Grundig Freesat+ HD Digital TV Recorder

Millions of households across the UK have already bought new set-top boxes that allow them to use the Freeview digital TV service, in preparation for the digital switchover.

Unfortunately Freeview reception is still quite poor in some parts of the country, so the rival Freesat service is also worth considering if you don’t want to pay for subscription TV services such as Sky or Virgin.

Freesat provides better reception as it’s received from a satellite rather than through conventional aerials, and Grundig's new Freesat+ HD Digital TV Recorder is one of the few Freesat recorders we’ve seen that can record both standard digital TV channels and the new high-definition (HD) channels such as BBC HD and ITV HD. It’s fairly expensive, costing £280 (plus about another £100 for the satellite dish if you don’t already have one), but it will earn its keep if you want to record HD programmes.

The recorder was easy to set up and use. It has an HDMI socket for connecting to new flat-panel televisions, as well as a Scart socket for use with older television sets, so you don’t need to buy a new TV in order to use it. The first time it’s turned on, the device tunes itself into the digital TV signals that are available in your area.

A useful on-screen programme guide displays listings for the week ahead, and there are two separate TV tuners that allow users to record programmes on two channels at the same time.

The 500GB hard disk can store up to 300 hours’ worth of recordings, and there’s a ‘series link’ feature that can be used to automatically record all the episodes of a particular programme, so you can be sure you’ll never miss any of your favourites.

The only real drawback is the need to pay for the satellite dish on top of the Digital TV Recorder itself. But at least this is a one-off cost that you won’t have to worry about again in the future, while the ability to record HD programmes means that you’re buying a future-proof recorder that won’t need to be replaced for many years.