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PVR reviews >
Reliability

PVR reviews: Reliability

To find out which tech brands are the UK’s favourites, every year we ask almost 10,000 Which? members to tell us about the technology products they own – from how happy they are to recommend a brand, to how reliable the products are once they’re home.

Read our expert Which? reviews of the best PVRs.

Best PVRs for reliability

A broken PVR can be incredibly frustrating. The ability to record your favourite TV shows and watch them when it suits you is something we take for granted these days. A failed recording is annoying but a PVR that breaks down completely will probably mean you losing all the recording you've made, not to mention the cost of replacing your machine.

At Which? we survey thousands of members every year to find out which PVR they own and any problems they've had. This unique survey helps us find out the most common reasons for PVRs breaking down or failing altogether and which brands are the most reliable.

We cover all the main brands - such as Humax, Panasonic Virgin, Sky - and have surveyed thousands of Which? members to ensure you can find a brand you can really trust.

Which? members can log in to see the full results. Or you can try Which? today for just £1.

PVRs Which? reliability index
Brand	Rating	Score
Humax
Panasonic
Sky / Sky+
Virgin / Virgin +

Common PVR problems

PVR freezing 35% - your PVR locks up and refuses to respond to the remote control
Picture problems 19% - pixellated or blocky pictures make viewing fursutrating
Playback/record problems 13% - PVR that refuse to record a programme, cut-off before the end or which won't playback a recording

PVR reviews

Our reliability surveys help Which? to uncover common PVR problems that can affect owners over time. Combined with our extensive lab tests, this means we can recommend the best PVR for you to buy. Some of things we test are picture and sound quality, ease to use - especially how intuitive and useful the electronic program guide is - and if the playback function is reliable.

Which? is independent - we work for you, the consumer, so you can be sure that our product recommendations are influenced only by our test results. We don't take advertising and we buy all the products that we test, so our advice helps you to make the right choice and avoid costly mistakes.