For those of us who can't afford to fork out a monthly fee when finances are tight there is now Freeview+

The Humax 9300T is actually the third device we have owned for recording freeview and by far the best. Previously to this we had a computer with a digital TV card and a Samsung PVR (SH855M). We bought the Samsung to match our TV but ended up taking it back and swapping it as it was so frustrating to use.

So, Humax 9300T:

Main Features:
*Big 320Gb hard drive - Currently have around 25 movies and 5 tv series on there and its less than half full.
*Two freeview tuners - Record two channels at once and even watch a third. If you are recording only one channel you can watch any other channel but if recording on two at once you do have some restrictions as to what you can watch.
* Freeview+ - this is much the same idea as Sky+. Record whole series at the touch of one button. You can also pause live TV if your phone goes off mid way through your favorite programme which is just genius!
* HDMI output - this upscales to 720p - this gives a really clear picture if your TV is High Definition ready. If not then you should get whatever the best your TV can do.
* Slot to add a card for pay TV channels (we have not used this as the idea was to save money!)

Connections:
one HDMI output
two scart connections

Looks:
Actually it looks pretty similar to any other black set top box. It has a gloss finish and a light blue LED display which I like. There is not much to say as all PVRs I have seen look pretty much the same and in that case why would you choose based on looks?

Ease of Use:
The Humax is really easy to use. If you have ever seen a digital TV or normal freeview box you will have seen an EPC (Electronic Programme Guide) - its just the posh name for the screen which lists channels down one side, times across the top and has the names of the of programmes in the middle.

On the Humax you press one button on the remote to access this. You simply move around the screen to the programme you are interested in using the up down left and right keys. Then you press the "OK" button. If the programme you selected is on now it will take you straight there. If it is on later it will offer to record it for you. Even better, if it is part of a series it automatically recognise this and simply ask you if you want to record one prog or the whole series - select "one" or "all" and press"OK". It really couldn't be any simpler! The programme guide does take a couple of minutes to populate sometimes as it has to download the TV guide.

To watch back something you have recorded you press "Menu" and then select "Recorded Programmes" then select the one you want and press "Play". Again all very straight forward. Its pretty much like watching a DVD at this point - you have the option to stop, pause, rewind or fastforward - particularly useful if you aren't interested in the adverts!

If you are buying this for a family where one person is a techie but the other is your elderly aunt then both are going to be able to easily do whatever they want.

Advanced features for the tech savvy include the ability to chop the adverts out, picture in picture, a USB port to put movies out onto if you want to put them onto your PC and many others.

Drawbacks in Use:
The fan used to be a bit noisy - about the same as an older Video Cassette player where you could hear the tape going round - but Humax have issued an update which has made it much quieter.
The EPG (Programme Guide) can be slow to load sometimes - taking up to a minute or so.

Cost:
We paid £179 for it in John Lewis as we wanted it before our holidays and didn't have time to wait for internet delivery.