- The PVR (Personal Video Recorder) is the one most people seem to be going towards. These are usually marketed by your TV supplier (cable or satellite) and allow you to record programs via easier recording methods to a hard disk drive (HDD). If you have satellite, in order to watch 1 show & record another, you have to have 2 lines going into the PVR from your dish. This can be a hassle for those of us living in houses with existing cable wiring.
- The DVD Recorder comes in 2 flavours. With or without an HDD. Personally, I love the DVD recorders with HDD. So much so that we have 3 of them (and yes i know how sad that is). The biggest downside to a DVD recorder without an HDD is that you essentially are replacing VHS tapes with re-writable DVDs so you are max'd out at 6 hours of recordings. Our DVD recorders have 160 GB and 250 GB HDDs so we're basically limitless. The big advantage of this for us is that if you record something and like it, you can edit out any commercials, etc. and write it to a DVD for re-watching later.
- TiVo is very popular in the US but I suspect won't be as popular here. What I don't like about TiVo is that in addition to buying a TiVo recorder, you have to subscribe to their service that gives you on screen guides, etc. I think it's somewhere between $12.99 and $15.00/month. TiVo also promises to help you buy choosing shows to record for you, based on your previous recording choices. That could fill up your HDD fast if you're not careful.
Now, I'd like to hear from you. What do you use to record TV? Do you record a lot? Had any good/bad experiences with any of the digital recording devices? If you're interested in the DVD recorders with HDDs, I can give you my experiences with a a couple of different models, but didn't want to make this post too long. Or, maybe you're "old school" and still rely on the trusty VCR? Let me know & thanks for reading.
4 comments:
My first VCR was the best $1000 (yes, that's
what it cost) I ever spent. My PVR is the best
$500 I have ever spent. The best part is that
the Canadian broadcasters don't (or can't)
simulcast the HD channels...SO, for the first
time in years I was able to watch an unfettered
US broadcast of the Super Bowl. That in itself
was absolutely worth the money I spent.
Daryl, Shhhhh; someone from the CRTC may be reading this and will try to spoil your sweet NFL Super Bowl commercials deal. We have HD on one of our satellite receivers and was able to watch them as well.
How big is your PVR (ie - 80GB, 160GB, etc.)? Are you with Rogers and have that tool where you can watch shows you miswsed off their hard drive?
I also know what you mean about the VCR prices. I bought one when they were pretty new for my parrents as a gift, the first year I worked full time and it cost about the same thing. As I remember it, the remote was wired (that's how long ago we are talking). Nowdays, even basic DVD players can be had for a song.
P.S. Know anyone who wants a bunch of VHS prerecorded moview for cheap? Got lots of blank VHS tapes too.
Steve: I bought the standard Rogers HD PVR.
Hmmm.....don't know what you're talking about
as far as recording shows that I missed?! I
usually tape my fav programs twice so I don't
miss them at all. When I was away in NYC it
worked perfectly for me.
Daryl, I think I was referring to Rogers On Demand. Do you have that on your PVR? A frined has it on his digital box but he doesn't have a PVR. With Rogers On Demand, I believe they hold episodes of some shows that you can access, in case you missed it. Hope I didn't confuse things for you and glad your recordings worked out while you were away.
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