Panasonic DMR-XW450

YouTube and Google Picasa connectivity, 500GB hard drive, good DVD upscaler, HDMI 1.3

Expensive, remote control is not suited to playing DVDs, limited movie playback from SD cards, cannot transfer movies from hard drive to SD or USB

The Panasonic DMR-XW450 is a very good DVD recorder with a 500GB hard drive as well as YouTube and Google Picasa connectivity, but it's slightly overpriced. Despite a wide array of ports, recorded TV content cannot be transferred to USB sticks or SD...

YouTube viewing ; Easy to back-up recordings ; DivX/Xvid compatibility ; HDMI ; Good upscaling ; Twin HD tuners ; Free EPG

Can't multifunction tasks ; Somewhat expensive ; No live rewind ; Complicated remote hides some features

The DMR-XW450 is a highly capable PVR, but at the same time Panasonic isn't exactly shy about charging a fair bit for it. This, combined with its innate complexity, makes it a tough recommendation to those who want a simple AV life. There is a lot on...

Twin HD tuners, easy EPG & timer record (names programs for you)

Can't record direct to DVD, only copies from HDD

Drive Size, EPG, Connections, Lots of features

DVD recording