Which DVR Should I Get? - Comments Page 1

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Posted by:

JT
20 Feb 2009

Thank you for exposing the fake Satallite TV for PC and all the scam sites attempting to sell free tv from all over the world for 30-50.00, I was researching this and your review was great. Thank you! JT

Posted by:

jfdoylejr
24 Feb 2009

I'd be interested to hear your DVR suggestions for those Luddites out there (like myself) that don't use cable, and are content with pulling the major networks HD signal in from a roof top antenna.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you're using over-the-air TV, then you should probably get one of the non-TiVo units that has no monthly service fee, such as the Pioneer, Toshiba, or Sony units I mentioned.

Posted by:

Jim
24 Feb 2009

A few months ago Verizon had a special for 99.00 a month (plus taxes) for a year for my HD TV, computer and telephone. Included was the DVR which you speak of. It is a fascinating device and it took a little while to understand and to use all the functions it has.

I hope that after one year, it doesn't cost me more than $10.00 more a month- which you said you paid- as I would like to continue using it. It makes recording programs so simple and if something goes wrong with it, I DON"T OWN IT!

Posted by:

Bob P
24 Feb 2009

I recently switched from a SD Tivo to AT&T's HD DVR. All I can say is - I want my Tivo back!!

You have no idea how well a DVR can work until you use a Tivo. The AT&T/Motorola box has some nice features like being able to watch your recorded programs on any cable box in the house, not just the DVR box, and it can record/watch up to two HD and two SD programs at one time but the UI is terrible, you can't prioritize the shows you record, the searching is slow and did I mention the UI sucks.

Posted by:

Chris
24 Feb 2009

Oh, do I second (and third and fourth) Bob P! I LOVE Tivo... it's basically a religion with an altar and a holiday (Super Bowl Sunday) and everything! My original rocked. My second one was even better, Now I live in a house serviced by Uverse. I apparentluy have to use their recorder network for all my tv's... which not only denies me the alphabetical listing of upcoming shows Tivo featured... it doesn't let me delete, record, pause live action, etc. FROM ANY UNIT OTHER THAN THE MAIN ONE. Blecch. I love you Tivo. We'll always have Paris. (Oh, no, wait... I saw her video on my computer. Ignore last comment.)

Posted by:

BJ
24 Feb 2009

Seems like the cable and satellite providers are trying to keep stand alone DVR off the market. I'm finished with satellite and cable, but still watch some off-the-air TV. Would like to replace my clunky VCR, but VCR's are so cheap and DVR's are so high that I may just get another VCR. When my current (analog)TV's go out, I'm not replacing them either. Current programming is that bad, and DTV is just another rip-off.

Posted by:

George M
24 Feb 2009

I've had a Replay TV DVR for several years. They had a "Commercial Advance" feature which, when enabled, automatically skipped commercials. Because of this, they were sued by the networks and went broke defending themselves and eventually went out of business. It's still the slickest DVR around and I've opened the case and replaced the old 40 gig hard drive with a 250 gig drive for almost unlimited recording!

Posted by:

MIke
24 Feb 2009

I have standard def DVR service from DirecTV. It's a great convenience, and cheap, at about $5-6 a month. You just lease the box. (When I signed up they were out of stock on HD DVRs and when they became available they wanted to charge me $300 up front since I was an existing customer by then.)

Speaking of over the air HD (as jfdoylejr did) I was glad to hear about those standalone non-Tivo DVRs, which were either nonexistent or ruinously expensive or had monthly fees--I forget which--when I put up my antenna.

I get over the air HD through a rooftop mounted Channel Master 4228, which doesn't require a rotor and delivers 45 digital stations clean and clear. I use a K-World 115 and proprietary software: great captures, but it's like programming an old VCR. I'd be interested on your take on HD capture card/PVR software combos.

Posted by:

Oscar
24 Feb 2009

What is the purpose of TiVo's monthly fee? If you buy a DVR, doesn't it have a hard drive to store the videos? I don't see the need for them to charge the fee.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The fee for the value-added services, such as the search and scheduling functions.

Posted by:

Chris T.
24 Feb 2009

I've had a Panasonic DVR for years. It really made a difference in my TV watching routine. Besides a hard drive, my unit also has a DVD drive so I can record programs onto a DVD for "permanent" use. It also allows me to connect my Laserdisc player and VCR to it so I can copy that material to DVD as well.

Posted by:

Joyce C
24 Feb 2009

I'm still looking for something that will record multiple channels simultaneously AND will have digital tuners, since every channel above 33 (as delivered by Comcast in our area) will be shifted to digital and you need a converter box for each "receiver" (TV, VCR, etc.) since you must tune to the channel ON THE BOX, not on your VCR.

Any ideas *other than* AT&T which records 4 channels simultaneously but which has bad UI (see above) and other problems (like I'd have to change my email address if I dropped cable!)

Posted by:

Alan Patterson
25 Feb 2009

After reading a few of the comments, I have to agree with those that love their TIVO. I had a DirecTV TIVO until the hard drive died. At the time I didn't know what the problem was. I called DirecTV and they sent me a new unit for free. The thing is that they weren't using TIVO any longer. The new DVR sucks. The FF and Rewind aren't nearly as smooth and accurate. I've had to reboot when the playback froze. There are many breakups which aren't weather related. I may consider fixing the TIVO if DirecTV lets me use it.

