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ATSC DVR & PVR Recorders (other than CM)

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345K views 730 replies 190 participants last post by  Jorgek 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I was wondering if anyone with a built in OTA tuner is able to record HD broadcasts using a regular dvd recorder? Or do I need to buy something with a Hard drive?

I imagine the TV will have to be turned on and tuned into the channel I want to record as well since the tuner is built in? I work swing shifts and might have to quit my job now that I am missing all these wonderful high-def broadcasts!

Somebody help me!:eek:
 
#319 ·
Hello Distox,

I'm very interested in this M6620n, since it might do everyhting I'm looking for...

yes it allows you to copy files to a PC. There are many ways
Do you know if it is possible to have a permanent setup where you can access the HD content of the M6620n from the PC, but via the network?
That way, Files could be moved to another harddrive or even accessed directly by another PC or media player attached to that network without having to connect/disconnect any cable?


From there, I just copied the rather large files to my PC. The files have an extension of .tp. I renamed them to .ts and was able to play with just about anything that supports that type of video and audio. It looks to be MPEG2 with AC3 5.1 on the ones I tried
So basically, the recording could be played directly from a PC or even a mediaplayer like a patriot boxoffice or wdtv without having to convert them to another video format (only have to rename the file)?

Does the device support time-shifting? (pause the programmed currently watch live, to review some part that we might have missed, because ... nature called...) :eek:

Thanks for all the info
Jay
 
#323 ·
EyeTv and some thoughts

Hi,
The observations made by blueroomelectro are probably valid - I do not have a multiple tuner setup so I can not confirm or deny his observations.
The program ran for 3 weeks straight and then crashed when I started doing something in the setup. Not the original version though but the latest update.
The crash was not severe - Os X held its ground and I restarted EyeTv within 5 seconds.
Timer recording works!
The editing feature is awkward and terribly slow. The Elgato folks should get a Pioneer DVR and see real elegant editing - for now EyeTv copies the file somewhere else and takes a loooonnngggg time. It is hopeless.
The Tv guide - selecting the right channel from the pay for guide will also change the broadcast station number on the menu. So CityTv on 31.1 in London Ontario shows up as 51.1 on screen. Not good.

There is one really great thing about this kind of setup though - you can take it anywhere -INCLUDING THE ATTIC AND THE ROOF. I have managed to set up an antenna in the attic while using my laptop to tell me the signal strength! I find this feature really cool, the only problem is finding it in the menu.

Over all, blueroomelectro is right - it is a work in progress.

I will now try to update my SonicView 8000HD with HD05 software and see if OTA DVR works. For now the Elgato has bought me some time.

A real home entertainment device should be able to play DVDs, BluRay discs and record Tv - just like we used to with the VCR. Now, I know that no computer can play Blu-Ray discs, but a PS3 can, an LG Blu-Ray player can too. Plugging an Elgato Hybrid into one of those USB slots certainly would not be too much of problem....
 
#324 ·
Does anyone know an OTA PVR that has a first-class tuner in it?

I know the tuner in my CM7000PAL is mediocre. I know my 5 year old Toshiba tv tunes better. I know my dad's new Toshiba t.v. smokes then both. And I've read that the Tivo has a particularly crappy tuner.

Is anyone aware of an OTA PVR that uses a new, first rate tuner chip?
 
#328 ·
Of the available OTA DVR products that are currently available what is the best solution for a simple recorder for OTA HD broadcasts? Is it worth waiting for the CM7400 or is there a better solution curretnly out there. The CM7000 doesn't seem to be getting very good feedback, the same with the Tivo for Canadians - and I'm definately not signing up for something that has ongoing fees...
 
#329 ·
Jakeman, my vote goes for an HTPC and here's why...

1) Most standalone OTA DVRs base their EPG on PSIP data which is sketchy at best. Sometimes you have a few hours or days of data, SOMETIMES it may go out to about 2 weeks. On the other hand, a Windows 7 MC based DVR downloads it's EPG from a 3rd party and you tend to have great EPG data out several weeks. I had a multiple tuner based solution and scheduled regular recordings as well as special ones and NEVER had an issue.

2) You can install multiple tuners and hook them to multiple antennae. This is particularly useful in Southern Ontario where Buffalo and Toronto may be in totally different directions, requiring two or more antennae to receive everything. With a single input DVR you are forced to either join antennas resulting in a loss, or you have to use a rotor. With an HTPC you can install multiple tuner cards and in Windows 7 Media Centre (and I'm sure Sage TV and others can support this too) you can select which channels are associated with specific tuners).

