programme while recording another, or even recording two programmes simultaneously, is a great improvement over the DVD recorders that were offered as alternatives to VCR's. The only feature I miss over our combined HDD recorder/DVD recorder is the ability to download programmes recorded on the hard disk to a DVD in about ten minutes; from the Humax it can only be done in real time.
So far (three weeks) the Humax has behaved very well, coming through a retuning schedule for Freeview. I cannot emphasise enough, the need to familiarise with the instructions. There are absolutely no problems with noise from the unit; it appears to be nearly silent, and we're both musicians!

When I first got this the fan was so loud it nearly went straight back in the box for a refund. However, I checked the internet which said to update the box firmware (just select download, it does it from the over the air so its easy). I did this and no more fan problem! I cant hear it at all now.