AV Forums

Describing itself as the biggest site of its kind in Europe, AV Forums boasts more than 230,000 registered users. Now in its eighth year, it serves as the official forums of several consumer electronics magazines, as well as being a hugely popular community in its own right.

What we liked:
The breadth of gadgets covered by AV Forums is resoundingly impressive. Although the main emphasis is on home entertainment hardware such as DVD players, plasma TVs and amplifiers, there are dedicated discussion boards for all manner of devices. These include digital cameras and camcorders; MP3, iPod and other digital music; and mobile phones and PDAs. Here you're free to post any request for help, no matter how basic or complex it seems, so queries from novices sit happily alongside expert advice.

One particularly notable aspect of the website is the lack of bad language, aggressive behavior and spam in individual threads. Each forum is closely moderated to ensure members follow the rules, creating a friendly, unassuming atmosphere for helping others, rather than a 'listen-to-me' arena for gadget obsessives to show off their technical knowledge.

What we didn't like:
As so many different product types are catered for, you might have a little trouble getting help with a specific model. However, general problems invariably yield plenty of responses.