Fusion DigiFusion FVRT100 Digital Video Recorder with 40GB Hard Disk

It's now unusual to actually watch anything "live" any more and on the occasions that we do (assuming on a commercial channel) we tend to pause the channel, finish whatever else we were doing then sit down to watch about 5-10 minutes behind the live broadcast which means that when you get to the advert breaks you just fast forward (x32 or even x64) across them so you never have to watch an advert ever again.

Equally the ability to simply "pause" what you are watching when the mother-in-law calls at the crucial point in a crime thriller is just great, or rewind to hear that important clue again.

Then having two tuners so you can record and watch (including pause/rewind) or make two concurrent recordings is just so much better than the old VCR it makes it look like it was powered by steam!

The ONLY negative things I can think to say against the FVRT100 are:

1) the remote control is cheap, plasticky and inaccurate (and very directional)

2) the (non changeable) menu background is too gaudy. They should have given a choice (or just plain)

3) the 40GB in the "100" simply isn't enough. I mainly record 1.5 .. 2.5 hour films and you can only hold about 10 in the box (steer clear of compression modes it's well known to cause problems!). I archive the films out to DVD-R (in a Panasonic E55) but this involves manually starting playback as the Fusion has no "timed archive" function. The FVRT150 with 80GB (at Argos) is probably the better box these days as you'd really benefit from double the capacity (esp. if going on 2 weeks holiday!)

All in all, after years of buying every concievable gadget and piece of consumer electronics I can say without a doubt that the Fusion is simply the best piece of consumer electronics I've ever bought. In fact it was so good that in early February I got another one to give to my parents as a combined birthday present.

Can't recommend this highly enough.

If it were possible to award 6 stars I would!

Another feature is ability to pause live programmes for up to 30 minutes. You can even wind back , which is useful if you miss something important.

Set up is straightforward. Plug the aerial in and then connect to the TV with a Scart lead. The unit plugs in to the mains via a transformer. The channels are found automatically and you can then select your favourites, removing ones you do not want from the programme guide. You can arrange these in any order. To select your channel, scroll down and press ok.

To record, find your programme in the guide (or there is a calender section for selecting programmes for up to a week in advance)and select it for recording. The programme is then set. The default quality is SP, which you can change, and the timing is set automatically. There is no facility on the digital TV signal for compensating for late starts so consider whether to add a few minutes to the end time. A coloured bar meter shows you how much of the hard disk has been recorded and how much committed.

To play back, you press the 'library' button and this shows a list of your recordings. Select it and play. You can produce thumbnails of the recording, measured at five minute intervals. They are too small to be of great use but can help if you want to navigate.

Because the unit has two tuners, you can record two programmes simultaneously but you cannot view a third - only one of the ones you are recording.

The navigation is fairly straightforward but is marred by over-busy background graphics. You also have to point the zapper straight at the unit as there isn't the latitude of an average TV set hand control.

The only problems I have had are ones associated with computer technology - it freezes or hangs and becomes unresponsive to controls. I just unplug it from the mains (not at the back of the unit - that will cause arcing) for a few minutes and then all is well. Another was when all the recordings disappeared yet the hard disk indicator showed it was half full. I formatted the hard disk and everything has been fine since.

It is not perfect but, apart from the niggles, it is impressive. You cannot make permanent recordings but the manufacturers informed me that you can transfer recordings to DVD or VHS via a Scart lead. Freeviewers are not exactly spoiled for choice, so I can recommend this unit. I believe an 80Mb hard disk version is also available.

It is VERY noisy all the time (about the same as a VHS tape rewinding). Essentially you can't switch it off, even when it is on standby as it is permanently recording the previous 30mins of what you might want to watch. This would be a good idea if there were only one TV channel - as there are rather more than this, it is stupid. I think the noise comes from a noisy fan rather than the hard disc - which is just cheap as quiet fans are widely available.

Reliability: The first time it was switched on it didn't start. Once we got it to start it worked for ten days and then gave up for good. I was lucky to get a refund and would not go near one of these again.