Freesat Recordable 4K TV Box 1TB
Freesat’s Recordable 4K TV box is the smartest way to enjoy the telly you love, with no monthly bills. This nifty little box offers a world of great entertainment at your fingertips, with over 180 TV channels (including over 20 in HD) plus multiple radio channels and an excellent range of On Demand players, including BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub, so you can watch your favourite shows at the click of a button. And if you’re after that little bit extra, you can also enjoy optional pay On Demand players such as Netflix. Available with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, the Recordable TV Box is capable of recording up to 4 programmes at the same time when connected to a wideband LNB satellite dish, so you’ll never miss the shows you love. Setting up couldn’t be easier; simply connect to your TV and UK satellite dish (and to broadband for TV On Demand and other features) and you’re good to go!
| Dimensions: | 25 x 15 x 4 cm; 581 Grams |
| Model: | UHD-4X-1000 |
| Batteries Included: | 2 AAA batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Arris |
| Dimensions: | 25 x 15 x 4 cm; 581 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
So far this replacement has been fine and easy to use. Despite mixed reviews, we can hopefully enjoy good service from it. Time will tell.
Another level if improvement, it really does mean that I no longer have a problem of too many recording clashes. It’s user interface has advanced a lot and the remote control is vastly better the the last generation.
The box arrived as promised. The box itself is great a bit overpriced. It doesn’t work straight out the box. You have to leave in standby for 2 hours to update. Nice glossy instructions but NO mention of this. You would think it didn’t work and return it. Phoned freesat there are aware of it ?? But havnt updated instructions. Madness
Replaced my old Humax box (after 20+yrs). New features are well worth it.
Item arrived quickly and was so easy to swap our Sky box over. Brilliant timing
It arrived very quickly than I thought, plugged it in, at first the picture wasn’t great, called up the help line, was advised to swap the HDMI lead connection at the back of the TV(2 of them).
I swapped it, wow! Picture became crystal clear. Absolutely happy about this little box, remote control is brilliant and easy to use. No negative point that I can think of.
Meantime, I got a reconditioned Humax 1100s recorder and then discovered that its remote control and this far cheaper Allimity RM-108UM replacement remote control also operated my Freesat 4k!!!
I have now returned the Humax because it doesn’t do ITV X and I’m using the Allimity for my Freesat 4K! Eureka!
Some time the picture comes on pink I switch off then on to get it sorted quality brilliant otherwise
Bought this to replace my sky box as I didn’t watch any sky programs and was unable to record without a subscription so saved up and bought this 1 TB Freesat box from Arris I believe I’ve seen lots of poor reviews this is my take the box itself is ok it’s plastic like most things but serve’s it’s function only one button on there which is a power button.
One good thing is if you connect it to a dish that had sky Q box you will be able to record 3 programs and watch a fourth handy setting up is easy.
HD picture quality looks very good to me normal channels are ok.the first half negative is the menu and the guide the guide doesn’t move very smoothly and there’s not many options in the settings not as nice to use as skys but still usable the remote is again ok does the job but does not feel so tactile but is again ok.the phone app needs work is slow but again works just.overall it pretty good but needs fine tuning especially for the price of the box.reliability so far so good time will tell will update in a month or so.
Good having all apps in one place easy to use remote control a still not in sync with TV keep following instructions but not working
A great piece of kit. Our digital signal is terrible here and is sometimes lost altogether. Going onto freesat has made watching tv a far more enjoyable experience. Picture and sound clarity are top notch. Would recommend this.
Decided to replace my sky box with freesat. It was delivered very quickly and was easily connected. Impressed with quality of images and choices of viewing. Would recommend freesat box as good replacement for sky.
Bought this to replace SKY+ box, as we weren’t watching anything that wasn’t on freesat.
I bought this to replace my old Humax box, I have been using this new one for a couple of months and so far I have found the interface is inferior to the Humax. The menus are not as good and the recordings menu is poor, it’s nothing that a update could not improve but they don’t seem that interested. There is no Alaxa intergration which is poor for what is a new product. The picture qaulity is as good as the humax but overall it is still better than paying a fortune for Sky
So pleased I changed from free view to freesat .. much better all round .. I can record up to 4 programs at any one time with this model ..
