Personal Video Recorders Explored
We look at the next generation of video recorders. Record hours and hours of TV with no tape. More on the PVR revolution.
What is a PVR?
PVR stands for “Personal Video Recorder”, sometimes known as the DVR (Digital Video Recorder).
Rather than recording onto VHS video cassettes, a PVR records TV programmes onto a hard disk that’s built into a set-top box.
There are several advantages to using a PVR to record your favourite TV shows: no tapes to rewind, the ability to pause live TV, integrated programme guides, and series recording, plus a lot more storage space than a standard VHS cassette. You can copy programmes down onto video tape or a DVD recorder for archiving, if you wish.
This page contains information on the range of digital video recorders available in the UK for Freeview and Digital Satellite, helping you work out which is the best PVR for you.
Choosing a PVR
If you’re looking to replace your video cassette recorder with a digital hard-disk recorder, here’s what to look for when selecting a PVR:
- Twin tuner – Allows you to record one digital channel whilst watching another digital channel.
- EPG – Electronic Programme Guide (an on-screen TV listings service for easy selection of shows to record) – Look for something with at least a 7 day EPG
- Disk size – PVRs have different sized hard-disks. If you’re likely to record and store a lot of shows, consider a box with a larger drive
- Series Link – Set-and-forget option to mark a favourite show to record future episodes in sequence on the same channel
The Sky+ EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)
PVR Digital Recorder List
There are a lot of digital recorders out there on the market. The following table lists the major UK models currently available:
| Box | Why should you buy? |
| Sky+ | The mother of all PVRs – a must for Sky Digital satellite customers, and recently voted Best PVR by a leading consumer magazine.  |
| Virgin V+ | The PVR for customers of Virgin Media cable – has three tuners |
| BT Vision | Also supports on-demand TV shows. FREE to BT Broadband users. BT Vision details |
| Humax PVR9300T | Freeview box as recommended by users of this site |
Below is a list of PVRs available in the UK:
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BT Vision V-Box
The BT Vision service offers over 40 live digital TV as well as video on demand. The BT Vision+ Box has a twin-tuner, supports Series Link and holds 80 hours of TV. The box supports download of a stack of films and TV shows over Broadband. Full review on our BT Vision Review page The box is available to BT Total Broadband customers. More details: btvision.bt.com |
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Bush TU160DTR / TU250DTR / TU320DTR / TU500DTR – Top Up TV PVR
160GB version: £109.99 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1911) |
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 Fetch TV Smartbox 8000
Fetch TV launched towards the end of 2008, offering Freeview, hard disc recorder, and video content over broadband. Specs: 80Gig hard disk, 8 day EPG, Freeview, pause/rewind live TV, plus VoD. Manufactured by NetGem No supplier found. Consider the Smartbox 8320 as an alternative. More on our Fetch TV page. |
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 Humax DTR-T1000
The first YouView box on the market. Offers catch-up TV, Freeview HD and on-demand content over the Internet. More details on our Humax DTR T1000 YouView Review page.
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 Humax HDR Fox T2 – Freeview HD Recorder
Storage: 500Gb (Up to 300 hours) Features: 8 day EPG, twin tuner, Freeview HD, and access to the BBC iPlayer (Internet connection needed). Connectors: HDMI, Ethernet and USB ports
More details on our Humax HDR-Fox T2 page. |
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 Humax Foxsat HDR Freesat PVR
At last, a Freesat receiver with a built-in hard drive. Out in November 2008, features of the first Freesat+ recorder include:
Available for £249.99 from Argos More on our Humax Foxsat HDR page |
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Humax PVR-9150T
Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Features:
Available for £149.99 from Argos (Cat 532/1681) |
 
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Humax PVR-9300TB
This Freeview PVR constantly gets good feedback from our visitors and forum regulars. Supports Freeview+ and these other features:
Available from £155 – Latest prices More details and screenshots: Our Humax PVR9300 Review
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Panasonic DMR-XW380 EBK – Freeview HD & DVD Recorder
Storage: Freeview HD, 250GB Hard Drive Features: DVD Recorder with Twin Freeview HD tuner, Freeview +, High Speed Archive to DVD, SD transfer, DivX, MP3 and JPEG playback
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Panasonic DMR-EX78 DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview
250Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 441 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder.
