What we found

Comprehensive recording

The most important feature of the BW850 is its two HD tuners and our test results show they perform admirably. Many DVD/hard-drive recorders don’t have built-in tuners, so they can’t record directly from a Freeview set-top box. The BW850 can - and in HD to boot. The ability to put your content on to blu-ray discs is simply icing on the top.

Not so cheap

Having so many features rolled into one set-top box reduces the clutter in your living room, but it does have a drawback - price. The BW850 is a costly $1999. This puts it out of reach of the average TV watcher - you can buy a decent HD widescreen TV for half the price of the BW850.

Then there’s the TV content. Only Freeview channels can be recorded - Sky users will need to buy a MySkyHDi-box to record Sky’s paid content. If you watch a lot of free-to-air TV, this won’t matter so much. But if you aren’t going to be constantly recording TV shows, it’s hard to see how you’ll get your money’s worth with the BW850.

If you just want a blu-ray player (you can also run your DVDs on these), then you can buy a standalone model for less than half the price.

Our verdict

The BW850 performs its myriad of functions well. But unless you really need all these functions - particularly blu-ray recording - we’d recommend waiting for the price to drop.

Alternative options

While the BW850’s blu-ray makes it unique, it’s not the only HD recorder around. Look at these models if you’re not after a device that plays disc-based media:

• mySkyHDi is designed to record Sky’s pay-TV channels. It comes with three HD tuners that allow for simultaneous recording and watching. Beyond that, its features are much like the BW850’s. The mySkyHDi-box will set you back roughly $600, plus ongoing fees on top of your usual Sky subscription.
• TiVo has only recently arrived here, after conquering many markets overseas. But here Telecom holds exclusive reselling rights. This means TiVo’s many broadband features (such as remote scheduling and additional content) can only be accessed if you have a Telecom broadband account.
  
  Like the BW850, TiVo lets you record Freeview content in HD. The TiVo box costs $899 upfront, or can be paid off in instalments.