When partnered with a Freeview Play FVP-5000T PVR the Espresso will view live TV from one of the FVP’s built in three tuners. Not only that all your recorded programmes can also be viewed via Espresso given you multi-room TV in any room you choose! If you don’t have a Freeview Play PVR don’t worry your Espresso can still deliver a wealth of Free TV content with our built in apps via the internet. Humax has had great success with its What Hi-Fi? Award-winning FVP-5000T set-top box and, four years into its life, a replacement was long overdue when the Aura launched in 2020. For both specs and looks, the Aura was the upgrade we had been waiting for. The Humax FVP-5000T was well-regarded for its triple tuners, a feature that set it apart from some competitors by allowing users to record up to four programs while watching a fifth.

The ultimate test of any piece of tech kit is would you buy it again or recommend it to someone you care for? Nope. Even the way the remote control is layed out is rushed and not intuitive. The button to find your recordings is hidden away and too small. I'm constantly miskeying and once you press the wrong button you lose what you were trying to do and clear the cached program you were trying to watch. The next step after looking at products in the same category, was to look at products from the same brand, Humax. Channel changing is near instant if you simply tap in the channel number you want, (Same works in the epg to skip to a channel you want to see the epg at the curent time) In our original review, we stated that the quad-core 1.8GHz CPU and 3GB RAM combo resulted in a snappy user experience, but in our recent re-test it feels a bit sluggish. You might assume that this is down to newer features and updates slowing the system down, but Humax itself hasn't issued a firmware update since 2021 – itself something of a concern.Audio output is highlighted by Dolby Digital Plus and Pulse sound, so you get the purest and cleanest cinema sound in your living room.

Panasonic PVRs aren't exactly stellar performers either, based on my experience and ownership, but it's pretty much Panasonic, Humax, or something secondhand. As the demand for catch-up and streaming services continues to grow, the demand for time-shifting devices seems to be shrinking. I doubt that PVRs, as we know and love/hate them, will be around for much linger. If you prefer to dive right into catch-up TV – which works for up to seven days gone by – then the On Demand button on the remote takes you to a menu for that too. This lays out content either by channel, app, recommendation of Freeview Play, or you can search by category like Comedy or Drama. This includes recommendations for shows on live at that moment too. Simply navigate to a show in the EPG, select it and you’re then given the option to either record the show, record the entire series or set a reminder. Since the box comes with options of a hefty 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, you’ll probably end up setting everything to record, just in case. That said, so much is available on demand that you can always watch that way if you forget to set a recording. However, Manhattan is planning to launch two new Freeview boxes soon, the T4 and T4-R, although their release has been delayed.Bookmarks sadly have not been implemented for several generations of Humax boxes. Nor are they available on any current Freeview+ box. I agree -- same here. The catch-up services have really poor picture and audio quality, and the inability to be able to skip ads. is frustrating. However, it would not surprise me if PVRs disappeared from the marketplace in the not too distant future, leaving just TVs with multiple tuners and recording capabilities as the only option. This combination of features made the FVP-5000T a robust and versatile choice for those looking to enhance their Freeview experience – even though, in my review, I noted how its interface was never as swift as one expects from streaming devices these days. The ITV Hub And ITVX Saga