Sharp TU-T2, TU-T2HR32 tuners seek silver and bronze in Freeview HD race

In the race to bring a Freeview HD tuner to market, Humax was first to cross the finishing line, with the rather wonderful HD-FOX T2. Suffering terrible jogger's nipple in a bid to take second and third place are Sharp's offerings, the diabolically monikered TU-T2 and TU-T2HR32.

The TU-T2HR32 (shown above) is the higher-end model, seeking to outdo the single-tuner, memory-free HD-FOX T2 by offering a 320GB hard drive and dual tuners. This means you can record two programmes while watching another one that you've recorded previously, for example.

Like the HD-FOX T2, the TU-T2HR32 will also upscale standard-definition programmes to 1080p, offer a USB socket for extra storage, and sport an Ethernet port for future access to services such as iPlayer, 4oD and ITV Player. We only hope its user interface and eight-day electronic programme guide can match the HD-FOX T2's super-slick offerings.

The TU-T2 (above, looking very familiar) has a single tuner and lacks its big brother's internal storage, so it can't record, but is otherwise the same HD goodness, offering Dolby Digital Plus surround sound via HDMI or the optical digital output.

Sharp's also announced the TU-T1UR Freeview+ tuner (that's it up there), which doesn't offer HD channels but can record to three front-mounted USB ports, rather like the Digital Vision GiGo. 

Update: The TU-T1UR will be available in May for £100, the TU-T2 in April for £180 -- the same as the comparable Humax T2 -- and the recording TU-T2HR32 in May for £290.