back to article Humax adds BBC iPlayer to Freeview HD DVR

Set-top box specialist Humax will this weekend begin adding its TV Portal IPTV interface to its HDR-Fox T2 Freeview HD DVR. The Humax TV Portal will initial provide access to BBC iPlayer, Flickr and Wiki@TV, but Humax said it will be adding Sky Player for BSkyB customers in "a matter of weeks". Humax TV Portal Despite its …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What browser?

    I suppose an obvious IT question is, what browser are they going to use?

    1. David Gosnell

      None necessarily

      None necessarily. The Wii iPlayer for example at least appears to run natively without reliance on any browser technology. No reason why Humax needs be any different, surely?

  2. David Webb
    Heart

    I love you!

    I have the HDR-FOX T2 and it is now currently updating, thank you for this wonderful bit of information! If I were a woman I would have your babies, ok, maybe not, but thanks anyhow.

  3. probedb

    Freesat + Freeview HD

    I'd still like Humax to do a combo recorder to get the best of both worlds.

  4. pootle
    WTF?

    .... but is it any good?

    I've got a humax foxsat HDR which has had iplayer for some time, but it a pretty dire iPlayer impementation. The interface is incerdibly slow and clunky and the picture quality - even for "HD" mode is like a bad youtube video - unwatchable on a big screen. Unless this box's iPlayer is as good as a decent PC or the Sony BDP 370s it will be as much use as a tinfoil hat.

  5. Ol'Peculier

    Question

    How good is the iPlayer HD stream - would this mean I could watch stuff (thinking F1 especially...) even though I'm not in a HD region till August?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      How good?

      That would depend on your broadband connection, and whether or not your ISP does any traffic shaping.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Where's my credit card??

    Aha, this is the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle I've been waiting for before buying one of these puppies...

  7. Mage Silver badge
    Alert

    Please not PLT!

    Cat5e cable is faster, no interference and easy to run like a phone flex around the room edge and under doors.

    Why bother mentioning Power line ethernet?

    WiFi will work too for iPlayer. It's not as if iPlayer is HD.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Faster

      I've tested power line adaptors a speeds as fast as Cat5e on 100 Mbit NICs (high nineties). So no Cat5e isn't faster than power line adaptors, assuming the box (and your router) has a 100Mbit connector. But even so this would only matter if your internet connection was faster than 100Mbit/s *and* iPlayer actually needed more than 100Mbit/s. It isn't and it doesn't so your point is moot.

      The only problem I have with power line ethernet adaptors is the RF interference some of them cause. As such I'd be more inclined to go wireless on this if the router was sitting a long way from the TV box. Most homes don't have the phone socket near the TV and routing cat5 is a major pain when it's much easier to use powerline adaptors or wireless.

    2. Dick Emery
      Thumb Down

      err no

      There is iPlayer HD. Whether the Humax supports it or not though I am still not seeing and answer for.

      1. Matthew Collier

        ...of sorts...

        ...at 720p and max 3Mbit, it's more "SD+" or "HD Lite" than "HD", but technically, you are not wrong! :)

        +1 for me too, for a Humax twin Freesat + twin Freeview HD tuner box! (to augment a 10 year old TiVo, but the new Virgin embedded Tivo Cable STB might be the answer. if it's any good...)

  8. yokel
    Welcome

    Great news- November at last

    Found this and immediately went to Search for update. After a long time at 1600 on Sunday 6th got no new updates available.

    Anyone know when its being broadcast OTA?

    1. Lxbr

      Update looks available for download

      Don't know about the OTA update (my box isn't picking it up either), but the update looks to be available for download from the Humax support site now:

      http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/support/downloadcenter_model.aspx?category_seq=182

      - note I haven't tried installing it myself yet as I wanted to see a few reports from people who had (just in case it rendered the box dangerously unstable, as has happened to me with the old PVR 9000).

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Delayed !!!

    Delayed Sky player, useless ! , then again I see in past news which morons they got writing it - surprised if a half decent version ever appears.

    Humax please write it yourself, it might work and be on time then !!!

  10. Alan Edwards
    Thumb Up

    As good as FreeView for me

    I've got BBC iPlayer on a Sony Blu-Ray deck, and use it a lot.

    My broadband isn't up to the HD version, but iPlayer SD is as good as FreeView on my telly. I forget I'm watching streaming iPlayer a lot of the time.

    I'm also using Powerline Ethernet to connect to the broadband router, and it's only the ancient 85Mb/s version. That's still forty times faster than my broadband, so is easily good enough for an internet connection,.

  11. 997
    Thumb Up

    Great bit of kit

    Each to their own but I think the picture quality of the iPlayer is very good (I have a 32 Samsung TV), I only get about 8meg in and run it through the power, ease of use is superb.

    One thing I'd point out is that not everything is on there, we went to watch 'The Tudors' last week and it wasn't available on the Humax but was on the PS3 iPlayer, very odd, I've mailed Humax but not had a response.

    Can't wait for the Sky player as we don't have cable and aren't aloud a dish so this is ideal for me.

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