Question on DVR's
 

After much tinkering, I am now getting acceptable reception with a new OTA setup, now I would like to to add a basic DVR. We have two televisions in the house and I would classify us as casual tv watchers. With our current, and almost ready to be dropped, Dish Network DVR we occasionally record a show to watch later and frequently pause live tv. Will the Channel Master DVR+ work for us? Can I connect two tv's? What about our Apple TV, can I connect to it through the DVR+? I would appreciate any recommendations on the DVR+ or any other options.

Charles

Hi Charles,
I went with Tivo over two years ago when they offered a Premier DVR for $199 and $9 per month for OTA use only. No regrets and I'm still $80 ahead every month compared to Time Warner. The current offer is for a Roamio DVR with four tuners for $199 and $15 per month
I like the programming and schedule based recording like Cable and Sat TV DVRs.
The Channel Master plus has two tuners which is a nice advantage over simpler stand alone DVRs. If I wanted a basic DVR with zero monthly costs I would probably go with the Channel Master plus. There is also software that makes your pc a dvr for recording and freezing live TV. I have not looked into that option lately. Two years ago it was not as user friendly as the Tivo but that may have changed.

Your Apple TV will plug directly into the TV with a HDMI cable. Switch between the DVR and Apple tV by changing input selection on your TV. I don't quite understand your question about plugging two TVs into a DVR. You will need a DVR for each TV location.

Phone Man, thanks for your input.

I've never really paid much attention to DVR's so I'm a little off balance trying to figure out our needs. We have both of our tv's hooked up to our current Dish Network DVR and I was hoping that we could do the same when we completely cut the cord. Of course the price of a second DVR is less than four months of what we are paying for satellite.

I've looked at the Tivo, but it would certainly feel good to go with zero $$$ per month, at least for awhile. Two years ago we purchased a Ooma box and ditched our landline, our phone charges went from $40 per month down to $3.50 per month. There is a great feeling knowing that you don't have to the over inflated fees every month.

The CM DVR+ does not come with built in Wi-Fi, you must purchase separate USB adapter. Will any adapter work, or do you have to spend $40 a get it from them? They are actually offering it for free right now, or you can get free shipping. I would opt for the free shipping and then purchase the adapter elsewhere for half the price.

A wired ethernet connection would be best. Can you run an ethernet cable from your modem to your TV location? I don't know if their Wifi adaptor is proprietory or if a generic wifi to USB adaptor would work. Maybe a call or email to Channel Master tech support would answer some of your questions.
I read a couple reviews of the CM+. The worst they had to say about it was the price and the small hard drive.

http://www.wired.com/2014/03/channel-master-dvr/

My experience with streaming devices is limited but I've found I like the Roku much better than the Tivo and better than the one built into my Sony TV.
I don't know what the CM+ streaming interface is like but you compare it to your Apple TV once you get things connected.

I do have Ethernet right to the TV, the result of a huge let's wire the house for everything about two years before wireless became useable. What is the difference in speed between wireless, (18 mps ATT DSL), and Ethernet? My so suggested that wireless was faster, thought I was skeptical.

The "Wire.Com" review was helpful, I had read several others but someone missed this one. It just seems like there is not a lot out there to choose from and the CM unit appears to do what I need. It looks like I will order it.

Thanks again!
Charles

That good! Use the ethernet cable over wireless any time you can. Both are plenty fast. Wired is simply more reliable. I have an ethernet hub behind the TV to connect everything, four devices.

Please post again after you've spent some time with the CM+. I'd like to hear more about it.

I've been planning my conversion from dish to ota + streaming and researching dvrs extensively. I've decided to go with tablo tv. if you already have a roku/appletv/chromecast at each tv, it's a great option imo.

This is very interesting! The up front cost is no worse than any other DVR option and four tuners is a very good thing for multiple TV's in a house or recording more than two shows at once. Thank you!

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13034

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=820