Humax HDR-FOX T2 review

Not forgetting about audio, the HDR-FOX T2’s optical S/PDIF can convert the native HE-AAC encoding to Dolby Digital, allowing you to hook up just about any AV receiver for 5.1 surround sound, when it’s broadcast with the programme. The same conversion happens on the HDMI output, although you’ll need an amplifier with HDMI inputs, of course.

Video can be output at 720p, 1080i or 1080p, and menus look great at 1080p. The EPG shows seven channels at once and up to eight days of information. It’s possible to watch a third channel while two other programmes are being recorded, including pausing it or rewinding it. Saved recordings can be renamed and are usefully stored in folders, which is great for series. When fast forwarding or rewinding, there are five search speeds, but you can also hit the left or right navigation buttons to skip through the timeline even quicker.

As with the HD-FOX T2, the new model is also a media streamer. Videos, photos and music can be streamed over your network: there’s an Ethernet port, plus a rear USB port for Humax’s optional WiFi dongle. Impressively, this PVR can even act as a media server, streaming stored recordings to other DLNA devices, including the HD-FOX T2. You can set power-up and power-down times in the menus, to ensure the server is available when you need it.

You can also play music, video and photos from a USB disk or flash drive: a port is hidden at the front. Format support is good, including DivX HD, MKV, XviD and VOB for video, JPEG images and MP3 audio. Although the box can read from NTFS-formatted devices, it can’t write to them. This means you can’t archive TV recordings to an NTFS disk, but you can copy them to a FAT-formatted drive. You can copy media from NTFS and FAT devices to the internal hard disk.

If this wasn’t enough, there’s a Common Interface slot at the rear so you can add pay channels including ESPN, and Sky Sports 1 and 2. There’s a single scart output, along with composite video and stereo phono outputs, but anyone not using the HDMI output should probably buy a cheaper non-HD PVR.