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YouView and Humax join the John Lewis line-up

Humax’s YouView smart TV recorder has entered the product roster in John Lewis’s latest print catalogue at just under £300.

The YouView box isn’t visible at John Lewis online, but it’s given ‘Coming Soon’ status in the John Lewis Summer 2012 Technology brochure.

Humax's YouView box in the John Lewis summer 2012 tech brochure

The blurb reads: “YouView brings you your favourite digital TV, video-on-demand and internet catch-up services from BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and others. Simple plug it into your TV and broadband connection.

It adds: “New Smart TV service from major broadcasters, including the BBC and ITV, which allows you to access a wealth of online content.”

There’s little information about the product specification, other than it has a 500GB hard disc and will retail at £299.95.

Admittedly, it looks like a Photoshopped image of the Humax HDR-Fox T2 Freeview HD recorder, with the Humax logo moved from left to right, and replaced with the YouView logo.

In many ways it is the successor to the HDR-Fox T2, with a vastly-improved range of services delivered over your broadband connection, alongside Freeview HD via your TV aerial.

John Lewis currently lists the 5000GB HDR-Fox T2 at £50 less, making the YouView box a reasonably-priced upgrade if it delivers everything YouView has promised for the past two years.

Humax is understood by Recombu Digital to be the last remaining manufacturing partner to be able to deliver a box for launch, and the this is the product currently on trial in around 350 TalkTalk subscribers’ homes.

TalkTalk and BT are YouView’s broadband partners, alongside the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Arqiva.

They’re expected to offer the product at a subsidised price to their broadband customers, along with exclusive on-demand video content not available on products sold in retail. 

YouView’s launch date has a well-publicised habit of slipping backwards, but it’s currently projected to be no later than September 2012, and possibly as early as July.

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