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RSS feedsIf you own a VCR, there's a good chance you've got a mountain of used, unused and unusable videotapes clogging up the living room.
Old episodes of Coronation Street, a half-watched film you'd vowed to get through at some point and a collection of unlabelled, dusty videos you can't be bothered to sit and scan through are usually the main culprits.
Also, each tape has probably been used several times over, reducing the image quality every time a new recording is made.
For some, using a VCR can be as difficult as learning a foreign language. Even though these trusted devices can be found sitting under the telly in most homes, the thought of using it to program a video recording still sends vibrations down the spines of many.
However, with the advent of hard disk recording technology, the clutter, complexity and lack of quality of VHS recording can be a thing of the past.
Hard disk recorders, also known as PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) or digital video recorders, use a hard disk instead of a videotape to record TV broadcasts.
They have all the functions of VCRs - such as recording, playback, fast forwarding and rewinding - but can also 'pause' live television and, with the help of an EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), can record a whole TV series automatically.
Some models, such as those from Toshiba and JVC, even have recordable DVD drives, like PCs, allowing recordings to be permanently saved on DVD.
Hard disk recording isn't a new concept. The ground-breaking TiVo system has been around since 1999, and Sky+ was launched in 2001 for Sky satellite viewers.
Since then, a number of well known manufacturers have entered the PVR market and this Christmas will see more hard disk recorders available in the UK than ever before.
Following very positive customer feedback, some cable companies in the US are even giving away hard disk recorders and EPGs with each subscription, suggesting that this technology is here to stay.
We've looked at five of our favourite models currently on the market and the technology behind the devices that could change the way we watch TV.
KEY FEATURES:
1. Capacity
The first thing users will want to know about their PVR is exactly how many of their favourite soaps can be stored on it. Long-play VHS tapes can hold about eight hours, which is more than enough for one recording.
The obvious problem lies with trawling through hours of footage to find the half-hour programme you taped. With PVRs, programmes that have been recorded are listed in an index and can be accessed at the touch of a button.
The smallest hard disk here is 40GB, enough to hold around 20 hours of high-quality digital video. Naturally, the bigger the hard disk, the more information it can store.
The Humax PVR-8000, for example, comes with a removable hard disk for simple upgrading and some devices, such as TiVo, can be (unofficially) upgraded with larger disks.
2. Quality
A PVR's storage capacity is also influenced by the recording quality you choose. For example, a 40GB model might be able to record for 20 hours at the highest quality setting and recordings would be indistinguishable from the original broadcast.
At the lowest quality setting, you might get 40 hours but recordings would be visibly worse than a VHS recording.
In practice, you can change the recording quality to suit the programme being recorded - high quality for films and fast-moving sports, for example, and low quality for 'talking head' programmes where the audio is more important. The only exception to this is Sky+, which records every programme at its highest setting.
3. Freeze frame
One of the best things about PVRs is their ability to 'time-shift'. For example, if you're watching a programme live (as it's being broadcast, in other words), you can pause or even rewind the recording if you need to take a break or want to watch a bit again.
This is possible because PVRs play back and record programmes at the same time. When you're watching live TV on a PVR, it's not actually 'live' but a recording from a few seconds before.
When you press pause on the remote control, the playback freezes but the recording continues, so you can pick up where you left off or even fast forward through the recorded portion back to the 'live' point.
4. Setting the video made simple
PVRs can do away with trawling through the paper, looking for the TV guide and kneeling in front of the telly while you set up your recordings.
The key to this is the EPG, an on-screen TV guide that you browse through and select programmes to record.
Unfortunately, while EPGs simplify timed programme recording to an amazing extent, they cost money to maintain and they require a certain amount of investment from a manufacturer.
TiVo charges a £10 monthly subscription for its EPG but it provides a whole host of clever features. Not only does it detect clashes between recordings, but it seeks out repeat showings to ensure that that you don't record one programme at the expense of another and even updates your recording schedule to reflect any changes in programme times.
