Looking at buying DVR or Tivo, any info?

Trizoy

Trizoy

VIP Member
Hello,
I was looking at buying some equipment to record TV programs, and wanted to know what the best options is. I really dont want to get locked into a 1year contract with Tivo, but if necessary I guess I would.

Is the Paid service by Tivo necessary to get the same usability as the tivo box? Are there certain boxes I should stay away from?

Note: I did not want to record via my TV tuner as i want to be able to watch them on my tv... (but if price is right I might do it)

Thanks for the info!
 
Maybe someone can tell me why on earth you have to pay for Tivo! I still can't understand that! There are other DVR units that don't have any monthly charge. My dad has one by Panasonic. I don't recall the model right off, but it's just like my TV-Top DVD-Recorder, just with a 100G HD in it as well.
 
Well I know with Tivo there is an update every 2 or 3 weeks which downloads the tv guide. But 15-20$ a month? please... So there is a Recorder which doesnt charge for this?
 
i have a hauppage tuner card, hooked up to my cable, and then hooked up to my tv...

i can use my comp as a DVR...

*u do need win xp mc to do this :D
 
So your Tv tuner has a Coax in and out? Is there a display on the tv like tivo showing which program you want to watch?
 
I don't know of any with cable in and out, but a few have RCA/SVHS output. However, you still need a monitor/video card to actually control them and what not. If you wish to make a PVR out of a computer, and only connect to a TV, you need a video card with TV out, or one of the All-in-one cards.

There are a few cards that have input/output(I think the WinTV PVR500 or something like that) but I'm quite sure it only shows rendered videos(IE MPEG1 and 2) and NOT your desktop.
 
Well I found this on Ebay. This is a DVD recorder with an 80gb HD with a lifetime Basci Tivo Service... Is this a scam? Or has tivo released these with free lifetime serrvice? Are there other options?
 
It's probably a scam or hacked unit. I don't know exactly how their service works, but I do know a friend of mine purchased a Tivo that was apparently a return that already had a lifetime service on it. It's probably out there, but if one's on ebay, I just wouldn't feel too confortable about it...
 
Just get directv and you can get a free dvr with tivo...its the bomb :D

Cable sucks, very poor sound and picture quality compared to dss!
 
We just got a HDTV DVR cable box for our HI-DEF tv...Cablevision (our cable company) didn't charge us initially for the box, just an extra $10/month for the box. Not bad. And yes, it does have the program guide and all that, not like connecting a tv to your tuner card in a computer.
 
Trizoy said:
I have Digital Cable, the picture and Sound quality are great.
Click to expand...
Hook it all up to a high end 7.1 home theater and you will take that statement back. Digital Cable is not realy digital it is still analog and by the time it travels through miles of wire before it reaches your house the sound quality is degraded pretty bad. It mostly effects your frequency range, where you should get between say 20Hz to 20000Hz on cable I would say you would be lucky to get between 500hz to 5000hz and on a good home theater you can tell right away because it will not have the deep base or the crisp highs, you will not notice this while watching through a TV though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top