Well its been about a year. Anything change on the hd dvr front? I am looking for a hd dvr that can record two channels at once that is not subscription based. I would prefer hdmi output. I want a stand alone and not a pc based system. Any suggestions?

Here is my old thread.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=864789

Other than buying a used single-tuner box like the Sony DHG-HDD250/500 or LG LST-3410a, your only (still upcoming) option would be E*/Sling's TR-50 DVR. It'll have dual ATSC receivers and an integrated hard disk (size not yet known), the same style of guide as appears on E*'s 622 and 722 DVRs, and USB expandability for storage. (There's some debate on whether NTSC will be supported or not.) The price isn't yet known, but there will be no monthly fees for guide data - it'll be provided via ATSC datacast for free. See this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972197) for more about it.

Or you could buy a TiVo HD with Lifetime service... just saying.

E*/Sling's TR-50 DVR.

That's out of the running because it's OTA only and the OP is on cable, according to his previous thread.

That's out of the running because it's OTA only and the OP is on cable, according to his previous thread.

Guess I should've checked that old thread. That leaves the Sony (which is single tuner, and out of production), the TiVo with lifetime (dual tuner), and the cableco DVRs (which pretty roundly suck, and would involve fees to the cableco). There are the Gefen and Hauppauge HD DVR boxes, but those record via component, and I don't know if they offer a program guide or how they work... is there anything I'm missing?

is there anything I'm missing?

The discontinued LG HD-PVR (single tuner);
A cable card PC

PC with Cable Card tuners running Vista Media Center?

The discontinued LG HD-PVR (single tuner);
A cable card PC

I'm pretty sure the LG doesn't do digital cable (or if it does, it's clear-QAM only, no CableCARDs; I know the Sony does have a CableCARD slot). Also, he said he did not want a PC-based solution, which is why I avoided mentioning it.

I know that the tech is available, its just that the rental cable boxes are big money makers for the companies. But I still can't believe someone is not filling this niche.

I know that the tech is available, its just that the rental cable boxes are big money makers for the companies. But I still can't believe someone is not filling this niche.

No one's filling the niche because the companies that tried it earlier on in the lifecycle of ATSC (Sony and LG, with their DVRs) ended up pulling the products because *they didn't sell*. Turns out American customers would generally rather lease the box from the cableco than cough up the up-front cost of those boxes. Even the TiVo, which is quite nice IMO, isn't seeing huge numbers. Americans in general tend to be cheap-ass bastards, so while the technology does in fact exist, I think you'll keep seeing it not surface here, since the major CE vendors know that they're not going to sell enough to make it financially worthwhile for them.

No one's filling the niche because the companies that tried it earlier on in the lifecycle of ATSC (Sony and LG, with their DVRs) ended up pulling the products because *they didn't sell*. Turns out American customers would generally rather lease the box from the cableco than cough up the up-front cost of those boxes. Even the TiVo, which is quite nice IMO, isn't seeing huge numbers. Americans in general tend to be cheap-ass bastards, so while the technology does in fact exist, I think you'll keep seeing it not surface here, since the major CE vendors know that they're not going to sell enough to make it financially worthwhile for them.

People still record the TV shows with VCR!!!

People still record the TV shows with VCR!!!

Yes, and VCRs are a lot cheaper to make than DVRs, especially HD DVRs. Making a DVR requires microprocessors, disk drives, software, possibly MPEG encoding chips... there are a lot more parts, and they cost more than a VCR. The simple fact is that customers aren't generally willing to pay what it costs. A few are, but not enough to make a *thriving* market for such devices.

People still record the TV shows with VCR!!!
True. Some people still record HD on D-VHS.

True. Some people still record HD on D-VHS.

Yeah, but that's another subject entirely; D-VHS is a whole lot more expensive (you don't see D-VHS decks for < $100) and hasn't (overall) had nearly the market-steering impact that VHS had - 20+ years' worth of it. D-VHS has garnered little but yawns, outside a small dedicated market.

hauppauge HD PVR www.hauppauge.com

True. Some people still record HD on D-VHS.

