Personal Video Recorders Explored

We look at the next generation of video recorders. Record hours and hours of TV with no tape. More on the PVR revolution.

What is a PVR?

PVR stands for "Personal Video Recorder", sometimes known as the DVR (Digital Video Recorder).

Rather than recording onto VHS video cassettes, a PVR records TV programmes onto a hard disk that's built into a set-top box.

There are several advantages to using a PVR to record your favourite TV shows: no tapes to rewind, the ability to pause live TV, integrated programme guides, and series recording, plus a lot more storage space than a standard VHS cassette. You can copy programmes down onto video tape or a DVD recorder for archiving, if you wish.

This page contains information on the range of digital video recorders available in the UK for Freeview and Digital Satellite, helping you work out which is the best PVR for you.

PODCAST FEATURE: We featured PVRs in Show 34 of our online radio show.
Listen to the show online, or download it to your MP3 player.
Listen to Show 34 | What is FrequencyCast? | Add us to iTunes

Choosing a PVR

If you're looking to replace your video cassette recorder with a digital hard-disk recorder, here's what to look for when selecting a PVR:

Twin tuner - Allows you to record one digital channel whilst watching another digital channel.
EPG - Electronic Programme Guide (an on-screen TV listings service for easy selection of shows to record) - Look for something with at least a 7 day EPG
Disk size - PVRs have different sized hard-disks. If you're likely to record and store a lot of shows, consider a box with a larger drive
Series Link - Set-and-forget option to mark a favourite show to record future episodes in sequence on the same channel

The Sky+ EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)

PVR Digital Recorders

There are a lot of digital recorders out there on the market. The following table lists the major UK models currently available:

Box	Why should you buy?
Sky+	The mother of all PVRs - a must for Sky Digital satellite customers, and recently voted Best PVR by a leading consumer magazine.
Virgin V+	The PVR for customers of Virgin Media cable - has three tuners
BT Vision	Also supports on-demand TV shows. FREE to BT Broadband users. More on BT Vision
Humax PVR9300T	Recommended by users of this site

Below is a list of PVRs available in the UK:

