Personal Video Recorders store recordings on a hard drive rather than on a video tape, like the basic hard-drive recorders we looked at last week, but to be considered a true PVR a device needs access to a seven-day Electronic Program Guide (EPG). This lets you browse the television schedule on the screen, plus it lets the PVR check the guide for your favourite shows so you don't need to keep track of what time Stargate happens to screen this week. Then you simply watch it when it suits you.
PVRs let you do fancy things such as record two shows at once, pause live TV and even rewind live TV. Most will even let you watch the start of a show while you're still recording the end and skip over the ads.
Enjoying all the benefits of a PVR is difficult in Australia because while most hard-drive recorders have the ability to extract a seven-day guide from the broadcast signal, the networks only transmit details of what's on now and what's on next.
Ice TV (icetv.com.au) lets you download a seven-day guide directly to your PVR but only a handful of devices are compatible. Ice TV also lets you program your PVR via the internet and is soon to offer a video download service.
After the Nine Network's unsuccessful attempt to sue Ice TV recently, the main consumer electronics brands will now start to make Ice TV-compatible recorders. The networks have agreed to release their own EPG but it will also require manufacturers to modify their hardware. Seven is releasing the TiVo PVR in Australia next year, which will utilise this EPG but it will have the ad-skipping function disabled.
Optus and Foxtel pay TV users have the option of the Foxtel iQ box, which lets you record shows from pay TV or free-to-air. It features an EPG covering both, except it doesn't include the Seven Network. The Foxtel iQ box lets you record two channels simultaneously and lets you fast forward ads but not skip them. For existing Foxtel customers, a Foxtel iQ box only costs $125 upfront plus $10 or $15 a month depending on your plan.
The Foxtel iQ box's shortcoming, like many PVRs, is that it doesn't feature a DVD recorder for archiving recordings to disc. In fact, the only way you will get a PVR that can record two shows at once in high definition, has access to a seven-day EPG and includes a DVD burner, is to use a computer.
Computers that connect to televisions are known as media centres. Microsoft's Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate operating systems come with PVR features built-in.
If you're running Windows XP you can try MediaPortal (team-mediaportal.com), while Mac users should consider Elgato's EyeTV (elgato.com). Linux users should look to MythTV (mythtv.org) or SageTV (sagetv.com), which also runs on Windows and Mac.
Understandably, not everyone wants a computer next to their television but it is possible to build a small, quiet lounge room-friendly computer with a remote control that will look at home among all your other entertainment gear. A number of Australian computer builders sell preconfigured media centres, such as Altech, Enspire and Pioneer Computers, or you can build your own from scratch with the help of online groups such as the Australian Media Centre Community (xpmediacentre.com.au).
The contenders
Topfield TF7000PVRt
RRP: $1299
Rating: 3/5
This is the first Topfield PVR to offer high definition and it holds about 70 hours of standard definition recordings or 30 hours of high definition. There's no DVD drive for archiving recordings. Topfield also neglected to include internet access so you have to download the Ice TV guide to a computer and transfer it across via a USB stick. The lack of internet access means you can't use many of Ice TV's advanced features. This features a High-Definition Multimedia Interface output, the latest high definition video cable standard, which carries both audio and video.
www.topfield.com.au
Beyonwiz DP-S1
RRP: $1599
Rating: 3/5.5
This is a high-def PVR good for about 76 hours of standard definition recordings or 24 hours of high definition. It features wireless and Ethernet internet access, which means it can automatically download the Ice TV EPG and access Ice TV's upcoming video download service. This model includes a DivX-compatible DVD player but it can't burn recordings to disc. You can transfer recordings to a USB device. It has a HDMI output and will also play music, video and photo files from a USB device, memory card, CD/DVD or other computers connected to your home network.
www.beyonwiz.com.au
Vista Media Centre
RRP: from $1500
Rating: 4/5
This computer can do everything the Beyonwiz tested here does but it can also include a DVD player and burner for archiving recordings. You can also access online music and video download services, as well as podcasts and vodcasts. Unlike brand-name PVRs, it's also easy to upgrade a media centre with a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive, and bigger hard drives, as component prices fall. You can also copy your CD and DVD collection to your media centre. Vista's media centre features are very stable but if you build your own media centre from scratch, it can take a while to get everything running smoothly.
www.xpmediacentre.com.au
Verdict
If you're a computer enthusiast then a media centre computer is a great option, offering more features than you will ever find in an off-the-shelf PVR. If you're not confident about building your own, there are plenty of prebuilt systems available. If you're reluctant to go down the computer path, the Beyonwiz is certainly a better long-term investment than the Topfield, whose lack of internet access means you miss out on many of the services that Ice TV has to offer. The Beyonwiz is a little rough around the edges but future software upgrades will improve that and it has lots of potential.
