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Old 03-15-2009, 08:52 AM
 
16,294 posts, read 28,470,166 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TVandSportsGuy View Post
Mr. Know It all strikes Again, you just have all the answers don't you?
Except that he is absolutely wrong. Yes it is called a 'digital' video recorder because it converts the video to digital, and stores it in digital format (a series of 1's and 0's stored on a hard drive.)
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Old 03-15-2009, 09:23 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aquila View Post
A DVR won't work unless it is receiving the cable company's digital signal.
Absolutely incorrect!
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Old 03-15-2009, 09:25 PM
 
16,294 posts, read 28,470,166 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sinsativ View Post
Well, since its, a Digital Video Recorder, I believe the acronym alone answers the question.
ding ding ding, another absolutely incorrect answer.
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Old 03-15-2009, 09:56 PM
 
Location: sowf jawja
1,941 posts, read 9,227,310 times
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Yes a TIVO works fine.

there are other various PVR's (DVR's) that will work on basic cable or OTA (antenna), and PCI cards that can be installed into your computer.

If you have satellite or digital cable that requires its own receiver to be decoded, there are solutions for that as well.

Hauppauge makes an HD PVR that records high definition. HD PVR Product overview

It can be connected via component video for high definition, and records through USB 2.0 to your computer. It comes with software that allows you to burn high definition DVD's (720p or 1080i).

There area ZERO subscription fees, and the box will cost you about $250.
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Old 03-15-2009, 10:00 PM
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Location: Ohio
17,107 posts, read 38,035,552 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by southgeorgia View Post
Yes a TIVO works fine.

there are other various PVR's (DVR's) that will work on basic cable or OTA (antenna)
That's correct. I have 3 ReplayTVs at my house. They're no longer manufactured, but with the lifetime subscription, there's no monthly cost and they work just fine on my analog cable. There are always people selling these on eBay. That's where I got most of mine. I've also opened each of them up and replaced the hard drive to increase the storage capacity.

I've had DVRs since 2000. I've probably saved a couple of thousand dollars by not having digital cable and not renting the cable company's DVRs.

Tivo is the best option if you want one from a company that's still producing them.
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Old 03-15-2009, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Denver
690 posts, read 2,105,331 times
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Good...I'm glad I made a semi-wise decision. I figured that there would be a couple ways to go around the cable companies, but I'm not tech-savvy enough to figure out all my options. I have so much respect for people who do know about this stuff, though. Someday, when I have enough time, I plan to halfway educate myself about it.
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:33 AM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,207,511 times
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I have a Dish dvr now, since the price was more than right, but when I had cable I used a stand alone machine. First thing is to make sure the dvr you get has a tuner. Some don't. this means you can feed the cable directly into the dvr. Or you can split it and have it go to the tv and the dvr.

A dvr with a tuner should operate pretty much like a vcr with the same kind of controls. Just set it up to recieve a cable signel. Just because your getting an analog signel it will still play and record fine. And since all the cable channels are already digital along with most of the local channels, its a moot point.

If splitting a signel compromises it too much, get a selector box from raido shack to hook the cable into. Hook the tv and dvr to that so the full signel will reach the dvr rather than splitting it. A DVR is one of the more delicate kinds of equiptment and doesn't react well to being on all the time. So if you dont need it on please have it off or it will suffer an early death.

One warning if you are considering a DVR from your cable company and plan to make copies of what you record. ASK the tech people (not the sales department) if the connectors to send out a recording are enabled. Dish network allows you to feed a recorded event to a dvr/vcr but the cable company I had in California, Charter, has that disabled. I could record an event, but could not copy it off the dvr and decided to save money and not get one.
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Old 03-16-2009, 06:16 PM
 
Location: sowf jawja
1,941 posts, read 9,227,310 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightbird47 View Post
I have a Dish dvr now

which one do you have, and how do you like it?


I've been thinking about getting one. I'm interested in that HD DVR i linked to above because it allows you to store it on your computer and make high-def DVD's that can be played in a blu-ray player.


Have you seen the ViP922 that echostar is about to release? it looks really nice, and has a slingbox built-in. I like the look of the guide and navigation on it. Not sure of the cost though. I'm sure its high.

As for what available from dish now, I've read the ViP722 is the best. What opinion do you have, and have you experienced any problems with it?
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Old 02-16-2011, 06:46 AM
 
1 posts, read 6,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swagger View Post
A DVR is just like a VCR. The "Digital" designation simply means that it records in a digital format (hard disk) instead of analog (videotape).

As you've already discovered, a TiVo will work just fine with basic cable.

I've been running a DVR in the form of a [url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/media-center.aspx]Windows Media Center[/url] PC for 4 or 5 years. It will do everything the TiVo does, plus store and play all my music, catalog pics from my digital camera, give me access to my DVD collection with the press of a button on the remote, access to virtually any online audio/video... I can even run Flight Simulator on my widescreen TV.


If I have a DVR box with movies on it that's not hooked up to the cable provider can I bypass the need for the digital signal to watch them? It's a CISQO HD DVR with time warner cable. Right now it's stuck on the loading page trying to acquire applications... I've got about 90 movies on there I wanted to burn before I turned the box in.
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Old 02-16-2011, 10:55 PM
 
26,143 posts, read 19,767,810 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjohnson4381
I ended up getting TiVo and it seems to be working out so far (no big issues on its first day). I was really surprised that it's only about $13 a month. I can definitely handle that. My cable company was trying to charge me about $70 extra to upgrade for 100 extra channels that I'd never watch.
Thats no surprise!!

They try to charge you AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE....

I dont have a DVR or TIVO (I prefer my VCR) but i definetly think TIVO is better! (Nothing can be remotely taken off of it)
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