ATSC DVR & PVR Recorders

[stampeder]

An option is an ATSC-equipped FTA receiver, so a few posts have been moved to this thread that covers the topic:

ATSC Tuners in Satellite or Cable Receivers

[roger1818]

Another option is the DTVPal PVR, but it doesn't have a DVD burner. To get that, you could use a HTPC, but that could cost you more than $400 unless you already have a PC you can use.

[Rudster]

Hello Steve,

Just read the specs...The Channel Master 7000 is exactly what i am looking for...does not matter that it does not have a DVD player/burner. I already have two of those...I will also check out the Sonic view HD 8000 but right now the Channel Master 7000 sounds pretty good.

Thanks for the tip!
RD

[Rudster]

Ok time to recap...

No such thing as a HDD Dual tuner w/DVD player-recorder that can
record and then burn to disc in High Definition.

Channel Master 7000PAL PVR and DTVPAL PVR are the same unit.
SonicviewHD8000 is an FTA receiver

Please edit this if I have made a mistake and/or add other
important information.

CM7000PALPVR/DTVPALPVR.....MagnavoxH2160MW9_le.....SonicviewHD8000

Hard disc drive...Yes....................Yes...................No (can add on)
Dual OTA tuner...Yes....................Yes...................No (has ATSC and Sat tuner)
rec/plays HD.......yes....................NO....................Yes(wi th added HDD)
elec/prog guide....yes....................NO...................Yes(may be not so good)
No subscripfees.....Yes..................Yes................... Yes
HDMI output........Yes...................Yes...................Ye s? (saysHDTVoutput)
Ethernet port.......yes...................No......................?
USB 2.0 port........Yes...................No....................Yes
DVD play/record.....No..................Yes(SD)..............No

Thanks...RD

[poutanen]

^^^

- Not sure what gen the tuner is in my TV (Samsung HL67A750) but the performance on low quality channels is on par between the two.

- The time zone settings ARE a pain in the ass, but also a pain in the ass is each channel having their own time info. Long ago I chose to just manually change the time.

- As for recording, that has more to do with the drive than the PVR. I remember researching that issue before buying my external drive, and I've only had probably 5 out of 250 recordings fail on me. Possibly due to recording weak channels.

Conclusion: There is NO good OTA PVR out there that doesn't require a subscription to get EPG info. The DTVPal still has major issues as far as I know... So the 8000 is still the best of the worst. I believe the tivo has it's own file format, or are the *.tivo files just transport streams? The SV-HD8000 records in raw transport streams which makes them easy to work with for archiving. No file conversion, a 2 hour HD movie can be remuxed in a few minutes, while any kind of conversion takes much longer (at least on my computer).

Bottom line, I think an HTPC is still the way to go. It's not without it's own problems though. I've heard of TV Guide issues in Canada, not working with Windows Media Centre? Higher initial cost, etc.

I hope one day there is a reasonable GOOD OTA PVR...

[Wirenut]

The other issue with an HTPC is that you don't have the convenience of a real PVR which is having all the controls at your fingertips. Namely a full-function remote control to pause, rewind , fast forward, slomo, access the channel guide, schedule recordings, etc...

You have to access the program's menus with a mouse, which is a real pain when you're trying to change channels or pause.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by Wirenut

The other issue with an HTPC is that you don't have the convenience of a real PVR which is having all the controls at your fingertips. Namely a full-function remote control to pause, rewind , fast forward, slomo, access the channel guide, schedule recordings, etc...

You have to access the program's menus with a mouse, which is a real pain when you're trying to change channels or pause.

This is totally untrue. You can very easily get a remote control for your PC - in fact remote controls with IR receivers and IR blasters are often bundled with TV tuner cards, although not necessarily OTA tuner cards. There is even a specific remote control sold by MS for Windows Media Center. Windows Media Center, BeyondTV, SageTV and MythTV are all designed to be used by a remote control from a destance - the UI for WinMC is often called a 10 foot UI since it is meant to be used from 10 feet away sitting on your coach and uses large fonts that are readable from that distance.

You can also buy remote controls for PCs for <$20 on eBay. Once you have an IR receiver on your PC you can also use external programs like Girder or EventGhost although they are not necessary for most PVR functions. You also have the option of using a keyboard which is a better way to enter text when searching for TV shows.

I use the same Harmony remote with my HTPC that I use with my cable box, DVD player, AVR, etc.

There are inital setup issues with getting the TV guide data in Windows Media Center but that is a one-time issue and once you have that done you are set. There are also other PVR software options such as MythTV (for Linux) and SageTV (for Windows, Mac, Linux) that work perfectly with Canadian OTA.

