So here it is, i cancelled sky a few week ago and i've been looking around for a high-end freesat box thats fairly future proof. The HDR-1000s seems to match my requirements perfectly but i'm seriously put off by all the issues and glitches. Are all these problems likely to be resolved by future software updates or should i simply stay clear of this box.
I'm so confused on what to do. Please help 
I have had my HDR-1000S since launch day in October, and have never had any problem with it. Freetime, the new EPG, and the many other options that this box offers including streaming from a laptop and the upcoming YouTube availability in March, plus it is now £40 cheaper than at launch makes it a 'must have' and fantastic piece of kit.
I share your confusion and have put off buying this product now for several months. At the moment I am continuing with Sky because this box isn't delivering a fully reliable service. The main outstanding problem deterring my purchase is the spate of HDD failures which, so far, has received no published reaction from Humax. Some boxes have experienced no (or very few) problems but others seem to get repeated problems. It is best to stay clear for now, in my opinion.
I've had one since Nov 2012, and on the whole I'm extremely happy with it. The only major issue with it was all my recordings disappeared (which is a pretty big deal really) but I didn't have anything important on there and I took it on the chin...
I can understand the uncertainty and confusion about the box, it definitely seems to have it's teething problems, but most of these are quite small and on the whole I reckon it's a great bit of kit and well worth a punt.
I've had one since Comet went bust and I picked it up cheap from them. Overall I'd recommend it to anyone - yes, there are some niggly things wrong, but nothing to stop my overall satisfaction with the box.
There have been a few with hard drive issues, and if that happpened to me I'd be inclined take it back to the shop & get a replacement as the drive must be faulty (ok, so I can't do that with Comet, but I could return it to Humax 
).
The big problem from my point of view was with it not recording properly. This bug seemed to have been introduced by the update issued just before Christmas and is fixed by applying the "beta" fix available to download now and will surely be fixed permanently by the "over the air" fixes due at the end of March.
So if you're in doubt about the beta fix, maybe wait 'til the "official" ota fixes next month and then buy one - if you're happy with downloading the beta fix to your USB stick and updating manually, buy one now - either way it's got to be better than throwing your money at $KY every month. 
I've had one since launch, and it has generally been fine, although recently it got stuck in a reboot cycle and had to go back to Humax for a replacement, so I lost all my recordings. On the plus side, Humax support were very good, and the replacement reached me in 24 hrs.
Prior to that I had no real problems, although the last software update, in December, introduced a few new annoying bugs.
The one thing I really don't like about the box is the sluggish slow TV Guide. I'm hoping the next software update, allegedly due end of March, will address this. If it doesn't then I'm going to make do with the box until an alternative comes out (NB I'd never ever go back to Sky).
At the moment the On Demand stuff is very limited, and have hardly used it.
So I'd advise you to wait, keep an eye on this forum, and see what we think after the next software update ships.
Thanks guys for the advise. To be honest I think I'm going to go with it. Its a bit of a punt but I'm hoping the software update at the end of March will solve the remaining bugs.
Thanks again 
zed1601,
Which update at the end of March ?
I know there are claims of youtube in March but there were also claims of 4OD etc before christmas so I wouldn't hold my breath.
Depending on which channels you record you may find this box OK for your use, on the other hand you may regret the purchase.
I got mine cheap from Comet, worked out at around £150 and even at that price I'm not convinced it was worth the money
Thanks
Dec
Which update at the end of March ?
Speculation (Notwithstanding messages that have appeared in other places)
It could be sooner, it could be later, I only post dates/info when I know for sure otherwise we end up with posts elsewhere along the lines of 'promised update late again' etc etc.
You will notice a jump in version numbers again, which means someone has been busy.
BTW - good price for the 500GB version via Humax Direct at the moment.
So will this update have the missing catchup in it - 4OD etc ?
Fixed all the issues with network playback ?
Sensible use of internet traffic etc etc ?
I hope there is far more to this update than the much speculated but, completely useless (IMHO), youtube.
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