OTA DVR? ANY GOOD ONES OUT THERE?

[AJV]

My TV watching is strictly OTA and FTA. I would like to be able to record OTA tv. Would like 2 tuners, so I could watch one record one at the same time. So far I see Sony and Magnavox out there. Would like any hands on experiance input. Thanks in advance. Is this even a good idea yet?

Al

 

[jayn_j]

You can add TIVO and the Channelmaster 7000.

TIVO charges a monthlly fee, but does have a good interface and a long look ahead guide.

The Channelmaster was designed by Echostar and is essentially a DISH 612. Expensive, but very well thought out and no monthly fees.

 

[Jim5506]

Keep an eye out on craigslist.

I just saw a TiVo HD with lifetime service on craigslist for $300, the price of the lifetime subscription itself.

Other HD TiVos are going for less than $100 but these require the monthly subscription.

 

[Tower Guy]

I would like to be able to record OTA tv.

Al

Single tuner, but cheaper than other options.

brite View BV980H Digital Antenna HD DVR with 320GB (BV-980H) from Solid Signal

 

[mike123abc]

I use TiVo for OTA. They work great. The best thing to do is watch for a deal on a used one with Lifetime service.

 

[jayn_j]

I use TiVo for OTA. They work great. The best thing to do is watch for a deal on a used one with Lifetime service.

The one they just announced is cable only. No analog or ATSC tuner, just QAM and cablecard.

I have a TIVO Premiere, but I think it only has a single OTA tuner. Multiple cable tuners though.

 

[mike123abc]

The one they just announced is cable only. No analog or ATSC tuner, just QAM and cablecard.

I have a TIVO Premiere, but I think it only has a single OTA tuner. Multiple cable tuners though.

The old Premiere does 2 OTA (2 cable or 1 each OTA/Cable) at the same time. The new Elite just does up to 4 cable at once. It looks like they traded out their 2 OTA tuners for 2 more QAM tuners. Also interesting that they dropped analog cable too. It would make a great FIOS box.

 

[lewie]

I was waiting for the Channel Master 7400 to come out, but Im starting to wonder if it will ever happen. So now Im looking into TIVO. But I cant swing the lifetime service right now and I read conflicting reports on what TIVO will do for you without service. Some say its just a tuner with no recording capabilities while others say you could do old fashioned timer recordings which would be fine with me till I get another job. Im dying to get a tuner for my old HD ready CRT. The little DTV Pal just isnt cutting it and 69 bucks for a Premier sounds like one way to get HD back. Any other inexpensive solutions out there?

 

[jayn_j]

For the TIVO, it really depends on which one you get. The older ones will do time based recording without a subscription. The newer Premiere units are just a brick. They will not allow the box to work at all without a subscription.

 

[Mr Tony]

Series I is the only one to work like that

Series II you need a subscription or its a brick

 

[lewie]

About TIVO subscriptions... So if I get the new 746320 Premier from Amazon for $69,the monthly fee will be $20 or $500 lifetime. But then they have used ones there for $100 or $140 that say $13 a month. I wonder if that also means $400 lifetime like Weeknees offers? I'm guessing the difference is buy a discounted one and pay more for sevice or buy a full priced one and pay less for service. That must be why they ask more for used than the new one on the very same page? So then there are a bunch of used ones in the 70, 80, 90 dollar range that say nothing about service. Do you suppose tIVO would automatically charge the $20 fee? Does it all depend where they got it originally and whether they paid full price or not which determines the fee? I'd rather pay $80 for a used one than $130 if they both have the $13monthly fee... To further confuse things Ive seen a few talk about a lower fee for Over The Air only. And if I did that would OTA only also mean no Netflix for that price? Or is that the old price policy anyway? I didnt see anything like that on the TIVO site. Lastly my clunky computer sucks at streaming and stutters a lot. Would the TIVO download at its own pace then allow me to watch later? I know thats a lot to ask but Ive spent three days reading now and I still have all these questions so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mr Tony]

weaknees says the Premium line is the $20 monthly fee...the other models are $13. Tivo site doesnt show that because all they sell is the Premier version
Those have streaming options

Me personally....I use to have a DTVPal DVR and then I sold it (d'oh...). I didnt want to pay the ungodly amount ChannelMaster wanted for basically the same thing so I got a Dish 211k and signed up on the Welcome Pack for 14.99 a month. Pay a one time $40 fee to turn the 211 into a DVR and add whatever Hard drive you want up to 2TB. Dish carries all the Minneapolis stations in HD except for 23 & 45 (they even carry 22 PBS from Brainerd). Hooked up an antenna on the back and those come in HD along with the subchannels. Can record one sat & one OTA at same time and even get a few decent channels in the package like Comedy, MSNBC, Boomerang, CMT, Food, HGTV, History and more. Package info is Welcome Pack here

so for me it was
$100 for the new 211 (you might find cheaper)
$40 one time fee to turn unit into DVR
$-- for hard drive (already had one not being used)
14.99 a month for programming
the dish I already had laying around

since you own the receiver there is no contract

 

[lewie]

Wow! That sounds like the best deal Ive heard yet! $15 rather than TVO's $20,with more channels to boot! You just slap any old hard drive in there? What kind of dish would would I need, like a Dish Network 3LNB?The only down side I see is Comcast internet would be $15 more if I didnt bundle. So that would be $42 for internet plus $15 for Dish equals $57. But at least it is in HD as opposed to Comcast. They would give me the internet for $27 and the digital economy (for History and Comedy) for $30, which equals $57, but amazingly they say HD is not available even with the extra $10 HD technology fee like the charge on top of the $63 package.So I guess Dish is the winner fro HD assuming you get History and Comedy in HD. Plus its $5 less per month than TIVO, unless I get a lifetime and wait a couple years to break even. That or give Comcast $16 a month for their DVR but not even the networks would be in HD. Such decisions...

 

[Mr Tony]

Wow! That sounds like the best deal Ive heard yet! $15 rather than TVO's $20,with more channels to boot! You just slap any old hard drive in there?

it would require an external hard drive (there is a USB port on the back). I've used a 320GB then upgraded to a 500GB that I got. I could put a 2TB if I wanted to

What kind of dish would would I need, like a Dish Network 3LNB?

there are a couple options for Minneapolis
The 3 LNB (also known as the Dish 1000.2) would get 110/119/129 (aimed SW of here)
There is also an Eastern Arc (1000.4) that sees 61.5/72/77 (aimed SE of here)
Folks have used an old Dish 500 and aimed that at 61.5 & 72. While the signal would be a smidge lower (due to the LNB spacing being 9 degrees instead of 10.5) it still works

So I guess Dish is the winner fro HD assuming you get History and Comedy in HD.

The only drawback of the Welcome Pack is only the locals are in HD. There isnt a way to add HD to the package. Any freeview channel that is in HD you do get in HD but sadly the rest of the package is SD only (except the nets)

That or give Comcast $16 a month for their DVR but not even the networks would be in HD. Such decisions...

what package do you have with comcast? You should get the nets in HD with either a QAM setup or the DVR. My grandma has what amounts to "family cable" (2-99 + a smattering of channels in the 200's like the subchanels and a couple others...guess its called digital starter) and she has HD.

I see its 15.95 for the HD DVR

The best HD channels and thousands of HD choices On Demand.
With DVR service, record one show while watching another, or record two shows while watching a saved recording. Includes up to 160 GB of storage (up to 90 hours of Standard Definition or 20 hours of HD).
Includes on-screen program guide, and 45 commercial-free music channels.

 

[Straybeat]

FWIW, the new Tivo Premiere is $65 at Amazon right now.