Extremely easy to set up and downloading the app means that you can record whilst out and about. So next time you see something on when you’re away from home, you don’t need to panic about not being able to watch it in the privacy of your own home.
I have bought this freesat recorder to take the place of virgin and it is so easy to use with superb picture quality
Once you’ve read the manual thoroughly, it’s very easy to use. I especially like being able to see what I might have missed in the previous 7 days. The app to record remotely is jolly good and can be used to plan your viewing even if you don’t have a Freesat box.
Easy to set up – just used the cables I had been using with my redundant Sky box. On screen instructions clear. As far as I can see, everything working as it should. Excellent picture quality. Very good interaction with iPlayer and other apps (connected to modem by ethernet) making for a versatile viewing experience. BIG improvement on the clunky box Sky provided me with in March – and much smaller. So far, very pleased with my purchase.
No return to the last programme “blue button ” Can’t record more than one programe until I upgrade to a wideband LNB.
This Freesat box is ideal for expats like myself. It took an age to be delivered but that’s down to the courier and customs rather than Amazon or Freesat.
I was disappointed that it came with another persons account already loaded, including several episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale recorded and the default PIN changed so I couldn’t use all the features. However it seems to work fine and to return it would be a right royal pain in the butt from my location, so with support from Amazon was able to do a reset to factory condition. It’s such a joy to be able to record TV again that I don’t want to give it up.
The user interface is clear and intuitive so no need to RTFM if you are savvy with this type of equipment. The picture quality is excellent on my 4k TV and with 1Tb of storage will keep me happy for a while to come.
It’s definitely a better box more updated spec Hand set a bit bouncy but picture looks good after switching it on.
what a super bit of kit , plug in the 2 aerial wires at the back, plus 13 amp switch on the free sat does it all like ,magic .do buy one its super easy.
I moved away from SKY because of the dramatic increase in the cost of the subscription at the end of the contract. I purchased the Freesat HD box as a substitute, and am very happy with the result so far. It does what it says on the box!
The fact it does not work is sufficient information for you to know I am very disatisfied custome
Really good buying experience, was a little worried by some of the reviews I read prior to our buy hand in heart it’s been really easy to Install, left it switched on overnight to carry out software update, all channels working great, not finding any lag with recording,
I think people expect sky, and it’s not, it’s a more basic platform but it works great and I’m not paying stupid amounts of money to Sky each month for nothing better.
Really pleased with my purchase, as long as you have a bit of common sense I’m sure you’ll find it a pleasant experience. Keep your expectations real and you won’t go wrong.
A good standard product but some features of older sets, such as those from Humax, are missing.
It would have been good to have onscreen notification that a recording was starting as it was on older boxes such as Humax
Easy to set up, great picture quality and intuitive remote control. Only negative is that in order to record up to 4 programs at once a wideband lnb is required on my satellite dish.
Decided to ditch Sky Q as I was watching mainly terrestrial and thought paying out 65 per month not worth it. The menu navigation is a bit long winded compared to my old sky q box but bearable. The things that annoy me most are……. if I have set something to record because I am watching another programme there is nothing visible to let me that recording is working. My Sky box had red light showing when recording.
….. when watching live I can pause and rewind but there is nothing to show that when I rewind I am not watching live. ……. There is nothing to show if I am watching a recording…… I have set up my “favourite ” channels and it would but nice be able list them quickly instead of going through all the menus. ……. lastly a facility to add more apps to the on demand menu, as I can on my TV, would be useful. All in all not a bad box but seems a little amateurish.
Only problem with this box is that it can be very slow when streaming. Also I have to reboot the box at least once per week as it seems to lose its signal.
However, it is nowhere near as slick as Sky Q. The remote requires a firm press directly on each button or it doesn’t work or selects the wrong function. There is also a noticeable time lag between pressing and the screen changing. Overall, the remote, and indeed the user interface appears more like a product from a few years ago, not 2021.
