YouView has finally arrived. The internet
TV service backed by the likes of the BBC, ITV, BT, TalkTalk and Sir Alan
“You’re fired” Sugar has been designed to bring key (not to mention free)
catch-up and on demand streaming services – BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and
Demand 5 – all under one easily accessible roof.
Humax
DTR-T1000
Say hello to YouView
The Humax DTR-T1000 is the first piece of
hardware to deliver this service. And as you’d expect from Humax, it’s also a
PVR with twin Freeview HD tuners and a 500GB hard drive. There’s an HDMI output
on the back, but it’s disappointing that the T1000 uses Ethernet and not wi-fi.
This is arguably the most stable way to stream video, though, and works well
via a powerline system if your router is in a different room.
Humax’s set-top boxes have always been easy
to use, and the DTR-T1000 is a brilliant example of how it should be done. The
new-look YouView menus look fresh and inviting, and the re-styled Humax remote
does the job with large, finger-friendly buttons. A blue ‘Y’ button takes you
to the main home page from where you can access live TV and on-demand content.
The beauty of this particular guide is that
it shows seven days ahead, and also seven days back. If shows are available
through any of the catch-up TV services, you’ll see a little play button icon.
Select it and you’ll be taken to the corresponding catch-up service where you
can start playback. You can also use the search function to go straight to a
series, or a particular episode of a programme you’d like to catch up on.
Humax’s
set-top boxes have always been easy to use, and the DTR-T1000 is a brilliant
example of how it should be done.
You can still carry out basic PVR functions
too, such as recording one Freeview HD channel while watching another and
recording two Freeview HD channels while watching on-demand content.
We tried everything from a high-def EastEnders
rerun using the BBC iPlayer to a standard-def stream of The Hotel Inspector
via Demand 5, and the picture was stable with only a hint of judder and noise.
Detail levels are good and the overall picture is punchy, colourful and bright.
Switch to the Freeview HD tuners and
quality goes up a notch, especially with the BBC’s HD channels. Olympic footage
looks excellent, boasting detail, edge definition and good motion handling.
Standard-def brings a drop in quality, but the basic strengths of the Humax
remain.
Don’t’ be worried about getting confused by
the services on offer – the Humax is painless to use. It’s pricey next to other
PVRs, though, and we’d like a few more content providers, such as YouTube and
maybe one of the movie-streaming services, (although Sky’s pay-per-view Now TV
service should arrive on the platform soon).
But there’s a definite appeal to YouView
and the way it’s accessible in this Humax it highly recommendable.
Use it with
Panasonic
TX-P42GT50
Catch-up services are limited on this
otherwise smashing TV, so the Humax makes perfect sense.
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Details
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Tech specs
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Type FreeView HD/YouView Tuners 2 Storage
capacity 500GB EPG 7 days plus catch-up Inputs Aerial, ethernet Outs HDMI,
RGB Scart, composite, phono, optical Dimensions (hwd) 25 x 38 x 6cm
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Price
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$450
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Ratings
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5/5
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