Recording off-air video

[jackace]

I have grandparents who have a VCR I program every week to record the shows they want. They live 90 miles away though, so I'm looking for something I can setup to record certain days and times every week unless i change them. My grandparents just do not understand how to setup this stuff, so it needs to be simple to watch the recorded video as well.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[montypythizzle]

I would buy a DVR from the cable company, they are easy to use and only cost a few bucks a month.

 

[ryema22]

I know it costs a bit more, but for your purposes I'd go with a TiVO. It's a much simpler / more intuitive interface for the non-tech friendly crowd.

 

[jackace]

It's an off-air antenna, not cable. Otherwise i would get a dvr from the cable company for them. They live in a small farming community and no cable is available.

 

[montypythizzle]

There are DVRs at Wal-Mart from Pioneer, they also have ATSC tuners in some of them.

 

[jackace]

Do they require a monthly fee like tivo?

 

[dclive]

A cheap, old PC with a TV tuner would be easy enough - install Windows Media Center 2005, add the MCE remote control, and you're in business.
Disadvantages:
Cost if you don't have an old PC lying around
Requires MPEG2-hardware TV tuner
It's a full PC
Benefits
You can administer it remotely (remote desktop, remote assistance, WebGuide)
You can control how it works and what it does
You can fix things on it
The interface and how it works is well known (and most would say, well liked) and there are no fees
Hard drives and such are easy to add, and HDTV is easy to add too (hdhomerun.com)

Tivo can do over-the-air (OTA) stuff too, so that's probably a better alternative at about $13/month.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: jackace
Do they require a monthly fee like tivo?

No, they use TV Guide On-Screen, which is free.

 

[jackace]

I went to wal-mart and they do not carry these. They do not have them online either. I went to the pioneer website and could not find them either. Anyone have a link to one?

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: jackace
I went to wal-mart and they do not carry these. They do not have them online either. I went to the pioneer website and could not find them either. Anyone have a link to one?

Really? I saw these at Wal-Mart last time I was there just about a month ago.
Lemme find you a link.


Heh, Pioneer.com is for corn seed ^_^

Ok, back to searching

HMM, Pioneer doesn't seem to list them or I am looking under the wrong category.

It was something like this but I swear I saw a Pioneer version:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog....do?product_id=5663214

I know the Pioneers have the TVGOS but I am not sure about that Phillips, and looking at it again I see it is OOS.

IDK how the Phillips does their guide thing.

DVD recorders and DVRs
You could just get a DVD recorder and some DVD-RWs if the player supports it.

Also, look at BB and CC for their offerings, and look under DVD recorders and DVRs.

I know CC has some DVRs.

 

[jackace]

Yeah I checked BB and CC they seem to have directv only dvrs and tivo. They also have the archos DVR thing.

edit- that philips you linked is still a dvd recorder, but because it has a HD you can use it like a DVR?

edit2- yeah I like the dvd recorder thing, but my grandparents are in there late 70s. If they have to deal with 2 remotes and such, things will get screwed up. It needs to be as simple as possible.

 

[montypythizzle]

that philips you linked is still a dvd recorder, but because it has a HD you can use it like a DVR?

Yeah, it is pretty much like the Pioneer I tried recommending, but I don't know if it does have the TVGOS addition, which makes it easy, and EVERYONE trusts TV Guide