What do you use your PVR for?

[Andrew Pratt]

I recently added a PVR (ExpressVu 5900) and have been using it for a couple of weeks now and we're very much impressed :T So far we have it set to record weekly...

Desperate Housewives
Law and Order: CI
Law and Order: SVU
Law and Order
CSI: LV
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Rick Mercer's Monday Report
Gilmore Girls

So what do you record each week?

[Daryl Furkalo]

My twin tuner 5200 currently has the following timers:

Pardon the Interruption
Gilmore Girls
Lost
Alias
The Daily Show

Three of those are back-ups in case I miss the HD broadcast, which is known to happen. I was 4 weeks behind in Lost at one point this year. I really like being able to scan forward instantly the two days to check things on TLC/Discovery/Movie Channels for a set and forget timers.

[Brandon B]

My wife uses it (them) for:

ER
How do I look?
QEftSG
and various other shows

My son uses it to keep an archive of scooby-doos.

I have my wife record Battlestar Galactica which I never get around to watching (not yet anyway).

2 Dish PVRs, a 35 hour and a 120 hour, no HD.

BB

[junior77blue]

What HD options are available?

[Sonnie Parker]

Sam... are you asking what receivers are available?

We have the Directv HR10-250 dual tuner HD Tivo unit.

We record in HD...

24
CSI
CSI: Miami
Las Vegas
American Idol
Lost
NYPD Blue
Alias
Medical Investigation
NASCAR
Survivor (not in HD)


Maybe some more I can't think of right now. There are some others in the off season we record like Big Brother and The Shield.

[David Meek]

Me?
24
CSI (Las Vegas)
House
Lost
Star Trek: Enterprise (not for much longer)
Numb3rs

Jenice and Katheryn?
Friends
Will & Grace
Desperate Housewives
Everybody Loves Raymond
Boston Legal
Charmed
Smallville
Nature

Thank goodness I upgraded the harddrive. :

[mtodde]

I've mainly been recording the IMAX movies on INHD and a couple of things on Discovery HD

[junior77blue]

Actually, I was asking what High Definition standalone recorders are out there? Not SAT/Cable Tuners. DVD-R built in with a decent sized HD (120GB min) would be nice, but not mandatory.

[Shane Martin]

Actually, I was asking what High Definition standalone recorders are out there? Not SAT/Cable Tuners.

Zero. It's either Cable TV's PVR, Dish's PVR, or D* HD PVR.

FWIW, I have honestly lost track with the # of shows I record. I'm positive is over a dozen or more.

[junior77blue]

Well, there's at least one, but its only made for Toshiba TVs. I was wondering when panasonic/sony/pioneer might be comming out with a version of their own.

[Shane Martin]

Well, there's at least one, but its only made for Toshiba TVs

Mits has one too then. Still that's a limited audience.

I was wondering when panasonic/sony/pioneer might be comming out with a version of their own.

Sony had one rumored as did Tivo but I think Blu Ray/HD DVD is probably putting a curve ball on those decisions.

[Gordon Moore]

Stuff for the kids... George Shrinks, Clifford, Arthur
CSI: LV (for us)
Survivor (for her)
Desperate Housewives (for me )

That's all I have time to watch

Leadtek TV2000XP Expert tuner card and Leadtek software in PC.
I've played with BeyondTV and will admit it's a superior product...I may spring for that one day if I (ever) get the pc in a HTPC configuration.

[David Meek]

Oh, forgot Numb3rs for me, and Will & Grace for the girls.

[Neal_C]

We have the dual HD tuner Motorola 6412 cable box...we record :

Desperate Housewives
Boston Legal
CSI: Miami
Lost
Alias
According to Jim
CSI
Committed
NCIS
Las Vegas

I think there are some other comedies, but I can't remember right now.

[Brandon B]

There are BluRay recorders available in Japan now (for some time now) but I do not believe they are compatible with US equipment.

BB

[GregoriusM]

My twin tuner 5200 currently has the following timers:

Pardon the Interruption
Gilmore Girls
Lost
Alias
The Daily Show

Three of those are back-ups in case I miss the HD broadcast, which is known to happen. I was 4 weeks behind in Lost at one point this year. I really like being able to scan forward instantly the two days to check things on TLC/Discovery/Movie Channels for a set and forget timers.

