hdd dvr? without a subscription? anyone?

[wellington1869]

hi all -- I've been looking for a cheap way to record TV shows (via cable) to a hard disk. WIthout buying a tivo (or other monthly subscription-based device).

As I understand it, options are few.

-I dont want to go the PC route. I know you can use various solutions to record to a computer's hard drive.  I've tried some of these in the past with tv tuner cards for the pc and they were generally a pain in the rear.

-I believe standalone "dvr-hdd" decives are out there, ie, dvd recorders that also have a hard drive on them. Includes a tuner like any dvr.  Wondering if anyone has one and/or can recommend one.

-any other kind of device that can do this? I'd need it to have a built in tuner (so I can stick cable directly into it) and a timer (so I can tell it, like on the old vcr's, to record star trek when it comes on channel 11 at 3AM.)  I dont need a fancy subscription guide like on tivo, just a timed scheduler like on the old vcr's.

A little off topic for GH, but I figure with all these geeks congregating, maybe its worth a shot in the dark to ask

[erricrice]

I would really give the TV tuner cards another try if you have the open PCI slot on your mobo.  They have really improved the technology a lot in the last few years(mostly software improvements, but still noticeable) and I know a lot of people that are using them now.  

If you use windows that is.  If you're on a mac then I dunno, you could probably still get a good tuner card, but it would be harder to find.  

You can get a decent one for $20-30 and it will have it's own software but sometimes can be used through the media center in windows too.

[wellington1869]

ya i was looking at myth tv again...
http://www.mythtv.org/

its tempting, would definitely be cheap...

apparently some of the older tivo's tho came with lifetime basic tivo subscriptions... i'm looking into those too, on ebay... I suppose that would be ideal, if I can find one under $150 I'd be tempted...

[Hak Foo]

Buy a decent HD tuner board ($50-100), slap it in your big PC.  You may not want to record often, but you'll love having a TV window on at all times.

The big problem is (because the Cable industry is filled with *******s), there's no practical way to get recordable HD cable in.  Broadcast is enough!

[CX23882]

All of my TV comes through the PC and LAN. I have a Windows server in the loft running DVBViewer, and this streams the digital channels across the LAN from my terrestrial aerial and satellite dish. I have had no serious problems, other than a hardware failure, but that could happen with dedicated devices too. That's probably a bit overkill for casual viewing. My setup is for client PCs around the house, which also have access to my [owned] ripped DVD library.

Much simpler is to stick a TV card into your desktop PC. Windows users have plenty of choice, and I recommend Windows Media Center for a 10ft HTPC interface, or DVBViewer for desktop use. Mac OS X has the Elgato EyeTV software and Linux has MythTV. For Linux, MythTV is the only one I would consider - I had a look about 6 months ago when trying to decide whether to go for a Windows or Linux based solution. I was keen on Linux so that I could integrate my existing ZoneMinder setup with Myth, but it didn't do exactly what I wanted, so I set up a separate Windows box.

Hauppauge's software (for Windows) is now very good compared to the crap that they were peddling before.

[Rajagra]

I've had a Panasonic DMR-E100H HD/DVD recorder for years. It's great - though I've never felt the need to record to a DVD as the hard drive recording is so good on its own.

One of the best features is you can play back at 30% extra speed. It does this without messing up the sound. Speech sounds normal, but music can sound odd. Combine this with options for skipping past adverts quickly, and you can watch a 1-hour show in just 30 minutes.

I have Sky+ now, so don't need the Panasonic any more, but I really miss being able to watch programmes in half the time.

[AndrewZorn]

speeding up playback to finish a show quicker?  you must be REALLY pressed for time to watch a show you have VERY little appreciation for.

[Rajagra]

speeding up playback to finish a show quicker?  you must be REALLY pressed for time to watch a show you have VERY little appreciation for.

On the contrary, it allows you to watch programmes you appreciate, quickly, without losing any enjoyment. It's perfect for keeping up with a TV series.

However you look at it, it's win-win. You can watch twice as much TV in the same time, or watch the same amount as normal in half the time.

As much as I like TV, it is a shameful waste of time. Anything that gives me control has to be good.

