Comparison of 9300 and 9200 [Archive]

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digsatman

13-08-2008, 06:44 PM

stevecasey

13-08-2008, 08:00 PM

I think you've covered just about everything there, although there is a 9200TBX available from Humax with a 320GB hard drive.

The only other difference is the case which is a bit smaller and has a nicer display. It also feels a bit cheap and plasticky though.

I personally wish I'd gone for the 9200TBX now. It's £30 cheaper and has the USB and RF modulator.

I don't think the HDMI connection gives any better picture than RGB SCART. People forget that every plasma and LCD tv out there upscales any SD picture anyway. Unless the Hummy scaler is much better than the TV one (unlikely) there's unlikely to be any improvement in picture quality.
Chances are your TV will scale the Hummys already upscaled picture again and may well result in a worse picture.

MikeSh

13-08-2008, 09:00 PM

Chances are your TV will scale the Hummys already upscaled picture again and may well result in a worse picture.
And logically, which device knows better what the TV screen needs to have produce a good picture - a third party box of tricks or the TV?

One condition I'd place on that is that it is a half decent TV - if it's a marketstall special the Hummy might well do a better job :)

gomezz

13-08-2008, 09:24 PM

If and when I eventually get round to replacing my (t)rusty old CRT with one of these new-fangled HD ready flat-screens one feature I will be looking for is that its internal upscaler can be bypassed for HDMI signals already scaled to the native resolution of the screen. I will be probably looking to replace my A/V amp at the same time with one with its own capable and flexible upscaler.

Chris James

14-08-2008, 10:34 PM

One missed:

9200 Shows 4:3 picture in correct ratio unless user prefers a stretched picture via TV settings - (via SCART connector)

9300 Shows 4:3 picture stretched to fill 16:9 screen if using HDMI connector. :(

hotdog

16-08-2008, 07:11 AM

as said i all found most hdmi boxes do not show 4.3 right , and it is only 720 and not 1080 . i will keep my 9200 with its 500 gig hdd . iv got the technomate 6900 for my h/d t/v now that is a good stb . :D:D

WBJB

29-10-2008, 05:02 PM

I got excited when I read there was a new Humax model. Each new model in the past has been a major step forward.
But this model is a step down from the PVR9200T and drops many features I need. I shan't be buying it or recommending it.

- No RF output of the playback - we distribute the output to a second room.
- No USB output (slow as it is, the 9200T does let you get a favorite programme off)
- It does have HDMI upscaling, but if there is any improvement virtually no-one can see it.
- It presumably still doesn't fix the problem of storing the EPG to stop the 5 minute wait upon power up before you can record - or someone would have said.
- Noisy fan ....etc.

So why did they release it? Only answer I can see - it is cheaper to manufacture. But there's no benefit to the consumer.

What a shame, I've influenced a lot of people to buy the 9200T. But I can't recommend any Humax Freeview PVR now as the 9200 is going out of production I'm told. Shame.

grahamlthompson

29-10-2008, 05:28 PM

Having now found that the 9300 does not currently have a working USB port and that some members consider the 9200 to be a better machine - could someone with knowledge of both machines give some detailed differences apart from some of the known ones - which, as far as I am aware are:

USB
9200 - Yes - Working
9300 - Yes - Non functioning and no plans at the moment to activate it

HDMI
9200 - No
9300 - Yes (with upscaling)

UHF modulator
9200 - Yes
9300 - No

Capacity
9300 - 320 Gb
9200 - 160 Gb

Noise (Fan)
9200 reputed to be quieter than the 9300

Seems pretty fair to me, note that a firmware update due shortly should sort out the fan noise on the 9300. Also I think that reference to usb port implementation on the 9300 should be never. Pretty sure I read somewhere that on later 9300's the usb socket is missing. If USB archiving is important go for a Topfield9800 as even on the Hummy 9200T usb operation is a bit hit and miss. There are few 250gB 9200's about but whether you can still get one is a different question. Loss of the modulator on the 9300 is not a big problem external modulators are easy to come by