Daryl: How do you like your 5200? There are so many posts on Digital Home Forum Canada, that I'm wondering if it is the right time to buy the 5200.

I likely won't be able to afford it until September, but any thoughts/concerns on the hardware would be appreciated.

I just can't wait to own a PVR.

Who would have thought that Andrew would have bought one, but it seems that he is thrilled with the purchase of his 5900.

Not being a slave to when the programs are scheduled makes for a much nicer viewing experience.

[GregoriusM]

We record in HD...

NASCAR

I used to like you, Sonnie, but now that I know that not only do you get NASCAR in HD, but you can also record it, I am slowly losing all respect for you! 8O

:W

[GregoriusM]

We have the dual HD tuner Motorola 6412 cable box.

Neal: How do you like that box?

Our cable company, Shaw, is coming out with one in the next while (next week.... next year... you never know with Shaw).

I hear it records HD well, but the SD is recorded worse than a standard SD recorder.

Do you find the same thing?

Shaw is digital only above channel 59 I think, and has 5 or 6 HD channels, but I'm considering either a Sat SD system, or MAYBE the 6412 when it comes out IF I can get a good price or rent it cheaply, and it gives decent SD recordings, since I don't have an HD TV (yet).

[Andrew Pratt]

Who would have thought that Andrew would have bought one

What made you say that? Its a great geek toy and fits our lifestyle perfectly :yesnod:

[Neal_C]

Neal: How do you like that box?

Our cable company, Shaw, is coming out with one in the next while (next week.... next year... you never know with Shaw).

I hear it records HD well, but the SD is recorded worse than a standard SD recorder.

Do you find the same thing?

Shaw is digital only above channel 59 I think, and has 5 or 6 HD channels, but I'm considering either a Sat SD system, or MAYBE the 6412 when it comes out IF I can get a good price or rent it cheaply, and it gives decent SD recordings, since I don't have an HD TV (yet).

I really like the 6412. I have OneSource (a local cable, phone, internet company) and they have been pretty good with keeping up with HD channels and bumping internet speeds (I get 5mb cable internet for under $30/month). They have, in HD, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Espn, Discovery, TNT, HDNet, HDNet movies, HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax.

Quite honestly, I don't record, and very rarely watch, anything in SD (if I do it is on a standard def tv and I record with an old Replaytv unit), so I can't really say anything about its SD recording.

For the lowly cost of $5.95/month that they charge me for the unit, I can't really complain.

I did have the hard drive fail on one about two weeks ago. I called their 24 hour tech support number at about 7 or 8pm and the next morning at about 9am they were knocking on my door with a new unit.

I don't care if the HD Tivo is better, I would much rather spend ~$6/month than drop ~1k.

[GregoriusM]

What made you say that? Its a great geek toy and fits our lifestyle perfectly :yesnod:

I must have had a brain fart, I guess.

I don't think, though, that's it's a geek toy. However, I do think that it can enhance one's life as it does yours.

A person can enjoy some leisure activity in watching some TV and do it on their own time. I think more people would have a better family life if they watched less TV, and when they DO watch TV, have a PVR so they can watch their shows when the kids are in bed so they can spend time with their kids rather than have to watch a "must see" show. For a lot of families, a "must see" show happens every half hour or so from waking until they go to bed, and the kids fend for themselves.

Anyway, nice purchase Andrew! :yesnod:

[David Meek]

A person can enjoy some leisure activity in watching some TV and do it on their own time. I think more people would have a better family life if they watched less TV, and when they DO watch TV, have a PVR so they can watch their shows when the kids are in bed so they can spend time with their kids rather than have to watch a "must see" show.

Grego, that's EXACTLY what we do with ours. We grab the shows we want and watch them at our convenience. "Our convenience" being whenever our schedules', which have family time built in, allow us to.

[GregoriusM]

Emphasis on the "family time built in". That's the nicest thing about a PVR for a family with children.

For me, it is totally the convenience, but for a family, I really think that it can contribute to a better closeness with the kids and the spouse as well.

Really, it just makes it easier to schedule things around YOUR life instead around the PROGRAM GUIDE!

