DVRs

[Typo Lad]

Anyone use a DVR? Which one? Do you like it?

[sirgod]

at this time, I'd probably stick with Tivo, as just today there was a big upset with a lawsuit against Echostar.

That Patent infringement thingie.

Stephen

[HomerJay]

Anyone use a DVR? Which one? Do you like it?
I work for Time Warner Cable and I have an HD-DVR.
Not to sound corny, but it really has completely changed the way I watch TV. It's actually contributed to me watching less TV than I ever have because I only record what I want to watch and I'm not sucked into watching shows before or after. It's especially nice just to store movies in HD to watch later or just to keep.

[Ontir]

I don't have PayTV, and I'm not sure I want it (I know I don't want the cost!), but I DO want a DVR. The thing is, I don't want a monthly subscription with a DVR, either. Does anyone know of a stand-alone-DVR, which handles over-the-air, and doesn't require a subscription of any kind?

[borateen]

I've got a DVR through Comcast digital cable, and I love it. With it, I'm watching shows that I kept forgetting that I wanted to watch (Monk in particular), and when the new season starts up, I won't have to worry about scheduling conflicts.

One thing about DVR that nobody told me...while you can record two things at a time, if you're recording two shows, the box has to be tuned to one of those stations. A DVR (well, the one that we've got) has two cable tuners in it. If you record a show, that takes up one of the tuners, and you can watch whatever you want thanks to the other tuner. But if you record two things at a time, that ties up both tuners, therefore if you want to watch that TV, you have to watch one of the things you're recording.

With the DVR, though, I'll technically be able to watch 4 shows that air at the same time. Record two on the digital cable box, record one on the VCR in the bedroom, and watch the last one on the bedroom TV. I don't think I'll have to do that this year, but I think it would have come in handy a time or two last year.

Here's something else that was cool. This weekend, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory premiered on HBO. Angie and I sat down to watch it, and we had to pause it at times to feed Bella, put Parker to bed, go to the bathroom, etc. No problem...just like watching a DVD. But half-way through it, we got tired and decided to go to bed. I hit the record button on the remote, turned the TV off, and went to bed. The next day, I saw that the ENTIRE movie had recorded, not just where we left off. With our box, as soon as you turn to a station, the box starts recording...that's how you can pause/resume/slow-motion/etc. live stuff. Since we had been watching the show from the beginning, it saved the whole thing when I pressed the record button.

It just makes being lazy easier. Don't even get me started on how much I love OnDemand.

[borateen]

I don't have PayTV, and I'm not sure I want it (I know I don't want the cost!), but I DO want a DVR. The thing is, I don't want a monthly subscription with a DVR, either. Does anyone know of a stand-alone-DVR, which handles over-the-air, and doesn't require a subscription of any kind?

If you're picking stuff up on rabbit ears or open air, that wouldn't be a digital signal would it, hence making the use of a DVR impossible?

[mortari]

DVR = much goodness

As soon as Dish Network announced they had a 2 line DVR my wife let me get it. Now we have can watch one show and record another, or watch a show we recorded while we're recording 2 others.

I haven't seen a commerical in about a year!!

[Matt Algren]

I'm dying to get one, but alas, the cost is keeping me away. I'll wait another year or so for the price to come down. (This from someone who still doesn't have a home PC...)

One thing I don't like is that I can't take the recordings to someone else's house. I tape quite a bit for my sister when more than two shows she wants to see are on, and I can just give her the tapes to watch whenever she has time. Have they found a way around that problem yet?

[kalorama]

If you're picking stuff up on rabbit ears or open air, that wouldn't be a digital signal would it, hence making the use of a DVR impossible?

No.

I have an HD-DVR that I used to record shows from broadcast feeds (before I finally broke down and got cable. albeit only basic). It works on the same input/output principle as a VCR. Obviously, the quality of the recording will depend on the quality of the source, so you're not going to get digital video quality recording from broadcast. But you can still record shows.

[Forefinger]

I work for Time Warner Cable and I have an HD-DVR.
Not to sound corny, but it really has completely changed the way I watch TV. It's actually contributed to me watching less TV than I ever have because I only record what I want to watch and I'm not sucked into watching shows before or after. It's especially nice just to store movies in HD to watch later or just to keep.
I don't have an HD one, but my DVR has had the same effect. I have about 180 hours of storage and I set it to record everything. I very rarely watch any "live" TV anymore. I too have been watching less and less TV.

