I find that due to my busy schedule it means that very often I will miss a lot of my favourite TV shows. This is no longer a problem thanks to my Sky+ HD box.
The menus are extremely easy to use, and the show that is currently on is minimised to the top right hand corner of the screen, meaning that you still will not miss the show you are watching, even if you are searching for something else. the TV guide can be broken down into sections such as 'Entertainment', 'Sports', 'Movies' etc, which means you can narrow down a search if you are trying to find something quickly. If you know the channel number then you can speed things up even more by just typing in the channel number, which will take you straight to the listings of that channel.
Recording problems is extremely easy, all that is required is to highlight the program that you want, and then press the red 'R' button to set the program to record, this can be done on both the controller and the HD box itself. The box can either record one show while you watch something else, or record two shows simultaneously.However if you are recording two shows at the same time you will only be able to switch between these two channels, trying to watch a different channel will prompt you to cancel one of the shows that is recording, although you are still free to watch anything that is already recorded to the box.
One of the best features I've found is that if you are watching a show, and decide to start recording it half way through, it will start recording the show from the moment you put the channel on, rather than from the moment you pressed the record button. This can be extremely useful for things such as films, which can be watched again from the very beginning.
Another good feature is the 'Sky anytime' feature. It has a selection of different shows, ranging from movies, documentaries and new TV shows, for a selected amount of time, that can be watched at any point with the click of a button. There is also an option to record the programs so that they can be watched past its 'available until' date, although some things will still delete at a later date, though this will be mentioned in the synopsis.
One issue with the box is its memory. I have found that a two hour show can very easily take up to 8% of the box's memory if it is recorded in HD. If you are the type of person that records a lot of films and/or sports, then the box can fill up extremely quickly, as films will easily take up to 5% of the memory, and certain sports programs can take up to 15% of the boxes memory, which is a huge chunk.
Overall the box is extremely useful, as it allows me to go to work, and enjoy my free time, and still be able to watch all of my favourite TV shows, as well as catch up on some good movies and find new TV series.