Pioneer DVR-540HS

I wanted to replace my VCR with a PVR/DVR for better image quality when playing back recordings. A quick look at the PVR's on the market at the time, and no one does a PVR that records from an external source. If they record from an external source they tend to call them DVR's. But just about every DVR I found also included a DVD recorder. I didn't want a DVD recorder. In fact, I didn't want a DVD player because I already had one. What I wanted was a basic machine that records to a hard drive instead of a tape, with freeview, but no-one makes such a thing. So I opted for the Pioneer DVR-540HS-S (in Silver). What a great piece of kit!

I have Sky, so I wanted to be able to record from Sky (external source), and I didn't want to pay Murdoch £10 per month for the pleasure. You can setup the DVR-540HS to get its channels from Analogue, Digital or External sources. And using the Guide Plus system I can tell it to record from Sky, and (as long as your sky box is switched on) it will switch to the correct channel using a small IR transmitter.

It has freeview, and the image quality is brilliant, even though our reception can be weak at times. The DVD playback quality is excellent as well. At this point I haven't recorded to DVD (remember I didn't really want that feature. In fact I don't have a blank recordable DVD disk in the house). I have recorded to HDD several times. The only issue I have to moan about is that, as you select the program using Guide Plus, the start/end times are preset, and if the program overruns by a minute or two, the system will chop the end of.

It's quiet, but it does have quite a long start up and shut down sequence (30 seconds approx).

Overall, it is well worth the money. £286 including postage from Digital Direct.