ATSC DVR & PVR Recorders

[stampeder]

Try to identify which ATSC chipset is in them. That LG has a 4th Generation but is an excellent performer, but if the Sony has a 5th Generation chipset I would buy it instead.

[FrankMac]

Thanks. Will do.
I wasn't even thinking about the tuner; I was more concerned with the functionality of the PVR/TVGOS side of things, but now that you've brought it up I'll keep it in mind. And the research continues...

[corndog]

I am looking for an ATSC DVR and the Pioneer 550/650 seem to fit the bill. I have a Pioneer 543 and I'm very happy with it. Any comments on general "usability" from owners of 550/650?

I occasionally se the LG 3410 on ebay but it doesn't seem to have a DVD burner. Comments?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

[globaldiv]

Just received my Philips DVDR3505/37 DVD recorder with SDTV tuner in the mail yesterday. It's a refurbished unit from Factory Direct online.

The unit did not come with a manual, but you can find one on Philips USA website.

I haven't had a chance to test out the record function, my focus last night was mainly on checking the strength of the tuner.

The initial scan for channels picked up both analog stations and digital stations. To switch between analog and digital you have to press the "DTV/TV" button on the remote.

Using my attic installed CM4221 and AP4700 preamp, the tuner held up pretty well in a head-to-head competition with my Samsung SIR-T451. It received all of the channels that I normally receive on the Samsung.

Channel surfing is pretty slow on this unit, as it is on the Samsung (a fact of life with most DTV tuners, I guess?).

Unlike the Samsung, the Philips does not have a signal strength meter, AFAIK.

One advantage the Philips has over the Samsung is that you have direct access to sub channels using the remote (e.g., press "7" + "." + "2" to get channel 7-2, WNGS Buffalo). With the Samsung you must first go to channel 7 ABC and then "channel up" to get to 7-2.

One disadvantage is that you cannot delete a sub-channel without deleting all of the channels on that frequency. For instance, you cannot delete 49-2, which provides identical programming (but in SD) as channel 49-1, without deleting 49-1 as well. The Samsung allows users to delete sub-channels without getting rid of the main channel.

Overall, I would say the Philips is a good tuner for the price. It's an all-in-one, DVD/CD player, DVD recorder and digital tuner. It's an affordable alternative to buying a converter box, DVD player, PVR, etc.

I will post later on the Philips' abilities as a DVD recorder (I will post this in the PVR, STB..." thread. I am posting my thoughts on the tuner portion of the unit in this thread because I thought people might find the Philips to be a viable alternative to a converter box.

[jimdoo]

I have this unit too and like it as well - at times it out performs the tuner in my Sanyo hdtv. However the best tuner I have had experience w/ so far is the one in the Zenith DTT900. It has the ability to delete sub channels and not the main channel or other sub's. It seems to be the best so far in terms of producing a watchable pic w/ the least amount of signal. I like this one to because it has the manual tune function where you can tune to a station not in memory and tweak your antenna for better signal then add the station to memory. The next box I want to try is the dish network - DTVPal. I ordered this one yesterday with my last gov coupon.

[james57]

I am in the final process of selecting my components for my new dedicated AV room (almost done and I am so anticipating the results) .. and have decided to go with a commercial plasma display (for several reasons) TH58PH10uka, which also means that in order to get OTA, no I don't want to go cable, I will need a tuner either ext or int ..What I would love to have is a universal tuner (ATSC, NTSC), with all the PVR functions. Unfortunately it appears that those models are not yet on the market (Echostar tr50, Aurora HD Pro + HDD, etc...)

Any suggestions ..how is the Pico Macom hd-atsc,

Thks for the help

[teenie]

Hi everyone, I noticed this unit on the weekend at Sam's club.
It listed ATSC tuner on the features at Sam's it was $228. and some cents.

So I decide to take a closer look... here is a c&p from the JVC America site.

C&P here...
DVD+VHS Recorder with Versatile Compatible Formats including DivX(R), featuring ATSC Digital/NTSC Analog Tuners, HDMI Output with 1080p/720p Up-Conversion (DVD/VHS)


Playable Formats: VHS Hi-Fi, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, +RW, +R, +R (Dual), CD, SVCD/VCD, CD-R/RW, WMA/MP3/JPEG Digital Still/DivX(R) (CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, +R/+RW)
Recordable Formats: VHS Hi-Fi, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, +RW, +R
ATSC (Digital) Tuner: 8 VSB (2-69), Clear QAM (1-135)
NTSC (Analog) Tuner: VHF (2-13), UHF (14-69), CATV (1-135)
Progressive Scan Output

here is the actual link just change the ++ with tt
h++p://av.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028343&pathId=115&page=1 (if the link is a problem feel free to delete it)

[recneps77]

Originally Posted by teenie

Hi everyone, I noticed this unit on the weekend at Sam's club.

This unit does not appear to record ATSC/QAM, only NTSC.
Though it's still a good product if that's what you want - watch ATSC, NTSC, DVD or VHS
And record NTSC to DVD or VHS

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by recneps77

This unit does not appear to record ATSC/QAM, only NTSC.

Where did you read this? I couldn't find anything about this on the website that teenie provided. I have heard of some VCR/DVD recorders that won't record to VHS with the ATSC tuner (I don't know if this is one of them). Is that what you are thinking of?

[recneps77]

Reading the specs, it only mentions NTSC record
"Recording Video Formats NTSC MPEG-2 (DVD) ; NTSC (VHS)"
It may record ATSC and downsample it in the process, but that would be very intensive work for the unit, and doesn't really make sense when it can just be dumped directly to a disc in mpeg-2 format

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by recneps77

Reading the specs, it only mentions NTSC record
"Recording Video Formats NTSC MPEG-2 (DVD) ; NTSC (VHS)"

The way it says "NTSC MPEG-2" makes me think that it is just saying that it won't record in PAL and SECAM formats to make disks that are useable elsewhere in the world. Also it is saying that it is the recording "format" not the recording "source." I might be wrong though.

It may record ATSC and downsample it in the process, but that would be very intensive work for the unit, and doesn't really make sense when it can just be dumped directly to a disc in mpeg-2 format

It will almost definatly be downconverting the picture to 480i. Standard DVD's don't support 720p or 1080i.

[Kro]

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and they received the Magnavox SDTV recorder. It has a DVD recorder and a 80 gig HDD. They sell it for 199$ wich is pretty much the same price as in the US. The clerk told me they should receive other brands before september (He told me a toshiba unit).

That's good news we are finally able to buy a ATSC recorder here in Canada.

[roger1818]

That is good news Kro. It will be interesting to see what this Toshiba unit will be. If it is the "new" DR7 it doesn't look like it has an ATSC (or SDTV) tuner, only an NTSC tuner.

[Kro]

He told me that they would all have an ATSC tuner. (He actually knew what an ATSC tuner is which surprised me.)

[roger1818]

Maybe they are importing an American model. Either that or Toshiba Canada's website is out of date.