Tend to agree that Humax aim to hit a price point which the market dictates. Yes the 5000 is not an expensive machine but as it stands today probably carries a £50 premium over its main competitor from Panasonic (I could have had £1TB Panasonic model for £30 less than 500GB Humax though found prior Panasonic model far too slow).
Like you guys I have been with Humax for many years and have always considered them to be the gold standard of PVR manufacturers. Every machine they made that I have owned had minor issues but I’ve also been very frustrated with Panasonic PVR’s so appreciated the Humax offering. A shame that their slight so what attitude to the noise issue has really put a dent in my brand loyalty, especially when what we’re talking about could probably be resolved with ~£1 worth of rubber mounting and insulation material. (Though maybe I’m unaware of heat issues?) My last 2 Humax models both had annoying ‘features’ that I just don’t expect from the brand.
Think the PVR market may well be shrinking anyway, as is the subscription market from Sky and Virgin in favour of streaming. Having just updated both my TV’s they both have inbuilt PVR and catch up/streaming functionality as well as media player capabilities that would probably suffice for most people. (Or an Amazon Firestick for £30 achieving most of the same) I do think there would be a market for people who still appreciate a PVR’s flexibility and would be prepared to pay more for that but maybe the market just doesn’t exist? Though if you look at MP3 Players being killed by smart phones the only market left now is for high end connoisseurs?
