DVR newbie here
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Home Theater Equipment
crazyivanova — 10 years ago(August 15, 2015 04:22 PM)
I just want to record shows to watch later. I love the idea of a device that does that using a hard drive instead of tapes like with a VCR but I don't want to pay an ongoing subscription. I've been looking all over the Internet for information about this but it's all so very confusing to me. I'm not the most technologically inclined person so could someone explain to me, or at least point me in the right direction, about DVRs?
Please?
I can only conclude I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate. -
dangus — 10 years ago(August 20, 2015 06:34 PM)
If you have digital cable or satellite, you're probably stuck using whatever the cable or sat provider uses.
There's ways to do a PVR using a computer that has a TV tuner card. Look into BeyondTV, or MythTV. -
Speed_Daemon — 10 years ago(August 21, 2015 02:41 AM)
Look here:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/42-hdtv-recorders/1460149-2014-list-consumer-available-dvr-s.html
That's a comprehensive list of most if not all available DVRs on the market today. -
crazyivanova — 10 years ago(August 27, 2015 09:07 PM)
Thank you, both, so very much for your replies. I appreciate it a lot. The links are very helpful. It seems like, if I want to record from broadcast, there are more subsciptionless options than for trying to record from cable. If I'm understanding this right, it has to do with how they encode it, right?
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Speed_Daemon — 10 years ago(August 29, 2015 03:13 AM)
Not sure what you mean by subscription. All OTA channels in the US are free AFAIK.
The models that provide their own EPG usually charge for that, because they're buying it from Tribune Media Services. If you don't mind checking every day, most OTA stations send out as much as a day's worth of future programming, which is free but does require more diligence on your part. You can always use TV Guide or Zap2it to know when to program shows ahead of time. -
crazyivanova — 10 years ago(August 29, 2015 11:24 AM)
I didn't really know what else to call it. Yes, OTA is free but I'm wanting to record from cable channels. Is EPG some kind of program guide?
I can only conclude I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate. -
Speed_Daemon — 10 years ago(September 02, 2015 07:35 PM)
EPG stands for "electronic program guide", yes. And generally speaking, cable is a pay-for service that you must subscribe to to get any channels. And in most cases you'll have to rent some equipment to view any of those channels. Most throw in the EPG for free.
With broadcast every broadcaster is a free agent. Most channels include up to 24 hours of EPG data in their live signal, and many DVRs can read that data. If you want to see beyond 24 hours, you'll need to subscribe to some service, be it online or on the DVR. -
crazyivanova — 10 years ago(September 03, 2015 10:08 AM)
I already subscribe to cable television. Back in the 80s and 90s, I could plug up a VCR to that cable system and record whatever, so why does it cost a monthly fee to do the same thing with a DVR? Is it because of the EPG?
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crazyivanova — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 08:02 PM)
You know, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall having a cable box back in the 90s like that. I could plug in the VCR to it but it would only record the channel the cable box was on.
I can only conclude I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate. -
Speed_Daemon — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 08:27 PM)
Yep! I have little working memory of it myself, as I had a unique ability to find places to live where I couldn't get cable. But the few times I did, I recall the "basic" channels being directly viewable, and recordable on a VCR with a "cable ready" tuner. The premium channels required a cable box to descramble them. Sometimes the descrambled channels could be recorded from the cable box, albeit manually. Other times the cable box put out a signal that was suitable for viewing on a TV, but with the same Macrovision distortion signal that was found on prerecorded movies. In those cases you could record the basic channels, but couldn't record the premium ones even with the box.
With DTV, the FCC mandated that cable companies offer CableCards to customers with so-equipped DVRs, so that they can (somewhat) easily record from cable directly. The new system typically prevents flagged content, mostly from premium channels, from being copied from the DVR. -
Marmadukebagelhole — 10 years ago(September 04, 2015 04:56 AM)
If you have cable then you already use an EPG unless your cable box is over 15 years old or something.
The higher sbsciption for Cable DVR boxes is just because it's a higher spec, higher value piece of hardware that your renting from them.
You can google "Digital video recorder with inputs". Check which models have inputs which correspond with the outputs of your cable box.
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crazyivanova — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 08:05 PM)
If you have cable then you already use an EPG unless your cable box is over 15 years old or something.
This is what confuses me. If I'm already subscribing to the EPG then why would the DVR cost a subscription fee. If it was equipment rental I could understand but if I buy a standalone unit why does it still cost money every month to operate it?
I can only conclude I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate.