What can I buy to replace Tivo?

["ianh1000" <ianh1000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,=20

I have had a Tivo for a few years now, I have it working with a=20
Freeview STB and it works ok. I never bought the lifetime sub so it=20
is costing me =A310 a month and I want to be able to archive to DVD.=20

I do like the season pass feature but otherwise don;t use its=20
advanced recording features.

I bought a Panasonic DVD /HDD/SD recorder today (DMR-EX75) with a=20
view of getting rid of Tivo and reducing some of the clutter in the=20
lounge.=20

It seems the unit I got today is faulty as it refuses to play any of=20
my DVDs at all but I am very dissapointed in it for a device that=20
retails at =A3400. I had read rave reviews about its ability to time=20
slip just like a Tivo but the thing sucks in comparison.

It does not record constantly to disk like Tivo so I have to press=20
record and it only records from that point. It then seems that I have=20
to jump through a number of menus to access the recording if I want=20
to pause and rewind, I can't just press pause. It will play a slide=20
show from an SD card but will not seem to let me do so if it is=20
recording to HDD.

I bought this thing as a birthday present for myself from SWMBO and=20
so far it has a 0% WAF.

So the question is What can I get that gets me close to TIVO using=20
Freeview? I don't want SKY as I don't want to have a STB with each TV=20
and most TV's have integrated DVB now.

I like the look of some of the HDD recorders such as Topfield but=20
none of these have a DVD recorder.

I have tried Media Center and even have an HP Media Extender, that is=20
even worse than this Panasonic box.=20

Your advise would be appreciated.=20