aldaweb

30-10-2008, 02:20 PM

Seems pretty fair to me, note that a firmware update due shortly should sort out the fan noise on the 9300. Also I think that reference to usb port implementation on the 9300 should be never. Pretty sure I read somewhere that on later 9300's the usb socket is missing. If USB archiving is important go for a Topfield9800 as even on the Hummy 9200T usb operation is a bit hit and miss. There are few 250gB 9200's about but whether you can still get one is a different question. Loss of the modulator on the 9300 is not a big problem external modulators are easy to come by
Just a bit of clarification - It seem s the 9300 USB port is a host port which humax have no plans on implementing any use for (the 9200 USB port is a client port only)

I think you meant the Topfield 5800 of which there are a few 250GB models around though the 5810 does have the HDMI port and the larger drive.

grahamlthompson

30-10-2008, 02:34 PM

I think you meant the Topfield 5800 of which there are a few 250GB models around though the 5810 does have the HDMI port and the larger drive.

Yes sorry too many 9's and 5's

tubs

01-11-2008, 11:43 AM

Just thought I'd post this, not because I have an 9300 but because I have an upscaling TV & Tosh HDDVD player.

What I've found is that using HDMI that there is no real difference between letting the DVD player of the TV do the upscaling.

But, using SCART and a normal DVD player it looks far better using the HDMI. I assume that this is because the TV is getting a closer to source signal - there has been no conversion to SCART/RGB

So

Non HDMI -
Aerial > Box > Decode Digital > Encode to RGB > Tv > Upscale

HDMI
Aeriel > Box > Decode Digital > Tv/Upscale > Upscale/TV

But, lets face it, upscaling is working with a poor image - especially the more compressed channels.

voxsmart

01-12-2008, 10:59 AM

I guess from all these comments, the 9300 is not an upgrade to my 9200. Maybe a better display and a bigger hard drive, but that seems about it.
I'm amazed the EPG is still not right, that and the machines inability to react to the remote is why I would not recommend these machines to anyone.
The "other" recorder on the market isn't too bad, but it doesn't have the serial tracking facility. Someone must be able to make a decent PVR? It's strange the big Japanese names haven't made one without a DVD drive and with twin tuners, or perhaps they have?

Mr_Orange

01-12-2008, 11:59 AM

The other thing about scaling is, that the the Humax scales to 720 resolution. Most (not all, some plasmas are 720) TVs use either 768 or 1080, so the image has to be scaled again - not good.

Better to output the native resolution of the broadcast from the Humax and let your TV do the scaling. (This applies to upscaling DVD players as well.)

gomezz

01-12-2008, 06:48 PM

The "other" recorder on the market isn't too bad, but it doesn't have the serial tracking facility.Yes it does and has had it for some months now. But as implemented by the manufacture not recommended. There are alternative and better ways of using Series Link but still depends on the broadcasters getting it right ... which I don't.

voxsmart

01-12-2008, 09:20 PM

Yes it does and has had it for some months now. But as implemented by the manufacture not recommended. There are alternative and better ways of using Series Link but still depends on the broadcasters getting it right ... which I don't.

Thanks gomezz, I'll have to look at the wife's Topfield instruction book a bit closer. Not recommended? I know my Hummy misses a few seconds of the beginning on some programmes, but it's not that bad. In fact it's the best thing about it.

mbiddulph

23-12-2008, 12:46 PM

My 9200 actually tunes in to the stations, 9300 I bought didn't! I have always had to manually tune in the 9200 (that's OK, happy with that) but doesn't work on the 9300. I tune them in and reception is terrible! Took the 9300 back to Comet.

