The Zinwell ZAT-980 is also available under the Brite View brand.

http://www.brite-view.com/980h.php

Here is the user manual (very basic)

http://www.brite-view.com/pdf/980h_user_manual.pdf

Do we know if and when the broadcasters are going to provide the EPG over the air to make full use of these ATSC PVRs?

Would be interesting to now if the hard drive recordings will be readable by a Windows PC.

We've had an ongoing discussion about EPGs so check in on the following thread instead:

OTA On-Screen & Third Party Electronic Program Guides (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=117315)

Regarding your question about using a PC to read your ATSC box's hard drive the place to ask about that is in the HTPC Forum (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=31) because it all depends on the specific brand/model of ATSC DVR/PVR you are using. Some use proprietary disk layouts, while others use Linux variants. I don't know of any that use Windows-based disk formating though, but the HTPC gurus likely will.

Hi Stampeder, thanks , that is good info. Fom one of tbe postings there I have noted one poster mentioned that his TV can extract about 12 hours of the EPG in advance - not sure if that was a TV limitation or a broadcaster limitation. I was hoping to steer this into a discussion toward this units capability to extracting and updating the EPG from the PSIP data by first determining the broadcasters' limits.


My second question is kind of answered in one of the specification downloads - the external harddrive is formatted according to the standard Windows base hard drives formats - FAT32 & NTFS. So I believe there would be a good chance that one will be able to read the recorded file on a Windows based PC. (Unlike my Bell PVR HDD)

In the end I guess the proof will be in the pudding for both questions.

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knows about an OTA-to-HDMI HD converter that has the capability of adding an external HDD to transform it into a PVR.

I am planning to cancel my Bell satellite subscription and I would like to re-use the 1TB HDDs that I currently have hooked to the 6141 receivers.

Is there such a device?

Thank you.

The following OTA PVR can take an external USB drive

DViCO TVix 6620n (available from New Egg Canada)

Brite-View BV-980H (available from The Source)

Hi Betamax,

Thanks very much, but I think I did not express myself clearly. Apologies.

I am actually looking for an OTA receiver that is NOT a PVR but would accept an USB external HDD to transform it into a PVR. This would be similar to my 6141s that I plan to retire. I could not afford to buy OTAs with PVRs, unfortunately.

Any more ideas?...

If you've got a relatively recent computer, just add a TV tuner card and plug the USB hard drives into the comp. I actually disected my external drive and used the drive inside my HTPC...

was gonna suggest the same thing. Could make a decent Home Theatre with terrabyte drives.
There's plenty of hardware devices to choose from. An HD Homerun is a cool device.

ATSC PCI cards (http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/ATSC_PCI_Cards)

ATSC PCIe cards (http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/ATSC_PCIe_Cards)

ATSC USB Devices (http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/ATSC_USB_Devices)

ATSC Network Attached Devices (http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/ATSC_Network_Attached_Devices)

My final pull of the plug on Bell is approaching and the apparent release at the end of the summer of this new product from ePVision is going to be just on time. It should have been released last year but, from the comments that I have seen on other forums I believe the developers were trying to optimize the design to get as much bang for the buck as possible and to address the feedback that they have been receiving from potential customers.

In summary:

Key Technical Features:
432 MHz MIPS CPU
HD 720p/1080i
Best-in-class video quality:
Video scaling and enhancements output
ATSC/QAM Tuner
Multimedia from USB:
a) JPEG View Controls:
b) MP3 Player
DTV Programs Transport Stream (TS) data
contents recording and playing back from
USB.

Inputs:
ATSC/QAM Dual RF Inputs

Outputs:
1x HDMI (up to 720p/1080i/1080p) output
1x Digital Optical (SPDIF) output
1x USB port for recording/playing TS files.

Controls:
Front Panel key controls
IR Remote Control

You could sign up on their web site to get a preview discount coupon - not exactly sure what that is or what the final selling price is going to be.

It's great to see that more standalone PVR/DVR options for OTA viewers are becoming available.