	BT Vision V-Box The BT Vision service offers over 40 live digital TV as well as video on demand. The BT Vision+ Box has a twin-tuner, supports Series Link and holds 80 hours of TV. The box supports download of a stack of films and TV shows over Broadband. Full review on our BT Vision page The box is available to BT Total Broadband customers. More details: btvision.bt.com
	Bush TU160DTR / TU250DTR / TU320DTR / TU500DTR - Top Up TV PVR Freeview, plus extra content via Top Up TV Anytime 160GB hard drive - Up to 80 hours Twin Tuner 14 Day EPG 2 x SCART sockets 160GB version: £109.99 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1911) 250GB version: £119.99 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1928) 320GB version: £149.99 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1935) 500GB version: £179.99 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1942)
	Fetch TV Smartbox 8000 Fetch TV launched towards the end of 2008, offering Freeview, hard disc recorder, and video content over broadband - much like the cheaper BT Vision service. Specs: 80Gig hard disk, 8 day EPG, Freeview, pause/rewind live TV, plus VoD. Manufactured by NetGem Price: £219 from John Lewis. More on our Fetch TV page.
	Humax Foxsat HDR Freesat PVR At last, a Freesat receiver with a built-in hard drive. Out in November 2008, features of the first Freesat+ recorder include: 320GB built-in hard-disk (up to 200 hours recording) High Definition satellite TV recorder Twin Tuner Series link, radio recording, split recordings and 8 day EPG Available for £255.82 from Laskys Available for £249.99 from Play.com Available for £244 from Dixons Available for £284 from John Lewis Available for £284.99 from Comet More on our Humax Foxsat HDR page
	Humax PVR-9150T Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Features: 160GB built-in hard-disk (up to 100 hours recording) Twin Tuner 7 day Electronic Programme Guide Available for £129.21 from Tribal UK Available for £126.99 from Comet Available for £149.99 from Argos (Cat 532/1681)
	Humax PVR-9300TB This Freeview PVR constantly gets good feedback from our visitors and forum regulars. Supports Freeview+ and these other features: 320GB built-in hard-disk (up to 160 hours recording) Twin Tuner (watch one channel while recording another) HDMI out for upscaling Freeview on an HD-Ready TV 8 day Electronic Programme Guide Card slot suitable for subscription services. (requires CAM) More details and screenshots: Our Humax PVR9300 Review
	Panasonic DMR-Ex78 DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview 250Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 441 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder. DVD Recorder: DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL. Has an HDMI socket for use with High-definition TVs - 1080p upscaling. Supports DivX, MP3 and JPEG compatible. USB Flash Drive playback Output: 2 x SCART , RF loopthrough Available for £259.99 from Argos (Cat no: 085/1077) Available for £279.99 from PurelyGadgets.co.uk
	Panasonic DMR-Ex88 DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview 400Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 700 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder. DVD Recorder: DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL. Has an HDMI socket for use with High-definition TVs - 1080p upscaling. Supports DivX, MP3 and JPEG compatible. USB Flash Drive playback Output: 2 x SCART , RF loopthrough Available for £348.87 from Bennetts Electrical Available for £391.29 from Argos (Cat no:085/1084)
	Pioneer DVR-540HX-S, DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview 160Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 455 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder. Formats: DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-R dual-layer , DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD+R dual-layer , DVD-RAM Input: 1 x SCART , RCA , S-Video Output: 1 x SCART , RCA , Component Video output , S-Video , Coaxial Digital Audio Analogue and Freeview digital tuners. Live pause, high-speed copy. MP3 and JPEG compatible. Available for £315.99 from Amazon.
	Sharp TU-TV322H and Sharp TU-TV502H - Top Up TV PVR Freeview, plus extra content via Top Up TV Anytime 320GB hard drive with up to 160 hours, or 500GB hard drive with up to 250 hours Twin Tuner 14 Day EPG 2 x SCART sockets 320GB version: £169 from Argos (Cat no: 532/2192) 500GB version: £199 from Argos (Cat no: 532/2202)
	Sky+ PVR Digital Satellite Receiver TOP CHOICE Exceptionally versatile, and highly recommended, the hype says that this will change the way you watch TV, and for once, it's not wrong! Sky Plus offers a better experience for Sky Digital customers - you can set programmes to record up to a week in advance, watch one satellite channel while recording another satellite channel, record programmes without videotape, record two different channels at the same time, and pause / rewind live TV (when the phone rings). It also has a feature called 'Series link', which automatically records episodes of your favourite series, keeping track of schedule changes. The current Sky+ boxes holds around 40 hours of shows, and recently was awarded top of the PVRs in a PVR survey conducted by a leading consumer magazine. Outputs: 2 x SCART, 2 x modulated RF outputs, 2 x phono audio out, S-Video, RS232, optical audio (for Dolby Digital 5.1). Available for £49 to new customers when ordered from www.sky.com. The box is also available in an HD-version For more, see our dedicated Sky+ page
	Sky+ HD Satellite PVR Looking for the widest collection of HD channels to complement your HD TV set? Then you'll be needing a Sky+ HD box. This offers the same functionality as the Sky+ box above, plus High Definition. Outputs: Mostly as per the Sky+ box, with an HDMI socket for Hi-def. Available for £49 to new customers when ordered from www.sky.com. For more, see our dedicated Sky+ HD page
	TalkTalk+ PVR Known as the Tiscali TV+ recorder until TalkTalk's acquision in 2010. Record two digital TV channels while watching a third. Record 50 hours of TV, as well as access TalkTalk TV's on-demand content. Available from talktalk.co.uk/tv. More on our Talktalk TV page
	Topfield TF5800 PVR Twin tuners, 160Gig hard disk (up to 88 hours recording time), supports time-shifting & dual recording, Electronic Program Guide (EPG), MP3 via USB 2.0 for storage of personal files. CI slot compatible with subscription services. Became available April 2005. Outputs: 2 x SCART, modulated RF out 250Gig version available for £188 at Amazon
	Thomson DTI 6021 - Top Up TV PVR Freeview, plus extra content via Top Up TV Anytime Two versions: 250GB drive (Up to 180 hours), or 500GB drive (up to 310 hours) Twin Tuner 14 Day EPG 2 x SCART sockets 250 Gig version: £139 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1667) 500 Gig version: £189 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1650)
	Thomson DTI 6300 - Top Up TV Anytime PVR Freeview, plus extra content via Top Up TV Anytime Two versions: 160GB drive (Up to 120 hours), or 250GB drive (up to 180 hours) Twin Tuner Output: 2 x SCART, digital audio and RF modulated output Reviewed on our TopUp TV Anytime page 160 Gig version: £39.99 (reconditioned), or £89.99 (new) direct from topuptv.com 250 Gig version: £49.99 (reconditioned), or £99.99 (new) direct from topuptv.com
	Virgin Media V+ Records up to 80 hours of cable TV. Supports HD Hi-def. Has three tuners, allowing recording of two channels, while watching a third. Replaces the Telewest TVDrive. See our Virgin Media V+ box page for more. Output: 2x SCART, 1x modulated RF, 1 x HDMI Available only to Virgin Media customers in cable TV areas. Installation fee: £99. Monthly fee £5 (unless on the XL package). More details at www.virginmedia.com.

