DVD Recorders. Are they a good replacement for a VCR?

[ricleo2]

I have TV in our bedroom that is attached to an outdoor antenna. To record on to the vcr we had to hook up a converter box. It's a real pain for my wife to program a recording. I thought I would try a dvd recorder. What do yall think?

 

[Phynaz]

They even make those anymore? They pretty much flopped. Get a Tivo.

 

[Gibson486]

they flopped because they were so dam hard to use. WTF...they made those things so impractical.

 

[mmntech]

You definitely want a DVR. Everything is recorded to a hard drive. No tapes or discs. A lot of DTV, cable, and satellite boxes do have USB ports in the back to attach external drives to, so you can turn them into a DVR. That's what I use.

 

[sivart]

If you buy a DVD recorder with a digital tuner, it will be as easy to use as a VCR. If you can find one of the few Philips DVD recorders with a built in hard drive and ATSC tuner (only SD output), that would be best.

You can then record to the hard drive, watch from the hard drive and if you want to archive, simply edit out the commercials and burn to a DVD -- all on the same unit.

If you have no interest in archiving, then a DVR will be best...but will also start at $400 and go up from there. (TiVo has a monthly fee, with a lifetime subscription, be prepared to almost double the initial cost.)

Link for Philips - http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVDR35...dp_ob_title_ce

 

[Aikouka]

They can't be that hard to use... my mom is pretty terrible with electronics and she used one just fine. I mean, she had to call me up just to tell her which ports to hook stuff up in .

But anyway, I think they worked well if you used rewritable media and they also worked well as devices to do VCR->DVD transfers.

 

[Fallen Kell]

You really want to use ones which support DVD-RAM disks if you do go this route. DVD recorders are not really any better in terms of ease of use and capability to program than VCR's, but their image quality is vastly superior. Most also support recording in wide screen format. Japan has some really nice units, but unfortunately, they keep them to themselves and would never market them to the USA.

I mean, who would want a device which records in high definition to HDD, can burn to DVD or Blu-Ray, and is capable of transferring the recorded shows to other computers/storage via a network?

http://www.blurayfreak.com/2010/01/panasonic-japan-introduces-four-bluray-dvrs.html

 

[sivart]

I mean, who would want a device which records in high definition to HDD, can burn to DVD or Blu-Ray, and is capable of transferring the recorded shows to other computers/storage via a network?

http://www.blurayfreak.com/2010/01/panasonic-japan-introduces-four-bluray-dvrs.html

If it was $5-$10 a month, a lot of people. If you have to pay upwards of $1000 for it, no one in the US would buy it (well, at least not enough to make a decent profit for the US companies). Plus the MPAA not allowing you to record any "premium" HD content (or making it really hard), these just wouldn't sell in the US.

 

[NutBucket]

http://www.dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/dvr.shtml

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_...cessories&psid=FROOGLE&sid=KDx20070926x00003a

 

[leon2006]

I built a multimedia PC and use it as DVR/PVR. I use Hauppage 2250 as my HDTV/Analog TV receiver.

Recording to hardrive is a lot better than option to DVD recorder. Key advantages
- My Hard drive space is limited by the HD i installed on the PC
- It functions as PVR and DVR
- You can playback from HD
- You can record to DVD or BD-DISC at your convenience.
- The Tuner is DUAL HDTV tuner and it can record 2 shows at a time
- It can record directly from SAT Box or Cable Box

This is an option that works for me. Its for your consideration.

TIVO may work for people who does not want to deal with PC

 

[sivart]

I built a multimedia PC and use it as DVR/PVR. I use Hauppage 2250 as my HDTV/Analog TV receiver.

Recording to hardrive is a lot better than option to DVD recorder. Key advantages
- My Hard drive space is limited by the HD i installed on the PC
- It functions as PVR and DVR
- You can playback from HD
- You can record to DVD or BD-DISC at your convenience.
- The Tuner is DUAL HDTV tuner and it can record 2 shows at a time
- It can record directly from SAT Box or Cable Box

This is an option that works for me. Its for your consideration.

TIVO may work for people who does not want to deal with PC

Not saying that an HTPC is bad (I actually have 2 of them), but you have to consider there disadvantages, too.

1) Windows Updates have to be done
2) Isn't as "rock solid" as a dedicated device
3) Sleep mode can be finicky and sometimes the machine won't go back to sleep after a recording
4) Reboots are inevitable.
5) Buying a dedicated remote and receiver are a must (or at least a receiver to use with a universal remote)
6) Higher power consumption when on
7) Must be in an area that is properly cooled.
8) Unless water cooled, probably 50-100% louder than a TiVo or DTV Pal DVR.

 

[ricleo2]

I guess a dvd recorder is the way to go for me. My wife needs something to record on, not just a hard drive where you are limited to play back on the system which the dvr is installed. She can carry the dvd disc to our other tv in the living room. If it is like programming a vcr, that should not be a problem. Thanks to all who replied.

 

[dainthomas]

We have one hooked to our DVR and I've made a crap-ton of Dora and Backyardigans DVDs for road trips. I can squeeze eight shows on one disk, instead of paying $10 a pop at Target for only four shows per disk (tops).

 

[BigSmooth]

My wife needs something to record on, not just a hard drive where you are limited to play back on the system which the dvr is installed. She can carry the dvd disc to our other tv in the living room.

Just as an FYI, many newer "multiroom" DVRs can be networked and can stream video to each other, eliminating this problem if you just want to watch something on a different TV. Of course, you still can't easily take the recorded shows with you anywhere else.