DVR's

[jcwillia]

I'm guessing that a fair number of people who post here don't subscribe to cable.

If that guess is correct, then you have to go elsewhere to get your DVR other than the $5 a month box that Time Warner rents.

I loved that DVR, but I can't bring myself to spend $13 a month to get TiVo.  Does anyone have any advice for my cheap butt?  (besides "shut up" )

Jason

[gparris]

Quote: I'm guessing that a fair number of people who post here don't subscribe to cable.
Answer: Wrong.
  Some of us can't get OTA like some of those of this forum can, so we get cable as supplement, especially if we cannot get OTA HD. Some folks I know have both cable and satellite to get all the HD possibilities and these subscribers usually have a sat-based DVR instead of the cable DVR.
 This could all change when the HD DVR from TWC becomes available.
Where I live, the larger antennas required for OTA are not very neighbor-friendly and the spouse forbids it, anyway. We are near  the bottom a hill and that doesn't help, either. So we have  cable for now as a one-bill, one-provider solution with nothing to buy.
You CAN rent the TWC cable box DVR, the SA8000 model, which is available in just SD mode-only, for now. It is $7.95/month for the box alone which is the standard cable box rental charge with a remote and the $5 per box DVR service fee if you subscribe to a "Digipic"package.  I think the best feature of the TWC DVR is the picture-in-picture feature, something my old DirecTivo did not do.

It all depends on what your needs are and preferences:
Some folks like the DVR by Tivo - especially the DirecTivo, which I had until it fell apart and I moved to an apartment for awhile, but not now. I have got used to the TWC DVR and learned to use it and enjoy it. But that is my opinion. Tivo has some very user friendly features, but not so much the standalone box, but the DirecTivo model, which has the ability to record in Dolby Digital and PCM sound and record 2 channels while playing one, which the TWC DVR does, too, but without a need for a phone line connection. :cool:

If you have cable and aren't looking for satellite, the TWC DVR is great and if it malfunctions, all you have to do is swap it out at the TWC office for another one at no charge, which is what I had to do, once. Once was enough to know that, too, is pretty cool.

Decide for yourself what DVR you need and from which provider.

If you have more questions on DVRs or HDTV, let us in the forum  know. That is what the forum is for...answers and knowledge. Thanks for joining us!:wave:

[summerfun]

Originally posted by jcwillia
I'm guessing that a fair number of people who post here don't subscribe to cable.

If that guess is correct, then you have to go elsewhere to get your DVR other than the $5 a month box that Time Warner rents.

I loved that DVR, but I can't bring myself to spend $13 a month to get TiVo.  Does anyone have any advice for my cheap butt?  (besides "shut up" )

Jason

I'm not sure I am clear on your question.

Do you have TWC? If so, their DVR is the best solution. If you don't have TWC, what do you have?

[jcwillia]

re : what do you have.

short answer : OTA only.

longer answer : I am sick and tired of paying TWC $60 a month for a HD box, a DVR box, and the only 2 cable channels I watch - ESPN and TLC - so for the past few years, my wife and I have dropped cable in the summers and then come fall (football season) we discover we can't live without it so we go back, only to disgusted by that monthly bill all over again, etc, etc.

Now I have a new problem in that I LOVE the DVR, but I'm too cheap to give tivo $15 a month for a friggin TV Guide.  I already pay for the paper version.  :bang:  

So I've been trolling the internet, trying to figure out either A) can anyone please make a DVR that doesn't require a monthly sub, or B) can one of the existing DVR's be used without a monthly sub.

The answer I usually get to B is "not legally".  So I'm stuck waiting for "Toshiba Progressive-Scan Digital Media Server (DVD Player/TiVo DVR Combo)" to come down from $360 to a more sane price so that I can have a DVR again.

Sorry for the rant.  Consumer electronics that are based on monthly subs make me really mad.

Jason

[PWFD81]

I have DTV.  I paid $99.00 for my RCA Tivo unit.  The service is $4.99 for the extra receiver and $4.99 for the Tivo service.  I only use this unit to record shows and then watch them.  I have an HD receiver that I use for everyday watching.  This is the set up for now until they have a HD-DVR at a good price.  

