All three have a ‘search by name’ option so you can go to a search page and press in the letters that add up to the name of your show, such as ‘The Good LIfe’ – and it brings up that show with all the dates and channels it will be on TV within a few weeks. I believe neither Sky nor Virgin has that option. Without that option you are trying to catch the show so you can press series record, or scrolling through days and times desperately trying to find your show on each separate channel.

Also – they all have two tuners, i.e. you can record two shows and watch a third.

Tivo is far better than any of the US cable company DVR’s and has a much better layout. Yet any of the ordinary non-Tivo DVRs are far better than anything in the Uk.