I REALLY want to dump my DirecTV in favor of OTA high def programming but I am absolutely not willing to live without my DVR. I have burned through about (5) DTV HD DVRs in the last two years and every time I get a new one, they restart my two year subscription commitment. I'm convinced that the hardware is junk and there is no chance that I will get a unit to last two years so I might as well cancel now and take my lumps.

What is my best option for a OTA HD DVR? Computer with TV tuner? TIVO? Obviously, I would like to avoid subscription fees if possible.

Copying and pasting from elsewhere...

If you want a standalone, dual-tuner HDTV DVR for OTA, you basically have two options this year:

DTVPal DVR ($275-$300 without fees)

The Dish Network DTVPal DVR is a dual-tuner HDTV DVR that supports SD and HD channels from an off-air antenna. Satellite and cable (QAM) are not supported. The DTVPal DVR allows you to watch one HD channel while you record another; it will record two different HD or SD shows while you watch a third, previously recorded show. You can easily skip commericals on recorded shows. You can also use pause, instant replay, and rewind on live programming.

All recording on the DTVPal DVR is performed with VCR-like timers, created manually or set automatically through a program guide selection. There's no option to record new episodes and ignore repeats. When you select a show in the program guide, you are given a screen similar to that below:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/DTVPalDVR/guide_record3.jpg

Here's how recordings appear on the DTVPal DVR:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/DTVPalDVR/recordedlist.jpg

This product was introduced in December, but shipments were halted in February due to the discovery of software issues that caused intermittent hangs and reboots. Dish Network is about to release new software for this product which it believes will address those issues; the product is expected to resume shipping at DTVPal.com by early May.

You can learn more about this product in the DTVPal DVR FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1099071).



TivoHD ($200-$250 with fees, $600-$650 without fees)

The TivoHD is a dual-tuner HDTV DVR that supports SD and HD channels from an off-air antenna and cable. Satellite is not supported. The TivoHD allows you to watch one HD channel while you record another; it will record two different HD or SD shows while you watch a third, previously recorded show. You can easily skip commericals on recorded shows. You can also use pause, instant replay, and rewind on live programming.

The TiVo is a name-based DVR like your DirecTV DVR, referred to by some as a "set it and forget it" DVR. The TiVo records every program by name -- with the option to record only new episodes and ignore repeats -- with the correct program length for that episode, even when the day, time, and/or program length changes. You create a recording for a program by selecting it in the guide, or with search, and then you never have to mess with timers or schedule changes again. This is the most reliable OTA recording solution today.

The TiVo also offers other features not available elsewhere, such as the ability to download recordings to your computer. Once the recordings are on your computer, they can be burned to DVD or converted for a portable video player (like an iPod).

Here's how recordings look on the TivoHD:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/TiVo/nowplaying18.jpg

Multiple episodes of the same program are automatically grouped into folders. The numbers in parenthesis refer to the number of episodes in each folder. Inside each folder, you see all episode names -- in order by recorded date -- with the date each episode was recorded. Select an episode and you see the description, including actors and actresses.

If you don't like folder grouping, you can disable it and list all recordings separately. But it's a lot faster to scroll through 150 recordings when they are grouped as above.

The TivoHD can be purchased for $199 at Sears, or $250 at Amazon.com, but that is a subsidized price that requires fees ($12.99/mo or $129/yr). It costs an extra $399 ($330 on ebay) to eliminate all future fees, bringing the total price to $530-$650.

You can learn more about this product in the TivoHD FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11126048&postcount=2).

The TivoHD supports capacity expansion with certain external hard drives. Both products allow internal drive upgrades. The TivoHD allows internal drive upgrades up to 1.16TB (180+ HD hours), while the DTVPal DVR allows internal drive upgrades up to 500GB (80 HD hours). I added a 1TB hard drive (157 HD hours) to my TivoHD for about $100.

The TivoHD offers superior functionality and usability, but it's twice as expensive if you want to eliminate all future fees. I would review the FAQs and decide whether the extra features and functionality are worth the premium to you. Many who've come from VCRs and DVD recorders are more than satisfied with the DTVPal DVR for recording HDTV locals from an off-air antenna.

I REALLY want to dump my DirecTV in favor of OTA high def programming but I am absolutely not willing to live without my DVR. .....

What is my best option for a OTA HD DVR? Computer with TV tuner? TIVO? Obviously, I would like to avoid subscription fees if possible.

Does your HDTV OTA tuner (TV or non-DirectTV STB) have a firewire/IEEE1394 port?

If so, you might investigate what flavor of capabilities it carries with the port. If it supports AVHD (external hard drive), you may be able to get one of the Indigita AVHD (there are other brand names on these same drives as well) and pair it with your HDTV tuner and then you're set. The down side to this approach is that the Indigita AVHD's are hard to get new. If Indigita is still making them, it's quite difficult to find a direct retail location to buy one. They do appear on eBay periodically but are usually the smaller 40 & 80 Gig demo drives.

For more details on the Indigita AVHD see the AVS forum thread "Indigita AVHD IEEE 1394 Hard Disc Drive (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=602499)"

Mike

Currently I just have a coax from an antenna in the attic plugged directly into the TV's. i have a couple older Sony Rear Proj LCDs (A2000). Obviously, I am going to have to invest in some hardware to make this happen and I'm probably looking at a couple years before I see any payback from dumping the DTV. It's really more the principle of the thing at this point. I have had TIVO in the past and really like it but the tiny hard drives concern me a bit. How much know how do you need to change out a TIVO hard drive?

I didn't realize how many variations there were on the Series 3. Not only is there a model available with a 1TB hard drive but Tivo also sells external drives to increase capacity. It sure does get expensive though.:eek:

Currently I just have a coax from an antenna in the attic plugged directly into the TV's. i have a couple older Sony Rear Proj LCDs (A2000). Obviously, I am going to have to invest in some hardware to make this happen and I'm probably looking at a couple years before I see any payback from dumping the DTV. It's really more the principle of the thing at this point. I have had TIVO in the past and really like it but the tiny hard drives concern me a bit. How much know how do you need to change out a TIVO hard drive?Step-by-step instructions can be found in FAQ #162 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11126048&postcount=2#upgrade).

Once you've got the right torx screwdriver, it just takes a few minutes to remove the original drive from a TiVo. The upgrade process: (a) connect the TiVo drive to your computer, with either SATA or a USB->SATA adapter, (b) click 'backup' in the free WinMFS program, (c) connect the new drive upgrade to your computer, with either SATA or a USB->SATA adapter, and (d) click 'restore' in the free WinMFS program. That's it. There are no fancy commands or procedures; 99% of the upgrade consists of removing the drive and connecting it to your computer.

The original drive goes on your shelf as a backup.
I didn't realize how many variations there were on the Series 3. Not only is there a model available with a 1TB hard drive but Tivo also sells external drives to increase capacity. It sure does get expensive though.:eek:At this point, there are just two models -- the TivoHD and TivoHD XL. The TivoHD XL comes equipped with a 1TB drive, but most find they can save a few hundred dollars by buying the standard model ($199 at Sears) and upgrading it.

If you prefer "plug and play" external drive expansion, TiVo supports the Western Digital My DVR Expander. Until recently, that external drive was only available in a 500GB model, but a 1TB version just came out in the past week. Amazon and J&R Music World are taking orders on it for $180.