Sky+ 160 — £400, plus installation and subscription, from www.sky.com/skyplus
Simple and efficient, but pricey
Five stars
The latest Sky+ recorder brings a capacity upgrade to the most acclaimed PVR on the market. The 160GB hard drive will store 80 hours of programmes that look as good as the originals. The seven-day electronic programme guide (EPG) is idiot-proof, while built-in twin tuners bring the flexibility to record one channel while watching another, record two channels at once or play back a programme while the hard drive is still recording. PVR viewers watch more television, and often banish the ads — a common way of skipping them is to record the hour-long CSI at 9pm, for example, then start viewing half an hour after it begins, fast-forward through the adverts, then switch into The OC at 10.15pm. Skip the ads again and, by 11pm, you’ve saved half an hour. But Sky+ is expensive, and there is a £10 monthly charge (waived if you subscribe to a pricey premium package).

FREEVIEW NEWCOMER

Inverto IDL-7000T — £220 from www.unbeatable.co.uk
Great options for nonsubscription viewers
Four stars
Sleek and stark, the Inverto ticks all the boxes for a digital-age recorder, including easy-to-read on-screen menus for navigating the EPG. Reception from Freeview is clear, although a trifle softer than with some receivers, the twin tuners will record one channel while you watch another, and a good set of connections links to your television or plasma screen. The 80GB hard drive will accommodate 40 hours’ worth of films or soaps, there is an impressive 60-minute rolling buffer for pausing the channel you are watching live — and if you come home to find the big match has started, you can rewind the game and watch “as live”.

FUTURE-PROOF RECORDING

PIONEER DVR-920H — typically £900, or £850 from www.soundandvisiononline.com
Ready for high-definition television, but marred by a disappointing lack of tuners
Four stars
With a price tag to make David Dickinson weep and a huge 250GB capacity, the Pioneer is aimed squarely at the serious audio/video buff. Although the recording is first-rate and pictures sing, the lack of any TV tuners — twin, digital or otherwise — means that it adds another unit to your living-room stack instead of being a one-box receive-and-record gadget. Plug in an aerial and a digibox (cable, Freeview or satellite), and the EPG will set up recordings. A built-in DVD burner archives classic shows, but the Pioneer’s best asset is without doubt the rarer-than-hen’s-teeth HDMI digital output, which makes it ready for high-definition television. These pin-sharp pictures should be coming to your living room next year, so this machine is thoroughly future-proof.

ONE-TRICK PONY

Technisat Digicorder T1 40GB — £240 from www.sateuropa.co.uk
Impressive pictures, but limited by the single tuner
Three stars
The Technisat T1’s unfussy styling reveals its German origins, with pictures as sharp as a tack. The robustness of the box extends to the responsive and uncluttered handset, though setting up Freeview could be simpler: channels appear in a bizarre order (BBC4, News 24, then BBC1) and rearranging them is complex. Its biggest flaw is the lack of a second digital tuner, which means you cannot record one programme while watching another, although you can play from the hard drive while recording. Single-tuner PVRs are of limited use, although, combined with an existing Freeview set-top box, the T1 would provide an extra receiver and added flexibility.

Maximum rating five stars
Prices include Vat and delivery

Reviews adapted from Digital Home magazine - Issue 25 on sale now

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