3) Networking... It is VERY nice to be able to have one PVR and multiple boxes to at least play off that PVR. There are multiple solutions out there to allow playback of recorded TV on other TVs in the same house, some of them very reasonable in price.

4) Storage: Some PVRs allow you to run an external drive, which is nice; however that requires buying an external drive (at a premium vs. internal) and it generally must be dedicated to the PVR. In my HTPC I've got a 1.0TB drive for my O/S, music, saved videos, etc. etc. etc., and another 1.5TB drive just for recorded TV. This is easily expandable to fit whatever I want size wise.

5) You may already have 90% of what you need. If you've got a comp with an HDMI output and at least a 500-750 GB drive, chances are all you need is a tuner card or USB tuner to get started. I could build a new computer today for about $400 plus O/S that would make a beauty HTPC plus fulfill regular PC duties as required...
 
#331 ·
Hello Jase88: I live in the small town of Logan Lake, 50 km from Kamloops BC.
I have today emailed Channel Master, expressed my disappointment with the CM-7000PAL experiment, and queried them about the viability of using their new CM-7400 when it becomes available. I will see what develops and keep you and this thread informed. In the interm I will keep my fingers crossed that it will work. I will check out your reference to a HTCP, but I am afraid that I am technicly challenged and just the thought of doing this scares me.
 
#332 ·
DTV Box with ASTC Tuner DVD Recorder and Analog TV Set

I have a new DVD Recorder with an ASTC tuner, but my TV is an analog TV tuner. So, when I record on my DVD recorder, I can use the built-in ASTC tuner. But when I want to watch regular TV, I have to use the DTV box. How do I wire this on a TV with no A/V Jacks?
 
#333 ·
using a video modulator, where u'd connect the video out, and audio out to the modulator input. The modulator would then output on Channel 3 or 4, and u'd tune ur old tv to channel 3 or 4 to watch. You can do the same thing using an old VCR as a standalone modulator.
 
#335 ·
If the recorder has only A/V out, use an RF modulator whuch has RF passthrough.

If it has RF out, use an RF A/B switch to switch between converter and recorder.

A may/may not work way would be to combine the RF out from the converter with the antenna RF in on the recorder, possibly with a filter/diplexer. Put the recorder in bypass mode to watch from the recorder.
 
#336 ·
OTA PVR running Win MC Embedded

Here is another Windows Media Center Embedded device. This one is an OTA PVR that has dual ATSC tuners and a 320GB hard drive (320GB in 2012 ??? I wonder why they wouldn't go with a 1TB hard drive?). It also should allow you to play media files from PCs and play streaming media services - Hulu and Youtube are mentioned (but not Netflix). Supposedly a BR drive is optional. You will be able to use an Xbox to act as an extender for this device.

This could be a good option for folks looking for an OTA PVR that could do a few other things as well.

Expected cost is $599 - which is actually a bit steep as I think you could put a PC together to do all this for less. I wonder if it will work for Canadians or not?

The only downside is that they made the same announcement 12 months ago and the expected price was $499 at that time.

http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2012/01/10/reycom-to-release-media-center-set-top-box-in-us/
 
#338 · (Edited by Moderator)
Can someone PLEASE provide a list of OTA PVR's

I just want a simple list of PVR's available to record OTA, in Canada.
I know about the Channel Master 3000. But is there anything else?
And I think I saw a Panasonic, but no hard drive and no HD recording.

And I do not want to record on my computer, thanks but no thanks.

HELP!

And thanks to anyone who can provide answers.
 
#342 ·
Good to see new stuff!

Greetings, pals... I discovered this forum when looking for solutions to last August's analog TV shutdown.
I'm in Vancouver, near Kits Beach and facing north from near sea level, with unobstructed line-of-sight to the Mt. Seymour transmitter farm. Since I'm north of a high ridge and in an apartment where towers are out of the question, I don't even try to get US channels.

Let me add a bit bout my perspective as I look at the digital OTA recorder options:

I hope I'm not violating the forum restrictions on politics by saying that I believe widely-available free television is important to an informed democratic civilization. That said, I was perfectly happy with my VHS VCRs and Samsung 27" NTSC TV. I also have two DVD players, a Zenith and a LITE-ON, which can play just about any disk format.

* I'd much rather invest in equipment than commit myself to perpetual subscription fees and recording/playback limitations.

* I'm not interested in any specialty channels, internet-based services, or program guides. I buy the paper every Friday, and there are only 7 channels to deal with; I have only dial-up internet. I get my movies from our excellent free library system, or at cinemas, if I can't tape them off the air.

* Dedicating a computer to television and leaving it on 24/7 won't do. They're noisy and produce a lot of heat, as well as burning power and wearing out. And I only run Linux.