Key: With modulator
Prices, specifications and offers are subject to alteration. Refer to the websites that we link to for latest prices, information and conditions

Old / Discontinued models

	Bush IDPVR801 Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80Gig hard drive for up to 80 hours of programming. Last seen for £129.99 from Littlewoods Direct. Know an online supplier?
	Bush IDPVR802 Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Can record up to 40 hours of programming. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £149.99 from Very.co.uk. Know an online supplier?
	Daewoo DSD9520 PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Card slot suitable for subscription services. Has EPG. Hard Disk: 80Gig (40 hours) Outputs: 2 x SCART, stereo audio, digital audio Last seen for £115 at ASDA online and Tesco.com
	Evesham iPlayer HDTV PVR 80 Gig Hard-drive (70 hours recording) Video On Demand content over Broadband (IPTV) Freeview Onboard High-Definition upscaler (HDTV) HDMI (High Def) socket 2 x SCART , 1 x USB sockets 1 x Ethernet Supports MPEG and WMV video formats As of July 2007, no longer available. Last seen for £240 from Misco.co.uk.
	DigiFusion FVRT95 Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80gig PVR hard drive. Record TV and radio onto hard disk, pause and rewind live TV. Twin tuner. 8-day EPG. Appears similar to the FVRT95, formerly available at Argos. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £99.99 from Maplin Know an online supplier?
	Fusion FVRT145 Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80gig PVR hard drive. Twin Tuner. Pause and rewind live TV. 7-day programme guide. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £124.99 from Argos. Refurbished version for around £45 from Micro Direct Know an online supplier?
	DigiFusion FVRT200 Features: Freeview PVR. Uses SCT compression to squeeze up to 80 hours of TV onto its 80Gig hard-disk. Twin tuner. Has a 14 day EPG , and supports editing & live TV pause/rewind Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £150 from Maplin Electronics and ASDA online
	Goodmans GHD8015F PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Hard Disk: 80Gig (35 hours) Tuner: Twin Other: 7-day EPG. Pause live TV Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £139.99 from Argos
	Goodmans GHDD1785 DVBT PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Hard Disk: 80Gig (35 hours) Twin tuner, 7-day EPG. Pause live TV. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £130 from Argos
	Humax PVR-9200TS (Silver) PVR-9200TB (Black) A Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Features include: 160GB built-in hard-disk (up to 100 hours recording) - Supporting Freeview Playback Twin Tuner Supports subscription services (requires CAM) Electronic Programme Guide Outputs: 2 x SCART, modulated RF out A host of other extras including Picture-in-picture, USB support for PC connectivity, mp3 playback, live pause & Dolby digital out. No longer available. Replaced by the Humax PVR-9300 in July 2008
	Inverto IDL-7000T Freeview 80Gb Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80Gb Hard Disk (60 hours of recording), Twin Tuner, PiP Channel Search, 14 Day Programme Guide, Series Record (Weekly/Daily), Instant Replay and rewind live TV. Trick Playback Modes Output: 2 SCART and RF loopthrough with modulator Last seen for around £175 from AdvancedMP3players
	Logik LPV2250 / TVonics DVR-250 Voted top Freeview PVR in May 2007 by a leading consumer magazine 250GB built-in hard-disk (up to 125 hours recording) Twin Tuner 8-day Electronic Programme Guide Outputs: 2 x SCART Last seen for £179.99 from Currys. Know a supplier?
	Pace Twin Digital TV Recorder Features: Freeview PVR, twin-tuner, pause Live TV, 10 hours hard disk recording time, watch 2 separate channels on 2 separate TVs. Output: 2 SCARTs and modulated RF For more details, see our Pace page Availability: Sadly discontinued, but try Amazon or Ebay.co.uk
	Panasonic TUCTH100 Pause live Freeview TV, 80Gb HDD, 40 hours recording, twin-tuner, time-slip function (record & playback), 24 event recording. Output: Digital optical out, and RF loopthrough Last seen for £262.23 from Dixons.
	Sagem PVR62160 and Sagem PVR6280T PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005 Hard Disk: 80Gig (40 hours) Tuner: Twin Other: 7-day EPG. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £119.99 from Argos and £152.56 from Amazon.co.uk
	Sagem PVR6240T PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Hard Disk: 40Gig (20 hours). Twin tuner. 7-day EPG. Time-shift & instant replay. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £129.99 from Argos
	Sagem PVR7280T PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005. Hard Disk: 80Gig (40 hours). Twin tuner. 7-day EPG. Card slot for subscription services Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £180 from Argos Know an online supplier?
	Sagem DTR64160T PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Eight-day programme guide Hard Disk: 160Gig (up to 80 hours) Tuner: Twin Outputs: 2 x SCART, HDMI Last seen for £96.87 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1629)
	Sagem PVR72160 PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005. Hard Disk: 160Gig (up to 80 hours). Twin tuner, card slot for subscription services Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough, optical audio Last seen for £179.99 at Comet Know a supplier?
	Sony RDR-Hx510s -PVR & DVD Recorder Features: Analogue tuner with 80 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Plays pre-recorded DVD's & CD's. Records on DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R DVD+RW Blank Media. With SMARTLINK Outputs: 2 x SCART. Last seen for £250 - £310 from Currys.
	Sony RDR-HXD560 - PVR, DVD Recorder & Freeview Features: Freeview receiver with 80 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Supports access to Freeview , recording onto DVD (multiple formats supported: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW ). PVR records up to 106 hours onto built-in hard-disk Output: 2 x SCART, S-video, digital audio. Last seen for £280 at Argos and Play.com
	Sony RDR-HXD710 - PVR, DVD Recorder & Freeview Features: Freeview receiver with 160 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Supports access to Freeview (with 8 day EPG), recording onto DVD (multiple formats supported: +R ,-RW,+RW,-R). PVR records up to 269 hours onto built-in hard-disk Output: 2 x SCART, S-video, digital audio. Last seen for £375 at Amazon and Play.com
	Sony SVR-S500 Features: Freeview receiver with 80 Gig hard disk. Twin tuner, 14 day EPG, Pause and rewind live TV. Pause and rewind live TV. Also features folders for storing recordings, and Selective Recording Edit (crops recordings). Output: 2 x SCART. Last seen for £180 from ASDA, Tribal UK and Amazon
	Thomson DHD-4000 Twin Freeview Recorder Features: Freeview receiver with 40 Gig hard disk (up to 20 hours of TV) and a twin tuner. Became available in April 2004. Output: 2 x SCART Last seen for £99.99 from Bennetts Electrical
	Thomson TiVo PVR10UK Built-in hard disk (40Gigabytes for up to 40 hours of TV). Pause live TV. Electronic TV guide. Learns your viewing preferences Availability: No longer in production, and very hard to find. See TiVo page for stock

