Hamburg  - Avid TV fans, who do not want to miss an episode of their favourite programmes, are now in a conundrum over video disc recorders.

On the one hand, these devices offer far more features that video cassette recorders ever did. But on the other hand, the amount of new options can be so overwhelming that many people use only a fraction of the new functions.

Modern video recorders are truly multifunctional devices. Used properly, they can offer a wide range of services - from time- delayed recording to creation of a personalized DVD archive.

The first step is linking the recorder to the television.

"The recorder has to be linked to the television and the antenna," says Michael Wagner of Panasonic in Hamburg.

Cables can be transmitted via HDMI connections for digital recording.

"Most devices are compatible with both digital and analogue connectors," said Tim Bosenick of Sirvaluse, a Hamburg-based company that tests devices for their user-friendliness.

"The three most important recording methods are direct, scheduled and series," says Bosenick. Direct recording means simply clicking on the record button when something interesting is on television.

Scheduled recording offers more of a choice as it does not bind a TV fan to a television programming schedule. Apart from that, the recorder can be set to automatically record an entire series, provided the show is broadcast at the same time.

An EPG, or electronic television guide, helps access all the possibilities of a DVD recorder.

"The user sees a comprehensive programming menu from which he chooses what he wants to record in the coming days," explains Roland Seibt of video, a Munich-based magazine.

The EPG function is especially useful for recording an entire series, but is only used by a small percentage of people.

"About 80 per cent of users only record directly before storing the program," says Bosenick.

Burning and archiving programs is another central function of a DVD recorder.

"It's worth it for anyone who collects series to burn the episodes onto a DVD," says Bosenick. After all, most recorders have limited memory of about 400 gigabytes, says Wagner, and cannot usually be fully exchanged. So anyone who wants to build up a high-quality television archive has to do so on DVD.

Customers can choose the desired recording quality themselves. Wagner recommends starting off with the highest quality, especially if you only plan to watch a show once.

When it comes time to storage, most devices allow flexible recording, says Wagner.

"When burning, the image quality is paced to match the capacity of the DVD." It's a good way to compromise between image quality and disk space.

The format is crucial during burning. "You have to check which DVD format the recorder supports," says Wagner. But just about every recorder supports two different formats, says Bosenick, either DVD-R and DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW. Not all recorders support DVD-RAM.

Consumers often do not make full use a recorders folder archives, says Bosenick. They are not simply for TV shows.

"You can connect your camcorder to the DVD recorder and archive your videos directly," says Seibt. Images from a digital camera can also be saved there. Storage of music files is also easy, turning the recorder into a music player.

That makes DVD recorders perfect for almost all forms of entertainment.

"It's like a little computer and can do an amazing amount of stuff," says Seibt. But the large number of functions can make the technology difficult.

"In general, the user-friendliness is not good at all," says Bosenick. Anyone who is not a hard-core technology fan will quickly be overwhelmed and not use the machine's to maximum benefit.

INFO-BOX: How an EPG works

An electronic program guide provides a digital display of scheduled television programming. Special providers collect and disseminate the information for analogue connections. In digital programming, the information is automatically transmitted along with the program, along with extra information about the broadcast. The EPG collates all the information into an overview. (dpa)