Sift and Sort

The brand new Sony RDRHXD870B is our Best Buy DVR because it has the richest set of features at a competitive price, from one of the very best manufacturers. The proof of this is that since it has been readily available in June, it has shot straight to the top of the Amazon 'Top Seller' list - see our DVR Amazon Top Ten page. Actually, it's in the top two places, as it is available in black or silver (Sony RDRHXD870S).

• 160Gb HDD, storing up to 45 hours of high-quality recorded programmes
• DVD drive, so you can play DVDs or record to DVDs
• Upscaling DVDs via HDMI to 1080p, giving the best possible picture quality on an HDTV
• Freeview tuner, giving you a range of digital TV and radio channels
• Electronic Programme Guide, showing you what's on TV up to a week ahead
• Record onto HDD, or DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
• High speed copying programmes from HDD to Dual Layer DVD-R or DVD+R
• Series Recording feature, making it easy to record a series of TV programmes

Here are some snippets from Amazon reviews:

'...it also has a great user interface, lots of advanced features and makes recording and archiving camcorder footage and off-air recording a cinch. I had also heard that these fan cooled devices created a high level of ambient noise (like a PC). This Sony is damn near silent! Picture and audio quality is excellent. Overall - very highly recommended, and because of its usability a real bargain.'
'A superb feature-laden machine that delivers excellent results'

Shortlist

This is a very crowded product category, where competition is fierce. There are well over 50 DVRs available on Amazon.co.uk, and it can be difficult to narrow the choice down, especially as many get excellent customer reviews. To get into our shortlist, the DVR has to be special, and have good availability.

Press

to go to the product page on Amazon.co.uk.

	Gb	Tuners	DVD	HDMI	Sales Rank	Reviews	Price(£)
Sony RDRHXD870B	160	1	Y	Y	85		197.99
Sony RDRHXD870S	160	1	Y	Y	354		199.99
Sony RDRHXD970B	250	1	Y	Y	1294		269.98
Sony RDRHXD1070B	500	1	Y	Y	4650		379.69
Daewoo DSD9503T	160	2	N	N	13319		149.99

We update these details from Amazon.co.uk every hour.

We've had a Sony RDRHXD860S since Christmas, and love it. We previously had a DVR with a 40Gb HDD, and it was a pain having to delete programmes to make space for new recordings. The Sony's 160Gb is big enough for this no longer to be an issue. It was simple to setup, quickly finding the full range of Freeview channels. The picture which it displays on our Sony Bravia LCD TV is glorious, especially from DVDs using HDMI. The Sony RDRHXD870B has replaced the Sony RDRHXD860S in the Sony product line, though for some reason the Sony RDRHXD860S is still selling well. Until the Sony RDRHXD870B became readily available, the Panasonic DMR-EX77 Black was our best buy - it is a lovely machine, well worth considering.

If you would like a bigger HDD, then consider the 250Gb Sony RDRHXD970B or the gigantic 500Gb Sony RDRHXD1070B. These are bigger versions of the Sony RDRHXD870B, and are excellent machines.

We hardly ever save or record programmes to DVD, so we don't really need the DVD drive. We use it for playing DVDs, and gave our not-so-old DVD Player away because it saves space and messy cables. If you don't need a DVD drive, but would like the ability to record two programmes at once, then choose one of the Daewoo DSD9503T (our site's best seller) or Grundig GUSTB160IV, depending on availability. The 80Gb version of the Grundig has excellent reviews, so don't be put off by it not yet having any customer feedback. These dual Freeview tuner DVRs are very good value for money.

If you don't need Freeview, perhaps because you have Sky or Cable, then you should consider the Sony RDR-HX725 or the Samsung DVD-HR755. If you have an HDTV, the Samsung would be the better buy as it has a bigger HDD, and HDMI upscaling for when you play DVDs.

The Compacks Time Shift Module is a bit of a wild card. It has an 80Gb HDD, is quite popular, and has excellent feedback from Amazon customers. As well as acting as a DVR, it can also be used to store a large number of programmes/films from your old Videocassettes or DVDs. It is small enough to fit into your pocket, and this opens up new uses, as a reviewer says: 'I cannot wait to travel with it as I have already connected it to a portable dvd player to test and it works perfectly'. It was available for under £100, but has now jumped to £180.

Where To Buy

There are many online shops active selling DVRs at a discounted price. At any point in time, a few of these will be cheaper than Amazon, so it may be worth checking out their websites. When we last did our DVR price check, these retailers had good prices on our shortlisted DVRs:

• Dixons   See Special Offers below for Dixons discount vouchers
• BE-Direct   
• Sound and Vision   
• Digital Direct   
• AJ Electronics   
• Pixmania   

Special Offers

• Click on the Dixons image to go to the page on the Dixons website which explains how to get up to 10% discount off their normal prices.
• Currys   Enter the voucher code AW10AUG at the checkout to get £10 off for spending £100+, AW20AUG to get £20 off for spending £200+, AW30AUG to get £30 off for spending £300+, AW40AUG to get £40 off for spending £400+, AW60AUG to get £60 off for spending £600+, AW80AUG to get £80 off for spending £800+, or AW100AUG to get £100 off for spending £999+
• Pixmania   Enter the voucher code awin070810 at the checkout to get £5 off for spending £200+, awin070811 to get £11 off for spending £400+, awin070812 to get £20 off for spending £650+, awin070813 to get £30 off for spending £1000+, or awin070814 to get £50 off for spending £1500+

Also considered

Press

to go to the product page on Amazon.co.uk.

	Gb	Tuners	DVD	HDMI	Sales Rank	Reviews	Price(£)
Panasonic DMR-EX95	250	1	Y	Y	4033		399.99
Daewoo DH6100P	80	0	Y	N	5995		129.99
Samsung DVD-HR753	160	0	Y	Y	12420		119.00
Samsung DVD-HR750	160	0	Y	N	12822		151.75
Daewoo DSD9502T	80	2	N	N	19455		114.99
Sharp Digital TV Recorder	160	2	N	N	19865		135.00
Topfield TF-5800	160	2	N	N	23799		239.99
Ellion DVR-960E	250	0	Y	Y	25870		184.99
Daewoo DR8100P	160	0	Y	N	29780		202.90
Daewoo DHR9105P	250	0	Y	N	77854		205.94

We update these details from Amazon.co.uk every hour.

If you're not sure what kind of DVR to buy, our DVR Catalogue page lists over 60 DVRs in a table which you can sort by product feature.

Accessories

HDMI cable

You'll need one of these if you buy one of the DVRs which have an HDMI connector. Use this cable to connect the DVR to your HDTV. If you haven't got an HDTV, you'll need a SCART cable.

SCART cable

If you haven't got an HDTV, you'll need one of these to connect the DVR to your TV. You'll also need one if you want to connect a satellite set-top box to the DVR.

DVD pack

You'll need some blank DVDs, in order to copy and save your programmes more permanently.