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The Official AVS Dish DTVPal DVR Topic! - Page 509

post #15241 of 16895
12/5/12 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1HD_addict View Post

The phase out of my DTVPAL DVR begins.
Picked this up last week when it was on sale.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173007
Currently waiting for a sale on an HD Homerun Dual.
Wait is this a DVR? What is this? Looks like a blueray player? Can it get TV? Does it have a dvr? If the answer is yes. What does it use for a guide?

ty
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post #15242 of 16895
12/5/12 at 8:26pm
It's a computer (with a Blu-ray player). I installed Windows 7 and will use Windows Media Center (at least at first) which has a great guide and records programs perfectly. You can also save them, convert them - whatever you want because it is a computer.
I have a single USB tuner but want the dual tuner capability of the HD Homerun. I just hope the tuners are as strong as the DTVPal.
I'll post my final config, total cost and general opinion of operation when I'm done getting it set up. Since I'm waiting for sales - it may be a month or so.
I'll still keep the DTVPal running as a backup (probably in a different room) if I need to record more than 2 things simultaneously. Should be easy to work around the clock problem and DST issues when only using it once in a while.
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post #15243 of 16895
12/6/12 at 2:44pm
Someone just paid $349 for a CM-7000PAL (unused, but no warranty) on eBay redface.gif
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post #15244 of 16895
12/6/12 at 6:14pm
Just in case anyone like me was wondering, if you use your Pal with a PC monitor, a simple HDMI cable (connected to the Pal) on one end and DVI (connected to the monitor) on the other works great. I just connected a widescreen 20" 16x9 format Lenovo and set the Pal to 1080i in my office and its fantastic!
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post #15245 of 16895
12/7/12 at 4:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHBrandt View Post

Someone just paid $349 for a CM-7000PAL (unused, but no warranty) on eBay redface.gif

I saw a brand-new in-the-box DTVPal DVR sell for $290 (plus $16 shipping) on eBay back in October (same thing-no warranty). I guess if you are adamant about not paying any type of subscription fee (either monthly or lifetime) a brand-new CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR is probably your best choice for an HD OTA-only DVR with two tuners. Another option may be to build your own DVR on a computer but I'm strictly speaking about commercially-available DVRs.

Personally if I wanted something brand-new right now for OTA I would opt for a brand-new TiVo Premiere 320GB for $59.99 with a $499.99 lifetime subscription. You would get a product with a warranty, have a 2-week program guide and have many features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR (i.e. Season Pass).
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post #15246 of 16895
12/7/12 at 5:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zebrafetish2000 View Post

Just in case anyone like me was wondering, if you use your Pal with a PC monitor, a simple HDMI cable (connected to the Pal) on one end and DVI (connected to the monitor) on the other works great. I just connected a widescreen 20" 16x9 format Lenovo and set the Pal to 1080i in my office and its fantastic!

Just got a PC monitor that has HDMI input so you could go HDMI from the PALDVR into the Monitor HDMI.
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post #15247 of 16895
12/7/12 at 5:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1HD_addict View Post

It's a computer (with a Blu-ray player). I installed Windows 7 and will use Windows Media Center (at least at first) which has a great guide and records programs perfectly. You can also save them, convert them - whatever you want because it is a computer.
I have a single USB tuner but want the dual tuner capability of the HD Homerun. I just hope the tuners are as strong as the DTVPal.
I'll post my final config, total cost and general opinion of operation when I'm done getting it set up. Since I'm waiting for sales - it may be a month or so.
I'll still keep the DTVPal running as a backup (probably in a different room) if I need to record more than 2 things simultaneously. Should be easy to work around the clock problem and DST issues when only using it once in a while.

The link you gave to the HD homerun showed it as a CABLE only tuner. It is not OTA.
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post #15248 of 16895
12/7/12 at 5:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

I saw a brand-new in-the-box DTVPal DVR sell for $290 (plus $16 shipping) on eBay back in October (same thing-no warranty). I guess if you are adamant about not paying any type of subscription fee (either monthly or lifetime) a brand-new CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR is probably your best choice for an HD OTA-only DVR with two tuners. Another option may be to build your own DVR on a computer but I'm strictly speaking about commercially-available DVRs.
Personally if I wanted something brand-new right now for OTA I would opt for a brand-new TiVo Premiere 320GB for $59.99 with a $499.99 lifetime subscription. You would get a product with a warranty, have a 2-week program guide and have many features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR (i.e. Season Pass).

