Which DVR solution should I pick?

[brikis98]

So, my dad's birthday is coming up and my sister and i have been debating what to get him. he records a ton of (European) soccer games on his old VCR and is always complaining that the quality sucks, there isn't enough space on the VHS tapes, etc... so, here were our gift ideas:

1. Panasonic DMR-EH75VS: DVD Recorder / VCR Combo with 80GB Hard Drive, HDMI, SD Card, and DV Input. It should allow him to (easily) find soccer games with the built in tv guide browser, record them to the hard drive and save the "good" games to a DVD or VHS if he wants to. We can get it for around $400 and there are no monthly subscription fees.

2. Comcast DVR: i don't know if he'll need a new set-top box (and if he does, whether that'll cost money) and i'm not sure what the monthly fee is, although i think it's around $15/month. I have no idea on the specs (how much can you record?) and it will be tough to sign him up for it w/o his help, which kind of ruins the surprise.

3. TiVo: the set-top boxes seem expensive and there is again a monthly fee, so it's hard to sign him up w/o him knowing. however, ppl rave about these things, so maybe they are worth it?

Building him an HTPC is out of the question as i feel like he won't use anything more complicated than the basic VCR...

So, what do you guys recommend and why??

 

[Genx87]

I dont know anything about the Panasonic unit.

I do know the Comcast units have some serious issues. Reading the msgboards and hve a friend who has had two of his 4 replaced for the same reasons the msgboards are ranting about them.

Frequent lockups, bad utility, I guess they dont record over old stuff, they just stop recording without letting you know. My friends units frequently locked up and then stopped working all together.

The TiVo units I have personal experience with and say they live upto the hype. They are simple, easily maintained, and work. The monthly fee is a bit higher than your regular old cable supplied units. But I guess in the case of comcast, is it worth 10 bucks a month to have a unit that actually works?

Unfortunately TiVo's current HD box is overpriced imo. But you can grab a non-HD unit for pretty cheap. Check out their site, they often bundle a unit + years worth of subscriptions for 150-200 bucks.

One other nice thing about the TiVo units, you own them for life. You can take them with you when you move and they work on Satellite or Cable.

 

[imported_chewy2314]

I recommend the Humax DVD-recorder TiVo. the UI is really simple to use and my Series 1 and Series 2 have never failed (of course, i've upgraded the HD on the Series 1 after 3 years use).