DVD Recorders

joeclarke · 02-09-2004, 08:29 AM

I tend to avoid being "leading edge" in things electronic (with the exception of computers) - the price of admission to the latest & greatest club tends to be punishingly high.

But the Janet/TIVO thing piqued my interest in retiring the old VCR from show taping duty. It seems we tape about 5 shows per week and the VCR gets a bit cumbersome with all that rewinding and so on.

Damn it would be nice if Jimminy Glick would come on at a respectible hour of the day.

I decline to pay a TIVO fee - and am not real keen on burning much stuff to media. Basically all I really want to do is to catch video on a hard disc to play back at my convenience and then delete. Play while recording and all that TIVO crap is more than I need.

Any recommendations and/or happy stories?

id10t · 02-09-2004, 08:38 AM

You could build your own DVR using off the shelf computer componenets. I've seen a few howtos using both Windows and Linux.

RickM · RickM's Garage

I believe Replay TV is pretty much the same as Tivo but with a one time fee for listing info.... http://www.directtvinformation.com/Tivo-vs-Replay-TV.html

joeclarke · 02-09-2004, 09:19 AM

Yeah - I thought about building my own.

But even though I could probably round up some stuff from my "upgraded parts box", the basics like - MB, box, CPU/RAM, HD, Burner, plus a pretty decent VC and all the cables, power supply and crap would still run quite a few bucks.

That would be a solution if I wanted to rip and burn or manipulate video, otherwise it's overkill for me. Plus I would end up with an ugly box to try to cram into my HT somewhere.

Let me know if I'm missing something here...

Jack Olsen · 02-09-2004, 10:04 AM

When we switched from cable to satellite, you could pay an extra $50 to get a satellite receiver with a hard drive in it. It's similar to TiVo, in that it can pause live TV (more useful than you ever imagined), and it stores 60 hours of programming. I don't understand why no one is selling a standalone unit like this, since it works beautifully, and requires no recording media at all. Want to record all of the 24 hours of Le Mans coverage? No problem. All of 'Angels in America?' No problem.

I would think a machine like this would be cheaper to build than a DVD recorder, as well as cheaper (and simpler) to operate. But again, I haven't seen a standalone unit out there on the market.

RickM · RickM's Garage

To add to Jack's post, Direct TV is going to release a 4 tuner, Tivo-like, HDTV receiver in the near future.

joeclarke · 02-09-2004, 11:28 AM

Thanks for the ideas, guys. Couple of good leads to pursue, besides, I've been waiting for an excuse to check out satellite. It would be nice to tell those cable guys to shove it with their feeble internet support lately.

The telco has gotta good rep with ISDN and I hear HDTV is coming via the phone line real soon anyway, that'll heat-up the competition even more.

Stanley · 02-09-2004, 12:03 PM

right now compusa has a good deal on a tv tuner card http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=310591&ref=cj&pfp=cj it was on slickdeals.net. Add a $60 dvd burner from office max and your set.