DVD recorders: How to choose a digital TV recorder What type of digital TV recorder is right for you?

Which? interactive guide to choosing a digital TV recorder 

If you want to record digital TV programmes, then you'll need either a personal video recorder (PVR) or a DVD recorder. The type of product that's right for you depends on how you intend to use it. Use the Which? interactive guide to choosing the digital TV recorder that's right for you.

If all you want to do is record TV programmes with minimal fuss for watching at a different time (time-shifting), we’d recommend avoiding DVD recorders altogether and opting for a PVR that records to an internal hard drive. They're simple to use, offer massive recording capacity and are very versatile. They're not suitable for long-term archiving however.

Read the Which? PVR reviews.

If you want to record and archive TV for long-term storage, or you want to share recordings with family and friends, a DVD recorder is a better option.

However, you’ll only get two hours of good quality recording time per disc. You can extend the recording time using long-play settings to three or four hours, but image quality will suffer.

If you like the idea of buying a DVD recorder but want massive amounts of recording time too, consider a DVD recorder with a built-in hard disk drive.

These feature large internal hard disk drives like those you’d find on a PVR. Their storage capacities are huge – space to record more than 100 hours of programming is typical, and the largest can store 250 hours. You can also transfer any recording held onto a DVD for archiving purposes or for sharing recordings with friends.

However, combination DVD/hard disk recorders generally only have a single digital tuner. This means that you can't record two digital programmes at the same time and you can only watch one programme and record another if you also own a digital TV with its own tuner.

They’re also generally more complicated to use than good standalone PVR. So if both a PVR and a DVD recorder are required, we would recommend buying two separate devices unless space is an issue.

Find the best standalone and combination DVD recorders in the Which? DVD recorder reviews.