Channel Master Announces Replenished Inventory of Popular DVR+ Product

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Channel Master Announces Replenished Inventory of Popular DVR+ Product

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - Feb 21, 2014) - Channel Master announced today that it has resumed shipping of its DVR+ product, an over-the-air subscription-free DVR, which sold out shortly after announcing availability at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas in early January. In addition to receiving and recording local broadcast programming such as ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS and The CW, DVR+ integrates video-on-demand streaming apps directly into the electronic program guide. DVR+ was one of the International CES Innovations 2014 Design and Engineering Award honorees.

"We put a lot of thought into the development of this product, focusing on the needs of mainstream TV consumers in North America and their professed desire for an alternative solution to traditional pay-TV services" said Coty Youtsey, President of Channel Master. "We knew we had a great solution but I don't think any of us were quite prepared for the overwhelming response that we got, selling out of product within a week. We're happy to say that we now have DVR+ units in stock to meet the growing demand."

The Channel Master brand is an iconic mainstay in American entertainment culture, having introduced the first consumer TV antenna in 1949 and progressing through the decades to produce antennas, televisions, transistor radios and even turn-tables. Today, Channel Master is focused on products and solutions for broadcast television entertainment.

"There is just so much going on in TV today that has a direct impact on consumers, more so than any other time in the history of TV" said Joe Bingochea, Executive Vice President of product development. "We're doing what we've always done, which is to deliver superior broadcast entertainment products to consumers. With DVR+ we have an amazing product that not only delivers what consumers need today, it will also serve as a platform to deliver what they want tomorrow. DVR+ has many capabilities. We're just getting started."

DVR+, priced at $249.99, is available now from Channel Master at www.channelmaster.com.
 
IIRC, this unit only has VUDU as an online APP. If it had Hulu and Netflix to go along w/ Vudu, it be a no brainer for this household.

I don't think it will ever have netflix. I heard that netflix is not very nice :)
 
I heard a rumor that since the unit was designed by Echostar that Netflix wants nothing to do with this device even though its a Channel Master product. :(

If this is true, I think its silly on Netflix's part.
 
I don't think it will ever have netflix. I heard that netflix is not very nice :)

Hard to believe that, since they are on just about every other streaming box, blu-ray player, and new streaming tv set in the entire world where they have content that's licensed for there.

Check the official thread at avsforum for this dvr, it's not very good yet. Rovi provides the guide, and CM has even admitted Rovi could drop support any time they please. Rovi already has a rep in doing that before.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1481183/channel-master-dvr-owners-thread
 
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Hard to believe that, since they are on just about every other streaming box, blu-ray player, and new streaming tv set in the entire world where they have content that's licensed for there. Check the official thread at avsforum for this dvr, it's not very good yet. Rovi provides the guide, and CM has even admitted Rovi could drop support any time they please. Rovi already has a rep in doing that before. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1481183/channel-master-dvr-owners-thread
At least it has PSIP available as a back-up. Even though PSIP data is hit and miss (mostly miss). But yes, a used Tivo Premiere w/lifetiime for $300 is a better deal.
 
At least it has PSIP available as a back-up. Even though PSIP data is hit and miss (mostly miss). But yes, a used Tivo Premiere w/lifetiime for $300 is a better deal.

I agree. Although I like the idea of the Channel Master DVR+, I haven't two Tivo Premieres and a TivoHD with Lifetime, and they are tons better than this unit.. I love my Tivo Roamio so much (it's a 6-tuner, 3TV workhorse) that I was considering replacing the Premieres with Minis. However, I just gotta keep OTA which the Roamio Pro doesn't have.
 
both ways and then some.

I have 3 Paldvrs with very good psip listings and 2 HDHomeruns along with Dish, no need for the DVR+ or I would have tried one out.

The biggest problem with the DVR+, is that CM didn't start or build-off from the mature firmware position of the Paldvrs. They started from scratch, and are very much making sounds that they aren't going to do anything beyond a few immediate fixes, and then leave it at that.

Anybody considering purchasing the DVR+, should only take it on the basis of what it is NOW, and not speculate any enhanced services for it in the future.
 
Received the DVR+ today. Here are my first impressions of this item.

The device is THIN. I mean, really thin. It's about the size and weight of an Ipad, but feels more durable.

I had it connected in less than 5 minutes. HDMI, OTA cable, Cat5 ethernet connection and adapter. The DVR+ boots fast. Some quick settings and a software update via the broadband connection and I was ready to go.

I would say the tuner is only slightly better than a Dish Hopper with an OTA adapter. The auto-channel scan didn't locate one digital channel even after repeat scans. The manual tuner wouldn't lock on to the channel either. In fact, I wasn't able to add the channel until I fidgeted with my OTA antenna and re-ran the automatic scan several times.

I think the program guide information is much, much more complete than my Hopper's OTA guide information. The DVR+ pulled in the guide info for ALL my main channels and sub channels, all the way through March 26.

I would compare the remote control to Dish's Hopper remote. The feel and buttons seem grouped in the same locations.

External hard drive integration was very easy. I have a Western-Digital MyBook 1TB hard drive which was previously formatted NTFS in Win8. The DVR+ immediately found the drive and formatted it, rebooted, then it was ready to go. I was able to pause, rewind and make a test recording with no issues.

The only other issue I have is the aspect ratio default for non-HD sub channels. The DVR+ defaults to a "stretch" format and you have to change this setting manually via remote on every channel, every time you visit that channel. I wish they add a way to default to another aspect ratio.

All in all, I like the device and it will eventually help me to completely "cut the cord."
 
Nice to hear that the DVR+ is working well. I suppose that the success will depend a lot on the local station and how well it does its PSIP data.
 

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