Freeview+ Recorder

[SingleHappyMummy]

Am looking to buy a Freeview+ recorder so that I can record and pause programmes from my Samsung LCD Full HD TV. I've found a Humax one on Amazon with 160GB storage. Will this be enough for the odd film, and a few episodes of Deperate Housewives/The Tudors? The next size up is 320GB and wonder if that's too much for my needs. And do I need HDMI cables to connect it to my TV rather than just SCART ones?

Wondering whether to post this on the Dadsnet board too!!

Not quite the same thing but we've got a Humax hard drive recorder with 160GB connected to our Sky for the last 3 years and we've never come close to filling it up. Humax is a very good brand IMO, much better than the Panasonic which we had before.

Very vague i'm afraid about the cabling. Even if I looked at them I wouldn't know a HDMI cable if it hit me in the eye! [rubbish at technology emoticon]

Could try the Geeky Stuff board as well?

and

We've got the Humax too as have most of DH's techie friends who still think, after five years (ie, the time most of them have had one), that at the moment, it's still the best on the market.

Can't answer the question about cables, but I have a feeling that everything we needed came with it, but I might be talking nonsense! We got ours from John Lewis though and they advised.

Mine is connected with a HDMI cable but I don't know if you have to use that (but I can have a look in my book if you like). I think we have the 320GB one and I've managed to fill it with about 15 films and endless episodes of Octonauts.

I don't know what the price difference is but I'd go for the biggest hard disk you can afford - always good to have too much space rather than too little.

I love the fact that I can go to the loo during BBC programmes

We have Humax too. DH is a geek thorough researcher of such things and rated it the best brand on the market a couple of years ago.

It should tell you in the product description how many hours it will hold. Looks like 160GB is about 100 hours - so yes, should suffice for what you say you want though be warned you will quickly fill it with films that you "might as well keep". I'd personally go for the biggest you can afford.

Try Geeky Stuff rather than Dadsnet for the cable question or the feminists will lynch you

Thank you all very much for your quick help and advice. I'll defo go for the Humax then and take a look at the bigger memory version. Didn't realise there was a Geeky Stuff board either so will go there for HDMI info.

Because I am a geek I have looked in the manual. You can connect to the telly with either HDMI or SCART cables but if you use a SCART cable, you won't be able to get HD which rather negates the point of having an HD telly!

And because I am a super geek, I still have the box that my recorder came in and it comes with an HDMI cable included :)

I use SCART cables to connect the DVD and VCR players

Thanks again. Have ordered said Humax and a set of HDMI cables from Amazon and can't wait to get recording again.

Sorry I didn't look in here earlier.
I wouldn't go near Humax with a barge poll I'm afraid, I bought the 160 in 2008, less then a year later it was dead as a door nail, it had a two year warranty on it but as I had lost my proof of buying the damn thing I was stuffed.

Gave it to a repair guy who said it was a badly made piece of junk, he said he'd worked on many of their sat receivers in the past and he couldn't believe how fast they have turned shit, it was adverised as having a Western Digital HD in it, it didn't it was the cheapest Seagate HD money can buy, the main board was put in wrong and was bent and he said something about the PSU was missing a cut off switch or something and was in his opinion dangerous in the event of a surge.

I have a Hitachi 250 gig one now that is far better then that humax ever was, better made and does actually have a western Digital HD in it. I hope you're Humax isn't as big a pile of shit as mine was, but I'll never buy anything from them ever again they can't even be arsed to reply to emails.