Output: 2 x SCART , RF loopthrough Available for £259.99 from Argos (Cat no: 085/1077) |
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Philips HDT8520 – Freeview HD Recorder
Storage: 500Gb (125 hours of HD) Features: Ultra-quiet, 8 day EPG, HD resolutions up to 1080p, upscaling for SD programs. Connectors: HDMI, SCART. Ethernet and USB ports
More details on our Philips HDT8520 Freeview HD page. |
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Pioneer DVR-540HX-S, DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview
160Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 455 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder.
Analogue and Freeview digital tuners. Live pause, high-speed copy. MP3 and JPEG compatible. Available for £315.99 from Amazon. |
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Sharp TU-TV322H and Sharp TU-TV502H – Top Up TV PVR
320GB version: £169 from Argos (Cat no: 532/2192) |
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Sky+HD Satellite PVR TOP CHOICE
This is Sky’s top of the range box, incorporating the Sky+ recorder, and Sky’s HD service. Sky+ is exceptionally versatile, and highly recommended, the hype says that this will change the way you watch TV, and for once, it’s not wrong! Sky Plus offers a better experience for Sky Digital customers – you can set programmes to record up to a week in advance, watch one satellite channel while recording another satellite channel, record programmes without videotape, record two different channels at the same time, and pause / rewind live TV (when the phone rings). It also has a feature called ‘Series link’, which automatically records episodes of your favourite series, keeping track of schedule changes. Sky HD? Looking for the widest collection of HD channels to complement your HD TV set? Then you’ll be needing a Sky+HD box. This offers the same functionality as the Sky+ box above, plus High Definition. Currently available free to new customers when ordered from www.sky.com. For more, see our dedicated Sky+HD page |
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TalkTalk+ PVR
Known as the Tiscali TV+ recorder until TalkTalk’s acquisition in 2010. Record two digital TV channels while watching a third. Record 50 hours of TV, as well as access TalkTalk TV’s on-demand content. Available from talktalk.co.uk/tv. More on our Talktalk TV page |
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Technika Smartbox 8320 – Freeview HD
A powerful box that offers: Freeview HD, twin Freeview recorders, plus Internet TV using the Fetch TV service. launched towards the end of 2008, offering Freeview, hard disc recorder, and video content over broadband. Specs: 320GB drive, Freeview HD receivers, wi-fi, USB and BBC iPlayer. Price: £150 exclusively from Tesco Direct. More on our Technika Smartbox page. |
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Topfield TF5800 PVR
Twin tuners, 160Gig hard disk (up to 88 hours recording time), supports time-shifting & dual recording, Electronic Program Guide (EPG), MP3 via USB 2.0 for storage of personal files. CI slot compatible with subscription services. Became available April 2005. 250Gig version available for £188 at Amazon |
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Thomson DTI 6021 – Top Up TV PVR
250 Gig version: £99.99 from Amazon |
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Thomson DTI 6300 – Top Up TV Anytime PVR
Reviewed on our TopUp TV Anytime page 160 Gig version: £39.99 (reconditioned), or £89.99 (new) direct from topuptv.com |
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Virgin Media V+ Records up to 80 hours of cable TV. Supports HD Hi-def. Has three tuners, allowing recording of two channels, while watching a third. Replaces the Telewest TVDrive. See our Virgin Media V+ box page for more.Output: 2x SCART, 1x modulated RF, 1 x HDMI Available only to Virgin Media customers in cable TV areas. Installation fee: £99. Monthly fee £5 (unless on the XL package). |
Key: With modulator
Prices, specifications and offers are subject to alteration. Refer to the websites
that we link to for latest prices, information and conditions
Old / Discontinued PVR models
Here’s a list of discontinued models of hard disc recorders, left here for historic reasons and as a reference.
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Bush IDPVR801
Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80Gig hard drive for up to 80 hours of programming. Last seen for £129.99 from Littlewoods Direct. Know an online supplier? |
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Bush IDPVR802
Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Can record up to 40 hours of programming. Last seen for £149.99 from Very.co.uk. Know an online supplier? |
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Daewoo DSD9520
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Card slot suitable for subscription services. Has EPG.