[AndrewZorn]

i mean you realize that a director sets things up for certain timing, tries to create a mood, etc... and i know you said music sounds weird, but you are basically saying "LOL! too long. show me the good stuff!" ...what if people just wanted beethoven to play it and get it over with, hurry up and talk faster morpheus, etc?

EDIT though i looked on google and you are not the only one.

i mean, tv/movies are usually fast-paced enough compared to reality, once you are done with a show, you must feel like you are REALLY slow when doing mundane things like walking around, doing laundry, etc...

[wellington1869]

thanks for the tips guys. I like the 30% extra speed idea. I do that with audio books, you basically save, well, 30% of your time, lol. Its still slow enough to follow along.

I debated the Pc route vs the 'buy older dvr-tivo' route, and decided to go with the latter cuz I think a standalone unit is really what I need at the moment. I'm looking at a toshiba sd-h400. Its an old unit from 2004 or so, which comes with a 'lifetime' subscription to 'tivo basic'.  Tivo basic is probably good enuf for my needs. Best part is: no monthly subscriptions,and records to an 80gb (about 25 hours at high quality) hard drive.

There are several such units out there, I believe the two companies that made dvr-tivo units with 'free' tivo-basic, were pioneer and toshiba.

The dmr-e100h looks really nice too, tho the used-dvr market is littered with the toshibas, so I think i'll get a decent deal on one of those.

if anyone is interested in going this route, my shortlist of other 'older' models that I beleive came with some form of 'free' subscription include:
-the replay 'showstopper' series from panasonic (replay 1000, replay 2000, replay 3000)
-panasonic dmr-85h, rca drs-7000
-toshiba sd-h400 and the rs-tx20
-pioneer dvr-810h, and the dvr-57h

also, tivo series 1's from before october 2001 can be used as manual (schedule-based) recorders. (the ones after that required a subscrption even for that).

I was looking for a vcr-equivalent, so a no-subscription hdd dvr is a great thing.

[Kraicheck]

I have the Pioneer DVR-550H and it works great.
From what I've read when looking around for a hdd dvr, Pioneer really is the best.

[williamjoseph]

you might try the sling box, da link, its a networkable tuner that then retransmits the tv image through the internet or your personal network to your pc, smartphone, whatever........

[wellington1869]

you might try the sling box, da link, its a networkable tuner that then retransmits the tv image through the internet or your personal network to your pc, smartphone, whatever........

do you have a slingbox? I've heard marvelous things about it, dying to try one.  But isnt that really for live tv beamed to your PMP? Does it also record?

I remember seeing a small (and inexpensive) Archos device not long ago which basically worked as a standalone PVR and which you then unplugged and took on the road as a PMP.

I suppose that would be even better - basically its like having a vcr which you then take on the road to watch what you've recorded.

[InSanCen]

I have the Pioneer DVR-550H and it works great.
From what I've read when looking around for a hdd dvr, Pioneer really is the best.

I too have one of these (Though it's rebadged as a Targa).

Great little unit, supports DivX/XviD out of the box, plays any disc I care to throw at it (Obviously not Blu-Ray and HD-DVD), including DL. I have stuck a 250GB in there (160GB originally), as it was just going to lay around otherwise.
Firewire (DV-Link) is on the front too... great for getting my DV tape straight to Disc without tying the big PC up. The Menu System/UI is a bit clunky, and the aspect ratio's need careful work, but once you sort those, it just goes on and on.

It's also very simple to google for the region-free settings (I play a lot of Imports, mostly from japan, who really know how to make movies that screw with your head :twitch:)

If you can get one (Not sure if it was available in NTSC), then it's highly reccomended. Mine is badged as a Targa DRH-5100x).

[TWX]

I built a PVR back in the day with a 2.53GHz P4, 1GB ram, three 80gb IDE drives striped for video content with another 80gb for the OS and programs.  I ran Windows XP on it and gbpvr as the program.  It has a Hauppauge WinTV PVR500 dual-tuner.  I can't really use it much now because the card is analog, but it worked great for a long time.  If I could find a cheap dual-tuner card with ATSC tuner I might put it back online again.

The only subscription I had to get was a $15.00/year service for television show time data.