The main advantage I see to mine though is that it isn't Tivo, so I don't need a phone line for it, and there is no monthly fee. Mine is also a DVD player.

I often say "That was the best $ 400 that I've spent"

[Ontir]

If you're picking stuff up on rabbit ears or open air, that wouldn't be a digital signal would it, hence making the use of a DVR impossible?

...or if you have an HD antenna for your HDTV!

[Callie]

I have a Panasonic DVR. I didn't want to pay extra for a contract with Tivo (plus the cheaper ones don't have DVD-R functionality) and the cost of DVR with my cable package was prohibitory (rental fee plus monthly fee plus I'd have to upgrade to digital cable). I caught mine on clearance at Best Buy for $250; Panasonic was discontinuing it for a new model with a bigger HD that would retail for $400.

I absolutely love it. It totally changes how you watch TV. I typically record my favorite shows and watch them a day later. Or watch them 10 minutes later and fast forward through the commercials. It ties into the TV Guide menu system, so I get all the interactive menu features you usually get with digital cable.

[Forefinger]

Mine is a Panasonic DMR-EH50. I love it so...

[SnowTrooper]

Ive got a DVR, dont know what kind it is but I know that I wouldnt be able to live without it. Ive got like 20 really good movies and stand up specials on it. Without my DVR I would just drift through life with nothing pre-recorded to watch, and thats not a life I want to live. If my DVR was a woman I would probably take it out for a nice steak dinner.

[vertigo_phreeze]

i am in the "DVR changed my life" camp.

i am a little worried about the EchoStar/Tivo thing since i have DISH. i love the service and the package arrangements were perfect for us...so my dilemma if i lose my DISH DVR is if i will switch to DirecTV and their unit, or stay with DISH for general viewing and use bittorrent for my "DVR" shows.

[Alex Dragon]

I'm dying to get one, but alas, the cost is keeping me away. I'll wait another year or so for the price to come down. (This from someone who still doesn't have a home PC...)

The DVR I have is through my local cable. It's about 10 bucks a month extra and well worth the cost to me. I'm sorry I didn't get it sooner.

One thing I don't like is that I can't take the recordings to someone else's house. I tape quite a bit for my sister when more than two shows she wants to see are on, and I can just give her the tapes to watch whenever she has time. Have they found a way around that problem yet?

I'm kinda confused by what you're asking. If it's what I think you are...I set my DVR to record a movie or show and I can save it for as long as I want to. If I decide to save it but don't want to keep in on the harddrive taking up space I simply play the movie and then record it with my DVD recorder. No loss of quality and if it's a tv show I can edit out commericals. I do it all the time. I have stuff I plan to record on the DVR now put there's no hurry to to get to it because it's there as long as I want it to be.

Before the DVR I had to watch what I was recording on cable and could record more than one show at a time. It's very very rarely that I want to record 3 shows at one time and if I do if it's cable at least one or two of those shows will be repeated in a few days anyway.

[Matt Algren]

The DVR I have is through my local cable. It's about 10 bucks a month extra and well worth the cost to me. I'm sorry I didn't get it sooner.I can't get cable, and DishNetwork is going through their ...unpleasantness with TiVo right now. I think they're charging a couple hundred just for the unit.
I'm kinda confused by what you're asking. If it's what I think you are...I set my DVR to record a movie or show and I can save it for as long as I want to. If I decide to save it but don't want to keep in on the harddrive taking up space I simply play the movie and then record it with my DVD recorder. No loss of quality and if it's a tv show I can edit out commericals. I do it all the time. I have stuff I plan to record on the DVR now put there's no hurry to to get to it because it's there as long as I want it to be.

Before the DVR I had to watch what I was recording on cable and could record more than one show at a time. It's very very rarely that I want to record 3 shows at one time and if I do if it's cable at least one or two of those shows will be repeated in a few days anyway.Ah. Thanks, I was under the impression that you couldn't record from the TiVo to tape/DVD. Knowing that I can do that, my need for DVR has now increased one hundred fold.

Must...resist...

[Ronald Bryan]

I have a Time Warner Cable DVR, and use it for everything! Of course, I end up having 10 episodes of Rescue Me to watch. But that was great watching them all in a row.