Bush DVR 3006

I thought it was about time I tried to keep up with the advances in technology, so I decided to buy this machine as a simple and cheap introduction to the world of DVD recording. I bought it a year ago from Sainsbury's for about 50 pounds and I have to say that I am suitably impressed.

It doesn't have all of the advanced features that many of the more expensive DVD recorders have, but it does exactly what it's supposed to - record DVD's (see product information for acceptable DVD formats).

The DVD recorder came with all the necessary cables and batteries, which is unusual for the cheaper models nowadays. I found it very easy to install and set up and the instruction manual was very clear. The addition of the 'channel scan' function is a bonus and saves quite a bit of time in programming all of the channels. All in all, it took about 10 minutes to set up from opening the box to watching TV - and that included the fight with the furniture and all the cables behind the TV!

The menus and remote control are similar in design and logic to everything else on the market, so after just a few minutes it's possible to have a good grasp of the most important features like scheduling programs to record etc.The only small disadvantages I can think of at the moment are:-

• SIZE: The DVD recorder measures approx 430x50x325 mm, somewhat wider than your average machine, so you will need to check that it fits on your TV stand before buying.
• COLOUR: I don't really know if it is supposed to be silver, blue or grey or some wonderful combination of all three. Luckily for me I can only see the front panel which is very simple and 'clean' in design, so it's not a problem.
• LACK OF FEATURES: It wouldn't have been a problem a year ago, but now I am starting to miss a few features like a USB port etc.
• SLOW: It takes a few seconds for the machine to prepare the disc for recording, so it's no use if you need to to record 'instantly' - personally I never have a need for this but it's something to be aware of.

Overall, a very good value-for-money purchase. It's cheap, easy to use, reliable and does the same job as many more expensive DVD Recorders.There's no photo included here, but if you want to know what it looks like, take a look at the Bush DVR3003 DVD Recorder as it is virtually identical.