Picture quality is good, and the range of channels and apps is impressive, the device is small and looks good on the shelf under my TV.
I am happy with my Freesat box and, at a one-off purchase price significantly less than what I paid Sky every year, I recommend it. It fully meets my requirements and appears well made, however I imagine a dedicated Sky Q user, who likes flicking through the channels, may well find the user interface and slower remote frustrating.
I was a little bit worried about how reliable the box would be after reading some of the negative reviews and having just got rid of a reliable Sky Q box, but after switching on the box and leaving it to automatically updated to the latest software, I can say I’m very pleased with it and it works great and I haven’t had any issues at all.
I had had my old Freesat Box for quite a few years, so I thought it was tine to change. Unfortunately, the Caravan Site where I am using this equipment, doesn’t have wonderful WIFI, so I can’t use Netflix or any of the other online channels. My biggest disappointment was when I came to recording a programme. I wanted to watch the “OPEN” last week, they had the highlights on the BEEB, so I set it up to record. While it was recording I wanted to watch another channel and it wouldn’t let me. So I either had to watch the channel that was recording, or stop the recording and watch another one. I chose to watch another one, to keep my wife happy, thinking that I will be able to watch the part -recording later, when she had gone to bed. No such luck, it doesn’t save part-recordings. So if you want to record something while you are out to watch when you get back, I am sure it is going to be great, although I haven’t tried that yet . It is nothing like having a TIVO box at home, but that costs me 130 a month, not A one off payment of 249.
Remote could be better than it is, buttons are close to one another so you can end up pressing edge of one next to it.
Already subscribed to Amazon prime and Netflix which you do get in On Demand, does work out cost effective as Sky replacement but do also have Amazon Tv Fire stick.
Box is a lot smaller than a Sky box as well as less cables, so does not look out of place sitting under TV.
Have not as yet used to record anything but as with Sky you can pause live TV, rewind, fast forward.
The box did not perform as expected on installation so, without any expectations, rang the freesat helpline. The call was promptly answered and the advisor took me through very clear diagnostic routine and we performed a software reboot which solved the problem and the box has performed impeccably since. If only all helplines were like freesat!
This is a good replacement for a Humax of which mine stopped recording. Recording is vital for me as I rarely watch anything, other than the news, live. Apart from some fast forward in short steps issues (like in between adverts) all the features are there. A shame there is not a button where you can go directly to recordings, rather than going to the main menu. I can now use my app on the phone to instruct recordings etc., although this wasn’t available at the very beginning for some reason. I think the price is good, too – certain that the Humax cost a lot more several years ago. Happily I can use the old stb in another part of the house for guests to watch live TV.
My only fault is i find it very slow to respond to the remote control
It does the job. Replaced a defunct Humax box. The controls could use redesign. The buttons on the remote are small & close so you often use the wrong one. Navigation could also be better. Having said that, we get a good selection of channels with a good picture. With Netflix & Prime you have all the telly you need.
Main thing is sharp 4K picture to TV with Option for four channel recording with expanded LNB on your dish.
Remote controls quite small buttons, very fiddly to fast forward and stop recordings.
The box is sometimes slow to respond to remote signal.
Generally I am quite pleased with its overall performance.
I haven’t experienced any lag in button to display as others have commented on
I’m really pleased to have upgraded to this box.
Thanks FREESAT!
When i first got it , software was really problematic , and Glitchy , It needed an update , upon looking it up on how to do this , just simply leave it in standby , for a little while and it updated itself , it did this little squeek a few times while rebooting , which is something it is meant to do , and now its great , software works fine , and not had any problems , very pleased
ot much choice in Freesat these days, not as good as my old Humax. Remote is particularly frustratingly slow!
works well but remote a bit cluttered and oddly recorded items protected by an undisclosed password, why?
beyond that v satisfied
hen, get this. Our old Humax box; had to run round an Ethernet cable to be able to watch on demand tv but this one,, all you have to do is put in the router password and it finds, connects. So much easier. The box itself is small and compact. Simple to set up and just follow the instructions as you go along. If you’re already using Freesat, then I can certain recommend the 4K set. You won’t be disappointed.
