Community Newsletter: Q&A: Advice needed for an all-in-one DVR that can burn DVDs
- 3/10/08 5:01 PM
DVR...
by jrszabo - 3/8/08 8:10 PM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithYes but this only works when you don't have to use the DVR that your cable company requires you to use. I expanded my recording capacity by adding a Western Digital CE external hard drive to my DVR and then bought a Toshiba D-VR4SU to duplicate the VCR tapes onto DVD.
using external hard drive
by anna3333 - 3/10/08 12:50 PM In reply to: DVR... by jrszaboHow did you use an external hard drive with your DVR? Can it be done with a Tivo DVR?
I feel I was misled when I purchased the Tivo. They told me it would record 80 hours, which I felt was more than enough. I didn't find out until later that that was only if you didn't mind watching it in a lower quality than you normally watched on TV!!! If you wanted to continue watching TV in the same quality (duh!) then the disk in the unit only held 20-something hours - NOT 80! Now I want a bigger disk, but I don't want to have to buy something else expensive from Tivo - I just want to expand the disk capacity of the one I have.
When analog TV goes away, won't that pretty much obsolete all but the top-end Tivo's with huge HDDs? I guess Tivo will be happy. All those "lifetime" warranties will be down the drain also.
Digital is not HD
by zysmith - 3/10/08 8:03 PM In reply to: using external hard drive by anna3333The change to digital changes the way the signal is broadcast but no the data. the signal will look a little better but recording takes the same space. HD (high definition) tv is different.
Easy to add hard drive capacity to tivo
by gnusman53 - 6/19/08 12:17 AM In reply to: using external hard drive by anna3333You can find lard hard drive already imaged for the Tivo model you have by going to eBay and search for tivo hard drive......or weaknees.com...or other locations.....
i have installed some 400gb drives in a couple of mine.....and the drives are pretty easy to switch out...
DVD Recorder
by coot540 - 3/9/08 1:03 PM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithHi Zysmith
In your answer to Lee Koo about the DVD recorders, I have a question for you. Can you play these recordings back through your TV without putting them on a DVD?
I record things like news, one hour shows, my wives soaps and that type of shows that we don't keep for posterity or whatever. Once we watch them, on VHS, we reuse the tape and I would like to do the same thing with the DVR. I started out with 3 VCR's daisy chained together for recording or recording/ watching at the same time. One VCR quit and I replaced it with a VCR/DVD (player only) and now another one is giving up the ghost.
I need something simple as I AM NOT a tech savvy person. I am a retired/disabled/senior truck driver and after all this time, I CAN NOT find a gear shift on this computer. That is how UNTECH I am.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Lynn
Panasonic DMR-E85H
by Clarkhill37 - 3/9/08 2:21 PM In reply to: DVD Recorder by coot540Hi Coot 540
I bought this HD/dvd recorder in 2004. I receive all tv off the air as I live in the boonies and have no cable availiblility. I retired over 22 years ago and don't care to have monthly billings for satellite tv.
This unit can record up to 104 hours in LP on the hard drive and you can erase any of them at any time. I have never come close to using the maximum available as I erase most programs after watching. You don't need to do anything with the dvd recorder. I mostly use it to watch Netflix movies and often record a program on the harddrive at the same time.
Al G
Just like a VCR
by zysmith - 3/10/08 7:23 PM In reply to: DVD Recorder by coot540Lynn,
It works just like a VCR except that it records to a hard drive instead of a tape.
As I have been advised elsewhere on this thread, the hard drive DVR's are not made anymore but most can record on a DVD-R/W which, like a video tape, can be recorded over so you get the same functionality as a VCR.
I realy Needed your information
by Blake1985 - 3/9/08 4:06 PM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithThank for taking the time to post your reply. I am over 60 yrs. old and want to download music, but unable to afford a 99 cents per song. Do you know a less expense site also. You were the best answer in the nation on the last question. How are you with MP3 questions. I will not bother you again.
MP3's
by zysmith - 3/10/08 7:40 PM In reply to: I realy Needed your information by Blake1985This is a tough one. There are programs you can use to download and trade songs but this is illegal (despite what my son says). You can make copies of songs from your own CD's for your personal use but downloading copyrighted material can bring down the wrath of the music industry.
