DVRs reviewed at Tom's Hardware

[Steve]

I think it's about time people starting putting media centre PCs in their living room, but I guess they are still a little bit hobbyist, so for now I'll let people off with a digital video recorder. DVD recorders are a good idea, but for funky features like time-shifting you need a hard drive, so Tom's Hardware review 5 digital recorders which all include hard drives, with some of them boasting many more features.

Two products stand out from our selection - the Sony RDR-HX910 and the Lite-On LVW-5045. The former is the most technically advanced; the HX710 version with a 160 GB disk is the best choice due to lower cost. The Sony's ergonomics and picture quality put it on the top shelf, while its compatibility with both recording formats is an undeniable plus, as is its automatic chaptering function. The Lite-On, on the other hand, offers an unbeatable quality-to-price ratio. True, its design is a little too "plastic," but that's amply compensated for by its innovative and user-friendly functionalities.

Forget VHS. Forget a device that only plays DVD. Go the whole hog with a digital video recorder. Read more.

[Jonny M]

but for funky features like time-shifting you need a hard drive

Or a Panasonic DVD-RAM recorder