Offers some advantages over the Humax it replaced. The single button access to IPlayer and other on-demand services is good, but display of recorded progs is very poor! For example: a recorded film resulted in SEVEN entries in the recorded list! All of which had to be deleted individually.
It is also concerning that the unit gets, and stays, quite hot.
I think most bad reviews are from early adopters, and they are right that shipping these devices with the first version of the software was ridiculous. It simply was not fit for purpose.
HOWEVER, the system updated within a few hours of installation, and runs like a dream with the updates.
Overall this is a good replacement for Sky Q. It’s slick, and picture quality is great. I wish Freesat would sort out the music channels (or lack thereof) though.
We have found the box pretty good: it works, the picture quality is good and it is very quiet (and completely silent on standby). When powered up and the room is otherwise silent you can just hear the hard drive being accessed (but not annoyingly so – more on this ‘feature’ below). The remote is nice to hold and so far seems to be sensible. Before I continue please note:
– I will never use an App to control it so I can make no comment on that.
– Catch-up TV will always be via a wired ethernet connection, not over wi-fi.
Looking a Pros and Cons below, the Cons outnumber the Pros considerably, but for me these are little niggles rather than deal breakers.
Pros:
– Neat, inoffensive looking device
– Silent when on stand-by
– So far has worked perfectly
Cons:
– The UI is a little primitive, especially the program guide
– The hard drive is continually being accessed when the device is powered on (to enable pause or rewind of live TV). I do not want to pause or rewind live TV, and it would be nice to be able to turn this feature off to improve the life of the hard drive and to remove the slight noise that this makes.
– No buttons to skip chunks of time to skip through adverts. I don’t know how long the adverts will be anyway, so I just use fast forward – no problem
– Sound is muted when fast forwarding on double speed. On our Freeview box, at double speed there was sound (sampled so voices msounded normal), so you could fast forward through a program still hearing what was going on, which I found very useful when skimming past the silly bits on Top Gear while still hearing what they were saying
– No light on the front to tell you that recording is in progress
– Cannot add time to start or end of recording. This was also missing from our Freeview box. It rarely caused an issue and hasn’t so far with this box.
– I would love to have a delete button on the remote control so I can remove a recording without diving into menus
– On-line manual only, and you need it if you want to do things like pair the remote with your TV
Finally, not really a Con – once you have set up the remote to also operate the TV, you lose control of the volume on the Freesat box, so if you want to match your TV volume across different inputs, and your TV has no individual controls for this (mine doesn’t), you must set the volume you want on the Freesat box before pairing it with the TV.
This is a huge improvement on the Humax boxes and worth getting a wideband LNB on the dish to enable the 4 channel recording ability.
The remote control is easy to use and watch catch up tv , Netflix etc. Only bit annoying issue is that we cannot access channel 4 on catch up?
First impressions were excellent. It did nearly everything my skyq box did for free channels, plus a few extra things, like captions on internet movies. However, after a couple of weeks the response times from the remote became slowed down so much as to be unusable. I needed to switch off the box at the mains to reset it, and now working ok again.
As noted elsewhere some of the buttons on the remote are not as well separated as they might be, but you soon learn which ones you have to be careful in pressing.
Once I got used to the differences from the Sky Box I find the Freesat Box fine, a little slow to react in places but so far so good.
The remote control, I find is very poor and designed badly. They should look at the Sky Remote for design help. Getting away from that issue, as a whole I am quite surprised at the quality and functions available. Leaving out the remote, so far, am satisfied with my purchase.
The picture quality is excellent and has no lypsinc problems like the similar priced Humax box I sent back did.
The remote control is very positive and I general works well .
The Freesat platform has vastly improved Over the years so all in all I am very pleased with my purchase.
on opening the box there was a printed sheet giving the suppliers phone number to ring for any help required with the product or set up. I did not need any but was impressed with this A welcome feature and gives confidence that they are sure of their products quality.
