Humax H3 Espresso

Media player in search of an audience

It looks rather like an Apple TV, but where Apple offers films and TV series to rent or buy, the H3 Espresso is mostly about watching live. Its Tvplayer app works like a Freeview box, giving you access to 79 free channels, including all the UK terrestrial ones. You also get CNN International, Youtube and, for those with a subscription, Netflix. There’s no BBC iplayer for catch-up TV.

It all comes over the internet, so you don’t need an aerial but you do need reasonably fast broadband: 2Mbps is recommended as a minimum. Picture quality is better than traditional TV or standard definition Freeview, though not as good as HD cable.

If you want more channels, TvplayerVplayer Plus offers 29, including MTV, Gold and Cartoon Network, for £5.99 a month, with the first two months free. There’s also a Humax app store with more TV sources – but it’s rubbish.

You can operate the H3 Espresso with the supplied remote control or from an IOS or Android app, and you can also cast video from an Android device to your television. But bear in mind that the Tvplayer app is available for free on your PC or mobile device anyway, and most TVS now come with Freeview, leaving the H3 Espresso looking like a third wheel.

It probably makes most sense paired with Humax’s FVP-4000T Freeview recorder (£179 from Argos www.snipca. com/24412) to create a multi-room system, but for the limited content it hardly seems worth it.

VERDICT: As an easy-to-use internet Freeview box and a bit more, the H3 Espresso is OK, but many other Android TV boxes are more versatile

★★☆☆☆

ALTERNATIVE: Amazonon Fire TV £80 It’s a little bit too keen to sellell you stuff, but the latest Fire TV goes up to 4K quality and supports a ffull range of Android apps