Just noticed that The Source is now carrying in its online shop the Bright-View 980H OTA Digital TV Recorder. 320GB hard drive and USB for 2TB external drive. http://www.thesource.ca/estore/Product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=DigitalCable&product=1535503

Now that my local CTV station (CKCO) has transitioned to digital...I just have to say how excited I am that I can finally record my local news on my digital-only CM7000DTVPal!!!!

I wonder if our proud forum sponsor will be carrying the new HDHomeRun Tech 3?? Dual ATSC tuners and more. But quite the price tag at $299 US...

My friend is looking for an ATSC PVR Recorder that would also be able
to record from other sources.

In fact he was looking to find a fully loaded box with:
- Playback MKV/AVI/MPG (Media Player)
- Recording from OTA / VHS Player / DVD player
- OTA receiver

Any full package available?

Thanks

You are likely going to need a PC to do all of those as I believe most standalone ATSC PVRs don't offer any other functionality - except a TiVo.

An HTPC will easily do all that. In fact if he's got a computer that's even remotely recent, he can jut buy an ATSC tuner card that also has AV inputs. The inputs will record from the VHS, a built in DVD drive would be best for ripping DVDs, and the tuner card will allow playing and recording of OTA broadcasts.

I believe there are other options available, but I've tried a few and prefer the flexibility of an HTPC. Plus storage is so cheap, I can't stand that Telus wants $250 for an HD PVR with a 320 GB hard drive. They say "And with a 320GB hard drive, it's the only HD PVR you'll need."... Please!!! I've got a 1.5 Tb drive in my HTPC dedicated to PVR usage and I've filled about 700 Gb of it... If I ever fill that another $50-75 buys me another or bigger drive. :D

hsantos,

I've got a TVIX R3310 PVR that will do everything except .MKV files. You can plug a DVD or VCR into the audio/video input and record to mpeg. They have newer units that also do .MKV files. A few notes on these units, you can buy without HDD and add after. I added 1TB green low energy drive. ATSC tuner on R3310 not bad but not as good as most new TV's. New units may be better. Firmware on these units is buggy and you may have to try different versions to get everything working. Mine works fine, and I know how to work around any of the bugs. Also these units are not real cheap. They are a very nice media player and PVR that can be networked to a PC. It all works nicely on a remote and uses PSIP EPG for recording or set like VCR time and channel.

Looks like next gen DVR by Channel Master with WIFI

Features

View and record local over-the-air digital broadcast
The most HD movies streaming on demand (Vudu™)
Highest quality HD movie streaming available (1080p) by Vudu™
Records digital TV and HDTV
Dual Tuned DVR allowing two programs to record simultaneously
Pausing, fast forward and rewind functions
Electronic programming guide and TV guide functions
Social networking + photo sharing apps (Picasa™, Flickr ™)
Advanced search features, schedule recordings, and parental control settings

Video

480i/480p
720p
1080p/1080i

Audio

Dolby® Digital and Dolby® Digital Plus

Tuners

Dual ATSC/Clear QAM¹
No monthly subscription fee
Includes a one year manufacturer's limited warranty

Recording Capacity

320GB Hard Disk Drive²
Up to 35 hours of HD recording³
Up to 150 hours of SD recording³

Wireless

Built-in 802.11b/g/n

Dimensions

10(w) x 7(d) x 1.75(h) inches

Rear Panel Features

RJ-45 Ethernet
USB 2.0
HDMI®
eSATA
Digital Audio (Optical)
RF output
RF antenna/cable input
RCA component and composite video
Stereo audio

Front Panel Features

Illuminated power standby button
Indicators for network status, HD and recording status
USB 2.0
IR receiver
Capacitive touchpad
Clock display

¹ Clear QAM support varies city by city, check your cable provider for compatibility.
² Recording capacity is an estimate and depends on the type of programming being recorded.
³ Recording hours are estimated and subject to change.
Requires an antenna for free broadcast TV.
Requires a broadband Internet connection for web movies and apps.

http://www.channelmasterstore.com/HD_DVR_with_no_subscription_p/cm7400.htm

CM 7400 Brochure
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/cm-7400_cmtv_brochure_30aug11_web.pdf

CM 7400 Product Sheet
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/channel%20master%20tv%20slick_2aug11_web.pdf

I like! I like!