YouView was formally (finally) announced today and the first YouView product – the Humax DTR-T1000 – will be in the shops by the end of the month. Despite the wait for YouView, we’re excited that it’s finally on its way, but what do you get for your money?
The Humax YouView box, as the DTR-T1000 will likely be known, costs £299 which isn’t cheap. It’s not totally out of everyone’s price range either and it’s being pitched as a premium flagship product.
So is it worth it? Let’s take a look.
Humax YouView box: The basics
We know that due to the nature of YouView, the Humax YouView box comes with an internet connection. There’s only an Ethernet port on this box – no Wi-Fi – meaning you’ll have to consider where you’ll set it up in the home.
If space is an issue you could invest in some Powerline adapters if your master socket isn’t anywhere near your living room, or a longer Ethernet cable; a 2 metre one comes in the box.
You’ll also need to have a broadband speed of at least 3Mbps coming in to your house for YouView’s on-demand services to work. So if you aren’t quite getting this then you’ll need to optimise your broadband connection yourself or get in some help.
There is however a pair of USB 2.0 ports, one on the front and one on the back. So with a dongle you could connect to your wireless home network this way.
For watching HD catch up content, you’ll need at least 4Mbps with 5Mbps being ideal, the faster the better obviously.
The Humax YouView DTR-T1000 comes with a 500GB hard drive which will let you record 300 hours worth of standard definition (SD) TV and 125 hours of HD.
A second YouView set-top box from Humax is due for release later, which will feature a 1TB hard drive. This ought to give you twice the amount of recording time, though there’s no word on the price yet.
Humax DTR-T1000 (Humax YouView box): Specifications
The Humax DTR-T1000 YouView box features the following connections:
- SCART (TV)
- RCA x 3 (1 Video, 2 Audio)
- S/PDIF
- HDMI
- Ethernet
- USB (2.0) x 2 – front and rear
- Dimensions: 380 x 55 x 252 mm (W/H/D)
In terms of living room space it’s about the size of an average Blu-ray player; it’s smaller than a Sky+ HD box and about as wide as an Xbox 360 laid horizontally.
Check back soon for a hands-on video of the first Humax YouView box and the YouView EPG and remote in action.
UPDATE: This piece was amended to remove mention of a CI Slot (CI+) in the above spec list. Humax has told us that the DTR-T1000 YouView box will not feature a CI Slot.
Updated to add product dimensions.
Leave a Reply