Top 10 set-top boxes | T3 magazine online

Posted by T3 Online on Mon 19 Jan 2009

1. Sky+ HD
From £49, www.sky.com
PERFORMANCE Offering both SD and HD channels, and oodles of memory Sky remains the reigning champ of set top boxes
LOVE Excellent HD choice. Sexy box
HATE Irritatingly noisy fan. Tariffs can be costly
MORE Pics | Review

2. Tiscali TV
£50, www.tiscali.co.uk
PERFORMANCE Offering a slice of every pie including your phone line, internet connection along with your catch-up telly, Tiscali is a strong all rounder
LOVE Slick interface. On-demand choice
HATE No HD. Expensive sports channels
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3. Virgin Media V+
£150, www.virignmedia.com
PERFORMANCE This box lets you record two shows while watching a third, and stores up to 80 hours of standard-def telly or 20 hours of HD.
LOVE Three tuners. Cool on-demand content
HATE Sluggish interface. Baffling pricing
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4. BT Vision V Box
Free with subscription, www.btvision.bt.com
PERFORMANCE Sky offers more choice, including a smorgosbord of Hi-Def channels, but the V-box lets you watch what you want, when you want, for less.
LOVE Free with a BT landline and now packing HD movies
HATE Paying for last week’s telly may cause annoyance
MORE Pics | Review

5. Humax Foxsat HDR
£300, WWW.HUMAXDIGITAL.COM/UK
PERFORMANCE Giving you HD for nowt, this 320GB Freesat+ PVR stores up to 200 hours of video - 80 of HD. ITV HD - a Freesat exclusive - and BBC HD are the only hi-def channels, but image and sound quality are generally excellent. The interface beats Sky's, but the 30-second boot time is a bit much
LOVE Excellent visuals without the bother of a monthly fee
HATE Requires a dish and only has two HD channels
MORE Pics | Review

6. Goodmans GHD2521F2
£140, www.goodmans.co.uk
PERFORMANCE This bargain box packs a pair of tuners and a 250GB hard drive good for 120 hours of recording. The sound and picture quality are surprisingly decent and there’s a digital audio out/
LOVE Good picture and sound
HATE No HDMI output
MORE Pics | Review

7. Topfield TF5810PVRT
£254, www.topfield.com
PERFORMANCE Decent upscaling combined with a sizeable 500GB hard drive, this set-top box captures a nice picture and crystal clear sound. Optical audio and USB slots add to the appeal.
LOVE HDMI upscaling
HATE Ugly menus
MORE Pics | Review

8. TVONICS DTR-Z500
£230, www.tvonocs.com
PERFORMANCE Breaking free from the traditional stack design, this beauty comes in a chunky size with a tasty rippled fascia. Good picture, great software; just the lack of HDMI to bring it down.
LOVE Great looking, decent hard drive
HATE No upscaling or HDMI
MORE Pics | Review

9. Thompson Top Up TV+
£96, www.amazon.co.uk
PERFORMANCE Sleek looks combined with an upgraded 250GB make this budget box a good all-rounder. Setup is a cinch and the TV guide is well thought out. Certainly worthy for an upgrade.
LOVE Easy to setup
HATE Fiddly recording controls
MORE Pics | Review

10. Humax PVR-9300T
£199, www.humaxdigital.com
PERFORMANCE This recorder brings a range of nifty functions to the table, including picture-in-picture and video editing. It’ll upscale your video too, but be warned the menu system leaves a little to be desired.
LOVE Handy functions
HATE Fiddly menus
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