HTPCs also offer a whole bunch of other functionality, such as ability to playback other media files (i.e. downloaded movies, music, etc), ability to watch online streaming video from TV network websites or Youtube, ability to transfer your shows to other PCs or burn to DVD/BluRay, ability to automagically skip commercials, ability to integrate several different sources (OTA+cable) in one system, ability to have several tuners to record several channels at once, ability to add more hard drive storage as required, etc.

They can be more expensive initially and more work to set up and maintain but they offer a premium solution to this issue. There is also no subscription fee required.

[poutanen]

^^^ You forgot a major one IMHO, the ability to stream recorded shows to other TVs in the house. I'm still planning on a full MythTV setup one of these days...

[Walter Dnes]

A few questions about the Silicon Dust HD Homerun. I'm seriously considering it, but I want to know...

• Does it have an internal drive, or is recording accomplished by streaming to a capture program on your computer?
• How sensitive is the tuner for fringe area reception?
• I shouldn't have to ask this but I will... can you add channels manually, or are you stuck withe results of a scan?

[Walter Dnes]

I stumbled across the official SiliconDust support forum, and posted the same question there. The official answers are...

Originally Posted by Walter Dnes

[*]Does it have an internal drive, or is recording accomplished by streaming to a capture program on your computer?

All recording is done on your PC. There is no internal storage in the HDHomerun.

Originally Posted by Walter Dnes

[*]How sensitive is the tuner for fringe area reception?

It depends

Originally Posted by Walter Dnes

[*]I shouldn't have to ask this but I will... can you add channels manually, or are you stuck withe results of a scan?

Yes and no. The provided software requires you to scan... but you can set an option to NOT wipe the previous data when scanning. In "set theory" teminology, the result is a union of the scans. For instance, I could scan for Toronto/Buffalo stations, repoint the antenna for Hamilton and scan again. The resulting PSIP table will be all of the stations found in either or both of the scans.

[Wayne]

The HDHR is essentially a tuning device for a PC, just like devices that plug into internal slots or into a USB port - so it is a PC peripheral. The difference is that it works over your LAN so it doesn't have to be located right at your PC. It is not a PVR on its own - it requires a PC plus PVR based software.

Regarding the third question - that depends on what software you use. Most people would use software like Windows Media Center, SageTV, BeyondTV or MythTV. I think with any of these software programs you can manually add channels as well.

That being said, IMHO a PC makes the best PVR on the market. It is somewhat more work to setup and maintain but it has MUCH more functionality than a standalone PVR.

[jft436]

I am looking for a High Definition pvr or DVR hard drive recorder that works similar to the unit with rogers or bell. I do not want a computer pvr or a dvd recorder/dvd burner.I have a HD antennae in the Toronto area and I receive most of the HD content except ion 51

Tivo has a premiere model that sells for 299 plus a 12.00 rental fee a month. They do not sell the unit in canada because it is not cable compatible with a cable card but it will work with a ota antennae. The problem is I have to get it into Canada from the USA best buy does not sell that model here.

There is an other unit called a moxi dvr but I had little success with that company as it relates to Canada.

Basically I want to terminate my Bell HD and I have confirmed their PVR does not work unless you are receiving programing from them.

Is anyone using a PVR with on screen graphics and programming content that they are really happy with and easy to use. I scanned the previous posts and nothing jumped out at me.

[poutanen]

Well read through this forum because there's a lot of info here. But take it from a guy who's recently switched. Don't rule out a HTPC/PVR... the TV guide info is superb compared to the PSIP based info most standalne PVRs go off. And you'd be willing to pay Tivo $12 a month for basically a TV Guide? For $299 I'll build you an HTPC that you don't have to pay $12 a month to use...

[jft436]

Poutanen

Thanks for the offer I presume a htpc pvr works from a computer. I want something very similar to the 9200from bell or the rogers cable box. It is basically for my wife and her shows and I believe she could potentially be electronically challanged by htpc pvr unit and perhaps even myself.


I did glance through the previous posts and they start back in 2007 and a lot changes in electronics has occurred during that period of time and I was looking for the latest and the greatest and the Tivio is the closest that I have seen that my fits my needs but I am always open to suggestions. Quite frankly I am tried of Bell and I wanted to fully utilize my ota antennae which gives me excellent reception here in the Toronto area.

[blueroomelectro]

I built a dual antenna (US, Canada) triple tuner DVR using SageTV. Great guide works like a charm.