Last seen for £115 at ASDA online and Tesco.com |
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Evesham iPlayer HDTV PVR
As of July 2007, no longer available. Last seen for £240 from Misco.co.uk. |
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DigiFusion FVRT95
Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80gig PVR hard drive. Record TV and radio onto hard disk, pause and rewind live TV. Twin tuner. 8-day EPG. Appears similar to the FVRT95, formerly available at Argos. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £99.99 from Maplin |
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Fusion FVRT145
Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80gig PVR hard drive. Twin Tuner. Pause and rewind live TV. 7-day programme guide. Last seen for £124.99 from Argos. Refurbished version for around £45 from Micro Direct |
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DigiFusion FVRT200
Features: Freeview PVR. Uses SCT compression to squeeze up to 80 hours of TV onto its 80Gig hard-disk. Twin tuner. Has a 14 day EPG , and supports editing & live TV pause/rewind Last seen for £150 from Maplin Electronics and ASDA online |
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Goodmans GHD8015F
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk.
Last seen for £139.99 from Argos |
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Goodmans GHDD1785 DVBT
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Hard Disk: 80Gig (35 hours) Twin tuner, 7-day EPG. Pause live TV. Last seen for £130 from Argos |
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Humax PVR-9200TS (Silver) PVR-9200TB (Black)
A Freeview receiver with a built-in hard drive. Features include:
A host of other extras including Picture-in-picture, USB support for PC connectivity, mp3 playback, live pause & Dolby digital out. No longer available. Replaced by the Humax PVR-9300 in July 2008 |
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Inverto IDL-7000T Freeview 80Gb
Features: Freeview receiver with a built-in 80Gb Hard Disk (60 hours of recording), Twin Tuner, PiP Channel Search, 14 Day Programme Guide, Series Record (Weekly/Daily), Instant Replay and rewind live TV. Trick Playback Modes Last seen for around £175 from AdvancedMP3players |
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Logik LPV2250 / TVonics DVR-250
Voted top Freeview PVR in May 2007 by a leading consumer magazine
Last seen for £179.99 from Currys. Know a supplier? |
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Pace Twin Digital TV Recorder
For more details, see our Pace page Availability: Sadly discontinued, but try Amazon or Ebay.co.uk |
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Panasonic DMR-EX88 DVD Recorder/PVR/Freeview
400Gb HDD Recorder (for up to 700 hours), Freeview Tuner and DVD recorder.
Output: 2 x SCART , RF loopthrough No known suppliers at this time |
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Panasonic TUCTH100
Pause live Freeview TV, 80Gb HDD, 40 hours recording, twin-tuner, time-slip function (record & playback), 24 event recording. Last seen for £262.23 from Dixons. |
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Sagem PVR62160 and Sagem PVR6280T
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005
Last seen for £119.99 from Argos and £152.56 from Amazon.co.uk |
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Sagem PVR6240T
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough Last seen for £129.99 from Argos |
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Sagem PVR7280T
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005. Hard Disk: 80Gig (40 hours). Twin tuner. 7-day EPG. Card slot for subscription services Last seen for £180 from Argos |
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Sagem DTR64160T
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Eight-day programme guide
Last seen for £96.87 from Argos (Cat no: 532/1629) |
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Sagem PVR72160
PVR to allow recording of Freeview onto hard disk. Released Aug 2005. Hard Disk: 160Gig (up to 80 hours). Twin tuner, card slot for subscription services Outputs: 2 x SCART, RF loopthrough, optical audio Last seen for £179.99 at Comet |
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Sony RDR-HX510s – PVR & DVD Recorder
Features: Analogue tuner with 80 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Plays pre-recorded DVD’s & CD’s. Records on DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R DVD+RW Blank Media. With SMARTLINK Last seen for £250 – £310 from Currys. |
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Sony RDR-HXD560 – PVR, DVD Recorder & Freeview
Features: Freeview receiver with 80 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Output: 2 x SCART, S-video, digital audio. |
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Sony RDR-HXD710 – PVR, DVD Recorder & Freeview
Features: Freeview receiver with 160 Gig hard disk and a DVD Recorder. Output: 2 x SCART, S-video, digital audio. |
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Sony SVR-S500
Features: Freeview receiver with 80 Gig hard disk. Output: 2 x SCART. |
