Loading ...**update 15 Mar 2010**
Amazon have now increased their price by a considerable amount; but Satbuyer are still selling at a very good rate.
The highly rated TechniSat HDFS Freesat HD receiver has seen a massive price drop over the past week which now puts it firmly in contention with the cheaper Humax FOXSAT-HD.
The TechniSat HDFS originally retailed for £199 but recent trade price drops and price matching has meant that this fantastic unit can be picked up brand new for as little as £139.99.
The price difference between the HDFS and FOXSAT-HD is now just £20 and with the TechniSat widely regarded as the best for reliability and picture; plus inclusive of a 3 year manufacturers warranty and USB record facility, the fractional additional cost must surely make this a bargain!!!
Don’t forget iPlayer will be available very soon too!
The TechniSat HDFS can be picked up for just £139.99 inc delivery from Amazon UK…
or £146 inc delivery from Satbuyer.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Can recordings made on the Humax Foxsat HDR (transferred onto a USB Drive) be played by the Technisat HDFS?
Cheers.
MarcelQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Seems a very good deal now, the USB record function has to be worth the extra. Anyone who does not want to pay for the full Humax HDR now has this cheaper option.
Questions:
1. What format are the programs saved on the USB drive i.e. is it PC friendly.
2. Can the box play HD PC media formats from the USB drive, i.e Mp4 and MKV
Lee BQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I suspect the price drop is indicative of a proper hdr model in the works.
Chris GuestQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Don’t forget that the Humax is available as A-grade stock from http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk for £89.95. Punters are still looking at a considerable price difference, but it’s good to see a downward ovement in prices.
JockQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
You can’t transfer the recordings to a PC, they deliberately block that.
Also my box crashes every so often and needs a hard reset. It happens about once every 3 weeks.
Looks great though and the navigation is pretty fast.
zagQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
You can transfer recordings to a PC for storage but you can’t view them.
It can’t play HD PC media formats like MP4 or MKV.
It can’t record ITV HD.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
It’s a shame it can’t play MP4, I was under the impression this was a promised function some time ago, I would have thought the box would have the power to play mp4 and mkv as it can cope with HD material already.
Lee BQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
@ Richard & Lee
It can play MKV’s / MP4′s as long as they are muxed into a TS file, but the units will only play 2 channel audio from them.
Dan MQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
The HDFS can officially read MPEG2, TS, VOB (video), MP3 (audio) and JPEG (images)
adminQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
thanks for the responses, think they are missing a trick, the box would make an amazing low power media player as well if they could get media working without the muxing. Also think Divx was promised at some point.
Lee BQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@marcel (1)
You can play SD recordings on a PC using KM Player – but I have not yet found a way to play HD recordings on a PC
Nik CarterQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
When will we be able to get bbc iplayer on our Panasonic Freesat tv
MurrayQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Please ensure that comments remain on topic
adminQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
To play HD on a PC have a look at
http://www.ehow.com/how_4469352_download-directv-hd-dvr-recordings.html
Paul JohnstonQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
just to let people know there are some in Curry’s and PC world for £129.97 if anyone is quick enough.
Steven.VQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
ITVHD can be recorded in technisat mode
RozzoQuote
March 9th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Yep,
I managed to pick one up from Currys 2 weeks ago for £129.97.
Fantastic box and the picture quality is much better than my old Goodmans GFSAT200HD.
Recording functionality to USB is very good too.
AndrewQuote
March 10th, 2010 at 9:06 am
And this IS the latest Exiting news from freesat, make the most of it.
Robert HudsonQuote
March 10th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Who knows if they can add a PVR function via firmware and it allowed the box to be re-reviewed and win 5 stars, why not increase the media player ability of the box and get another re-review and extra sales on the back of it. A firmware update to an existing product to allow extra functions is always well received in the market place.
Lee BQuote
March 10th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Good news, the cost reduction will also go some way to helping Freesat’s uptake.
NeilQuote
March 10th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
#20 Neil – If you look at the side panel on this page it shows the Bush receiver for £37. How much cheaper does it need to get to encourage Freesat uptake?
HD-ScepticQuote
March 10th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
@HD Sceptic, yes I take your point but that’s an SD receiver and the TechniSat is a nice looking HD receiver that could ‘swing’ things at the right price for people thinking about buying one.
NeilQuote
March 11th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
We were expecting a firmware update from 16 March and the DTG site was showing the 1364c version ending on 15 March but yesterday was changed and the 15 March end date removed. Anyone know what/why?
RozzoQuote
March 12th, 2010 at 9:24 am
It probably means they have found a bug ( the crashing bug for example ) that needs fixed.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 12th, 2010 at 9:31 am
It probably means that they’ve screwed up again.
Tony HalesQuote
March 13th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
#22 Neil – I’ve just noticed that the Bush receiver is only £30 if you go into Argos and collect it – although, as you say, it is “only” an SD box. As Jock points out in #4, the Humax is available for under £90 and has been for many months.
Looking at the vote (above, right) 63% of people got into Freesat for HD. We only heard yesterday that a second HD channel will be brought into service next month (and I virtually never watch ITV). BBC HD has been a grand showcase, but it’s hardly been a service. There seems to be a mis-match between what customers believe and what Freesat actually offers.
HD-ScepticQuote
March 14th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Good to see the Technisat down in price. If I had some spare money I would go out and buy one so I can record programs. I would keep my other box so that i could watch one channel whilst recording another.
At the moment the only way I can record is using a VHS video recorder but the picture quality is poor.
Kevin Ver1Quote
March 15th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
@ Rozzo, its been delayed for week. Should now be @ 24th March
SteveQuote
March 19th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
OAD is now scheduled for 25th March
SteveQuote
April 17th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Have just bought the TechniSat HDFS from Currys, for only £129.97.
It’s selling for less than the Humax.
Excellent receiver
ScottQuote