I mean.......... there are sometimes when I just HAVE to do some errands when Dr. Phil is on, and that ticks me right off. A PVR would fix that! :B

[billnuts]

My PVR usage

I dont use the PVR as much as a should

but heres my top ten

1: ANY SHOW WITH COMMERICALS (I hate commericals)
2: monster house/monster garage/american chopper
3: surreal life/ strange love
4: CSI
5: Star Trek ( I am at work When its On)
6: ATHF/ ADULT SWIM
7: Smallville
I dont know what it is but i cant stand commericals, and they drive me crazy.

I cant even listen to the radio, i have to go sat radio or music on cable.

I feel that if i am going to buy something i dont need it pounded into me every 15 minutes.

[GregoriusM]

I dont know what it is but i cant stand commericals, and they drive me crazy.

I feel that if i am going to buy something i dont need it pounded into me every 15 minutes.

AMEN! :T

[hidefdvd]

I use my Motarola 6412 to record:

24 HiDef
Smallvile HiDef
Alias HiDef
Star Trek Enterprise HiDef
BSG NonHiDef

[Clive]

Maybe I should get myself one first!!!!!!

[Daryl Furkalo]

Daryl: How do you like your 5200? There are so many posts on Digital Home Forum Canada, that I'm wondering if it is the right time to buy the 5200.

I likely won't be able to afford it until September, but any thoughts/concerns on the hardware would be appreciated.

I like it alot. Having lived through the 5100 since it came out originally and went through three units, this one has been much more stable. I got it from Kusat when it became available.

If you don't need two tuners, it isn't worth it, get a 5900.

[GregoriusM]

Hmmmmmmmmm......... define the word "need".

I don't "need" a PVR.

Two tuners would be nice since there are so many shows on back to back that I like to watch, but they happened to be at inconvenient times for me to watch one live and record the other one.

It's a ways off, so we'll see what the $$$ situation is like then.

[Andrew Pratt]

Greg just spend the extra $2 and get both eastern and western networks that should give you enough flexibility in programing.

[Daryl Furkalo]

Having both the east and west feeds is a really good idea so you can get many options for recording.

'Needing' two tuners for either separate rooms or separate simultaneous records is what I mean. If you 'need' to watch live and record something different, two tuners is the only way to accomplish it.

[i_amadeo]

tru calling
taken
rescue me
gastinau girls
revelations

[Burke Strickland]

Actually, I was asking what High Definition standalone recorders are out there? Not SAT/Cable Tuners.

Zero. It's either Cable TV's PVR, Dish's PVR, or D* HD PVR.

Add another option to your list. LG Model LST-3410A HD-DVR The LG is an HDTV Digital Video Recorder/Receiver (HD DVR). The LG DVR records off-the-air and captures about twelve and 1/2 hours in high def or about 120 hours standard TV.

Its tuner uses an advanced chip set that does a really fine job locking in the HDTV signal for a crystal clear picture with Terk's HDTV indoor rabbit ears. (An outdoor antenna would achieve theoretically better reception, but how does one improve on perfection?) :>) I live way out in the suburbs and this unt pulls in a station very cleanly that was blocky and choppy at best using a loaner first generation Samsung tuner with the same antenna.

It uses either the TV Guide on screen scheduling menu or VCR Plus codes to set the timer, so there is no monthly fee to get the programming information. One quirk is that it requires the DVR to be turned off for a while to repopulate the program guide, which takes some getting used to. It allows you to pause while recording and then "catch up" where you left off, but unlike TIVO, does not allow you to watch one show while recording another.

But other than that, it works great. A bonus benefit is its ability to scale up other video sources. For example, I can route the video from my laser disc player through the LG unit and set the output to either 720p or 1080i. The resulting picture via my projecter is amazingly clear and artifact free. It will also allow you to record your stored high def programs to a D-VHS machine or MV camcorder via firewire.

The LG DVR is available at Circuit City for about $700 USD -- a reasonable price compared to competing HD-capable options, especially considering its functionality and performance. With their 30 day return policy, it's worth a try. (I kept mine.)

Enjoy,

Burke

PS -- I've used it to record:

LOST
Arrested Development
Alias
Desperate Housewives
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

[eddiem67]

All CSI's
All Law and Orders
Desperate Housewives
Las Vegas
Alias
ER
Medium
Lost
Carnival

I now live off this thing because watching a show live, I hate waiting through commercials. So I wait till the recording is done, then I watch it.