Maybe someone else has a better answer for you.
Question
by musicman5150 - 3/10/08 12:12 AM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithI ran across your answer and had a question for you as this is something I've been trying to figure out myself. Do you know if your DVD Recorder is able to record from an existing DVR? I have a Comcast DVR and I have a bunch of movies that are not available anywhere. I can't find them on VHS or on DVD so I want to try to copy them to a DVD so I can keep them. Will I be able to hook this up to my DVR and copy from it? If you know anything about this let me know. I would greatly appreciate it.
Not sure because I don't use a cabe dvr
by zysmith - 3/10/08 7:47 PM In reply to: Question by musicman5150If the Comcast DVR has outputs that the DVR recorder accepts, I would think it would record ok. That being said, they may have som kind of copy protection but it can't hurt to try.
DVD-RW/VCR/DVR
by DrRandyBoy - 3/10/08 12:14 AM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithJust saw this in a catalog I got on Friday: Emerson unit that does all three with no subscription fees. It has only an 80G hdd (not sure if it's user-upgradeable), and only DVD-format, not DVD+ or RAM, has a single analog tuner, and no HDMI out (only component). But Heartland America has factory serviced units with 1y warranty for $199 (after $20mir). Free S&H. If you can live w/o the hdd-DVR, those units (DVD-RW/VCR) are only $129 now...
Caveat
by JohnMcGuire - 3/10/08 7:01 AM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithI too have one of these hard drive/dvd recorders. It does do what Jim wants. I got one for the same reason he now wants one. However, I believe they have been discontinued by Panasonic. It may be possible to get one through EBay or other store closeouts, but Panasonic's web site now lists only DVD recorders among their products.
I've assumed they were discontinued because they were overshadowed by Tivo's ability to pause live TV, the lack of which wasn't as important to me as the lack of a subscription price.
Also, I'm not sure the tuners will work after the change to HD programming in Feb 2009. That would be something to determine for certain before buying. However, for converting old VHS or camcorder tapes, and for recording current TV (w/o subscription) these are great.
DVD Players
by chesshaus - 3/16/08 6:02 AM In reply to: DVR... by zysmithI thought your response was very helpful. However, I have a couple of questions. Are you using this setup with Satellite TV? If not, would it work with Satellite? TV?
In recent weeks the recording industry has made a decision to go with the Blue-Ray format. Does this mean that at some point in the maybe not too distant future, if you do not have a Blue-Ray DVD player, you will not be able to view DVD discs if you still have an HD-DVD player? Which by the way, I don't, I'm still using an inexpensive DVD player.
As you may be able to tell, I am a "not too swift" old guy who does not understand a lot of what's going on. Remember, when I was younger, a calculator was paper and pencil, and "delete" meant to use the eraser on the other end of the pencil!
Thanks in advance for your reply, and any others that I might receive.
RE: DVD Players
by zysmith - 3/16/08 6:24 AM In reply to: DVD Players by chesshausI have digital cable, not sattelite tv. I am sure there are others here who can address that aspect. As for Blue-Ray DVD, here is my best take.
first HD DVD was a particular format of High definition DVD so we need to keep that seperate. The 2 high def formats, HD and Blue ray are incompatible. If you purchased an HD DVD player and movies, they will not play on a standard Blue ray player. There have been dual players produced but I am not sure there will be others. HD is essentially a dead technology.
Standard definition DVD's, like we have been buying for years, will play on Blue ray players so if your DVD player dies, replacing is with a blue-ray player should give you the best of both worlds, standard and High Def. The caveat to that is the current crop of stand alone Blue Ray players are mediocre at best playing standard def. DVD's. Surprisingly, the PS3 game system is still among the best. With the format war over, however, I would hope that the next generation of players will be better.
Standard def. DVD's won't be going away unless/until blue ray players and media significantly reduce their prices. I will be several more years before we need to worry about it.
Personally, I tend to hold out until I am forced to change. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Let the early adopters fight the wars and pay the big $$. It isn't worth it to me.
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