aca

i like my humax pvr-8000-T
and im lusting after a pvr-9200-T

however they do have soem limitations although the 9200 overcomes most of the ones hte 8000 has

The 9200 does look good but it's got no facility for a card slot. I do like the ability to dump MPEG streams onto the PC for archiving though.

yes it does. if you mean the cam slot for the pay channels.

not that any of them are actaully worth paying for.

So it does. British Eurosport is occasionally useful for motor racing, and I have the odd frenzy of recording films from TCM when they change the playlist every few months ;)

I have a Sagem 7280.

Until last week I would not have recommended it particularly highly, but a recent software update completely transformed the user interface - made it a lot quicker and slicker - and improved reliability no end. It also has a card slot for Topup.TV which is useful.

I have one of these:

http://www.i-topfield.com/product_e/pr_feature.asp?cb=DSR&cm=PVR&pn=TF5000PVRBlackPanther#p

and it is very very good

I have a Sony and a Sony VCR that can talk to each other mysteriously down the scart cable, and so use my digi box as PVR brain and the VCR as the recording medium.

But it crashes after almost two weeks if you go to the US for two weeks and want to record a program on the day before you come home and isn't as shiny as a HD PVR. It is also silver (as is the VCR) which clashes with my tasteful otherwise deep grey/black TV/hifi/gaming equipment motif (I keep the GC and DC out of the way, so they don't clash so much).

I also never remember to record anything.

Sony VTX-D800U even.

I would like one that is easy to surf normal television on as I have a chickpea for a brain.

Twin tuners are an absolute must. Otherwise it'll be really frustrating. And the beauty of a PVR is that you can replace the hard drive with something worth having if you want to.

I'd actually go for Pace, as they make Sky Plus. But I'm not sure if they still make a twin tuner PVR. Don[t forget to check your coverage (I think you get to the database through DigitalUK, but that and the one on the freeview wwebsite will tell you yes or no. The database on www.dtg.org.uk will tell you in more detail, and will tell you whether you might need a new aerial or not. If you're in a dodgy signal area, get a box with a Novapal/Setpal tuner, as it's more forgiving than most.

If you want to go for DTT in the bedroom, you can now get a scart cable with a built-in DTT tuner with MHEG for about £35.

I like this link that I originally snagged from rjw1's del.icio.us feed.

Woo, nifty. Has some useful linkage.

I keep thinking about this issue, and I have yet to have had a good answer from anyone.... Which brings me back to MythTV which is expencive and hassle...