Hey all,

My parents get simple over the air broadcasts on their HD 42" and don't have plans of getting cable. Is there a subscription free HD-DVR that is simple enough to use for individuals in their mid 50s.

For myself I use a simple HD capcard in my PC, but they can't operate a PC.

I read the Official AVS HDTV Recording Synopsis sticky, so I guess I'm gonna google some Sony models.

Maybe this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972197) will be of interest?

Dish will start taking orders Nov. 19th

Wait a bit - The Echostar DTVPAL DVR should be out by Christmas.

That does sound hot. A little high on the $$$ though.

A little high on the $$$ though.

$249 is a little high for a subscription less HD DVR:confused:
If they didn't need HD they could get a DVDR starting at $99 or they could get a rebuilt Tivo HD for less than $200 and then pay the monthly fee.

That does sound hot. A little high on the $$$ though.Actually that's very, very low for an HD DVR with no fees.

Only problem is that it's so low that nobody knows what the quality will be like. Many people here will be waiting for some reviews to come in first before impulsively ordering one right off the bat.

Anybody that tells you to buy one before it's been well reviewed is either just trying to "get" you to be a guinea pig beta tester, or is incredibly naive. Don't know if you'd really want to be doing that for your parent's Xmas gift. Especially for $250.00 - $300.00.

But I certainly won't stop you if you're the exceptionally optimistic type. The Echostar's really your best choice. I don't know about the Sony's at this point. That might even be taking a bigger chance.

Yea.. I see your point.

Originally I was going to make an HTPC, and then just hook it up to the TV, but.. it would require that I always operate it whenever they want to see something. The only thing I did like on that idea was that I could set the scheduler for their programs and never have to think twice about it.

I'm really amazed actually... HDTVs have been out for quite some time now and still no company has yet to produce a decent product to do this simple task. I work for a DVR manufacturer for security systems and I certainly know that aside from getting the software 100%.. the hardware is not a problem.

I guess most people would rather just rent them.

The Sony was a real top notch unit, and it was very expensive. So was the LG 3410A (The Sony's are even a bit better, though). But people just didn't want to pay those prices. Plus, they weren't ever marketed very well.

So now we have the Echostar for an affordable price - but we have yet to see what kind of quality it is. Their "DTVPal" converter box pretty much sucks, so people are a bit wary because of that.

Between the Sony's and the LG though, maybe the LG would be better for your parents, because they'll always at least be able to set timers manually, even if there's no way to get guide info after February '09. The Sony's don't have manual clock setting, and we still aren't sure everyone will be able to get any kind of time signal that they'll be able to use to set the recordings.