Freesat box dying, what to replace it with?

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stevewestern

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We have an old (ten years of not more) Humax Freesat recording box which seems to be dying - it freezes, claims recordings are in an invalid format, fails to record or only records 4 minutes of a program etc etc.
TV is a few years old, a Sony KD - 55x8509c if that makes any difference.
So, we need a replacement but Humax no longer make them, so what should be on a shopping list and why? Do we have to switch to freeview?
We do often record 2 things at once so would like to keep on doing that if possible.
I'm no tech-head, our needs are pretty simple but I've no idea what is out there, so can you help please..?
 
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Not sure about Freesat, but I recently tried to buy a Freeview box and nothing seemed to be available. It seemed that manufacturers were pulling out of the market and the new models from Manhatten have been delayed. Apparently due to Freely replacing Freeview.
 
Do you really need to record?

I threw my Humax recorder out of the window and down the garden a little while ago. Bought a "relatively" cheap Manhattan freesat box on Amazon and it's been great.
Much better TV guide too. We never record TV anyway, it's all crap. Only really watch a bit of news in the evenings before switching to one of the streaming services.

 
It's all going online now. The humax freeview box would be ideal as it does record multiple programmes at once. It's just finding one. I'd think you would need to find a good used one.

Can you add a second HDD to the Freesat recording box to see if it would record to that? The main drive may be goosed.

A few of the Sony TVs had freeview recording built in to them. It's worth checking to see if yours does. I can't remember whether they'll do 2 things at once or only the one.
 
Brentor said:
Not sure about Freesat, but I recently tried to buy a Freeview box and nothing seemed to be available. It seemed that manufacturers were pulling out of the market and the new models from Manhatten have been delayed. Apparently due to Freely replacing Freeview.
Click to expand...
OK, thanks. I'd not heard of Freely, I'll do some reading...
ecoleman said:
Do you really need to record?

I threw my Humax recorder out of the window and down the garden a little while ago. Bought a "relatively" cheap Manhattan freesat box on Amazon and it's been great.
Much better TV guide too. We never record TV anyway, it's all crap. Only really watch a bit of news in the evenings before switching to one of the streaming services.

Click to expand...
Well that's a good question. Do we really need to record? Maybe we just need to change our viewing habits, I don't know.
Traditionally I have always recorded stuff (f1 and motogp etc) so I can watch at my leisure and SKIP THE ADVERTS.. That's a big bonus for me.
srichards said:
It's all going online now. The humax freeview box would be ideal as it does record multiple programmes at once. It's just finding one. I'd think you would need to find a good used one.

Can you add a second HDD to the Freesat recording box to see if it would record to that? The main drive may be goosed.

A few of the Sony TVs had freeview recording built in to them. It's worth checking to see if yours does. I can't remember whether they'll do 2 things at once or only the one.
Click to expand...
Our telly does have freeview but I've no idea if I can record from it (there is no built in HDD, not sure about a USB slot)
My humax doesn't have one so I can't try one.
I know so much is online but I enjoy having a list of what I've recorded easily available and I can delete episodes I've watched so always know where to pick up from.

I guess it could be a case of old habits die hard.
I'll have a look at Freely and the link @ecoleman posted.
Thanks for your replies, any more would also be appreciated...
 
stevewestern said:
Well that's a good question. Do we really need to record? Maybe we just need to change our viewing habits, I don't know.
Click to expand...

There’s a number of Freesat boxes that record, Have a look at the range at Argos (don’t know if they’re cheapest, but at least they’re all on one page).


They also allow recording four channels at once and pausing live TV.

Record up to four programmes at the same time when connected to a wideband LNB satellite dish, and with 2TB of storage you can keep up to approximately 1000 hours of SD entertainment. You can even restart live TV where available, so missing the start of a programme doesn't mean missing out.
Click to expand...

www.freesat.co.uk

Recordable 4K TV Box

Hundreds of hours of entertainment. No sky-high TV bills. The Freesat Recordable 4K TV Box covers your every need.
www.freesat.co.uk www.freesat.co.uk
 
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Dave * said:
There’s a number of Freesat boxes that record, Have a look at the range at Argos (don’t know if they’re cheapest, but at least they’re all on one page).


They also allow recording four channels at once and pausing live TV.



www.freesat.co.uk

Recordable 4K TV Box

Hundreds of hours of entertainment. No sky-high TV bills. The Freesat Recordable 4K TV Box covers your every need.
www.freesat.co.uk www.freesat.co.uk
Click to expand...
Great, thank you for that. Might be the easiest and quickest solution!
 
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