The freesat box works well though using another device as a remote control is a little naff as you can only use it once then you have to remove from open apps (swipe up) then open the app again to be able to use it again as a remote control. All other things on it work how you would expect.
Still getting used to the remote but getting better
Overall very plealsed
The receiver works very well and is easy to use. One small problem I had after I had been using it for 2 weeks, the control device stopped working. I contacted the supplier and they did some on line test with me and sure enough the remote control was faulty. They assured me they would send a replacement and I should get it within 4 to 4 days. It arrived the very next day and all is once again working. VERY GOOD service department, thank you.
Went the whole hog and converted to Freesat (using an unused Sky dish installed by a previous homeowner) to supplement Apple, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Thus avoiding the signal quality/atmospheric variables of the existing terrestrial aerial in my location.
Been very impressed with the Freesat box – small, quiet and fast. Setup also impressive.
The remote is easy to use controlling both the set top box and the (Samsung) TV.
Highly recommended.
Works well, I press the power button on the remote and the box light turns blue and I get pictured on my TV very modern!! Sometime I can get volume if I take it off mute.
Owing to an impulse,trying to keep the wife happy I ordered the wrong machine which cost me a satellite dish as well , yes it works very well ,I’m pleased that it fulfills what was required.
One criticism: I have to agree with comments from others on the huge text used for programme listings, way larger than on the Humax, and that used on Freesat’s own website. They could easily double or quadruple the information displayed, which would make browsing much easier. Also lose the clunky forward/back arrows, which use up at least 50% of the available display area.
Got this for my nan after canceling Virgin media, new dish with duel LNB to record 4 stations at once (make sure to read the online manual tonget your dish booked in before your box arrives!) Cost 180 quid and she’s got all the TV she needs now with no monthly payment. 50 mb broadband and all works fine for streaming ect still with other devices on the network like Ring Doorbell Ring camera and 4 Alexa’s. Menues easy to use and great for young or old people. Personally if you have a firesrick.with prime videos or Netflix ect, plus this there really is no need for virgin media I’ll be cancelling my virgin media subscription, I looked what we recorded, (both in our 30s no kids) 90% of what we did was on free view or streamed from a subscription service. Hope this review Helps!!
Bought this to replace a Humax pvr 1100S, the hard disc seemingly going phut. This is half the size but with a better picture, fair sound and, so far, good recording. Easy to set up until trying to access the Freesat website which was very slow and crashed several times. The remote is a bit cramped for big hands and turns on both the pvr and my BT Freeview box which is a nuisance. Programme guide clear but not enough of it displayed at any one time. They will charge you nearly 2 for a downloadable guide so I have not found a solution to the nuisance of the remote as mentioned above. The pamphlet that comes in the box is what you see on the tv screen so redundant.
Apart from giving you 6 bbc1 channels not sure that it gives you much more than freeview
I looked about for a replacement unit and settled on this one, I was a wee bit apprehensive about the 200 price, but took a punt.
Turned out to be a good punt too.
Got the box, unpacked it and fitted all the leads etc, turned it on.
The setup took minutes and was very easy, the recording function is very easy to do and live pause is good too.
The menu is nice and easy.
You can put Netflix, prime & now tv on it plus a few others.
In summary, if you’re an ex sky user and want a replacement box, this is the one you want.
Great box, shame about the remote control. Too small, very awkward shape which defies description – who ever designed it should be replaced. The buttons are placed badly and it is too easy to press more than one at a time
and the tapered end ensures that if you tighten your grip on the remote, it slide out of your hand like a wet bar of soap.
It is a very good box, but I guess I have been spoilt by being a long term Humax man.
But as Humax is no longer available in the Freesat environment this is a very good replacement, just takes a little bit of getting used to.
The buttons on the remote are to close and its slow to respond.
At least it doesn’t find itself in the eternal reboot that all our Humax Freesat boxes have done in the past. However, it does have a whiff of Samsung’s annoying – just didn’t record your programme – from time to time.
