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Buyer's guide to media players
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Hi-Def products normally tend to come with a hi-price to match. Venturer, however, is bucking that trend with abargain basement HD-DVD player. Branded the SHD7000, it'll pack 1080i output and all the usual gubbins you find in more pricey HD-DVD players, including an ethernet port for online content downloads. And that all-important price? No more than £200. It hits the UK before the end of this year.
Top tips
- Before you buy an upscaler, you'll need
to check two things. First, make sure it'll enhance the picture to HD standard. Second, that your TV is actually HD-ready. If it's not, stick with vanilla DVD. - Invest in a PVR with two tuners. Selecting a model with a single tuner
means you'll be restricted to watching the channel that you're recording. Dear boy… such a drag. - A good PVR will have an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), displaying programme info and running times. Some
even let you search by keywords such as
'Darts' or 'Sex', or 'Sexy darts'. - As well as harddrive recorders, you can also buy combo devices that include both an HDD and a disc burner, so you can save shows to DVD, watch them on another machine, then archive them.
Hi-Def players
PIONEER BDP-LX70
£1,000
Performance: Pioneer's first BD player outputs to Full 1080p, has onboard support for Dolby TrueHD and DLNA compliance for streaming files. So not just High-Definition, but high-falutin' too.
Love: 24Hz output. DLNA compliance. Sublime design.
Hate: Super slow start up and disc drawer. Busy remote.
TOSHIBA HD-XE1
£515
Performance: If you're after the best HD-DVD player around then allow us to introduce to you Toshiba's HD-EX1. It's quite simply the canine's codpiece, with top pictures and 5.1 surround sound.
Love: 1080p picture quality. Muchos connections.
Hate: Slow loading. Lack of 7.1 sound feels stingy.
XBOX 360 HD-DVD DRIVE
£130
Performance: At £130, this drive is a steal; as long as you've already got an Xbox 360, it's the cheapest way to watch HD-DVD movies. Picture quality is especially superb when output to 1080p.
Love: Awesome picture quality. Cheap as suet.
Hate: No lossless surround sound.
PVRs: For a night off from movies…
Topfield TF5800T
£260
Performance: This PVR lets you pause and rewind live TV and record two channels at once. If only the menu were easier to use.
Love: Excellent range of features.
Hate: High price. Menu could be improved.
BT Vision
£90
Performance: With two tuners and a 160GB HDD, the V-box lets you download movies and shows to your hard drive, willy-nilly.
Love: Free box and channels. HDMI output.
Hate: Paying for last week's TV programmes.
Best of the rest…
Amtek T770
£600
Performance: Excellent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, but sluggish and a pain to use.
Love: Decent sized screen. Good connectivity.
Hate: It's bloated. Poor battery life. Slow.
Samsung Q1
£700
Performance: The seven-inch screen and the processor are kick-arse. Poor interface, though.
Love: Pretty good for multimedia gubbins.
Hate: Totally outclassed by the Q1 Ultra.
More PVRs
Sky HD
£300
Performance: Hook this up and you can watch TV at a level of detail that trounces standard telly.
Love: Excellent channel choice. Attractive box.
Hate: Expensive. Irritatingly noisy fan.
Virgin Media V+
Free with subscription
Performance: This is an outstanding, attractive PVR, with terrific on-demand features. Lurvely.
Love: Three tuners. Excellent on-demand service.
Hate: No Sky One. Catch-Up TV's not much cop.
Humax PVR9200T
£180
Performance: A comprehensive EPG and nice price make this a top-drawer PVR.
Love: Excellent menu system. Searchable EPG.
Hate: Dull on-screen graphics.
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