This may be the only option we have when the PALDVRS and Channel Masters eventually die of old age unless something else comes along which is possible. The PC crowed will have there PCs with tuners too. At the moment I don't particularly like the PC option in my family room for a number of reasons.
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post #15249 of 16895
12/7/12 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

This may be the only option we have when the PALDVRS and Channel Masters eventually die of old age unless something else comes along which is possible.....

I should be all set for quite a while unless OTA TV disappears which isn't likely in the foreseeable future. I've got 2 DTVPal DVRs currently in use and 3 brand-new DTVPal DVRs in sealed boxes that I bought when some Sears stores were blowing them out the door at the very end for $20 to $35 each. wink.gif
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post #15250 of 16895
12/7/12 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by JHBrandt View Post

Someone just paid $349 for a CM-7000PAL (unused, but no warranty) on eBay redface.gif

I saw a brand-new in-the-box DTVPal DVR sell for $290 (plus $16 shipping) on eBay back in October (same thing-no warranty). I guess if you are adamant about not paying any type of subscription fee (either monthly or lifetime) a brand-new CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR is probably your best choice for an HD OTA-only DVR with two tuners. Another option may be to build your own DVR on a computer but I'm strictly speaking about commercially-available DVRs.

Personally if I wanted something brand-new right now for OTA I would opt for a brand-new TiVo Premiere 320GB for $59.99 with a $499.99 lifetime subscription. You would get a product with a warranty, have a 2-week program guide and have many features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR (i.e. Season Pass).
That price is way too high IMO.
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post #15251 of 16895
12/7/12 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

The link you gave to the HD homerun showed it as a CABLE only tuner. It is not OTA.

The link I gave was to the ZBOXHD.

The HD Homerun has dual ATSC / ClearQAM tuners and will work with OTA or unscrambled cable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815345007
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post #15252 of 16895
12/7/12 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by JHBrandt View Post

Someone just paid $349 for a CM-7000PAL (unused, but no warranty) on eBay eek.gif

I saw a brand-new in-the-box DTVPal DVR sell for $290 (plus $16 shipping) on eBay back in October (same thing-no warranty). I guess if you are adamant about not paying any type of subscription fee (either monthly or lifetime) a brand-new CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR is probably your best choice for an HD OTA-only DVR with two tuners. Another option may be to build your own DVR on a computer but I'm strictly speaking about commercially-available DVRs.

You can get a PAL on eBay for a more reasonable price, but you have to watch for deals and maybe get a little lucky. I just snagged a Dish DTVPal for $233 including shipping. I didn't get the Square Trade warranty because I intend to upgrade it to 1 TB - total price is still less than the $349 I shelled out for a CM-7000PAL way back when I didn't know any better redface.gif

(OT) I've also seen some 7400's on sale but they're even more expensive. They have some nice features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR but from what I've read on their thread, well, eek.gif
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

... (i.e. Season Pass).

confused.gif
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post #15253 of 16895
12/7/12 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

I saw a brand-new in-the-box DTVPal DVR sell for $290 (plus $16 shipping) on eBay back in October (same thing-no warranty). I guess if you are adamant about not paying any type of subscription fee (either monthly or lifetime) a brand-new CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR is probably your best choice for an HD OTA-only DVR with two tuners. Another option may be to build your own DVR on a computer but I'm strictly speaking about commercially-available DVRs.
Personally if I wanted something brand-new right now for OTA I would opt for a brand-new TiVo Premiere 320GB for $59.99 with a $499.99 lifetime subscription. You would get a product with a warranty, have a 2-week program guide and have many features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR (i.e. Season Pass).

I almost pulled the trigger on a Tivo Premiere with lifetime but the total was $600 for a refurbished box so I opted for the HTPC route. I think I'll save some money and learn a few things along the way.