Posted by:

Wolf
25 Feb 2009

Bob, your info on the Toshiba and Pioneer Tivo's with the free basic service is accurate, but it's about four years old. These machines are no longer made, but still readily available on ebay, typically for $150 to $200. The free basic service is still active, whether the unit is purchased new or used. I have a Toshiba SD-H400, Toshiba RS-TX20 and a Pioneer DVR-810H and they all work great with zero monthly fees (mine were bought new). They have analog tuners, but work with my digital cable box. A web search for "Tivo Basic" will turn up the differences between this free service and the $12.95/month "Tivo Plus" service.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the clarification, I will update the article to note this.

Posted by:

Marcy
25 Feb 2009

We have 4 TIVO's from the old 40 to the newer 80 that records one program at a time to the even newer 80 that records 2 at a time and the HD which records HD along with everything else, 2 at a time. We got the expanded drive since the built-in drive for the HD is small. The expanded started giving us trouble, so instead of replacing it we replaced the internal drive (TIVO approved) and what a difference. We can record over a hundred programs in the best quality now. It's way more than we can watch, but if we go on vacation we will be covered for all our 'necessary' programs. We had the local cable DVR for a short time and was very glad to see TIVO come out with it's HD DVR. I don't much care how much TIVO costs, it's well worth the money each month to be able to pause it when I want and to cut out the commercials. We still watch some of them when they are new. I'd be lost without my TIVO. :-)

Posted by:

Don
25 Feb 2009

One option left out is to buy a new computer. The one I bought this past summer has an HD TV Tuner built in & two video outputs so I can run a TV and monitor simultaneously. The Vista version comes with Windows Media Center that works similarly to TIVO, though a bit clunky. Annoyances: two video outputs and only one audio, some wierd mouse and window behavior...takes a while to get used to and tweak settings, plus you have to leave your computer on to record TV when away. I have HD Tivo with lifetime service [no monthly fee] in the living room & use the PC and another TV in my office. I use a roof antenna, so no paid service and HD works just great...and both software services pick up the listing for over-the-air programming without a problem. There's no monthly fee for the media center listings service, either.

Posted by:

Wolf
25 Feb 2009

Along with the system already mentioned, there is one more Toshiba with free Tivo Basic, the RS-TX20. The TX60 you already listed has a 160gb hard drive. The TX20 has a 120gb. But realistically, a buyer of a used Tivo might want to replace that heavily worked, 4 year old hard drive anyway, which is easy for the fairly tech-knowledgeable using free software tools available on line (just search Tivo hard drive upgrade). My three Tivos are all running 500gb drives now.

Posted by:

CRB
25 Feb 2009

Using Time Warner HD DVR. nicely, it is interactive with the TWC schedule guide at N/C. records show back from beginning if you decide after watching for a while that you really want to copy this. Drawback...if you are recording 2 shows at once, you must be watching one or the other. PO'd about pricing and charges in general though. Basic, add standard, add lame movie package, add DVR, more for "HD" DVR, add HD tier, add premium HD tier, add for this tier, that tier, mega tier, and the ever popular Megamore $$ tier.

oow,oow, add the digital phone, and road runner for a "convenient" single, back breaking monthly payment.

Posted by:

Kit
25 Feb 2009

Many years ago I had TIVO with DirecTV. Then DirecTV dumped TIVO for their own DVR service. Needless to say, DirecTV's version is very clunky to use. If I were to buy a TIVO box, does anyone know if it would work with DirecTV programming?

Posted by:

Joe m
25 Feb 2009

I've owned a stand-alone Tivo2 for about 6 years that I upgraded from 40 to 250 hours. I love it. I also switched to DirecTV and have the R10 DVR with Tivo that I love almost as much as the SA Tivo. Almost as much as it doesn't have the undelete feature that the SA Tivo has (yes, I could hack it, but it's not that important).

How nice is it to Tivo an NFL game and watch the whole thing in under 2 hours on delay?!?!?!

Another option that this (short) article didn't cover is that of using a tuner card in your PC and creating your own Tivo machine (often referred to as Freevo). While an option, it definitely lacks the simplicity of Tivo.

One obvious shortcoming of the DVR's is that it doesn't provide "unlimited" storage as a VCR does. Pioneer and Toshiba both made integrated DVR/DVDR units. With the advent of newer copy protection, it's almost impossible to save a movie from HBO to a DVR and then DVD without an aftermarket "cleaner" (one of which I ordered from an Israeli company that works exceptionally well).

Finally, a note about the monthly Tivo fee. I got my fee reduced to $6/month when I called to cancel it when I subscribed to DirecTV. It's worth a call.

Note to Kit: you could buy a used DirecTV DVR off ebay. I just purchased a second unit and have had no problems. My understanding is that you need to make sure the s/n is "clean" (no fees owed). Good Luck.

Posted by:

Ian
25 Feb 2009

The comments in the above article ate strictly limited to the US market in their application.

In the UK the leading satellite supplier (Sky) Provides TiVo-like functionality for a monthly subscription. Many people buy a standalone DVD recorder or DVD/hard disk recorder to archive satellite programmes - these recorders are readily available new in the UK without subscription for programme guide data, notably from Sony, Panasonic.

Many such recorders include digital tuners for the dozens of terrestrial free-to-air channels, again without subscription for programme guide data.

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