dougdrake Posted May 11, 2001 Share Posted May 11, 2001 Hi all - Looking for some input from the crowd... Anyone know of any manufacturers of a digital video recorder, which would behave like a VCR in terms of just using it to record TV/cable shows (in stereo) for later playback? I'm not interested in the TiVo programming functionality, where you pay a monthly subscription fee. I just am curious about a hard-disk digital replacement for a VCR (and not the DVD-R units at $2000 a pop). I'm aware of the Panasonic Replay TV, but am looking for other brands. Any thoughts, or input on the topic in general? TIA- Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted May 11, 2001 Share Posted May 11, 2001 Doug, Not quite sure what you're looking for. You said digital video recorder, then you said hard disk. There are any number of digital video recorders - they are VCRs that record a digital video and audio signal on 8mm tape. J&R carries a slew of them. If you're looking exclusively for a digital recorder that uses a disk instead of tape, that's another story. These folks seem to have a clue... http://www.digitalvideosolutions.com/home.htm Happy hunting! Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted May 11, 2001 Author Share Posted May 11, 2001 Ray - Thanks for helping me clarify this. I've been out of the home camera market for a while, so I haven't paid any attention to digital camcorders. No, I'm looking for a VCR-like box with a hard disk in it (like a TiVo, but without the subscription-stuff) that will let me record 20-30 hours of TV/Cable broadcast. Something like this, but no subscription fee required http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/listmodels.asp?categoryid=594 -- don't need them to help me figure out what I want to record!! This message has been edited by dougdrake on 05-11-2001 at 06:14 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 doug - pay the $ and get a TIVO. It's a revolution in video recording. I quit using my SVHS years ago. Too lazy and busy. Got a TIVO, paid the $200. Life is good. Thing does all the work for me and I don't care if they know what I record. Frazier reruns aren't likely to impact any body's impression of me. Or ARE they...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted May 12, 2001 Author Share Posted May 12, 2001 Hi Bob - Appreciate the input. The reason I would just as soon skip the programming fee is that I tape 3 shows a week, always the same 3 shows. I don't watch any broadcast TV except for those 3 shows (and an occasional Letterman). In fact, the only reason I'm considering this instead of a $100 VCR at Best Buy is that I may be able to get one free (but would have to give up something else I could get free instead -- limited supply of free, ya know...). So, still looking for TiVo alternatives if anyone knows one, that doesn't require programming... Thanks- Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLee Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 Doug, DishNetwork offers a number of satellite receivers with built-in DVR's. These work like ReplayTV or TiVo, but currently Dish is offering free subscriptions through 6/2003 for the "Personal TV" part of the package. Of course, you still have to pay the monthly subscription for the satellite programming. The advantage of these systems is they record the raw data stream from the satellite receiver, eliminating one pair of D/A and A/D steps in the recording process (compared to external DVR boxes connected to sat. receivers). The internal hard drives are standard ATA/IDE, so you can swap in a bigger disk for longer record capacity (like the 20-30 hours you mentioned). Seems like one great feature of all of these is the ability to pause live TV, in addition to recording programs for time-shifting. If you're interested, check out: http://www.dishnetwork.com/ They can point you to local vendors of Dish packages (for example, Costco and Sam's Clubs both carry Dish products). uBid.com has also been auctioning reconditioned Dish model 7100 and 7200 receivers, which include all hardware (dish, cable, etc.) needed if you're a first time subscriber. These have been going for $100 or less, and you have to sign up for one year of programming at $40/month: http://www.ubid.com/cat/1019.asp I've had Dish for a year and have been very pleased (compared to our crummy cable TV service). Just ordered a 7100 as a second receiver, so can't yet say if it's as great as promised .... If you only watch a few hours of TV a week, this would certainly be a more expensive option than a TiVo with their monthly fee ... But, if you'd like to try out satellite TV, this would be an option worth considering. Steve This message has been edited by SteveLee on 05-12-2001 at 11:36 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted May 16, 2001 Share Posted May 16, 2001 how about a svhs-ET vcr? they record at 400 lines of resolution on ANY vhs tape!! we sell a jvc at $200,so they cost less than a svhs deck, and you don't have to buy expensive tapes.avman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted May 16, 2001 Author Share Posted May 16, 2001 Thanks for the input, avman. My interest in going with something that records on hard-disk is to have the easy access/rewind/fast forward versus moving all that tape back and forth. Lacking easy and reasonable access to such a device, I'll opt for an el-cheapo VCR to replace the one which broke that my wife uses for exercise tapes. My main one is a nice Toshiba that is working fine. I was just thinking of adopting some new technology and using the trickle-down approach by giving her the Toshiba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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