First, I am under the understanding that you can't purchase a stand alone HD recorders that can off load non copy protected copies because of US copy protection laws and agreements between all of the major electronics manufacturers to honor them. It has nothing to do with penny pinching American buying habits. You can buy these type of recorders in every other country for reasonable prices, because those other countries do not have the stringent copy protection laws. However I am not certain the above is an accurate assesment of the situation.

I am still using an old standard VHS deck regularly. In fact I have recently been looking into purchasing a used HD VHS deck, so I can record OTA HD. I stumbled into the archived equipment page of JVC and found that they are still advertising a HD VHS tape recorder for sale.

Evidently you can still buy the JVC HM-DT100U, HD VHS tape recorders. I say evidently because I have found several web sites that offer the option to purchase, but have not actually contacted them to see if indeed they have them in stock. The prices are running at a steep price of around $1000. I have been trying to get an honest review of that deck. This thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14275937#post14275937 seems to portray a horror story for the JVC brand of recorders in general. I sure don't want one if what they are saying about JVC equipment is true.
My questions about the above tape recorder are:

1)Of course, what is the reliability of them.
2)Is this truly an old deck that is still on the shelves, or is it a new release by JVC containing the new copy protection schemes on all of the new HD equipment? I ask this question because several sites are stating they are out of stock, but will take back orders.
3)What is the availability of the D-VHS medium?

I hope my comments add to this discussion, and I would love to hear some comments in return.

For what's it worth, you CAN pull unprotected content off a Series 3 TiVo, or TiVo HD unit. I do this all the time with broadcast HD -- I can transfer it to my PC or Mac (file transfer, not video), and either watch it there, or burn it to a Blu-ray or AVCHD format DVD (which will play in HD on a Blu-ray player). It's a pretty cool thing.

First, I am under the understanding that you can't purchase a stand alone HD recorders that can off load non copy protected copies because of US copy protection laws and agreements between all of the major electronics manufacturers to honor them. It has nothing to do with penny pinching American buying habits. You can buy these type of recorders in every other country for reasonable prices, because those other countries do not have the stringent copy protection laws. However I am not certain the above is an accurate assesment of the situation.

The legal issues are a little different from what you've outlined, per my understanding.

The applicable US law is the DMCA -- Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Amongst other things, it makes it illegal to sell equipment that circumvents copy protection technologies.

Over-the-air digital broadcasts in the US are not copy protected, which means that the DMCA doesn't apply to digital tuners and recorders that are capable of receiving only broadcast signals. That's why you can buy digital OTA tuner cards for your computer that allow you to make non-copy protected recordings of HD broadcasts. Some of these tuner cards will also work with non-encrypted digital cable signals.

However, if a digital tuner/recorder is designed to work with encrypted digital signals from cable, the situation changes. Some of these channels are copy protected, which means that a cable tuner/recorder must honor the restrictions that go with the level of copy protection for those channels. But I suspect that the biggest restrictions don't come from the law, but rather from the licensing agreements that manufacturers must sign with Cable Labs in order to make and sell a cable card compatible device. The licensing restrictions can (and almost certainly do) go past the restrictions imposed by DMCA.

Aside from the above, manufacturers can (of course) choose to go beyond the requirements of the DMCA and any applicable licensing agreements. In essence, they can voluntarily choose to further cripple the products that they sell in order to make content producers happy and avoid even the possibility of lawsuits.

Then, finally, comes the issues surrounding the potential market for any HD recording devices.

The consumer electronics companies are largely locked out of making any products that would be compatible with HD satellite services, because the satellite services have chosen to control the market themselves -- and they're not offering products that let you offload non-copy protected recordings. The (sort of) workaround that exists here is a device like the new Hauppage component HD recorder, which can redigitize and recompress the HD analog outputs of a satellite receiver.

