I am looking at buying a DVR to record OTA. HD would be better but I will settle for 480. Anyone have and recommendations or advice? I am willing to pay a fee for service but would rather not?



Thanks

Adam

There were a couple of recent threads about this, but they were lost in Monday's crash.
There are a handful of options, the easiest is probably the TivoHD. It does have a subscription fee, I believe it's $12.95 a month, or you can get a lifetime (of the box) subscription for $399.
Echostar is supposed to have a dual tuner OTA only HD DVR called the TR-50 coming out soon, but there hasn't been any real new information about it in many months. Check out this thread for the latest on it: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972197

Other popular HD DVR's are the Sony DHG-HDD250/500 and the LG LST-3410A, but they are both discontinued, and there has been some question about whether or not they will continue to work after the analog shutoff, due to the fact that they get TVGOS guide data from analog broadcasts. (I've got the HDD250.)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=337424

There are also HTPC options, that I'm sure other folks will be happy to tell you about. There are also DVD recorders with built in hard drives, but as far as I know, they downrezzed HD content, which you said would be acceptable, so that may be an option for you. I don't know if any of them have guides though, that would be a problem for me. I am actually looking into these now myself, for the SDTV in the bedroom.

Thanks for the info. It looks like TIVO it is. I don't want to wait on the TR-50.
If the Sony and LG might not work then that rules them out.

It has been proven in recent weeks that the Sony WILL work with digital TVGOS data. :D Refer to recent posts in the HDD500/250 thread.

Thanks, If they will work I will put them on my list to check out.

It has been proven in recent weeks that the Sony WILL work with digital TVGOS data. :D Refer to recent posts in the HDD500/250 thread.

Yeah, I've seen all that talk, it just flies right over my head. :o I don't think my local CBS station is transmitting the TVGOS info yet anyway. I'm not really gonna sweat it until closer to the cutoff date, I don't want to mess up what I've got right now. The Sony is currently the only DVR I've got, but I hope to get something else before the fall TV season kicks in. I'm actually kind of in the same boat as the OP, in that I'm trying to figure out what the best solution is for an additional HD DVR. Like a lot of folks, I'm really hoping the TR50 comes out at a decent price, and at least somewhat lives up to it's hype. :)

Okay, I'm sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread.

What about Directv DVR's??

What about Directv DVR's??

Can't use them for OTA unless you also have DirecTV service.

Thanks, If they will work I will put them on my list to check out.The Sony, that is. The LG's still very much up in the air.

I am looking at TIVO HD or the Philips DVDR3575 or DVDR3576. Now comes the hard choice of trading 1 option or the other.

I am looking at TIVO HD or the Philips DVDR3575 or DVDR3576. Now comes the hard choice of trading 1 option or the other.Honestly? If the PQ from the Philips' digital tuner was good enough that it would still look good on a display over 32", I'd say consider it. But it just plain ain't very good.

I know - I've had one, and I thought it was pretty mediocre. Some people find it acceptable enough, I guess, but I thought it was awful, personally. I'm very picky about that stuff. The PQ from, say, the Panasonic DVD recorder's digital tuner IMO blows it away - the downscaled HD from that can almost look like true HD at times. But unfortunately, the 2 Philips and the 2 Magnavox models (which pretty much have the same PQ) are the only SD hard drive models available in the US (well, there was a Polaroid too, but I don't know if you can still get it, and it's a complete POS and not recommended, anyway).

To be fair, they are good units - as long as you find the PQ acceptable, and as long as the QAM tuner works for you, if you're planning on using that feature (the ATSC and NTSC tuners seem to work just fine, and so do the rest of the units, for the most part - the older Magnavox has occasionally shown some timer and clock bugs, though, and people have complained about a "dark" PQ on all of them except the new Maggie at times (but that one just came out).

If you do decide to try the Philips (or Magnavox), I'd suggest getting it from somewhere you can easily return or exchange it (best price on the 3576H is at Sam's Club stores). Many people have to exchange theirs, sometimes more than once, to get one that works to their satisfaction, as far as the QAM tuner. That's because they have Funai tuners, which have a habit of not picking up all of some people's available Clear-QAM channels (and sometimes even dropping them once they have - or they often will just come and go). At least try to get the 3576H, because that one doesn't seem to have as many bad reports as the older model (the 3575H). Of course, it hasn't been out all that long, either. Or consider the newer 160GB Magnavox (which is available through Walmart.com). It actually looks and sounds pretty nice so far. IMO, it's actually an aesthetically better-looking unit than either of the Philips'. It's "normal"-looking, and not as gaudy and angular. (You can return it to any of their stores if you don't like it.)

I noticed that the forums seem to be pro certain this or that. On your note that you had one and PQ was poor. I will go with the Tivo. I like the HD and the 2 tuners. The only reason I was thinking of the Philips is the DVD burner. I can buy a stand along if I want that. Thanks for the info.

I basically agree with all Ramm said. If looking to off load your Tivo to DVD I'd suggest a Panasonic EA-18.
It's a little under $200 and makes great recordings. Try and stick under 3hrs for best PQ. I believe the Panny is the only US model that currently has FR or flexible record that allows any speed between 1hr and 8hrs/ single sided disc.