Sharp pictures

To get the best picture quality from live Freeview broadcasts you'll need to leave the recording mode set to HQ or SP, because the DVDR5570H displays pictures from the digital tuner in the currently selected recording mode.

This is unusual for a digital recorder, and can be quite annoying, given that the settings are buried in the setup menu. Having such a large hard disk on board means you shouldn't need to change recording mode very often, but if you do, you must remember to switch back.

TV pictures look clean and radiant in HQ mode, with smooth movement and sharp edges. The same goes for HQ recordings, which capture all the detail and strong colours of the original source.

The tacky décor of daytime TV studios is reproduced in all its kaleidoscopic glory, while fast-moving football broadcasts look acceptably smooth and generally keep noise in check.The drop in quality in SP mode is very slight, but when you reach the EP mode, the use of lower bitrates start to take their toll.

Drop in quality

Digital artefacts begin to interfere with the clarity and vibrancy of the picture, and your attention is drawn to the noise rather than the programme.

It gets worse in SLP and SEP, making us wonder who could possibly enjoy watching their favourite programmes with pictures looking this noisy.

Pre-recorded DVD playback is superb, though, turning in a sharp, vibrant and generally noise-free performance with a variety of our favourite test movie discs.

Crisp audio

The DVDR5570H records audio using a stereo Dolby Digital encoder, which does a great job of making everything sound crisp and audible despite the use of compression.

Movie soundtracks piped digitally to an amplifier also sound fantastic, plus the unit makes music material sound better than you'd expect from such an otherwise video-centric machine.

Pricey recorder

If £330 seems expensive for a DVD/HDD recorder, just remember that it gets you a 250GB hard disk and a wealth of features, many of which you simply won't find anywhere else.

The lack of Freeview Playback is a shame, and it's nowhere near as easy to use as the latest Panasonic models, but its gorgeous looks, solid recording quality and intelligent timeshifting tricks could quite easily persuade you to go Dutch.