PVRs: How to buy
Before you get to the shop
With Freeview, Top-Up TV, satellite and cable services to choose from, you'll need to consider what's available in your area, the kinds of content you want to be able to watch and what you're prepared to pay in order to make this decision. See our Digital TV options report for more information. Once you've decided on a platform, you can start looking at compatible PVR models.
Number of tuners
A PVR that contains two digital tuners will let you record one channel while you watch another. Those with single tuners are only suitable if you already have a digital TV (IDTV) with its own built-in tuner – otherwise you’ll only be able to watch the same digital channel that your PVR is recording.
Hard disk space
As a rule-of-thumb if you divide the size of the hard disk in Gigabytes (GBs) by 2 this will indicate the number of hours of TV recording you can fit on the disk. For example an 80GB disk will store 40 hours of TV, 160GB stores 80 hours etc.
What to consider in store
When you're in the shop try, if you can, to have a play with the PVR before you buy. Consider the following points:
Remote control
The remote control is your interface with the machine and finding one that is intuitive and comfortable is crucial to ease of use.
On screen guides make it easy to record on a PVR
Electronic Programme Guide
The Electric Programme Guide (EPG) is the heart of the PVR and its layout is crucial as to how easy it is to use.
As with layout the speed at which you can navigate around the EPG, find the programme you want and select it for recording has a huge impact on how easy the machine is to use.
Fan noise
PVRs generate some noise from their hard disk and cooling fans. It’s unlikely to bother most people but ask for a demo in the shop if you think this may annoy you.
Power consumption
Power consumption is the main issue here as a PVR is likely to be left in standby continually so it can receive programme guide updates and be ready to record selected programmes. A low standby power consumption is therefore desirable.
Online shopping
The high-street stores stock all our Freeview Best Buys but you can almost always get a better deal by shopping online. If you're certain you know which one you want you can save money via the web.