Thanks again for all your useful replies!
I do already have a freesat box and am very pleased with the channels - i really just need something to replace my hdd - it's a shame the freesat hdd machine is so pricey (you can probably tell - i'm on a tight budget!) perhaps it will soon come down in price.
The only channel that is not on freesat which i sometimes watch is Virgin1 - so, perhaps i'll keep the freesat box and get a new hdd/dvd recorder with inbuilt freeview - that would probably solve a lot. The original idea of the V+ box would have been good because it's all in one machine (the recorder and all the channels i watch.