The PVR 9200T: Still some work needed (Humax PVR 9200T)

Member Name: Jondot

Product:	Humax PVR 9200T
Date:	11/07/09 (202 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good picture quality, logical remote, looks good

Disadvantages: Has a habit of freezing, EPG next to useless

We bought the PVR 9200T, essentially, as it had been recommended by The Gadget Show on Five (who generally know what they're talking about). Unfortunately though, the box hasn't quite lived up to its reputation.

First, the good points.

The picture quality is actually very good. I think it's noticeably better than my Digifusion box, and actually as good as the inbuilt tuner in my Sony TV. The remote is of a good quality and is very easy to use. Everything is sort of logically laid out, and it feels like it's been built to last. There's a handy USB port in the front which allows you to copy the recorded programs onto your computer. A brilliant idea - every box should have one. I also like the handy display on the front of the box, which tells you the time and the channel you're watching.


Unfortunately, that's basically where it ends. The EPG is has some horrible flaws.

If you switch the box on (i.e take it out of standby mode) and view the EPG, absolutely no information will have loaded. So, you hit the back button and wait a while for it to load, only even after 5 minutes, the box still won't have completely loaded the guide. In fact the only way to ensure that the entire guide has loaded is to switch it on and leave it for 10 minutes before opening the EPG. Horribly frustrating, and something which even the cheapest of boxes can better.

Bizzarely, there's no 'reminder' function either, so I frequently miss the start of programs I want to watch. Very annoying.

Also, hitting 'record' during a program will simply record it from that position onwards - something which I find very annoying. On my Digifusion it'll record it from as far as you've been watching (i.e from the beginning of the program).

And my box is prone to freezing for some reason, meaning that I'm almost constantly having to reach around the back and manually switch it off.



Essentially it's got some nice features, but there's certainly some refining to do.

Summary: It's a good box, but it's certainly not finished. Think of it like a beta.

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