Sky+ makes do with a lesser EPG and as a consequence, lacks many of the sophisticated features of TiVo but it's still much easier than setting a VCR.
Unfortunately, other PVRs make do without any kind of EPG and instead rely on dated technology such as VideoPlus+ for timed recording, failing to realise the full potential of hard disk recording.
TOSHIBA RD-XS30
The Toshiba RD-XS30 (£700) is one of the first hard disk recorders we've seen that incorporates a DVD-RW drive, allowing recorded programmes to be transferred to disc to free up hard disk space.
It's no bigger than an ordinary DVD player and contains a 60GB hard disk, enough for 30 hours of high- quality video and around 78 hours at the lowest quality setting.
Each recording appears in the index as a thumbnail together with such information as the channel, time and date it was made, and the quality setting.
Getting started is a simple process. Just attach the RD-XS30 to your TV via the Scart socket and the Auto Setup Wizard takes care of channel tuning. You may want to consult the manual for use of the remote control, though, as it has so many buttons it looks as if it's been plucked from an aircraft flight deck.
The Timeslip function allows you to pause live TV but, unlike the other models here, the RD-XS30 needs a few seconds to think about it before halting the action. However, once paused, a picture-in-picture mode can be activated to simultaneously view the real-time broadcast.
While up to 32 programmes or 'events' can be programmed over a two-month period, it uses the antiquated, yet acceptable, VideoPlus+ method of recording and doesn't come with its own EPG.
Verdict: Very expensive and lacks an EPG but can store lots of video and can archive programmes to DVD. www.toshiba.co.uk
SKY+
While you may not agree with the ever-expanding empire that is British Sky Broadcasting, you simply can't argue with the quality of products it offers. Sky+ is a digital satellite receiver built with a 40GB hard disk recorder.
Being subscription-based, an engineer will come round to install and demonstrate how to use it and because it's a digital TV service, the picture and sound is second to none.
There are no recording quality settings; everything is stored as it is broadcast, giving up to 20 hours of recording time.
Sky+'s best feature is the EPG. Here you can browse through the next seven days of TV, picking which programmes to record. You can even set 'series links' for episodic broadcasts and it's clever enough to ignore repeats.
The EPG is updated as soon as the broadcast schedule changes, so if the football beforehand runs into extra time, you'll still find your full instalment of EastEnders saved on the hard disk.
Another big attraction of Sky+ is its two built-in tuners. These allow you to record one channel while watching another and Sky plans to add the ability to record two programmes simultaneously. At some point, you will even be able to set recordings via mobile phone text message.
Verdict: With the recent scrapping of the monthly subscription for 'top tier' Sky subscribers, Sky+ is an attractive proposition though it's no use if you use another digital TV service such as NTL or Freeview. www.sky.com/skyplus
TIVO
TiVo was the first - and in our opinion, the best - PVR to appear in the UK but a terrible marketing campaign led it to slip by almost unnoticed.
As a result, the only TiVo unit which was available in this country, manufactured by Thomson (TiVo is the name of the technology), is no longer available but units do appear regularly on eBay and old stock is still floating around the shops. The TiVo service, however, is still fully operational and is accepting new subscribers.
The Thomson TiVo is a featureless aluminium box with just a couple of lights on the front to indicate activity - everything is handled from the well-designed remote control. The wizard-led set-up is an absolute doddle and TiVo works with all aerial, cable and satellite TV services.
It even changes the channel on whatever decoder box you have for timed recordings, which no other device can do.
A TiVo subscription costs £10 a month, or you can pay £299 for a 'lifetime' subscription. In return you get a two-week EPG that's updated via a freephone telephone number each day. Using the EPG is like using a TV guide. Making a timed recording is as simple as highlighting a programme in the guide.
TiVo will detect recording clashes and resolve them by looking for repeat showings, and can record a whole series automatically. It will also update your recordings to reflect any changes in the EPG, which means you shouldn't miss a programme due to a late schedule change.