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post #15254 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525

... (i.e. Season Pass).
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHBrandt View Post

confused.gif

The Season Pass feature on the TiVo will record all first-run episodes of a show that you want to watch and will disregard all repeats. It will also "find" the show if it changes its day and/or time slot and change the recording length if the show runs a special episode that is longer than usual. Our weekly timers that record the same day, time and length each and every week can't match that!
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post #15255 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phildaant View Post

Quote:
Personally if I wanted something brand-new right now for OTA I would opt for a brand-new TiVo Premiere 320GB for $59.99 with a $499.99 lifetime subscription. You would get a product with a warranty, have a 2-week program guide and have many features that are not available with the CM-7000PAL DVR or DTVPal DVR (i.e. Season Pass).

That price is way too high IMO.

Seems to me if things were priced according to what they were really worth, the TiVo would be closer to $500 and the lifetime subscription to TV listings would be closer to $60. Keep in mind they still track your viewing and use that info to push ads to you, so they still have a revenue stream. That's what makes it seem like such a ripoff: $500 for TV listings you can get on the Internet for free? But TiVo's a closed system that won't work without the listings.

I understand why they price things as they do: they're willing to take an initial loss on the boxes so folks can "buy in" cheap, then get hooked on their new DVR. But if they priced things my way, it'd seem a lot less like a ripoff to us even though TiVo would get the same money.
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post #15256 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by trp2525

... (i.e. Season Pass).
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHBrandt View Post

confused.gif

The Season Pass feature on the TiVo will record all first-run episodes of a show that you want to watch and will disregard all repeats. It will also "find" the show if it changes its day and/or time slot and change the recording length if the show runs a special episode that is longer than usual. Our weekly timers that record the same day, time and length each and every week can't match that!
Meh, I am not that lazy to do things automated. I sometimes create/make manual recordings with my DTV Pal DVR and computers. I just use the Internet to check TV guides. I'd rather save money than time. smile.gif
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post #15257 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1HD_addict View Post

I almost pulled the trigger on a Tivo Premiere with lifetime but the total was $600 for a refurbished box so I opted for the HTPC route. I think I'll save some money and learn a few things along the way.


There is one advantage of a HTPC over a DVR (even TiVo w/ lifetime): it's a PC! So in addition to watching/recording TV shows, you can surf the Internet, play games, check email, download podcasts (including video podcasts), and all the other things folks do with their PCs.

The drawback, though, is: it's a PC! So you have to deal with M$ or Apple, or be tech-savvy enough to deal with Linux.
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post #15258 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:27am
Quote:
There is one advantage of a HTPC over a DVR (even TiVo w/ lifetime): it's a PC! So in addition to watching/recording TV shows, you can surf the Internet, play games, check email, download podcasts (including video podcasts), and all the other things folks do with their PCs.

The drawback, though, is: it's a PC! So you have to deal with M$ or Apple, or be tech-savvy enough to deal with Linux.
Another drawback, things can easily break it like drivers, upgrades, failures, malwares, etc. frown.gif That is why I still use my DTV Pal DVR, VCR, etc. as backups.
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post #15259 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phildaant View Post

That price is way too high IMO.

Although the TiVo is the dream DVR....have an S3....the TiVo Premiere's drive isn't user replaceable, as I've read. The question then becomes: Is that considered a "lifetime" if the drive fails and must be returned to TiVo for replacement?
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post #15260 of 16895
12/7/12 at 8:52am
Nothing is perfect - unfortunately.
I'll try to keep the PC as barebones as possible.
My wife needs to be able to use it just like a DVR othwise it will be a no go in the main tv room.
Looking back at my original post on this forum in January of 2009, I remember how excited I was to get the DTVPal DVR.
It is too bad they stopped supporting it because it was just a few firmware updates from being great.
I've used it everyday for 3 years and for the majority of those 3 years I have been very happy with it.
The loss of TVGOS combined with the DST troubles twice a year is just enough to motivate me to pursue something else.
Can't say how good the HTPC route will turn out to be - but I will compare it in detail with the DTVPal DVR once I'm up and running.
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post #15261 of 16895
12/7/12 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccrider2 View Post

Although the TiVo is the dream DVR....have an S3....the TiVo Premiere's drive isn't user replaceable, as I've read. The question then becomes: Is that considered a "lifetime" if the drive fails and must be returned to TiVo for replacement?

