DVR/PVR advice please

[jwinslow]

Hey, I'm looking to get a digital video recorder, and want to get some advice from a few of you. I am on a pretty tight budget, but I do not want all of the bells and whistles.

I want something that will record live TV for me, and have a reasonable amount of storage space 40+ hrs. It does not need to have any programming guide associated with it (tho I'd prefer one that can record a channel without having the TV on that channel, tho this is not a necessity). Actually I want to make sure it does not have a Tivo or similar pay service with it, as I'll be a poor college grad for a while. A dvd burner would be nice too, but again its not a necessity.

Could you guys recommend a few good ones?

 

[LoKyBuckeye]

This is the one that I have....

Phillips HDRW720

I've had no problems with it and it is very easy to edit anything you want to burn on a DVD. I'm not sure how much it is now but it was $650.00 when I bought it about 6 months ago. I know that there are cheaper ones out there... a freind of mine bought one with a DVD recorder last weekend for about $400.00... I can't remember what kind he got though. I don't have much info on ones without DVD burners... sorry.

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

I would be leery of TIVO.
With cable providing their own recording boxes and Direct TV ending their relationship with TIVO the end may be near.

I have an ATI All in Wonder card in my PC that acts as a DVR. You can get a 9600XT for $170. It includes a channel guide and the capabilty to record programs. If you have a DVD burner then you are set.

There are other mades and you can buy PCI add in card and USB externals I believe.

Recording digital premium channels can be difficult but like everything else in the tech world there is a solution.

Has anyone bought a MS media computer with the media center operating system. I understand it is XP with some added burning and recording software.

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

you definitely want one with a dvd burner in it. it is easy to fill up a hard drive fast and most of the stuff i snatch i like to keep, not just 80 hours worth.

i got one by panasonic and it is really good. can't remember the name off hand. i have had it nearly a year so there are probably better models cheaper now anyways.

you should be able to get 80 - 120 hours and a dvd burner for 500 or so. skimp on the hours if you must and just burn more dvd's but don't skimp on the burner. you will regret it.

Has anyone bought a MS media computer with the media center operating system. I understand it is XP with some added burning and recording software.

don't have one but i have heard they can be rough with the copy protection on some things.

 

[jwinslow]

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_DMR_E55S/4505-6473_7-30842609.html?tag=topprods

This one looks pretty decent, tho it does not have a hard drive. Does anyone out there have any experience with DVRs without hard drives? Obviously it would be nice to have one, but if someone has used a DVR like this one and liked it, please let me know.

 

[AkronBuckeye]

Last week i just bought a G5 Dual Macintosh.....

Along with it EyeTV 200

Comp Usa matched and doubled up the Memory from 512 - 1024
threw in a Shitty printer and some more shitty software and i was set
for under 2 Grand .....

Iam sitting here watching Houston vs San Antonio on my Puter.....

And theres people in this world that says life sucks...

From Now on All Sporting events are recorded on my Puter

I was told 2 gigs of info was like 1 hour of recorded TV

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

BFS
My wife bought a DVD Recorder for Xmas.
It was a SAMS special, less than $200, it records on DVD+R/RW.
We have used it to record movies off the premium channels for the kids, think Harry Potter. I take the DVDs to my PC and edit out the menus and other BS.
I for the life of me cannot remember the name of it.
It does the job but you can only record one channel at a time and once a disk is full you are SOL. Depending on quality that might be 1 1/2 to 6 hours.

Maybe a LiteOn?

If you go the PC route, as mentioned above get a big hard drive. I use a 250GB SATA drive for video. After recording and ripping I will have 100GB left. Time to remove the old files.