Bobn

24-12-2008, 09:49 AM

Hi - I owned a 9300 for about half an hour (and then sent it back) as the fan noise even when in standby was too much - I bought a 9200 from the Humax store and all is bliss again in the household - Yes it makes a little bit of noise when recording or playing back but I can't hear it for the noise of the fan of the Humax TV!! - Regards

PS Do you know how I can get 8X fast forward line speed on the 9200? It goes from 4X to 16X and at my age that's too quick for my old fingers to catch the start of the programme after the adverts - Thanks

Having now found that the 9300 does not currently have a working USB port and that some members consider the 9200 to be a better machine - could someone with knowledge of both machines give some detailed differences apart from some of the known ones - which, as far as I am aware are:

USB
9200 - Yes - Working
9300 - Yes - Non functioning and no plans at the moment to activate it

HDMI
9200 - No
9300 - Yes (with upscaling)

UHF modulator
9200 - Yes
9300 - No

Capacity
9300 - 320 Gb
9200 - 160 Gb

Noise (Fan)
9200 reputed to be quieter than the 9300

hugzee

24-12-2008, 01:17 PM

PS Do you know how I can get 8X fast forward line speed on the 9200? It goes from 4X to 16X and at my age that's too quick for my old fingers to catch the start of the programme after the adverts - Thanks

You can't, the FFW and REW 'speeds' are preset at what you see when you press the buttons.

Bobn

24-12-2008, 01:21 PM

Many thanks for that - Bob

Martin Liddle

24-12-2008, 01:30 PM

PS Do you know how I can get 8X fast forward line speed on the 9200? It goes from 4X to 16X and at my age that's too quick for my old fingers to catch the start of the programme after the adverts - Thanks
Better to use the advert skip buttons under the flap. We have ours set for 1 minute forward and 15seconds back. Works much better than fast forward.

hugzee

24-12-2008, 01:31 PM

Hi Bob, I have my commercial skip time set to 120 seconds and most of the time 2 presses of that takes me through ad breaks - rarely use FFW and REW any more. Hope that helps.

Fvet

01-01-2009, 08:57 AM

I have to disagree with a lot of people here.

I have had a 9200t for over 2 years, and it just packed in on christmas day!

I managed to get hold of a 9300 yesterday (software version .10 at the moment)

So far

no excessive fan noise - even though software version before fix for fan I think?

picture improved over 9200, hdmi cable definately gives an improvement for me - and 720p output looks better too, despite me having a v. good samsung 1080p tv. so even though the signal is upscaled twice, it is definately better.

unit itself much more compact and nicer looking than the 9200 grey brick.

I never used the usb on the 9200 so that loss doesn't affect me.

larger hard drive is always nice.

But, the main improvement I have noticed - which hasn't been mentioned on this thread, is the improved hardware in the 9300.

My 9200 suffered from horrible slowdown and poor response to the remote control - particularly when watching a recording and looking through the tv. guide.

So far the 9300 is as smooth as silk.

My only real complaint is the remote control - it looks good in light, but it's a pain when its quite dark, as it is hard to see the buttons - I particularly dislike the 4 colour buttons not being fully coloured.
thankfully my fingers know where most of the buttons are as the layout is the same as the 9200 remote.

Hope this helps some people who may have been put off getting the 9300 - it really is excellent, and I suspect will be a bit more "future proof" than the 9200 in the longer term.

SINCLAIRGSPORT

01-01-2009, 09:26 AM

siblades

01-01-2009, 05:03 PM

I agree , i have a samsung LE37R tv which is 1080i 720p and with the hummy set at 720p i get a fantastic picture, also because of this setting some other features in the tv menu are opened up eg black levels which i can set to suit my taste and its briliant. Maybe this hummy is suited to a good quality hd tv, i also use a better hd lead than the one that came in the hummy box.

the only thing bugging me is the volume control dont work, or the source button when connected via hdmi

Volume control won't work via HDMI only via SCART/RGB....I have no idea why :confused:

You can't possibly be using a better HDMI lead than the one that comes in the box because all HMDI cables under 5m in length will produce EXACTLY the same results. A 99p lead from eBay will produce a picture which is absolutely no different to the picture produced by an £100 lead. Silly really :D