Plantronics Voyager 5200 review

Plantronics Voyager 5200 review

Design and Fit

Make no mistake: Voyager headsets are gigantic chunks of kit that scream, "I'm wearing a headset!" This may actually be good, because as I was testing headsets last week, my daughter kept worrying about whether I was going insane and talking to myself. No such danger with the 5200, which pairs a 2.25-inch behind-the-ear unit with a 2.75-inch-long red-and-black boom. No one will question whether you are wearing a headset or responding to the voices in your head.

I've loved previous Voyagers because their over-the-ear design makes them super secure. The 5200$119.99 at Amazon doesn't fit me as well as older models. I think the the ear hook is a little shorter than it used to be, so I had a little trouble getting it past the temple of my glasses, and the earbud hung a little bit high in my ear until I spent some time settling it. That is disappointing, and reduces the perceived volume a bit.

The headset has a physical on/off switch on the back, and two easily findable and pressable volume buttons on top. On the boom, there's a call button and a voice command button. The boom swings around, making the headset completely reversible between the right and left ears, and there are three different eartip sizes for the best fit.

Feature-wise, the 5200 has it all, for a Bluetooth headset. It pairs via NFC or Bluetooth, and you can pair it to multiple devices. It announces callers' names and lets you tell it whether to answer or ignore calls by voice. Built-in voice commands let you dictate text messages and get directions, with more accuracy than I got from Google Now on other headsets. It won't read your texts to you, though. A smartphone app, Plantronics Hub, lets you make the headset beep if you lose it, and monitor its battery life from your phone.

Performance

Thanks in part to its huge size, the 5200 has the best range of any headset I've tested recently, able to hit about 60 feet when in line of sight from the handset, although calls became pretty poppy after about 40 feet. Speaking of that popping: Interference sounds better on the Voyager 5200 than on other headsets we've tested. On other headsets, it often comes through as digital garble, which is difficult to understand. But on the 5200, interference sounds like pops and clicks, through which you can still clearly make out a voice.

Noise cancellation is aggressive on the 5200, and the price is a little bit of robotic voice quality. That said, it mutes background cars and buses with no problem. Wind noise offers a bit more of a challenge, and some wind made it through in testing (wind noise has always been an issue for Voyager headsets). But the 5200 is definitely your best choice for transmissions from very noisy areas.

The Voyager 5200 isn't perfect. I'm a little disappointed in its battery life, given its size. We got 5 hours, 16 minutes of voice calling, which is less than the seven hours promised. If that makes you nervous, an optional $39.99 charging case holds two more battery charges. The headset can be closed into the battery case, or can sit up in it, ready to be plucked out and used.

Conclusions

Plantronics Voyager headsets have had excellent voice quality for years. If you have a previous Voyager model like the amazing Legend, you don't need to replace it with the 5200. But if you're shopping for a heavy-usage, indoor-outdoor Bluetooth headset right now, the Voyager 5200 is still the benchmark by which we judge the rest, and our Editors' Choice.

Humax HDR-1000S review

Introduction

Humax recently unleashed the first YouView PVR in the form of the Humax DTR-T1000 which seamlessly blends Freeview TV and on-demand content from the main terrestrial channels within a single EPG. Not to be outdone, Freesat has launched its own version – Free Time – which marries broadcast and catch-up TV in a similarly user-friendly fashion. Its flashy new ‘backwards EPG’ allows you to go back over the last seven days and watch on-demand content from the main channels, alongside common PVR functionality like series recording.

Free Time is making its debut inside the Humax HDR-1000S, a Freesat receiver with a capacious hard-disk drive, twin tuners and loads of bonus multimedia functionality including DLNA media streaming.

HUMAX HDR-1000S DESIGN

The box itself is gorgeous, dressed in gloss black bodywork that eschews the straight edges of most PVRs for more elegant curvy lines. A silver ridge runs along the front panel, which houses five buttons (power, volume, up and down). Below this you’ll find a USB port concealed by a protective flap. You can’t see it when switched off, but there’s a comprehensive LED panel on the front, which gives channel names and other pertinent info in large, bright letters.

HUMAX HDR-1000S CONNECTIVITY

On the back are two satellite LNB inputs (one for each tuner), HDMI and optical digital audio outputs, an Ethernet port and a second USB port. Scart, composite video and analogue stereo outputs are also provided, useful if you want to make copies of anything you’ve recorded. A Common Interface slot is found on the side.

HUMAX HDR-1000S FEATURES

Free Time is of course the Humax HDR-1000S’s key feature. All of the past week’s programmes from the various online streaming services are available for you to watch, all accessed from the central EPG. At present, only BBC iPlayer and ITV Player are available, but Freesat hopes to add 4OD and Demand 5 later this year.