With a license from Cable Labs, CE companies could offer HD recorders that are compatible with most cable systems -- and with whatever restrictions on the outputs are mandated by the Cable Labs license. TiVo is doing just this, but they're pretty much alone right now. Because, in the end, not many people seem to be willing to pay a bunch of money for a product that they can "rent" from their cable company with no upfront expense.

So that leaves the prospect of making a flexible and fully-functional HD recorders that is designed to work with off-air digital broadcasts. It could be rendered more flexible by adding HD analog component video inputs. I'll happily pay good money for such a product, as would a number of folks on AVS Forum. But we're a sufficiently small market that no one really sees it as much of an opportunity to make money. Personally, I think that there is some decent money to made with such a product -- but it is probably of a scale that would be suitable for one of the smaller CE companies. In other words, I'm not holding my breath waiting to see anything released by Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, et al.

Thanks for the repy, Mr. Desmond, it was very informative. I might disagree that the market for those DVR's we all want is a small market. I recently talked to a sales person at a local big box store and he said they have requests every day for HD DVR's (or the like) but they have none to offer. He said that he was told the Sony HD DVR's were removed from the shelves because of potential law suits. IMO even the rank and file consumer is looking for a way to replace their old VCR or DVD recorder for use with their new HDTV's. Not just making a copy that can only be viewed again on your own set, but making a copy to take to your friend's house to watch together - like a football game. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I can't help but notice that our country seems to go to great effort to protect the interests of big business, but falls short at protecting the fundamental rights of it's citizens. Some where along the line the common man has been forgotten. How free is the enterprise when you can't purchase what you want, only what you are allowed to have, while there are companies on the sidelines that would love to sell you exactly what you want if it were legal? It is one thing to have laws to punish piracy for profit, another to allow those same laws to limit an individual's freedom of choice - especially in his own home.

Myself and probably most everybody at AVS would agree with you, but being the realist that I am I don't think it will happen. The Fox is guarding the hen house in the US with regards to recording HD in a sharable HD format. I for one think it stinks big time and it's one reason I'm still using SD DVDRs long after getting my HDTV. I want that flexibility to move a disc from one TV to another. Even the OTA TR-50 may end up having some kind of key, enabling the USB HDDs to only play on the machine they were recorded on. If this is the case I'm really not sure what I'll do. I won't accept my HDDs being basically blank after my TR-50 dies, but I don't want to go back to linear HD video tape either:confused:

Not just making a copy that can only be viewed again on your own set, but making a copy to take to your friend's house to watch together - like a football game. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But even when the technology is offered at fairly reasonable prices, American consumers would rather have a monthly recurring fee charged from their cable company for poor attempts at the same, rather than paying a reasonable price for the better option. Note the success of the SA and Motorola DVRs, even while even cursory investigation reveals expansive lists of complaints from many customers, while options like the TiVo HD don't sell too well. This technology isn't cheap, but don't be too quick to say "well, no one's giving me what I want, there's a conspiracy!"

The blame doesn't just fall to the CE vendors - they're selling what sells. How about that? When they get hung out to dry after trying to sell the technology we claim to want, they're leery of trying it again. What a concept. We need to blame ourselves for the lack of technology we want to buy - we need to buy what we claim we want, or stop whining at the CE vendors for not providing it.

I for one will never pay for television. I've nver had cable, satellite, direct, dish or anything and never will. The advertisers pay for what little shows I might tune into, and I simply want a way to record HDTV content that I view on my nice HDTV, as HD recordings. I want an HD DVR. Like everyone else here. Until they make one, I will continue to produce my own HD recordings with my HD camera pointed at my plasma and the audio wired to the inputs. Yes, that's lame and produces artifacts but it's still better than recording an HD program in SD

I for one will never pay for television. I've nver had cable, satellite, direct, dish or anything and never will. The advertisers pay for what little shows I might tune into, and I simply want a way to record HDTV content that I view on my nice HDTV, as HD recordings. I want an HD DVR. Like everyone else here. Until they make one, I will continue to produce my own HD recordings with my HD camera pointed at my plasma and the audio wired to the inputs. Yes, that's lame and produces artifacts but it's still better than recording an HD program in SD

wwjd,

Your options would be TivoHD or a PC/Mac with an ATSC tuner.