DTV has way more HD programing at a MUCH better price.  You may want to give it a try.

[summerfun]

I think you have a pretty good grasp on your options.

#1 Cable and rent their DVR. My preference.

#2 OTA / Satellite and buy TIVO and monthly subscription.

#3 OTA / Satellite and buy your own DVR and use it like a VCR. No menu subscription just set to record like you do with a VCR. IMO, you loose most of the benefits by not having the menu.

[oz]

If you already have a decent computer, you could buy a video capture card. I have an ATI All-in-Wonder card with ATI software that offers a free TV schedule listing. So there's no monthly fee, but you're limited to recording one show at a time since there's only a single TV tuner. You can record until your hard drives are full.

[PWFD81]

I do option #2.  I have DTV and OTA for my HD locals.  I have the HBO Package, HD Package, MKE locals through DTV and three receivers and I pay $70 and some change.  A lot better than TWC!

I've had DTV for 5 years and never thought of switching.  They have great customer service and the equiment options are what ever you want.  Go to a Best Buy and try to buy a Dish Network receiver.  Not going to happen.

[borghe]

the answer is yes to all of the above.. the question is how much money do you want to spend?

LG (formerly Zenith) makes an HD DVR box with built in OTA tuner. It is pricey though at $1000 and I believe only comes with an 80GB drive. I don't believe there is any monthly cost for it.

Tivo CAN be had without a monthly cost, BUT... you have to buy one of the Tivo enabled DVD recorders. They will run you $500-700 I believe but do include Tivo Basic for free.. Don't ask me what that includes or not, but I do know it is free. The catch here is that this is obviously analog SD only.

Pioneer DVR810-HS $900 - DVD recorder
Toshiba SD-H400 $400 DVD player
LG LST-3410A $999 HD DVR

[The Law]

I like the idea of one box.  No antennae to point around, pc's to sit next to my tv, extra boxes, cables, remotes, equipment costs

Yep, can't wait for the hd dvr.  Nice and simple

[oz]

Another option is ReplayTV. The cheapest ReplayTV without a monthly charge is $449 for the 40 hour version. My friend bought one and he was able to attach it to his computer and use the drive hard drives for extra storage. He can also burn what he records to VCD or DVD. There's no HD version that I know of but it does offer 480P output.

[Todd Wiedemann]

I own two ReplayTV's and love them.

... attach it to his computer and use the drive hard drives for extra storage.

This is accomplished with a 4000 series of Replay (or better) and an incredible piece of software called DVArchive.

I use it and will totally endorse its functionality and useability.

[Paul S.]

Originally posted by The Law
I like the idea of one box.  No antennae to point around, pc's to sit next to my tv, extra boxes, cables, remotes, equipment costs

Yep, can't wait for the hd dvr.  Nice and simple

[jkane]

Why do you "have" to pay the monthly fee with TiVo?  You can buy a life time subscription unless they just stopped that.  We bought a lifetime for my in-laws for xmas.  Ours has a lifetime subscription too.  I think it was $149 with the rebates they almost always have available.

Plus we have a DVR from DiSH Network that works very well with their service.  Actually, the picture is far superior to TiVo.  But that is because it records the compressed digital stream before decoding it.  So, the picture is always good with the expensive upload encoders in Colorado doing the intense work.

[jcwillia]

first of all, thanks for all the replies.

Secondly, I'm about as cheap as cheap gets, so most of the more expensive options are out.  

I've grown to hate PC's as I spent most of the last 10 years of my life building them for myself and others only to realize that its far cheaper to buy pre-assembled machines.

What I want (which I know I can't have but indulge me) is to buy the $150 TiVo or ReplayTV box with just the hardware/software package and WITHOUT the monthly fee.  I'm not interested in paying $500 for a "lifetime sub", because frankly I don't believe these companies will be around in 5 years.  ReplayTV has gone through bankruptcy once, and TiVo is making too much money selling viewing habits to the networks to be charging me $15 a month or $300 for a "lifetime" sub.    :guns:

Sorry, got into a bit of a rant there...I love DVR's but I despise the current business model.

oh well, thanks 4 reading!