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Channel Master DVRs For OTA

363K views 982 replies 152 participants last post by  Gibsons 
#1 ·
This should work in Canada too. My TV guide on my old DVD recorder displayed Canadian TV station content, so this machine should too.

From C-Net:

EchoStar TR-50: An HD DVR for those without cable or satellite
(Credit: EchoStar)

If you think everybody has cable or satellite, you couldn't be more wrong. In fact, if you live in an area that's well-served by digital broadcasters, now's a better time than ever to get your TV over the air (or "OTA," as the cool kids say): yeah, you get only a handful of channels, but they're in crystal-clear digital quality--DVD quality at "worst," uncompressed high-definition at best. The problem--as we're reminded by many an e-mailer--is that there just isn't a good DVR solution for the rabbit-ears crowd, especially if you prefer high-def. (You can opt for a TiVo HD, but you'd still have to pay a monthly fee for their programming guide.) But that may finally be changing, thanks to the EchoStar TR-50. For all intents and purposes, the TR-50 takes many of the features found on Dish Networks' excellent satellite DVRs (such as the ViP622 and 722) and brings them to antenna-based TV viewers.

The unit offers ATSC and NTSC tuners, so it can view and record over-the-air HD digital, standard digital, and analog channels. Dual tuner action means you can watch (and record) one live channel while simultaneously recording a second--or record two channels while playing back a previously recorded show. There's also full control over live TV, including rewind, pause, slow motion, 10-second "instant replay," and--for recordings--30-second skip. The TR-50 also sports a 7-day electronic program guide (using over-the-air metadata on the digital band), which should eliminate the pesky VCR-style manual "timer recordings" (you remember: "8:00-9:00 p.m. / Thursdays / channel 4"). The box also has a full range of outputs, including component and HDMI (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i resolutions supported), as well as standard-def composite and RF outputs for older TVs. Dish hasn't yet specified the internal hard drive size, but the USB 2.0 connector will ensure expandable storage. Perhaps most interestingly, the TR-50 includes an Ethernet port and the ability to decode MPEG-4 video, and EchoStar touts its ability to "access premium Internet-based TV programming via broadband Internet," as well as "DVR management and timer creation via Internet"--though the timeframe for such features wasn't disclosed. Likewise, the exact release date and pricing information remain a mystery. But if it's affordable--and lacks TiVo's monthly fee--the TR-50 may be the perfect fit for TV viewers without satellite or cable who still want to enjoy HD programming on their own schedule.

Separately, EchoStar also announced the TR-40. That model is merely a digital set-top box (no DVR). It will let analog TV owners (or those with HD monitors that lack a tuner) receive digital and high-def signals over the air--a necessity after the scheduled February 2009 analog TV shutdown.
 
#953 ·
@Inglewood Thanks for the quick reply! I haven't recorded anything yet from CTV or Global - I'll report on how that goes. I'll also check out that AVS thread, too. I'm quite happy with how the CM DVR performs, so far, other than recording playback. Admittedly, I've only had it a few days. We'll see how long term goes. I think CM is fortunate that there aren't a whole lot of alternatives on the market, because having to gamble on hard drives isn't a great selling feature. I suppose I should assume some of the blame for this issue. When Amazon indicated that people frequently bought that HD with this DVR, I didn't research any further. Hmmm, my wife takes a LOT of photos. Maybe she needs another HD...
 
#955 ·
try recording something on that channel, see if it nags at you instead of recording.
 
#958 ·
It's been replaced by the cm-7600 (Stream+). It's an android tv based dvr using Google Live Channels app dvr. It's in pre-order state right now.

But, we don't know yet if Canada is supported. I have a Nvidia Shield with a hdhomerun tuner and I can't setup Google live Channels dvr. The network tuner input doesn't show into the app. From silicondust dust forum, it appears that this feature is not available in Canada yet. Since the stream+ has 2 internal tuners, it is not clear if this limitation also applies.
 
#959 ·
I'm on the pre-order list for the Stream+ as I wanted another DVR+ and they are no longer available. I'll let the forum know how I like it once it is available and I have it hooked up.

My assumption is that the Stream+ will have the same features as the DVR+ that work in Canada - that is YouTube and CMTV that has a few channels (WGN News from Chicago, RT, RT Documentary and a bunch of foreign language, religious, and low-budget alternative news/lifestyle channels) that are not geo-blocked in Canada.

Also, CM has moved their guide content from Rovi to their own servers on the DVR+ and assume the support will also be on the Steam+ with a internet connection. The guide is a full 2 weeks for all the Canadian and U.S. channels I receive - and don't see why the newer product won't have this same guide.

I'm also keeping an eye on DVR+ prices on the secondary market - they are still pricey, but the Stream+ doesn't offer anything to me that the DVR+ already does (OTA recording and guide). If I can get a DVR+ cheap, I may not follow through on my commitment on the Stream+
 
#962 ·
Google is a little over the top about copyright. Google dvr will work only on adopted storage (encrypted) and the recordings are saved in the os protected section. That means the recordings can only be watched on the same device. Also no easy mean to extract your recordings unless you root the device to get access to the protected area.

From what I read on a article, cm has some issues to work out with usb hard drive adopted storage.
 
#963 ·
MicroSD slot for DVR storage, up to 512GB (USB
functionality coming soon) ?
MicroSD could be a little slow and expensive for OTA recording. I'd have some concerns with longevity as well. An external USB hard drive would be the better option. And why the 512MB limit? Then there is the ATSC 1.0 tuner. Why not ATSC 3.0? When combined with storage encryption, those will kill any possibility of me purchasing of one of these units at any price. That assumes a Canadian version becomes available.
 