Or you could wait for the Sling/Dish/Echostar TR-50.

Or a used Sony DHG-250/500 or LG-3410 if you don't mind a discontinued product.

Or a D-VHS recorder, but you'd still have to provide the tuner (I think there was only one D-VHS that actually had a tuner).

hauppauge HD PVR www.hauppauge.com

no Tuner? There must be a seperate HD Tuner to buy? My HDTV does not have component OUTs on it

i should probably do more reading before asking stoopid questions like this one: are ATSC tuners HD automatically? i didn't think that was the case. kidna looking at a PC USB HDTV tuner recorder thing that I can then burn to disk. I wanted to leave PCs out of it, but seems it is the cheapest solution

no Tuner? There must be a seperate HD Tuner to buy? My HDTV does not have component OUTs on itThe Hauppauge HD-PVR needs more than just a tuner. It needs a PC (with pretty beefy specs). It's not the best solution out there, but it meets the needs for many folks.

i should probably do more reading before asking stoopid questions like this one: are ATSC tuners HD automatically? i didn't think that was the case. kidna looking at a PC USB HDTV tuner recorder thing that I can then burn to disk. I wanted to leave PCs out of it, but seems it is the cheapest solutionNot all ATSC tuners are HD. There are tons of ATSC DVD-Recorders out there that only output in SD. Even though they typically have component outputs (and HDMI), they are limited to 480p (and the HDMI outputs are typically 480p upconverted to 1080p).

If you want to use the Hauppauge HD-PVR, you might want to look for a stand-alone ATSC-HD tuner. Samsung used to make one a few years ago that was highly regarded (but it's several years old, so the tuner might not perform as good as the ones today). I think the model number is TIR-160 or something like that.

Honestly, if you're looking to record ATSC, your best bet either a TivoHD. You have the ease of a stand-alone device, yet you can transfer to a PC/Mac for archiving or multi-room viewing. It's not the cheapest, but it's (IMHO) the most polished. A TivoHD with Lifetime could be the way to go.

Second choice would be a Mac/PC combined with a HDHomeRun (or other ATSC tuner). These devices have an ATSC tuner (or two) included, unlike the Hauppauge HD-PVR. The downside is that you'd have to have a computer connected to the TV, which is not ideal in some situations.

As for burning to disk, there are plenty of options to burn the HD footage as an AVCHD disk. You can get up to 2 hours on a standard DVD-R and more on a DVD-9. Certainly a good way to archive recorded HD shows without losing too much video quality.

Once again, anyone know about this deck, JVC HM-DT100U, HD VHS tape recorders

http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027315&pathId=50&page=1&archive=true

$800

Once again, anyone know about this deck, JVC HM-DT100U, HD VHS tape recorders

http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027315&pathId=50&page=1&archive=true

$800

It's probably the best VCR ever made. I have a JVC 40k and it's been superb. However, it's worthless as an HD recorder if you don't have active, working firewire (IEEE 1394) ports on the source device you're connecting to it. TWC, for example, doesn't offer an STB or DVR with working firewire (yes, I know about the famed FCC mandate and no, TWC doesn't care one whit about it). Don't know about the TiVO's firewire situation. The HD signal has to already be compressed with MPEG2 to be D-VHS recordable and that type of signal has to go through firewire.

(yes, I know about the famed FCC mandate and no, TWC doesn't care one whit about it)

Let me work up a bit of surprise here... sorry, guess that was just gas. :)

Don't know about the TiVO's firewire situation.

None of the current TiVo HD-capable DVRs have IEEE1394 connectivity for transport of any kind. They depend on CableCARDs (which as other forum readers know already are a whole other mess). You can download non-protected recordings (including HD) as an MPEG-2 program stream via HTTP, however.

