Cheap FTA PVRs?

[Katrinasucks]

So I'm reading Iceberg's previews of the Pansat 6000 and it seems like it is the perfect device for me.... until I see that price tag. I'm spoiled getting PVRs for free from D*.
So a little research lead me to the GeoSatpro DVR1000ci which can be had -sans HD- for 200 bucks.
I've got hard drives by the dozen so for me at least, the cost is 200 bucks. It only has a single tuner... but at less than half the cost, I can buy 2!
Anyone with experience with this one or any other cheap PVRs?
(BTW -to save some people some time- I'm wholly disinterested in using a computer as a PVR. It will be far more expensive and not work as well.)

 

[Stargazer]

Is there a PVR monthly fee? Can you record OTA with it as well?

 

[dfergie]

Is there a PVR monthly fee? Can you record OTA with it as well?

this is interesting...

 

[Shawn95GT]

I'm concidering one of these $83 Walmart DVD recorders to let me record FTA / 4DTV. The DVD recorder would let me record content and if I needed it's easy enough to extract from DVD.

I can't really justify the expense of a dedicated FTA PVR. Being able to timeshift live TV would be nice (I'm so used to it with my Tivo), but the bulk of what i'd use it for is to record x channel for y minutes.

If I setup on of my Tivos on a FTA box or even the 4DTV its only going to be an expensive VCR. I'd lose all of what sets Tivo apart from a regular PVR. It'd be a waste.

I've done it in the past on a as-needed basis. I recorded the last shuttle launch feed from the Coolsat on my Tivo. I REALLY regret not having recorded Live-8.

Shawn

 

[Stargazer]

One could record satellite or cable from it as well if it would do OTA. If there was no PVR fee then it would be a cheap PVR with a FTA receiver built in to boot. You could upgrade the hard drive anytime you wanted to as well.

 

[Mr Tony]

200 bucks for 1 tuner and no hard drive in it? (at least thats how I'm reading it)

I just paid 500 for a 2 tuner with a HD built in

I've been looking for a single tuner PVR basically to record the hockey games and wrestling...since I couldnt find a single tuner, I broke down and got the dual tuner.

 

[Katrinasucks]

There is no PVR fee, it has S-Video and AC3. You can even input standard AV signals and record that to disk.

It has 14 timers - for what they are worth in the FTA world.

I was about to purchase my first receiver. (but I decided to wait till after Christmas) If I go buy a "similar" FTA receiver I'm going to pay ~$125... why not add 75 bucks and get a PVR?

I'm getting into FTA mostly for newsfeeds, so for me, being able to record the feeds is great. I can bring them in my Mac or burn them on my DVD burner later if I want them forever.

According to their blurb a 120GB disk gives you 70 hours so (as I understand MPEG2) it must only record in full quality. (which is ok in my book) They say you can add "drives" which is most probably 2 since they are IDE. Then it could go to 140 hrs. -- Which is really about 100 more than I need on an FTA receiver.

I've seen reviews of other products from GeoSatpro and all have been positive.

I can't think of a drawback can you guys?

 

[Stargazer]

I wonder if those 14 timers is upgradable with software just like the Dish Network receivers were.

$200 sure is cheaper than a Tivo even without the hard drive. Hard drives are cheap nowadays. The FTA tuner is a bonus so that gives you more options. You can record the cable/satellite/OTA and the FTA to boot. Does it have blind scan?

 

[Katrinasucks]

Does it have blind scan?

This is all it says:

# Automatic Channel Search
# N.I.T (Network Information Table) Search

I'll give you a nickel if you can tell me what those marketing words mean.

 

[Tron]

That is an interesting product. Might be worth a look. But as Iceberg points out, the Pansat 6000 has dual tuners and a removable HDD system. Their (Pansat's) site says 2.5" HDDs though, that would be notebook form factor, which are expensive drives. The dual tuners are nice, like having two receivers.

