80 HUMAX PVR 9200T ➜ £150 Approx ➜ www.humaxdigital.com.uk
Series Link hits town Chris Jenkins pauses a moment with Humax’s latest PVR
umax’s reputation for making flexible, up-to-the-minute PVRs isn’t harmed at all by this latest model. Mind you, it doesn’t threaten much in the way of future shock – the onscreen menus are almost identical to those of the (sexier-looking) PVR800T which it replaces. What’s changed, of course, is the specification. Like most areas of home entertainment, the PVR business is moving at a rate of knots. Capacious hard drives, dual digital tuners and multi-media capability are now de rigeur. The chunky black 9200T (there’s also a silver model available) has a bright blue LED display, and a flip-down panel on the right which opens to reveal the slot for conditional access modules and viewing cards such as Setanta Sports’.
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Also under the slot is a USB 2.0 port; this can be used to transfer recordings from the 160GB hard drive to a PC for format conversion and burning to CD or DVD. This is a handy solution if you occasionally want to archive a recording. Minimal socketry includes dual Scarts (one RGB), stereo audio phonos, and an optical audio output for better system integration. The RS232 socket, nominally for software upgrading, seems largely redundant since this can be done over-air. Weirdly, the massive remote is styled completely differently to the PVR, clearly laid-out with less-used controls under a sliding panel.
In terms of features, the 9200T is well up to scratch compared with the competition. You get four Favourite Channel lists, a 7-day EPG with numerous sorting options, and a virtual on-screen keyboard to help you programme searches. You can set recordings using a manual timer, or directly from the EPG using once, daily, weekly and Series Link options. Since this is a dual-tuner model, you can record two TV or radio channels simultaneously, and can watch yet another channel at the same time – but it has to be carried by the same multiplex as one of the ones you are recording. A buffer option lets you extend recordings before and after the start time to avoid problems with over-running. Series Link is offered with the latest software version, and there’s a two-hour cache to pause live TV. Post-recording functions include some rather crude editing features; you can trim and split recordings, but the options are rather limited. Picture quality is fine – you don’t get a choice of recording quality, but it’s pretty much a case of getting out what you put into it.
Digital duties Overall, this is an easy-to-use and workmanlike PVR, which should give you room for up to 100 hours of recordings. With Series Link Freeview Playback 2 products still relatively scarce, this is a leading-edge Freeview choice
Playback chic: VCR style is not dead! Long live the chunk!
➜ Specifications Tuner: YES two digital tuners Scart: YES two (one RGB) Component: NO not here RS232: YES one connection Stereo phono output: YES Digital audio output: YES optical Freeview Playback: YES HDD: 160GB Dimensions: 380(w) x 78(h) x 281(d)mm Weight: 3.7kg Features: CI slot; Pause live TV (up to 2 hours); 7-day EPG; Series Link; PiP; digital radio; clock/alarm; instant replay; MP3/JPG compatibility; USB 2.0 input
AV/CV Product: Freeview Playback 2certified dualtuner PVR with 160GB hard drive, conditional access slot and USB connection Position: Top of the Humax PVR range Peers: Topfield 5800 TVonics P250 Sharp TU-160HA
VERDICT Humax PVR 9200T £150 Approx Highs: USB connector; MP3/JPG compatibility; decent recordings; Lows: Quirky operating system; limited editing functions Performance: Design: Features:
Overall:
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28/11/07 08:16:23