Get the HM-DT100U if you want the best in HD recording. Yes it's tape but you can record to cheaper S-VHS tapes in HD and it has an HD ATSC tuner. If you are never going to use cable this is absolutely the one to get. It also has a later generation tuner so reception should be much better than the Sony or the LG DVR.

I can't help but notice that our country seems to go to great effort to protect the interests of big business, but falls short at protecting the fundamental rights of it's citizens. Some where along the line the common man has been forgotten. How free is the enterprise when you can't purchase what you want, only what you are allowed to have, while there are companies on the sidelines that would love to sell you exactly what you want if it were legal? It is one thing to have laws to punish piracy for profit, another to allow those same laws to limit an individual's freedom of choice - especially in his own home.

I'm pretty much in full agreement with what you've written here -- and it probably is an issue that the smaller companies who could profitably serve the niche market for an OTA HD DVR are also the companies that don't have the deep pockets to survive the potential lawsuits from Hollywood. Even if their products were eventually found to be legal, that is cold comfort if the cost of the defense drives you into bankruptcy.

There are those individuals, both here and in the larger world ("bicker1" comes to mind on AVS) who are staunch defenders of the pro-big business status quo that has come to pass in our nation over the past couple of decades, but I suspect that the majority are getting tired of it. So perhaps we can eventually look forward to the sort of real change in the legal environment that will favor small businesses and individuals over the interests of the megacorporations. There's always hope...

I have been debating free dvr solutions for the past few months. I'm a fan of the basic cable package (locals). We get the 4 big networks ota in my town but no pbs.

The TivoHD has a small hard drive and you have to pay a ridiculous fee for a add on drive. I wouldn't want to sink a bunch of money on one box for a subscription and not be able to carry it over to the next one. You also might need cable cards to get guide info.

I think the best contender will be the tr-50. Sounds like there going to be more fair with hard drive expandability. Does anyone really know how reliable the guide data will be and if all cbs stations will be required to broadcast it? Also having no qam tuner is a let down because then I would have no way to record pbs.

I became frustrated with the limited options and bought the sageTV package with extender a few weeks back. I'm using a hdhomerun for my tuner. Its not the best for ota but seems to do well for qam.

I have been fiddle farting with sageTv for a few weeks now trying to get everything working. It has been a very frustrating experience. The software is up to v6 but you still feel like a beta tester. Sometimes you don't know if somethings just not configured right or the software is just screwed up.

I bought the extender so I wouldnt need a fancy pc for video output. I'm running it on my main pc for now.

My question is do you think there will ever be a nice qam/ota tuner with good working guide data? Setting up my pc as a dvr has been a complete pita but the fact is there just aren't any better options. I can add as much space as I need and I get free guide data.

I'm still debating on if I should just send it all back and wait for a tr-50 but then I won't get my qam channels. Do you think pc dvr's are worth the trouble?

The TivoHD has a small hard drive and you have to pay a ridiculous fee for a add on drive. I wouldn't want to sink a bunch of money on one box for a subscription and not be able to carry it over to the next one. You also might need cable cards to get guide info.


What ridiculous fee? ANY hard drive you have lying around or the cheapest hard drive you can buy from any source, along with a free software download nets you an upgraded capacity TivoHD.

I too do not like recurring service fees and have been using my Series 1 Tivo without service for the last seven years, all the time wishing I had an equivalent HD solution. I watched for the first year as the CableCard media centers and HD-capable Tivo's were released, but they were still not the ideal solution. I finally jumped when lifetime service was available for the TivoHD and I am very satisfied. I have a 5TB drive attached internally to the unit and can add an additional 7.5TB externally if needed in the future.

The TivoHD has a small hard drive and you have to pay a ridiculous fee for a add on drive.

As mentioned elsewhere, there's no "fee" for adding a drive; I have a 500 GB eSATA drive hanging off my Series3 TiVo, and I've never paid an extra dime for the privilege. Sure, there's the monthly service fee for the unit, but I spend that much on a decent lunch - what do I care?