Apart from the above and the constant request for a passcode to watch recording (even when it is turned off in settings). It is better than most.
It is good but the buttons on the remote are to close together. We found awkward but all together happy with i
Great little box,very happy apart from the remote is a little fiddly if you have chubby fingers.
he only issue i had was the remote control, the centre ok button was an issue, you have to be carefull pressing it as you can inadvertently touch one of the outer selectors, shame really apart from this its a good item. there seems to be a slight software issue where it displays at regular intervals that ‘its connected to the internet’, the manufacturer is aware of this and is working to fix it.
Sent this item back as faulty. Later found it was probably OK
Because of skimpy installation instructions The fact is that it will not tune in to the the older sky dish lnb
It only works if you have a more recent sky Q lnb on your dish!
Great bit of kit I had The humax Prior to this which had some issues with speed of control use and eventually stopped working due to so far the shoes the human actually not control is also the weak point.
I’m pleased to say this unit is smaller although has some Lag when using the remote control this is an initial start up stages in the first few seconds of turning the machine on, build control seems a lot better than the humax and with a decent Satellite signal you can record up to four items at once.
This is easy to use and I recommend it.
Compared to the Humax, it wins hands-down.
It was slow to respond on the remote and just seemed wholly underpowered.
However, this new Freesat box is very responsive, and seems to be almost instantly on!
I’m well pleased with the performance.
The built in applications are great too. In fact we now use the built in Netflix over the LG TV’s Netflix.
My only niggle, the program guide…this could have been so much better if the whole width of the screen was used. It does seem like the developer only had a 4:3 size screen when writing the interface.
The picture quality is good, although with no 4k broadcasts in the UK yet, it’s a bit of a waste. Could get 4k from some of the apps but we have other devices that do that for us already, just needed this to handle Freesat. Recording is good and the capacity is plenty.
The UI needs some work; recordings used to be a single button press on our old Humax HDR, now it’s Menu – recordings – all. Silly, backward step. In the guide, the programme info is cut short and there seems to be no way to get to read it in full. When scrolling the guide, the +/-24 hours buttons don’t become available until you have scrolled a little with the standard left/right – again, a bizarre design.
You’ll need a wideband (or hybrid) LNB on your dish to get the best out of this (multiple recordings etc); otherwise it uses two standard LNB feeds and will only record one thing at a time – so budget another 30 quid or so and a climb up the ladder to fit a new LNB if you want the full features!
Build quality seems a tad cheap with a disconcerting rattle inside the unit which turned out to be plastic debris. Comparison with previous box which began with a H seems a step backwards with reduced functionality in the menus.
The box is small, and looks great.
+ Functionality, it works really well. The recordings are easy enough to set up and manage, and the linkage to the mobile app works efficiently.
+ The online help for set up is great too – and makes up for any gaps in the paper documentation which comes with the product.
+ Integration with specific apps via direct buttons on the remote control is smooth and makes for easy use of iPlayer, ITVPlayer and Netflix
– The only negative is the ergonomics of the remote. This is pretty minor, and probably because I have fairly big hands (!), though and included more for balance than anything else….and it certainly doesn’t diminish the overall 5 start rating of the product.
Gives me a great selection of channels, but not as versatile a Humax box
Only gripe is that you only see half the info in the TV guide (unless I haven’t figured out how to change this yet!)
Why move to Freesat? Well, in the STV area they recently rejigged the transmitter frequencies and despite three aerial visits by Freeview they were unable to facilitate a reliable signal. They would leave it working but in the days following all the HD channels would intermittently disappear and some SD channels occasionally got pixellated. Apparently it had to do with nearby wind turbine interference.
Some pros of the box are that it is quiet, fast, has a quality remote which is responsive, is relatively cool running, has a small footprint and a good choice of energy management settings. Other reviewers have criticised the guide as being outdated but I love it because actions are clearly explained in logical steps. One reviewer complained about excessive clicks to delete a recording but I prefer that to the instant delete on Freeview – will likely lead to fewer mistakes.
