Windows Media Center remotes - 5 of the best.

Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS

Price £59 | www.terratec.com

This vibrant white-and-orange stick supports digital and analogue TV signals and comes with a nifty remote control bristling with buttons. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Windows Media Center, forcing you into a straightforward but grotty-looking interface. And while the digital picture quality is great, the analogue picture becomes choppy after a few minutes of viewing.

Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick

Price £50 | www.pinnaclesys.com

A stylish, if large, design packed with features. Most notable are the options to record direct to MP4 and DivX, meaning you can save loads of programmes without cramming your hard drive.

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You’ll be doing this from the regrettably sparse software, however, as it doesn’t support Media Center, and the tiny remote is a challenge to use if you don’t have delicate fingers.

Compro U500 DVB-T stick

Price £35 | www.comprousa.com

Whoever described this digital-only offering as ‘thumb-sized’ must have been suffering from a nasty case of elephantiasis. Still, it’s a capable bit of kit, especially considering it’s the cheapest on offer here. Neat touches such as picture-in-picture (meaning you can watch several channels at once, although not in Media Center) and the slim card remote are very welcome indeed. The only major downside is the inability to connect analogue video equipment.

Mike Channel contributes to Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, and is works on PC Format.

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