A welcome touch is that you can preserve the contents of the buffer as a recording should you decide it's worth keeping. Up to 999 recordings, initiated manually or using the 30-event/1-year timer, can be stored on the HDD. There's also an editing function for trimming off excess material, or copying a segment to a new file.

You can also use the Mediaport software (from Technisat's website) to transfer recordings (which are in standard transport-stream format) to a PC across the network, or from a PC to the S2x. MP3, JPEG and DVD-type VOB (MPEG-2) files are the only formats with which the HD-S2x is compatible; DivX and WMV aren't supported.

Networking also lets you access the receiver from any suitable internet-enabled device in the world, although for now this only extends to timer scheduling.

Performance

The HD-S2x may be fast at selecting channels – within a couple of seconds if it's on the current satellite – but searches are ponderous: an all-channels DVB-S/S2 search of Hot Bird clocked in at over 11 minutes. ITV HD is not receivable with the S2x, but reception of channels from a variety of different satellites proved reliable – even in damp weather.

The tuners are obviously up to scratch in sensitivity terms. In AV quality terms the HD-S2x also puts up a good showing. Pictures from Arte HD and BBC HD are sublime, intricate detail and impressive colour fidelity being only too apparent on the Full-HD Cineversum Paris projector we were fortunate to have in for testing at the same as well as our 32in Sony Bravia LCD.

Poor-quality SD channels (not Technisat's fault) remain just that. From MP3 files and digital TV alike, sound quality from both the analogue and digital outputs cannot be faulted. A final point to note is the relatively low power consumption.

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