Personal video recorders

The personal video recorder (or PVR) is essentially a box that sits under your TV.

It’s not unlike a common or garden VCR, but there is one big difference: the cassette mechanism has been replaced by a digital recorder that uses a built-in hard disk to store shows.

Not only does this mean improved picture, sound and reliability but, because a hard disk can read and write at the same time, it means a PVR can do things that are beyond a traditional tape recorder.

You can start watching a programme before it finishes recording, for example, which is handy if you’re only going to be 10 minutes late for the start of an hour-long show.

The hard disk’s simultaneous read and write capabilities are also behind some of the PVR’s more revolutionary features, such as timeshift recording. If your viewing pleasure is interrupted for any reason, you can press the pause button to freeze playback, just like with a DVD player. In the paused state, the PVR begins storing the show on its hard disk so that you can pick up where you left off. Usually, you can even catch up with real time again by fast forwarding through the adverts.

Most PVRs have the option for a kind of buffer, which stores the last few minutes (often up to a whole hour) of whatever you have been watching. This makes it possible to ‘rewind’ live TV too.

PVRs are generally speaking a lot easier to use than VCRs. One of the biggest improvements in this regard is the electronic programme guide (or EPG), which lets you record shows straight from an onscreen TV guide.

EPGs vary from displaying between seven and 14 days’ worth of TV schedules, depending on your PVR, and some PVRs can automatically record a series of programmes, so there’s no need to worry about missing your favourite shows again. Depending on the number of tuners (which pick up the TV signal) built into the PVR, you may also be able to record two channels at the same time.

Types of PVR
PVRs can be roughly split into two groups: those that are tied into a subscription service, such as Sky or Virgin Media, and Freeview PVRs that can be bought for a one-off payment.

The pioneer of the PVR in this country was Sky, whose five-year-old Sky+ service lives on in its original form and as part of Sky’s new high definition (HD) TV service. You need to be a Sky subscriber to use Sky+. If you already pay for the basic Sky service, there will be a charge for the equipment upgrade and an extra monthly fee for using Sky+. The basic Sky+ box itself is £99 but it requires an engineer’s visit, which can cost up to £60.

If you don’t already subscribe to Sky’s premium sports or movie channels, you may have to pay another £10 a month on top of the cost of a Sky channel package (the cheapest of which is £15). For the HD version, you’ll need to stump up £299 for the special HD box and pay £10 per month, for which you get access to 12 channels that are broadcast in HD.