#965 ·
My Channel Master 7000 just died and I sent a message to their support team who suggested I try unplugging it and plugging it back in (um, yes, I tried that already...) and then suggested I buy the Stream +. I asked them yesterday if the channel guide would be supported in Canada and they said it doesn't provide guide information for Canadian channels. So, basically, its useless to me. What's the point of a recorder if you can't get information through the guide?

I'm not sure I want to buy the DVR+ given its already stopped being supported by the company.

Anyone got any other suggestions? Our old channel master did the job without needing to run another computer - so I liked the ease of it. Despite the attractive packaging of the Stream+ it certainly seems like it won't be a useful product here unless I'm missing something obvious.
 
#966 ·
I would think that the Stream+ would have Canadian channels in the guide. The DVR+ does, and Channel Master just recently changed the server for the DVR+ guide to match that of the Stream+ when it launches. It has all the Canadian channels in my area listed with guide info for 2 weeks.

As not much info is out about the Stream+, you may want to wait on it.

If you are looking for a temporary solution until ATSC 3.0 standard launches, you may want to pick up a used PVR as both the DVR+ and Stream+ will be bricks in a few years anyways.
 
#967 ·
@wirebound, What are the symptoms?
Have someone handy with electronics evaluate your Channel Master DVR.
The CM-7000 is probably 8 to 10 years old and is a prime candidate for having a simple power supply
failure.
 
#968 ·
There's a warning message that pops up that I haven't seen anywhere before (or in my google searches)

"Warning A697 - Attempting Recovery. Vital Program Information Must be Downloaded to your CM7000PAL"

Then it changes between loading and doing nothing and no matter what I do, nothing changes.
 
#971 ·
@Jase88 - we could wait to buy a PVR to try out the newer Channel Master - the timing just sucks with the breakdown of the old one. I'm mostly interested in getting a 'one-box solution' where I can pause, record live TV. If its a matter of waiting a month and a half and spending $150US or buying now and spending $400-500 on a Tivo/or similar device, I'd probably just wait. One option could be Plex Pass. We have the free version but not the paid version and it looks like it could also record live TV. Don't know much about that though, or if it offers a guide on screen.
 
#972 ·
My CM7000 died last year, and I went with the Tivo Roamio. I considered repairing the CM7000PAL, but it really is obsolete now compared to other products available.

Your CM7000pal may be suffering with a power supply issue as Majortom indicated...or the HDD is done (a common failure with these DVR's). This thread does contain instructions to replace the HDD if you're comfortable attempting that.

Unfortunately it's a bad time to upgrade OTA DVR's right now. There is plenty of good selection out there, it's just that none of the current offerings support ATSC 3.0. And if you live within range of US stations, which will likely adopt ATSC 3.0 before Canadian stations, this could be an issue in the near future.
 
#973 ·
The Stream+ has started shipping for early pre-order customers according to Channel Master:

Currently on back-order due to popular demand, this Android TV box and OTA DVR has just arrived in our warehouse! Customers who pre-ordered prior to January 4 will soon have their Stream+ units. Our next shipment is scheduled to arrive in April.
 
#975 ·
I'm not sure if anyone has their Stream+ already, but I received mine on Saturday and I will give you the pros and cons of the Stream+, especially as compred to the DVR+ which I have owned for years already.

Pros:
It's fast during navigation and loading/unloading android apps.
OTA reception is better and more stable. It was stable on the DVR+ too but a few channels can't seem to "lock in" for me, they do on the Stream+.
I hooked up my 2TB external hard drive today so that review is pending but so far so good!
Not really a pro but the SD card is a plus, BUT I hooked up a 32GB card and couldn't use it for recording (too small). Only worked for pausing playback. On the DVR+ you could record programs using the on board 16GB so I'm assuming the Stream+ doesn't use any compression?

Cons:
It is lacking many features of the DVR+. Such as:
Signal Meters. For me I like to check my signal strength on a regular basis.
Manual channel scanning. Sometimes my OTA channels come and go and I don't want to do a FULL re-scan of all channels.
The guide data is terrible compared to the DVR+. It doesn't get any guide data from CBC for some reason. Most of the time you have to actually go to that specific channel for the guide data to show up, instead of having it show up automatically. And of course the 2 day guide data is no good. I need the 14 days like we have on the DVR+. Hopefully this gets fixed.
Another con is I can't see any CANADIAN apps in android TV. It's all American apps and most of them don't work because you need a subscription to an American cable or sat provider. There is no place to enter what country you live in. There is a location service from Google that is supposed to locate you but that doesn't seem to be working?

That's what I have so far. I don't want to get into the "Known Issues" on the channel master site as those are already documented although I did mention a few here too.

If you have any questions about it, I will be happy to try and answer them for you!
 
#977 ·
@Wilson7777 - thanks for the review. I signed up to get a Stream+ when they launched, but passed on it as I have no issues with my DVR+.

The issues with seeing signal strength and manual channel scanning sound like deal breakers for me. I use those all the time on the DVR+. I wouldn't use the Android apps as I have all the ones I want on my Windows computer connected to my TV.

The only benefit I would have is that high-bitrate channels on my DVR+ skip the audio occasionally when playing back a recording - however, I think I can live with it until ATSC 3.0 launches and we all will need new boxes.

Thanks for the Canadian perspective as well - all the other reviews I've seen are for U.S. users. Let us know how things go over the coming months.
 
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