The only improvement which comes to mind is the registration process on the box to obtain a Freeview account. This is slightly confusing.
A couple of subsidiary comments that may help. During setup I tested the record function but it wouldn’t let me record and view at the same time. I checked in settings and it declared only one cable despite my having fitted two. Examining the cables I saw one had got loose which I fixed and retested but still no joy. I fiddled for half an hour, repeatedly swapping cables, was about to send it back as faulty but a quick Google search led to the word RESCAN and bingo two cables were declared and the record function then worked properly.
The other point is about picture quality. All in the household mentioned that the picture was a “bit garish” which hadn’t manifest itself on Freeview. That was fixed by going into my Panasonic TV settings and deselecting “Dynamic” mode in the picture section. This is variously known as “Vivid”, “Movie”, “Pro”, or something similar. Of course some people prefer a vivid setting but I don’t and after this adjustment the Freesat picture is now perfect for my mid-range equipment. The picture is deep, rich, focused and a smidgeon better than Freeview!
All that’s now left to do is to replace the LNB with a wideband one so that I will be able to record up to 4 programmes at the same time.
The unit was extremely simple to install.
The only complaint I have is that the hand control OK button is in the centre of the programme select button. You have to get your finger directly on the top of the button to operate without changing programmes. People with very thick fingers could find this very annoying.
The pause and record functionality and ability to watch and record separate channels and series link were her priorities and this product has removed the need for her to pay ridiculous monthly prices to Sky for the same functionality. The added advantage is the ability to go backwards in time and watch missed programmes easily on catch up.
It’s small which is great. The remote control is easy to use. If you are considering buying this I would say go ahead. It’s a no brainer!
Pros
– Slim, compact unit and neutral grey colour blends in.
– Easy setup and connection to Wi-Fi.
– Surprisingly wide range of free channels – my unit picked up over 160 stations.
– Simple interface and easy to master remote which can be programmed to control basic TV functions.
– Easy access to UK support by web, chat or phone.
– Recording is easy to set via the clear programme guide plus there’s a series record feature.
– Picture quality and audio are generally quite good.
– I like the feature where if you select a standard definition channel and the same programme is being transmitted in HD an on-screen prompt appears which can transfer you to the HD version.
– Seems reliable and will record two programmes at a time on a standard LNB and up to 4 with a wideband version.
– Software updates seem well supported.
– A companion app for Apple and Android which allows remote programming etc. is available.
Areas for development
– No obvious indication that recording is taking place on the front of the recorder.
– Some buttons on the remote are are a bit small such as TV on and fast forward/reverse.
– Would like to be able to zoom out programme guide rather than having to scroll along to see anything other than the next programme or two.
– No Dolby sound — only stereo or surround settings.
– No Amazon Prime Video built-in but I hear it’s work in progress.
– You can’t receive Channel 4 HD but that is due to a dispute between satellite TV providers rather than the recorder.
Update – since my initial purchase I bought another of these recorders for my parents and wanted some advice about captions, the response by phone was excellent and very swiftly resolved the issue.
Great picture had to modify lnr to wideband to be able to record 4 programs. Not made clear when I purchased item all in all good buy.
Easy to set up
The problem arose when using in my campervan. I didn’t connect the unit to my wifi as it was via a mifi device and would have used expensive data credit. After a while the unit started rebooting a couple of times on switch on. I went through Amazon’s help system to try and solve this, but I couldn’t speak directly to the manufacturer’s technical support, only the Amazon help. The person helping was very good, helpful, and patient, but she didn’t have the details necessary to resolve this issue. The outcome being that the unit was returned for refund and I purchase a new one. The refund and re-buy went very smoothly and I received my new unit very fast. I installed it without connecting to wifi again, and the same reboot cycle occurred. I then decided, as an experiment, to connect it to the wifi to see if this would clear the problem. It did! If this detail had been available to the Amazon help person, I would not have had to send my original unit back, and Amazon/vendor would not have had to loose money on the return and refund.
I am still very happy with the unit and it works very well.