* I won't buy anything on-line and, while I'd phone order for shipping, it would be nice to have a local store. I wouldn't mind driving down to the US, but getting a new birth certificate and passport for the new border rules would be an expensive pain.

* Being able to transfer to VHS, USB or DVD without restriction would be fantastic! I like to take things to watch with friends.

HDD recorders were tempting, but I chose to put off any upgrades until the digital conversion rather than have to replace everything. Alas, I found out that VCRs and HDDRs had been taken off the market, and the DVD/VCR combos with digital tuners couldn't record VHS off the air! Couple that with the limited recording time and cost of DVDs, and the fact that the protected format couldn't be played on any other devices (there goes watching one while recording another), and I gave up.

Some local stores (I shouldn't name them, right?) were quite helpful and let me take home pieces of equipment to test, and grateful for my reports of success. I ended up buying one TERK indoor amplified antenna (you were talking about them here) and a cheap $5 splitter to feed two tuner boxes, and get seven local channels perfectly, with dropouts perhaps twice a month. The quality is much better than my best analog reception ever was, though the 480-line image on a 525-line screen is a bit of a pain. Sometimes the nitwit broadcasters cut part of the subtitles off!

I like the HD Access tuner box best - it's small, provides a flawless composite signal, good function setup (including signal strength on a 1-100 scale) and remote. I wish it had a channel display so I could see the channel it's set to without turning on a VCR and monitor, though... and for some reason all those at the vendor had really poor-quality video and hum-plagued audio through their RF outputs, even using the store's cable input.

The iView tuner box is bigger and looks nicer, but its remote has dreadful buttons and needs to be less than five feet from the front of the tuner, pointed dead-on. Its screen fonts and functions are clunky, it has no channel display or signal strength indicator, but quality is good on both composite and RF outputs.

This is important because I can set one box to output on CH3 and one to CH4, allowing one VCR to automatically select from two pre-selected channels. I also have a two-composite-input VCR that can select from either composite output, but because of the poor RF from the HD Access box I usually run with the composite from each to a separate VCR. Composite video creams RF quality anyway; even the iView's RF output is no better than the best analog signal I used to get. Fine for daily news and most shows, though.

I have to leave the tuners on 24/7, burning power and wearing them out, because there's no way to program them, or control them from a recorder.

SO - I was overjoyed to see, during my latest visit here, the appearance of the Channel Master, Brite-View and DIVCO TVIX PVR M-6620N options! Auto channel changing, twin tuners and auto on/off!

The Channel Master 7000PAL has it all over he 7400PAL for me - I don't want to use a special (possibly soon to shut down) service, and wi-fi/networking and other frills. But it's $450 plus tax, and discontinued, so the 7400 is likely to be insanely priced. I see they have a Vancouver phone, though!

The Brite-View looks interesting, particularly as it can be had without a drive, and is under $200 - but it seems to have vanished, too? (I will take my channel results and source inquiries to the other threads.)

The TVIX is attractive, too - but also seemingly unavailable. I can't find a price.

Given these details, what do you folk suggest I try? Any other self-contained options? Lots of programmable event slots would be nice, too - at least 8.

ED BEAR<<(+*+)>>
(SASK//proved)
 
#346 ·
* Dedicating a computer to television and leaving it on 24/7 won't do. They're noisy and produce a lot of heat, as well as burning power and wearing out. And I only run Linux.
As others have said, you can buy a fanless computer that doesn't draw too much power and you can configure MythTV (which runs under Linux) to shut down the PC when not in use and power back on when the next program is scheduled to record. You can manually program it or for a mear $22 per year, you can get guide data to have it automatically find and record the programs you want.

though the 480-line image on a 525-line screen is a bit of a pain. Sometimes the nitwit broadcasters cut part of the subtitles off!
While the NTSC standard had 525 scanning lines, only 486 were ever active. This was later decreased to 480 lines. The other lines are called the vertical blanking interval and are always blank to give older magnetic CRTs time to move the beam back up to the top of the screen without drawing a diagonal line on the screen. If you are having problems with over-scan, double check that your STB is setup properly.
 
#343 ·
Not sure why you're against the PC option. You can create a fanless (i.e. silent) HTPC unit that runs Linux. The HDD will only spin during recording and playback if you set it to sleep after a short period of inactivity. Essentially all the boxes are just computers that you can't tweak nearly as much as a proper HTPC. You can output to DVD, thumb drive, whatever you want...

If you're willing to put in the time, creating a MythBuntu based setup could do all you want to do for probably a lot cheaper than any of the boxes, and it could do way more of what you're looking for.
 
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