Using your PC as a PVR:

If you've already got a PC, why not use it to record TV programmes onto your hard-disk?
It's a lot cheaper than buying a set-top box hard-disk recorder, and gives you more flexibility to edit recordings, burn them onto a DVD, or copy TV shows off to a portable video player, such as the Creative Vision:M.

Hauppauge Win TV PVR USB Watch TV in a resizeable window on your PC screen, record to hard-disk, pause live TV, sschedule your TV watching and recording and create Microsoft AVI or MPG movies.
The most common solutions come from Hauppauge, and are available either as a PCI card (that fits into a PCI slot inside your PC), or a USB device to plug into your PC.

PC-based PVR receivers are available from Dabs.com , PC World, Maplin, and Amazon.

For more on getting TV and video on your PC, see our TV on your PC page

Blind / Partially-sighted: Thanks also to Larry M for the following: "Re. the Nebula Electronics DigiTV PCI & USB pc Freeview receivers. I am Vision Impaired and the Nebula offering gets my 5 star approval! The software enables PVR recording, using the PC's Hard Drive, AND is totally programmable by the Vision Impaired using a Screen Reader. Audio Description can easily be turned on or off, as can Subtitles. It gives the full range of Freeview channels and Radio stations. Website: www.nebula-electronics.com

PVR FAQ

Some general questions asked by our visitors

Sky PVR

A message from site visitor Edward Yates: "Are there any hard-disc recorders / DVD disc recorders or DVD/Hard disc type recorders available that will record programmes from Sky?"

Answer: Getting Sky+ is the obvious choice for recording Sky channels onto hard-disk. The cost of the Sky+ box depends on your Sky package - check online to see how much it'll cost. If you don't want to go for Sky+, most (if not all) DVD recorders can cope with recording via a Line In feed from a Sky box.

As for other PVRs that support recording from Sky, the standard Freeview PVRs can only record from their built-in Freeview tuners. Combined DVD/HDD recorders are your best bet - we'd love to be able to add a list here, and if you can help, please add to this thread in our forum.

The only issue with a two-box solution for recording Sky, is that you have to remember to set the recorder to record "Line in", then ensure the Sky box is set to the right channel. This two-step process is eliminated with Sky+.

Need some help or advice? Ask in our PVR forum