“Bought the FVP-5000T 2TB PVR nearly two years ago to replace a top of the range Panasonic PVR that was starting to show its age. I have stuck with my purchase throughout that time, but it has been a very frustrating journey. Finally after having 130Mbit super fibre broadband installed by BT recently (to replace my previous very slow broadband), I decided to put the FVP-5000T catchup options through their paces (it would have been a waste of time previously, since my previous broadband was so slow). The experience was mind glowingly aweful. Just to be sure I read all the forums to help me get over the various problems, and made sure that I followed the various recommendations relating to catch-up.
The upshot is that I can get catchup working (sporadically on BBC1 HD, BBC2 HD, BBC4 HD, and BBC News HD, but not ITV HD, channel 4 HD, or Channel 5 HD. ITV 3 SD and channel 4 SD catch-up work after a fashion, but channel 5 SD catch-up does not. Also the channel 5 player refuses to initialise at all and consistently freezes the box completely even after a reboot.
I have reformatted the disk and have more than 90% free space. My signal to the box is very strong showing full bandwidth at 130Mbit on an iPad Speedtest performed a foot a away from the FVP-5000T box.
Moreover on the catch-up channels that do work, there are often inexplicable gaps and programs that cannot be watched in catch-up, even though others on the same channel can be. It is not a stabilisation problem, since the box has been connected to the fast broadband for several days to allow the catch-up to fully load up and stabilise. It is not a software not on the latest version, either. My box checks for the latest software version (it takes ages to do so) but finally tells me software is up to date on the 25-Apr-2019 version.
Apart from catch-up TV being so unreliable on this box, there are numerous other annoying features. The on/off light is invisible unless you stand right over the box at a very specific viewing angle. The EPG is very sluggish in operation. The number of programs visible horizontally on the guide when setting up recordings is very limited at only a couple of hours or so, resulting in an unnecessary amount of horizontal scrolling to locate a pro gram to record.
Now that BBC iplayer is starting to make a few programs available in 4K, I would like to access through the FVP-5000T, but the product does not support 4K iplayer, although my very good 2019 LG TV does.
I cannot live with this product any longer, and will DOWNGRADE to a more recent and reliable product (which unfortunately can only record two programs at a time (rather than the four that the FVP-5000T can do, and which only has a top of the range option of 1TB, rather than the 2TB that I enjoy now. The fact that I willing to loose this very useful functionality is an illustration of how frustrated I have become with the FVP-5000T.
I am an ex MBCS (member of the British Computer society) with forty years software design experience. If I cannot get the box to work easily, god help those who are less technically competent, and less methodical and patient than my self.
It is a real shame, because he picture quality and audio quality are actually very good.”
“What a brilliant piece of kit. Up to 4 recordings at once so no recording conflicts so far. It plays files on my old Humax box (HDR Fox T2) over the house WiFi. 2 terabytes of storage means we can keep films etc. for ages. It is connected to my 7.1 surround sound by the optical output so the sound quality is very good. We have watched several back issues of programs via the on demand function as well as i player you-tube etc. It has a Netflix button but we don't have a subscription. I think I can talk to it from my smartphone but I haven't tried that yet. The one wish I have for it - as I did for the Fox - is a DVD player built in. In my opinion this machine is an excellent way to receive free to air television.”
“The managment system is very poor ill conceieved and very badly structured. I do not thinnk its has ever been thought through by anybody who actually wants to use it. The faults are far to many to list but i would be quiet happy to discuss with anybody who would wish ti discuss them, but I wont hold my breath”
“Good spec, reasonable price, and build quality seems good. We're moving from a Virgin Media box, and most of the functionality seems to be present, except perhaps for the name search, but that could just be the learning curve I'm on. It's always tricky going from "finger memory" to "hang on, I need to read the manual to see how to do that", which means that using the new kit seems harder than the familiar stuff.
So long as it doesn't go up in smoke in the first 6 months, I'm minded to recommend it. After 5 months we'll be saving money on Virgin's bills, so as a true Tyke (deep pockets and short arms) it appeals to me already!”
“Does the basics well. The menu system feels a bit clunky as does the remote provided. The unit also seems a little slow in reacting to operation of the remote.”
“I bought this box after a 23 year divorce from Virgin Media. We just couldn't live without the ability to record shows and pause live telly - so needed a recordable box with loads of space.
The market is not exactly flooded with options and a lot of boxes get disappointing reviews including this one.
If you compare this to Sky and VM it is a bit laggy and lacks some of the functions - but you know ... what ever... I found it not as bad as I expected - just count to 2 in your head whenever you press a button. Recording is fine too and you can multi record which is great. Set up is really simple.
The worst thing about it is the EPG - it sometimes will not list the programmes coming up that day - forums say its an issue with Freeview not the box itself - to rectify turn the box off to clear the cache - not sure this works all the time though.
Overall I am rather please with the box - having the Humax and changing my ISP has saved me £50 a month so I can afford NETFLIX now which is excellent (the Humax unit has a quick access button to get onto NETFLIX too).
So if you're worried about geting one - don't be.”