Verdict: If you can find a TiVo for less than £200 (or more, if it has a lifetime subscription or its 40GB hard disk has been upgraded), snap it up immediately - you won't regret it for an instant. www.uk.tivo.com
JVC XV-DDV1SL
Apart from a more futuristic design and a bigger hard disk, the JVC XV-DDV1SL is almost identical to the Toshiba RD-XS30. It's easy to install and comes with a stylish remote control that glows in the dark.
It has an 80GB hard disk that can hold 80 hours of low-quality video and a built-in DVD-RAM drive for the permanent storage of programmes. The machine is programmed for recording using the VideoPlus+ system, but there's no EPG.
You can manually program up to 16 recordings over the course of a year, which is impressive but far short of the unlimited timed recordings offered by TiVo and Sky+.
The Retro Active Recording function will allow you to rewind live TV and a nifty replay button can be used to repeat the last five seconds of the broadcast - excellent for instant sports replays. Up to 100 recordings can be stored in an index and navigated by thumbnail views, name or date.
Verdict: Like the Toshiba model, the JVC XV-DDV1SL is expensive but looks great, has loads of ports for connecting to existing hardware and has a huge hard disk. Shame about the lack of EPG. www.jvc.co.uk
HUMAX PVR-8000
The Humax PVR-8000 is the cheapest model here. However, as well as a hard disk recorder it's also a Freeview digital set-top box. As a hard disk recorder, it's standard fare; it offers familiar VCR features such as record, rewind and slow motion.
Like its rivals, you can also pause live TV and time-shift the broadcast. There's no EPG (Humax plans to add this feature next year), so all recordings have to be programmed by start and stop times, but Freeview does at least provide a 'now and next' guide. It's easy to use and inexpensive.
Humax has said that a PVR-9000 model, launched early next year, will include a removable hard disk. Behind its front panel will be a handle attached to a hard disk caddy.
Pull this out and you'll find a 40GB hard disk, similar to the one in your PC, so fitting a bigger replacement will be simple and inexpensive. It will also feature twin tuners to let you to watch one digital channel while recording another.
Verdict: If the PVR-8000 came with an EPG, it'd be pushing the Sky+ for first place. It is still a cheap way of getting a digital TV and a PVR in one box. www.humaxdigital.com
Re-record not fade away
Hard disk recorders are still quite pricey, particularly now that VCRs are available for less than £100. However, just like switching from to broadband, once you've used one, it's so much better that it's difficult to go back.
Unfortunately, an EPG is essential if you're to fully exploit the benefits of a PVR and that's where almost all of the manufacturers fall down. If you can lay your hands on a TiVo, you'll see just what a PVR is capable of and you won't begrudge paying the monthly £10 subscription.
You can't, however, buy a TiVo new on the high street, which means we can't do more than recommend that you hunt one down elsewhere.
The Toshiba and JVC are built with a DVD-RW drive but they are still very costly and don't yet offer an EPG. The Humax PVR 8000 is cheaper and has lots of novel features but it still resorts to the old method of manual programming. As a cheap entry to hard disk recording, it's worth a look.
Which leaves us with Sky+. The EPG could be better and you need to pay to be a Sky subscriber to use it, but it works extremely well and its ability to record one Sky channel while you watch another is a godsend. That gets it our nod for the Best on Test award.
Using your PC as a hard-disk recorder
You may be thinking that if these devices use a hard disk, why can't your PC simply be used to do the same thing? Well it can, but with a few compromises.
Firstly, you'll need a video capture card and the relevant software to allow TV footage to be recorded to the hard disk. Then you're going to need enough space on your hard disk to store the video. Every hour of high-quality TV footage requires around 2GB of hard disk space, so 10 hours will need 20GB.
Perhaps the most important and potentially irritating aspect is that the PC will need to be situated in your living room, or wherever your main television is.
Moreover, every command will have to be carried out using the mouse and keyboard and you can forget about using an EPG. There is a better solution, though - a Windows XP Media Center PC, which is designed to perform the tasks of a standalone hard disk recorder and a lot more.
See our Media Center feature here for more information.
See also:
All Peripheral Devices
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