 

[Mr Tony]

This is all it says:
# Automatic Channel Search
# N.I.T (Network Information Table) Search
I'll give you a nickel if you can tell me what those marketing words mean.

not blind scan.
Auto channel search sounds just like satellite scan where it scans the TP's entered
NIT is a Network scan. It would find the frequencies with the same symbol rate. Works on DBS slots but not FTA (due to the plethora of symbol rates)

 

[Katrinasucks]

(To answer your other question too) With the 6000, you CAN record two shows and watch a third off disk from what Ice said somewhere. For ~$500.

For that much money I can get two of these receivers and not only record two shows, I can have them in different rooms.

(To me) The upgrade from a Panset 3500 seems like a no brainer. You're only talking about 30 bucks. (that is assuming the GeoSat does everything else you want in the 3500) I can get a Fortec Classic NA delivered for $105 so it is a bigger jump from what I am looking at. -- Still a jump that seems logical.

[And from me to you... The dream system.... Either my 1.2 or your 1M on G10R, the 90cm on a motor, ghetto move the 76cm and a fixed Dish 500 for music.... Pipe all that into the PVR, the 2700 and a Classic NA... The kicker is I could do all that for less than 450 bucks I think. Of course if you count the D* Phase III I'd have 5 dishes on the back of my house which is probably 2 short of divorce court. ]

 

[Katrinasucks]

>Auto channel search sounds just like satellite scan where it scans the TP's entered

Can't you just enter every transponder on every bird? I'm still fuzzy on why blind scan is required... There are a fix number of sats with a fixed number of transponders. (right?) Seems to me you hard code them all in you're done???

-Or are the're simply too many transponders in the world?

Edit after more thought: Unless each TP can change freq and SR on the fly??? If so I get why you can't track them all and need to scan.

 

[Mr Tony]

each digital transponder can have multiple frequencies and symbol rates.

Here is a good example
North Dakota hockey has their own feed. On days that they don't broadcast, I've seen other feeds with same frequency and 5 different symbol rates.

On the Captiveworks, they try to put a boatload of transponders in each satellite. IA6 had almost 70 TP's...yet the blind scan unit found 5 more TP's

 

[Tron]

If you're after feeds, blind scan is really a must. And feeds are one of my main interests in the FTA world.

Another scenario that often happens (especially on G-10R and the audio channels on 119w) is that they shift programming around, and on G-10R often change PIDs. Blind scan comes in handy in these situations.

 

[Katrinasucks]

grrrr I guess that's why perfection is so elusive. I'm still not in love with shelling out 500 bucks on my first FTA reciever but I gotta quit jerking around and buy something....

Hey, I got an idea, you buy the 6000 and I'll come over and look at it. ;-)

(check your PM in about an hour)

 

[Tron]

Hehehe, your idea might be exactly what happens! The only downsides on the 6000 are the lack of component outs, the expensive HDD (notebook form factor), and the initial cost of the unit! However, when you consider the thing has two tuners and a PVR without a monthly fee, it starts to look very attractive.

 

[Stargazer]

I think I will be patient and wait to see if something with blind scan for a cheap cost comes out.

 

[Katrinasucks]

While we're impatient, all this is good news.

PVRs will become the standard FTA receiver in a few years. It just might be long few years for some of us.

 

[gizzer777]

Notebook HDD

Hehehe, your idea might be exactly what happens! The only downsides on the 6000 are the lack of component outs, the expensive HDD (notebook form factor), and the initial cost of the unit! However, when you consider the thing has two tuners and a PVR without a monthly fee, it starts to look very attractive.

Even Notebook HDD are coming down (newegg)...just not too large at the moment...about 100g is where the price point seems to get the most effective. After all, How much room do you need on a notebook PC...It's not like I store hundreds of A*Cad drawings or anything on my Laptop. If one wanted to play a little, there are cheap notebook/ to normal IDE HDD adapters around. One could maybe make a harness with the notebook adapter on one end (for the receiver) and the normal IDE adapter on the other...put it all together with an external hard Disk enclosure and Voila BIG storage space for FTA!
Jeff