The Ten Best: Digital TV recorders

Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one

To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...

Time for a reality check on the Sri Lankan civil war

Sri Lanka, much like Britain, has side-lined accountability long enough.

Children Of Alcoholics week: One million children may just be the tip of the iceberg

Children Of Alcoholics week starts today. So, what are the aims for Nacoa during this important week...

Review of Being Human: ‘Being Human 1955’

Following on from an episode tinged with tragedy, this week lifted the mood with something lighter.

1. Philips DVDR-7206H, £349.99

Just out, this has a 160GB hard drive,a Freeview tuner and an analogue tuner. It records in surround sound and has a DVD recorder for when the hard disk fills up.

www.philips.co.uk; 09061 010 016

2. Pioneer DVR-540HX, £430

The highest-quality recording settings give good results, and there's also a built-in Freeview tuner. A 160GB hard drive stores 455 hours, but you can download extra to disc.

www.pioneer.co.uk; 01753 789 500

3. Panasonic DMR-EX95, £549.99

This has a huge 250GB hard drive that can store 443 hours. It also has a DVD and a VHS recorder so you can play old tapes, record from the hard drive or make a tape for someone.

www.panasonic.co.uk; 08705 357 357

4. Digifusion FVRT200, £180

An 80GB hard disk stores 80 hours, and twin digital tuners allow you to record two things at once while you're watching stuff you've already recorded. www.fusiondigitec.com; 08706 060 044

5. Goodmans GHD8015F2, £99.99

The twin tuners mean that you can watch one channel and record another, and pause live TV. A 80GB hard drive may not be the biggest available, but this is keenly priced.

www.goodmans.co.uk; 08708 730 080

6. Topfield TF5800T, £259.95

Twin Freeview tuners record two digital channels at the same time, and a 160GB hard drive storesup to 88 hours of TV. Data can be transferredto PC hard disk.

www.firebox.com; 08702 414 289

7 Sky HD, £299 - Best buy

The best PVR on the market. It saves seasons of your favourite programmes at the touch of a button, and it has a 160GB hard drive (with more space for downloads).

www.sky.com; 08702 424 242

8. Sony RDR-HXD 860, £399.99 - Best luxury buy

This has a 160GB hard drive, a Freeview tuner, a DVD recorder and a HDMI connector for high-quality HDTV. You can pause the channel or rewind live TV and upscale DVDs.

www.sony.co.uk; 08705 111 999

9. Toshiba RD85DT, £350

This has a 160GB hard drive that stores up to 284 hours of TV, and there's a DVD recorder for archiving. Easy to use, the recording mode makes broadcast-quality recordings.

www.toshiba.co.uk; 08704 424 424

10. Humax 9200T, £197.99 - Best budget buy

Record two channels at once or record one and watch another with the twin Freeview tuners. This PVR is another large 160GB hard drive, which can store up to 100 hours.

www.comet.co.uk; 08705 425 425