The Humax HDR-1000S’s hard-disk capacity is 500GB, which is enough to hold 125 hours of high-definition programmes or 300 hours of standard definition. An alternative 1TB version, the Humax HDR-1000S/1TB, is also available for £299.

There are twin Freesat tuners, giving you the flexibility to record two channels simultaneous while you watch a third, or record one channel while watching another. Freesat’s range of channels is wide and varied, but of greatest interest are the hi-def channels – BBC One HD, BBC HD, ITV1 HD, Channel 4 HD and NHK World HD.

The Humax HDR-1000S isn’t merely a conduit for viewing TV though. Thanks to the network connection, you can access music, video and photos from servers on your home network, as well as a range of internet content from Humax’s TV Portal (more on this later). You can also connect a USB memory device and play media files from there.

HUMAX HDR-1000S SETUP

If you already have a Sky dish installed, setup of the Humax HDR-1000S is easy, but if not you’ll need to pay to have a dish installed. Another obstacle is the network connection – with no built-in Wi-Fi, the box relies on its Ethernet connection, which is fine if your router is near your TV but if not you’ll need an extra long cable or a set of Homeplugs. If you really want Wi-Fi, you can purchase Humax’s USB LAN dongle, which will set you back an extra £29.

That aside, setting up the Humax HDR-1000S is child’s play. Hook your satellite dish up to the satellite LNB inputs on the back of the box, and connect an HDMI lead to your TV. Freesat newbies will be pleased to find a Setup Wizard that fires up when you first turn the box on. The onscreen displays communicate in friendly, well-written English and lead you through key settings like aspect ratio, display format, resolution and audio type.

It then performs a signal test, checking the strength and quality of the two satellite feeds, and carries out a channel search after you’ve punched in your postcode. It then completes the process by checking for an internet connection and asking if you want to enter a parental control PIN. After that, you’re good to go, without the need to visit the setup menu at all.

Next you’re plunged straight into live TV, and straight away the onscreen presentation is stunning. When you turn to a new channel, a Now and Next banner appear at the bottom of the screen using snazzy, modern fonts. It uses the actual logos for each channel rather than text, which is a stylish touch.

HUMAX HDR-1000S MENUS

The rest of the Humax HDR-1000S user interface is responsive and easy to navigate. The Home menu is particularly well designed. Live TV plays in a large box, with the menu options to the left. When you scroll through the list, the information below the screen changes – so when you select TV Guide you see a scaled down version of the Now and Next EPG, for example.

From here, you can also visit the Settings menu (which is thorough and incredibly easy to follow), check hard-disk recordings, consult the Help section or search for programmes in the EPG by keyword. You can also explore On-Demand content from a dedicated menu if you don’t fancy searching through the EPG.

The Showcase section picks out a selection of recommended programmes, split into various sections – ‘Watch Tonight’, ‘Don’t Miss’ and ‘On-Demand’. This isn’t based on your viewing habits like Virgin Media’s TiVo box – it’s simply a collection of programmes that Freesat thinks you’ll like, like the first incarnation of Sky Anytime.

Another section worth checking out is simply labelled ‘Humax’, where you can explore the TV Portal’s range of apps. Currently the line-up is limited to Wiki@TV, Flickr, Picasa, Teletext Holidays and Humax Support, although YouTube will be added soon. You can also watch videos, photos and music from the hard-disk or a connected USB device, or stream media from DLNA devices.

The list of supported video formats is excellent. The Humax HDR-1000S tackles AVCHD, XviD, DivX, hi-def AVI, MKV, MP4, and WMV HD, although playable music formats are limited to MP3 only. The media playback menus are superb, displaying logical lists against sophisticated background graphics.

The Recordings also looks terrific. You can filter your list in different ways – ‘HD’, ‘Most Recent’, ‘Still to Watch’ and so forth. You can also view programmes you’ve kept and ones that will be deleted first when you start to run out of space. A series of icons denotes the status of each recording, and you can manage them using a menu that pops up when you hit OK. It’s remarkably thorough yet intuitive.

HUMAX HDR-1000S REMOTE

The Humax HDR-1000S remote is designed with similar attention to detail. First up, it’s the perfect shape for the hand with its inward curving sides, plus the glossy black finish makes it a coffee table triumph. We love the large rubbery buttons with their clear labels, and the layout is perfectly intuitive with the menu controls directly under the thumb. It doesn’t feel cluttered, but all of the key functions are covered – there are buttons for Recordings, Settings, Search and the EPG of course, plus the red Record button is impossible to miss.