Winner Home Cinema Gadget of the year
Virgin TiVo
Guide price: £50 plus £15.50/month
Allow us to present Stuff’s First Theorem, a formula tells us that as TV gets ever more overrun by idiots making fools of themselves to amuse cretins, you need a really good PVR to cut through the rubbish. Virgin’s TiVo is that PVR: it learns from your viewing habits, suggesting and recording shows it thinks you’ll like. And most of the time it gets it right. With super-smart search features, three tuners and 1TB of space for recordings, the only barrier between you and a perfect night’s viewing will be your own good taste.
Highly commended
-
Onkyo TX-NR609
A powerhouse of a home cinema amp that’s equally comfortable streaming Spotify, internet radio or your own music over DLNA.
-
Echostar HDS 600RS
Connect this brainy Freesat PVR into your home network and you’ll be able to browse, watch and record live TV from your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
-
Panasonic DMP-BDT310
A supremely talented Blu-ray deck – twin-HDMI outputs, built-in Wi-Fi, Skype , 3D playback, an app to allow you to control it via your iPhone – at a decent price.
-
LG HX976TZW
With a wall-mountable amp and wireless rear speakers, this one-box home cinema system is both easy to live with and easy to love.
Read review -
D-Link Boxee Box
The Boxee has the streaming smarts to back up its striking looks, searching for video content on the web and your own network, then building a classy library with its spoils.
Read review -
Yamaha YSP-2200
Yamaha’s latest soundbar is the sleekest and most effective way to get true home cinema sound from just one speaker.
