If the DVD Recorder sounded the death knell of the VCR, then the DVD-R/HDD combination has all but buried it and paid for the headstone, offering the choice of recording directly to DVD or storing programmes and home movies on the hard drive to watch, edit or burn later.

Toshiba's RD-XS32 comes with an 80GB hard drive, which is a little on the small side compared to others on the market (the XS32's bigger sibling, the XS34, comes with a 160GB disk, for example) but you can still squeeze up to 103 hours of recording time onto it.

It's a stylish looking unit with the control buttons placed on the top of the front panel; joining the basic record/playback buttons are controls for changing channels, switching inputs and selecting either the DVD drive or the hard disk. All of these are duplicated on the large remote control, which takes a bit of getting used to due to the sheer number of buttons on it. These include the essential Easy Navi button which brings up all the unit's features on screen.

The front panel is clean with just a central display and a drop down flap which hides DV input, S-Video out and composite in ports, plus two audio input ports. As you would expect, the majority of the connections are on the back panel. There are two RGB compatible SCART connections, with the second allowing signals to pass through the first SCART input. This is invaluable if you have a Sky box or similar; you can connect the box so the signal passes straight through to your TV as well as having the ability to record the signal.

Joining these are in/out aerial connections, S-Video and composite video in/out, optical digital out, headphone port and scan capable component video in/out ports. There's even a port to connect a satellite IR control box.

Setting up the RD-XS32 is straightforward once you've found the setup button amongst the plethora of buttons on the remote. You have the choice of tuning channels manually or letting the RD-XS32 do it itself. One niggle is the lack of any on-screen electronic programme guide; you have to look up programme codes and manually put them into the unit's VCR Plus function.

When it comes to recording, the RD-XS32 offers a choice of pre-set or manual bit rates to get the best quality for what ever you are recording to hard disk. The manual bit rate settings go from 1.4Mbps up to 9.4Mbps and you also have the choice of recording audio between Dolby Digital or DTS formats.

You have the same flexibility of choice if you want to record straight to DVD. This time you can choose set bit rates in hours or use a manual option which allows you to set the recording by the minute, but the danger of setting by using the manual control is you may lose some of the programme due to bit rate fluctuations of the broadcast, so it's probably best to record to the hard dive and then burn it to DVD.

For this the RD-XS32 has a useful rate convert feature which works out how much space you have on the DVD and automatically adjusts the bit rate so the recording can fit on the disc at the best possible quality. Once that's done, you can, if you wish, view the DVD recording on your PC using your preferred software.

When it comes to editing, the RD-XS32 has a vast array of features, but in some ways too many. There are so many options that getting around the on-screen menu can be confusing and time-consuming.

Toshiba's RD-XS32 is a well built, well featured player. It may be a complex unit but it performs well. On the downside, the hard drive may seem small compared to some of the opposition. As with all DVD-R/HDD DVD recorders it pays to shop around to get the best price.