Antenna DVR (like TIVO)

packbuck · 6-Jun-2011, 1:05 AM

Magnavox MDR-513H/F7 320GB DVR and DVD Recorder ($199).

I have 2 of these. I was ticked off at DIRECTV, so I cancelled them after 7 years. I couldn't stand being without TIVO, so I found this baby!!! It works like TIVO. It will record up to 300 hours of Antenna programming to it's hardrive for you!!!

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS... IT DOESN'T ORGANIZE IT LIKE TIVO and you have to program it yourself (http://www.abc4.com/entertainment/listings/default.aspx). I called TIVO and they wanted me to pay $300 for their unit and $400 for their lifetime subscription. If I would have gone the TIVO route---their DVR didn't have as big of a hard drive, so it wouldn't have been able to record as many shows either.

The Magnavox isn't near as fancy, but it does the trick.

If you're looking for something to record over the air HD shows or standard TV on the cheap---this is it. It's also a DVD recorder/player.

Good luck--thought I'd pass it along. I looked a long time to find this baby.

You can buy it on Amazon. I stopped by WalMart to buy it and they had no clue what I was talking about (even though their website advertised it was available online).

Packbuck

PS I'm saving over $1,000 a year by cutting Directv out of my life. They don't own me ANYMORE!!!

wizwor · 5-Nov-2011, 9:23 PM

I have five DTVPal DVRs and love them. They aren't as smart as TIVO, but they are smart enough for me. Two tuners off the same coax is very convenient. Pause, rewind, skip commercials, record, and playback for ~200 is a great deal for me.

be236 · 6-Nov-2011, 1:53 AM

$200 is a bit steep for an OTA DVR...

Are there any cheaper units (say, less than $100)?

wizwor · 6-Nov-2011, 3:24 AM

I have build HTPCs and tried some less expensive alternatives. I have found nothing close to this for <$200. You get the nice Dish interface, a big disk, and dual tuners.

be236 · 6-Nov-2011, 3:36 AM

Yeah, I got a Dish DTVpal DTV converter box and their user interface is very easy to use, I like it.

Still, I would think they should make something similar in an OTA DVR for less than $100.. Oh well...

wizwor · 6-Nov-2011, 3:51 AM

i know it feels expensive, but once you pay, you're done paying. With TIVO and others the cost of lifetime subscription can mean a $700 dvr. Even the 'free' DVRs require annual payment for tv guide service.

be236 · 7-Nov-2011, 7:04 AM

So your "DTVPal DVRs," do the require a monthly subscription fee (by Dish Network)?

wizwor · 7-Nov-2011, 10:22 AM

no fees at all. lifetime tvguide service is included in the purchase price.

btw, dish no longer sells these. you can buy them from crutchfield or on ebay (most stores liquidated them at <$100). I got all five of mine off ebay for prices ranging from $150 to $300 for one with a 1t disk upgrade. The current model is the CM-7400. It retails for $400 and just came out in September. It includes web content...no netflix yet, but it promises more advanced features in the future.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_659CM74...r_dvr&skipvs=T
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...=p3286.c0.m359
http://www.channelmastertv.com/

packbuck · 7-Nov-2011, 8:11 PM

Channelmaster 130 hours storage (standard definition)
30 hours HD
$320

Magnavox 387 hours storage (standard definition)
90 hours HD
$200

I would have a hard time surviving with only 30 hours HD with all the sports I record and Fast-Moving shows in HD. All the Kiddie show I record in LP or SLP. However, we don't get around to deleting show for a LONG time.

The channelmaster sounds like it has a lot better set up as far as recording shows goes. I go to the internet to see what shows I want to record and program my DVR. Then I just sit back and let the DVR do its thing.

Good luck.

wizwor · 7-Nov-2011, 10:01 PM

I think the PAL is in between the TIVO and the MDR -- closer to TIVO. Unless I am mistaken, the MDR is more like a VCR. No TV Guide, right? For me, the guide is coveted. That I can search it or use it to schedule recordings is a plus. Maybe less valuable to others. I don't sell these things ;-)

Pretty good MDR comparison here (follow the first link)...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...86&postcount=1

wizwor · 8-Nov-2011, 6:43 AM

also, the channel master version of the original dtvpal is the cm-7000pal. though discontinued, these are available (google shopping/ebay) for ~$300.

hTrag428 · 9-Nov-2011, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packbuck

Magnavox 387 hours storage (standard definition)
90 hours HD
$200

Uh... You might want to rethink that. The Magnavox unit does not record HD. It will record an HD stream in SD.

Brian

be236 · 10-Nov-2011, 4:21 AM

How does that unit with TVGuide get its TVGuide programming, since it's free... does it just download the TV guide that's available from each channel/station and just aggregates them?

Also, what about the sensitivity of these Tuners, as compared with ATSC tuners lauded in newer Sony, LG , and Samsung TVs?

MisterMe · 10-Nov-2011, 2:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by be236

How does that unit with TVGuide get its TVGuide programming, since it's free... does it just download the TV guide that's available from each channel/station and just aggregates them?

Also, what about the sensitivity of these Tuners, as compared with ATSC tuners lauded in newer Sony, LG , and Samsung TVs?

Actually, you are talking about two different things, but both are free. TV Guide On Screen is transmitted by most PBS stations along with one or more select commercial stations. TVGoS is also transmitted by the TV Guide channel on many cable systems. Irrespective of its source, your TVGoS stream provides a complete listing of all programming, both broadcast and cable, for your area. The ATSC Programming and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is part of the ATSC digital broadcast standard. It provides a standard protocol for each broadcast stream to include a program schedule. Support for PSIP is spotty on both the broadcaster side and the TV set manufacturer side. Where properly implemented, an ATSC receiver may aggregate the PSIP schedules from each available subchannel and use them to construct a nice program listing. The result is not as nice as TVGoS, but it should be more up-to-date. It will also include only those channels that you actually receive because the information comes from the channels that you receive.

The bottomline is that digital program listings are free discounting the fact that you have to buy [or rent] the device that generates them. It is misleading to claim that a particular manufacturer supplies free lifetime TV Guide listings. No one offers this as a paid service.

be236 · 10-Nov-2011, 4:10 PM

Ok, so I have a DTVPal Plus converter box (this is NOT a DVR unit).

What I get is a TV-guide-like menu showing all my channels and their current and future shows. This I assume is what you mean by the ATSC programming per channel (as some channels shows the generic, "no info available.").

So, does this unit have a true TV Guide On Screen info that it should get from my local PBS station? Is there a way to tell?