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Thomson DHD-4000 Twin Freeview Recorder
Features: Freeview receiver with 40 Gig hard disk (up to 20 hours of TV) and a twin tuner. Became available in April 2004. Output: 2 x SCART Last seen for £99.99. No known suppliers at this time |
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Thomson TiVo PVR10UK
Built-in hard disk (40Gigabytes for up to 40 hours of TV). Pause live TV. Electronic TV guide. Learns your viewing preferences Availability: No longer in production, and very hard to find. See our TiVo page for stock |
Features: Using your PC as a PVR:
 If you’ve already got a PC, why not use it to record TV programmes onto your hard-disk?It’s a lot cheaper than buying a set-top box hard-disk recorder, and gives you more flexibility to edit recordings, burn them onto a DVD, or copy TV shows off to a portable video player.  Watch TV in a resizeable window on your PC screen, record to hard-disk, pause live TV, schedule your TV watching and recording and create Microsoft AVI or MPG movies.The most common solutions come from Hauppauge, and are available either as a PCI card (that fits into a PCI slot inside your PC), or a USB device to plug into your PC. PC-based PVR receivers are available from Dabs.com , PC World, Maplin, and Amazon. For more on getting TV and video on your PC, see our Watch TV on a PC page. Blind / Partially-sighted: Thanks also to Larry M for the following: “Re. the Nebula Electronics DigiTV PCI & USB pc Freeview receivers. I am Vision Impaired and the Nebula offering gets my 5 star approval! The software enables PVR recording, using the PC’s Hard Drive, AND is totally programmable by the Vision Impaired using a Screen Reader. Audio Description can easily be turned on or off, as can Subtitles. It gives the full range of Freeview channels and Radio stations. |
PVR FAQ
Some general questions asked by our visitors:
Q. Are there any hard-disc recorders / DVD disc recorders or DVD/Hard disc type recorders available that will record programmes from Sky?
Getting Sky+ is the obvious choice for recording Sky channels onto hard-disk. The cost of the Sky+ box depends on your Sky package – check online to see how much it’ll cost. If you don’t want to go for Sky+, most (if not all) DVD recorders can cope with recording via a Line In feed from a Sky box.
As for other PVRs that support recording from Sky, the standard Freeview PVRs can only record from their built-in Freeview tuners. Combined DVD/HDD recorders are your best bet – we’d love to be able to add a list here, and if you can help, please add to this thread in our forum.
The only issue with a two-box solution for recording Sky, is that you have to remember to set the recorder to record “Line in”, then ensure the Sky box is set to the right channel. This two-step process is eliminated with Sky+.
| Need some help or advice? Ask in our PVR forum |
TV Links
- Satellite TV – Information on UK digital satellite TV services such as Sky and Freesat.
- Sky+ – Information on the Sky+ service
- PVR forum – Discuss PVR boxes and ask questions.
Hello, we recently had a new rooftop aerial fitted. We have a Toshiba Freeview tv, and a Goodmans GD11FVRSD50. (Needed for recording). The reception was awful when viewing through the box, and recordings were unveiwable. We thought it may have something yo do with the loose aerial connector at the back of the box. It was still under guarantee, and took it back and got a replacement. We’d been happy with our original box so picked the same model. However the new box was just as bad, when we watch the tv with aerial direct into the tv the picture is brilliant. I contacted Goodmans and after trying a few options they decided to swap my box over. They did that today so within 3 weeks of the new box, we have another one. That is the same. Picture breaking up, screeching, watching the tv like this is impossible. We’ve had the aerial man out whose checked the signal which is 100% we just can not understand this. Is there anything I can try before it gets thrown out of the door. ( or I phone Tesco up to complain again )
I’d appreciate any help you can give me.
Thank you Susan Moon
Well your post is 2014 so you have probably solved your problem by now, but it does sound like an attenuation issue. What I mean to say is the signal going into your PVR is too strong and its overloading thou have tuner. As you have had an Aerial Engineer out he should have tried fitted a 12DB – 24DB attenuate r to the end of the aerial plug. This was a common prob in strong reception areas in the days of analogue it may still apply for digital as that part of the circuit has not changed. so what I am saying is Technically under the sale of goods act your Goodman’s is not fit for the purpose so you could argue that, and go for a different brand which is less sensitive anyway hope its sorted by now.
Stevo Ex Thorn Emi service Engineer.
Hi! Does any one have the last software for TVonics DTR HV250? Please Email to shakeel_nazar@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you. I never knew just how many PVRs were out there, or which were discontinued, old. What a minefield.
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