Taken from What Hi Fi Sound and Vision, January 2007

"To pinch a line from Honda - isn't it great when something just works ? The brilliant new TVonics DVR-150 certainly does just that: in fact, it's an almost perfect blend of form, function and value.

So what exactly is it? Simply, the DVR-150 is a PVR (personal video recorder), able to both receive and record Freeview digital TV. To that end, it has two digital TV tuners, coupled to a 160GB hard-disk drive, all crammed into an unfeasibly small, beautifully made box, just 7cm high and 19cm wide. You can even mount it vertically, should you wish, using a supplied stand.

The DVR-150 feels a cut above any rival: the sturdy all-metal case and minimal styling combine to create an impression of real quality. Installation is both fast and simple, the on-screen display looks great, and the Sky-style learning remote is a model of ergonomic clarity. It can also be programmed to control your TV and DVD player.

Outstanding picture, easy to use

Performance? In a word, fabulous. Picture quality is excellent: the off-air tuners provide colourful and stable pictures via RGB Scart, and recordings are remarkably faithful to the original. You can record one channel while watching another, pause live TV (for up to two hours) and set up to 80 hours of recordings by highlighting your choices on the eight-day TV programme guide. True, you can't extend the recording time at the expense of quality, but that only makes things easier to use, and so seems a sensible move to us.

Want to buy one? We're not suprised. Best get to Tesco*, then.

For

Build quality and finish; size; ease of use; brilliant quality, both with recordings and for off-air TV reception.

Against

It only comes in black. Okay, so we're reaching...

Verdict

An amazingly 'right' product at a very attractive price; should fly off the shelves, and deservedly so.

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