You also might need cable cards to get guide info.

Yeah, but given the fact that QAM rebundling is frequent on many cable providers, those QAM channel-subchannel pairs will be changing out from under you all the time. TiVo doesn't want to deal with customers' guide data being incorrect every few weeks because some provider in Bumble****, Tennessee decided to pick today to rebundle their channels *again*. That'd be a *huge* support headache.

I think the best contender will be the tr-50.

It sounds like a nice unit, but I think time will tell if it actually succeeds - Sony and LG's DVRs had no monthly fees, and hey, almost *nobody* bought them till they were being sold at fire-sale prices.

My question is do you think there will ever be a nice qam/ota tuner with good working guide data?

OTA, sure. Clear QAM? Not bloody likely.

Do you think pc dvr's are worth the trouble?

Dunno, maybe, but they require a lot of supervision - more than a closed-box device like the TiVo HD or the E*/Sling TR-50. My TiVo sits by my TV and grinds away, recording everything I want, and I don't have to worry about the latest Windows updates, or viruses or trojans, or Windows being fussy today, or whatever.

Yeah, but given the fact that QAM rebundling is frequent on many cable providers, those QAM channel-subchannel pairs will be changing out from under you all the time.
If your cable company transmits CVCT data as it should, then the DVR should be able to find where the channels moved to automatically by doing an auto-scan.

If your cable company transmits CVCT data as it should, then the DVR should be able to find where the channels moved to automatically by doing an auto-scan.

And how many of them actually do so? My guess is very few; they'd probably rather you pay for their box, or at least CableCARDs (though they'd rather you get the box) rather than make it easy for you to watch anything without it. And I'm not even sure what hardware with QAM tuners actually use such info anyway...

And how many of them actually do so?
I don't know how many, but if your cable company is not transmitting CVCT, you have grounds for a complaint. According to ATSC Document A/69 (http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_69.pdf), the CVCT is required for cable transmission. So any cable companies that are not transmitting CVCT are not following standard practices. In some cases, the local broadcast stations may put pressure on the cable company to correct the problem.
And I'm not even sure what hardware with QAM tuners actually use such info anyway...
It is fairly common for QAM tuners to use CVCT, similar to how ATSC tuners use TVCT.

The root of this evil is the Lobbyist system in Washington. That system should be made illegal. Anybody caught directing moneys or using moneys for any reason, either directly or indirectly in pursuit of influencing a public official to represent his interests ahead of the interests of the official's constituents should face penalties similar to anyone caught trying to bribe an official. It is the most corrupt part of our government, and it has degenerated into nothing less than a white collar organized effort to redistribute the power and wealth of this country into the hands of the rich and powerful. And it has been an astounding sucess.

I just put in a order for a tivo hd and slingbox. So will a usb hard drive work with this? I was under the impression you had to buy their branded drive. This changes everything for me.

I think from now on I want nothing to do with a pc dvr. Its just not worth the trouble. I've been messing with it for weeks now and I'm still not happy.

I just put in a order for a tivo hd and slingbox. So will a usb hard drive work with this? I was under the impression you had to buy their branded drive.


Internal drive upgrades are SATA, and external connection is eSATA. Lots of information can be found at www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb on do-it-yourself upgrades, and at www.mfslive.org for software tools and further tips.

I just got the ADS MiniHDTVusb and am pretty happy with it. But I need a better antenna than the one that came with. To it's defense, I'm on the lower level of 10 unit apartment comples and my reception is not great with my regular TV.

The MiniHDTVUsb install without any problems and I was able to get half the AIR HDTV channels right out of the gate. The recording part works fine, but it does NOT RECORD THE BROADCAST STREAMS, just the video and audio processed on your system. I suppose that means it IS recording HD but it also records ANY glitches or hiccups. the resolution of Late Night with David Letterman video file is 1920x1080 [I assume interlaced] and it looks fantastic - as good as my HDTV. The audio was stereo and fine. For $99 I'm pretty happy. It also mentioned a site called
http://titantv.com which does an okay job of showing onlines schedules.

