For the next few weeks I'll have a Beyonwiz PVR and a Vista Media Center HTPC sitting side by side - fighting it out to see which is worthy of a place in my digital lounge room.

Until recently I would have said the Beyonwiz DP-S1 PVR would have to start the hot favourite - when combined with Ice TV it can almost match the features of a Vista Media Center PC but has the stability advantage of not actually running Windows. Still, having lived with a Vista Media Center for a month or so I have to admit it's growing on me. Thanks to the helpful folks at www.xpmediacenter.com.au I've managed to work most of the bugs out of the Vista box and it's even starting to achieve an acceptable WAF - Wife Acceptability Factor. As sexist as that sounds it's actually a very useful yard stick for judging a device. My wife is technically capable without being an ubernerd like me, so she's prepared to tolerate the learning curve when new devices enter our lounge room but won't embrace things that require a pilot's licence just to turn on. As such, when I catch her warming to a device I know the usability balance is about right.

She was quick to take to the Topfield PVRs that have passed through our lounge room, so it didn't take long for her to embrace the Beyonwiz DP-S1. The Beyonwiz was hampered by a few teething problems, so we're getting it back to see how it shapes up after its first firmware upgrade. Of course it can't burn recordings to disc, a major advantage of an MCE box.

The Vista Media Center box takes a little longer to grow on you. In my house the PVR is a mission critical device, so I spent a while working out Vista MCE's major bugs before I inflicted it on my family. The change over a few weeks ago went smoothly and, now it's at the heart of our home entertainment system, I'm working my way through the final niggling problems that only become evident when you spend a lot of time with a device.

Media Center lovers, like the crew over at www.xpmediacenter.com.au, will tell you a finely tuned MCE box will run rings around a dedicated PVR and they're right, but the key phrase here is "finely tuned". Your average person doesn't want to spend a few weeks fine tuning a device, they expect it to work as advertised out of the box. You're never going to get this with a PC because with functionality comes complexity. If you want an idiot proof lounge room device then go for something like the Apple TV - it does what it does very well, the problem is it doesn't do very much. Some people will read this as an anti-MCE rant, but it's not. MCE is fine if you're prepared to put in the time to get it right, but even the biggest MCE fan must admit that not everyone is prepared to do this.

So PVR v HTPC - which will regime supreme? I hate to admit it, but I think I might cheat and go for both. The reason why is, like most nerds, I like to tinker. This is fine as long as other people aren't relying on the computer to always be up and running. As I said, a television recorder is a mission critical device in my house - so the family won't tolerate missing their favourite shows because I was tinkering with the HTPC. I think I'll get a Beyonwiz for them and a Vista MCE box for myself - call it the best of both worlds.

UPDATE: Beyonwiz DP-S1 firmware update short on new features

UPDATE: Beyonwiz v Vista MCE, and the yellow jersey goes to ...