Until very recently, DVD recorders were scuppered by having analogue tuners - in other words, you were forced to either make do with dodgy 14:9 pics or rely on an external set-top box (connected via analogue Scart, naturally).

Then came Sony, which acted as matchmaker between the complementary technologies of digital terrestrial TV (DTT) and DVD recording with its innovative RDR-GX500. One could always wonder why such a logical marriage took so long, but the truth is that DTT is far from widespread in the global terms that major manufacturers have to consider.

Other hardware, thankfully, is beginning to trickle through. Sony has just launched a model with HDD while a much-anticipated DTTready Philips is on the way.

Panasonic has also taken the plunge, and to this end we now have the DMRES20 - which is effectively a DTT-enabled version of the entry-level ES10, complete with DVB logo on the front panel. As with the ES10, the ES20 lacks a hard disk for the ultimate in timeshifting, editing and dubbing although a version with HDD (the EH60, which can be seen as a DTT'ed EH50, will be available in the autumn).

But, unlike the Sony and Philips machines, both analogue and digital tuners are incorporated. This can be useful if, for example, poor coverage means some of the digital channels are too weak to be received without break-up.

The commercial broadcasters, which use the QAM64 modulation scheme to pack in more channels at the expense of reception reliability, are notorious in this respect. During the review period, the ES20's dual-tuner concept came in handy - and for this very reason, as we shall discover!

Smartest wheel in town

Fashionably slimline it may be, but those front-panel controls are minimal. The remote is thus essential for all but the most basic of operations. This handset, with its plastic-capped keys, is a new design. It has a 'smart-wheel' for skipping through the various slow-motion/search speeds and selecting precise frames during editing.