Product information please

[Deleted User]

I currently have a DTR1000 which is about 6 years old and on its last legs. Despite its many flaws I find the Humax box easy to use compared to other brands.
There seems to be 2 different freeview models on the market. The DTR2000 (which I’m guessing is the newest version of my 1000) and the other is The FVP-5000T. 
Does anybody own either of these models and could give me any positive or negatives? 
Thank you in advance.

Roy

Hi Claire

The DTR-T2000 is the current YouView retail offering, and is indeed the replacement for the T1000.

By taking the power supply out of the box itself and using one of those power bricks that take in 240v and just pass on 12v to the box, Humax have made this model significantly more reliable, by not having the heat, and nor the rather iffy implementation, of 240v downconverted inside the box.

And the rest of the circuitry has been separately improved using updated components, a faster processor, and so on.

If you want a replacement retail YouView box, this is the one to go for.

The FVP-5000T is not a YouView box, though, but a FreeView Play one (see what they did there?)

In specs and features, it does pretty much what the T2000 does, and maybe a little more, but it has a reputation for being slow to respond when you send it commands, and it doesn’t have that YouView ‘special sauce’.

For instance, I find the YouView app on Apple and Android devices an invaluable help for remote recording, and/or seeing what’s recorded and upcoming on the box, and though the 5000T has a remote app, I don’t think it’s quite comparable to the YouView one.

[Deleted User]

Thank you so much for your reply. I’m guessing the 2000 will be as easy to use as mine which will be good for me as I am technically challenged! I also use the App and since it’s update it is brilliant. I think I had made my decision before posting this but having read your post I know I’ll stick with the 2000. Again, thank you.

jimb

@Roy I'm just puzzled by why you recommend the T2000 rather than a retail BT box which is £25 cheaper.
What's the difference? I got the impression from a recent post by @Keith that the hardware was the same, just a different box.
At present the retail box is getting updates much earlier than the BT box but who knows what will happen in the future.
Am I missing something here?

Roy

jimb said:

@Roy I'm just puzzled by why you recommend the T2000 rather than a retail BT box which is £25 cheaper.
What's the difference? I got the impression from a recent post by @Keith that the hardware was the same, just a different box.
At present the retail box is getting updates much earlier than the BT box but who knows what will happen in the future.
Am I missing something here?

Claire asked about the two boxes I described. I suppose I could have said other boxes are available 

I haven't opened either of my T2000s or my BT boxes, but the form factors are very different, and BT boxes light up in all sorts of intriguing ways (for which read confusing for anyone who thinks green is go and red is stop) to show you what’s going on. As long as you keep the Guide open at the relevant page with the crib sheet 

So I don’t think the hardware is the same. And there’s been a bit of a question mark over the reliability of the T4000s at least, recently.

As you observe, Retail are in the forefront of getting the functionality of YouView back to what it was.

And BT are supposed to be forking off in the future, with dark mutterings from Visionman and his secret insights, that BT are playing silly buggers with the upgrade processes.

 All good reasons to stick with the strictly retail line, for the sake of that extra £25.

jimb

@Roy I have no experience of the T1000 or T2000 boxes.
But I have bought three BT T21xx boxes (contrary to the data held in Visionman's database). So far only one has died after quite a long life (it was bought when I realised that the TalkTalk boxes were a bit naff). I replaced it with one from Curry's and paid a bit extra for a no-questions-asked 3year "Instant Replacement Plan".
So my experience of YouView's hardware so far has been fairly OK. 

Roy said:

And BT are supposed to be forking off in the future, with dark mutterings from Visionman and his secret insights, that BT are playing silly buggers with the upgrade processes.

I didn't pick up on that one.
Was that what the strange random "wind my neck in" post was about?

Darren

When I asked my sister over 16 months ago what box she wanted for her  Christmas. The retail T2000 Humax 1TB version Youview box or the Humax Freeview Play box she picked the retail Youview T2000 1TB version.
she loves the box and also uses the Youview app at times to remote record.
She don’t have BT TV but dose use the free catch up players and we both share the monthly Netflix free for 2 screens + HD.
I have had BT TV since mid 2013 and in that time I have seen a few improvements to the Youview service as well as BT TV. 
Never had the old now discontinued BT Vision service. 
I had the original T1000 retail box not long after it came out and it packed in just after a year.
Have had the BT T1000 over 3 years now that I now just use as a Freeview PVR and for the free catch up players and it still works 98% fine. Most other Freeview PVRs that I have had in the past have packed in after just over 2 years.
Im on my second BT Youview T2100 box that I also use for BT TV as first one packed in after 18 months during the Christmas holidays due to a fault with the hard drive.

Darren

scott

I have had a T4000 since they were released and use it everyday and it has never missed a beat so I wouldn’t be too quick to write them off (they are also a lot slicker than any other humax YouView box and I have had them all at one stage or another).
I did a comparison on app loading times a bit back and the difference is night and day between the T4000 and T2000.
The lights showing red when it is recording I find helpful (especially when it is in standby so I can see it is recording even when not on), the T2000 having nothing I find too basic.
And of course the T4000 is the only box that gives you Netflix with surround sound. And it has a 1TB Drive and it’s footprint is about a quarter of the T2000
I know most people won’t be interested in these things (especially if they don’t utilise the 4k capability) but thought it was worth putting all sides of any questions.

Visionman

Product information -
The T2000 comes highly recommended and has won many awards. 
BT have their own version called a T2100 and is half the size of a T2000.

I have both and they are equally excellent. The T2000 has a metal outer skin, the T2100 plastic. But under the hood they are essentially the same box with excellent remote response times. The BT box is slightly cheaper for two reasons - there are more in circulation and are slightly cheaper to produce.
I personally would go for a T2000, as they are aesthetically more pleasing.

[Deleted User]

Thank you everyone. I decided on sticking to what I know and bought the T2000. I know how to work it and so far so good! It is slightly louder than my T1000 but only when recording. I hope it lasts as long as my T1000 has.