The software worked fine and my computer is up to the task graphically. For kicks, I brought it to work and loaded it up on my Work Desktop computer which is more for spreadsheets than video. And to my surprise, it works great after turning off the "HARDWARE ACCELERATION" which is on by default. Even the HD channels play back wtihout stuttering - as long as the signal is powerful enough.

I still have hope there is a dedicated HD reocrding box on the post 2009 horizon, but for now this works great and does what I need for $400 less then the next best thing.... one of those stream recording boxes that you have to add a hard drive to, then a tuner to, then an antenna to... I can recommend this to anyone not afraid of computers.
http://www.adstech.com/products/PTV-384-EF/intro/PTV-384-EF_intro.asp?pid=PTV-384-EF

I have a screen capture [which the software does] that I can't post here. but it is clean, and 1920x1080 res.
Other features are an Analog tuner... I think. I didn't mess with that much. A FM radio but I can't get that working and don't care. As well as some Disc burning software to make DVDs or maybe AVCHD DVDs for HD playback - again, not sure yet, as I have not messed with that yet. That is my end goal: record some shows, burn to HD DVD for HD playback on PS3 Bluray

I tried the JVC DT-100S about a year ago. After several very frustrating days I confirmed with JVC technical support that the timer used to record digital channels can only set it's clock using PSIP data. Here, like most cities that time is not accurate on many channels.
Even trying to accommodate the clock issue, I also found that if recordings were scheduled for more than an hour into the future, the usual situation, they failed about 80% of the time. The recorder would come on at the appointed time, go into record/pause mode then simply power off.
Very disappointing and I had to pay the shipping to return this unit to get my $800 back.

I've never had that problem. However I did sent the unit in realigning of the front firewire port and for a firmware update which probably solved my problem.

I have a 5TB drive attached internally to the unit and can add an additional 7.5TB externally if needed in the future.

Is this a typo? Internal 5TB drive? All I can say is WOW! You must be a tv critic to need that much recording space :D

Not a typo, nor do I have it anywhere near at capacity. I don't record tremendous amounts, it is more an issue of getting around to watch what I do record. My Series 1 unit is only three months behind right now, whereas it tends to lag 5-6 months normally. Take that scenario and extrapolate 9GB for every hour of HD recorded, and I just wanted to make sure I would be set.

For anyone that was following the brief discussion here about the JVC D-VHS deck HM-DT100U, the listing has just been changed to a "discontunued" item. Looks as if the last digital tape deck has just passed away.

Mine runs strong still so at least one is still alive.

Some time has passed and have things changed? Is there a reasonable priced 2 channel cablecard ready HD box without subscription?

Not really much new in the world of CableCARD-enabled devices. The only new one of late is the new Moxi CableCARD box; however, that runs $800, and availability is currently unknown. If you're looking for reviews of it, you'll be hard pressed to find them; another thread where people were looking for an AVSForum member who has one went completely unanswered, and Dave Zatz has said he still hasn't even seen a review unit. That, and the fact that Digeo was ditching in-development products not long ago, makes one suspicious of their future.

Sorry, wish the news was better. You could always buy an HD TiVo with Product Lifetime Service...

Thanks. I know I'm not the only one that wants one. Hopefully, one day a device will be available.

Not really much new in the world of CableCARD-enabled devices. The only new one of late is the new Moxi CableCARD box; however, that runs $800, and availability is currently unknown. If you're looking for reviews of it, you'll be hard pressed to find them; another thread where people were looking for an AVSForum member who has one went completely unanswered, and Dave Zatz has said he still hasn't even seen a review unit. That, and the fact that Digeo was ditching in-development products not long ago, makes one suspicious of their future.

Sorry, wish the news was better. You could always buy an HD TiVo with Product Lifetime Service...