Waiting for a freesat DTR?
Will it be Humax or Metronic?
When freesat launched in May the demand for HD freesat receivers exceeded expectations. The Humax HD Foxsat in particular was in high demand and quickly outsold the initial stock of about 100,000 units.
However, many people have been holding off in anticipation of a freesat DTR/PVR so that they can record programs. Only with this feature would they get an advantage over the FreesatFromSky offering. Initially a DTR from Humax was expected in the summer but the Foxsat was hit by a series of technical problems affecting picture quality and sound synchronisation. This and possibly other factors has now pushed back the expected delivery date to somewhere nearer Xmas.
Meanwhile freesat have said that they now intend to look to other receiver makers to make up the demand. Until now only Humax, Alba and Panasonic have been licenced to make them and they were expected to keep exclusive rights until Xmas. But now other makers are stepping forward with plans to offer freesat products and one of the first could be Metronic. They are said to be about to launch a freesat HD receiver that looks something like this
Better still they are planning a DTR and they may even beat Humax to launch. We suspect that they may not be the only ones with such plans.