If a TiVo hard drive fails, TiVo will swap it for a refurbished unit (of the same model) and transfer any Product Lifetime Service for a replacement fee. But after making sure the unit works properly and allowing it to update its software, many TiVo Premiere users replace the hard drive with a larger one, keeping the original drive as a backup. It's a bit of a project, but it's not too bad if you can manipulate computer hardware and follow directions. Then if the new larger replacement drive fails, you just do it all again from the backup (original drive). You would lose the recordings on the failed drive, of course.
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post #15262 of 16895
12/7/12 at 12:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by L David Matheny View Post

If a TiVo hard drive fails, TiVo will swap it for a refurbished unit (of the same model) and transfer any Product Lifetime Service for a replacement fee. But after making sure the unit works properly and allowing it to update its software, many TiVo Premiere users replace the hard drive with a larger one, keeping the original drive as a backup. It's a bit of a project, but it's not too bad if you can manipulate computer hardware and follow directions. Then if the new larger replacement drive fails, you just do it all again from the backup (original drive). You would lose the recordings on the failed drive, of course.


I'm sorry...this is a bit O-T for this thread but.....
What's the difference between replacing a failed drive myself and upgrading the size? Are you saying that it's possible to clone the OS of an original Premiere drive on a new and larger replacement drive, then set it on a shelf till needed?

I suppose I could be wrong...won't be the first time. eek.gif

I didn't think a user could get an image of a Premiere to initiate a drive with. At least that's what I understood from reading the TiVo Community Web site. If I'm wrong here, please let me know. A new Premiere is 'on my mind' if that option is available to the user.

Thanks Much,
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post #15263 of 16895
12/7/12 at 12:20pm
You can install a bigger hard drive, if you go on the tivo community forum its spelled out, It's not too hard I just upgraded mine from the original 320GB to a 2TB drive. You keep the original drive in case the upgraded drive goes out. If your original drive goes out before its upgraded, you could buy a replacement from Weaknees or borrow a drive from another TiVo Premiere and copy the image from it to the replacement. The Lifetime subscription on the Premiere is tied to the Mother board on the unit.

So if the Hard drive or Power Supply goes out you can replace those, if the Mother board fails your Lifetime subscription goes down the drain.
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post #15264 of 16895
12/7/12 at 4:44pm
Thanks Much aztecf
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post #15265 of 16895
12/7/12 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete-N2 View Post

Any reason to believe that a weak stations or outliers have PSIP clocks that are less accurate? Maybe DTVPal calculates an average time from all the received channels. Another thought, without TVGOS how does the DTVPal determine the current time zone? All my TV's ask that question during set-up.
It asks during setup.
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post #15266 of 16895
12/7/12 at 4:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by keyboard21 View Post

Wait is this a DVR? What is this? Looks like a blueray player? Can it get TV? Does it have a dvr? If the answer is yes. What does it use for a guide?
ty
Does not look like it has a PCIe slot to plug my tuner in but I like the price.
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post #15267 of 16895
12/8/12 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WillN937 View Post

It asks during setup.
Thanks, I had forgotten that I had to answer that question. It's been over two years since I had to do a factory reset. I guess I'll plan to do anther one shortly after TVGOS goes away.

DTVPal clock error (in seconds) for the past week: 22 -1 1 4 5
Edited by Pete-N2 - 12/8/12 at 10:41am
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post #15268 of 16895
12/8/12 at 6:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1HD_addict View Post

The link I gave was to the ZBOXHD.
The HD Homerun has dual ATSC / ClearQAM tuners and will work with OTA or unscrambled cable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815345007
Not if the FCC has their way. They're considering doing away with Clear Qam,meaning everyone will need a digital STB.......Google "FCC clear qam mandate" Third from the top, IIRC.mad.gif
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post #15269 of 16895
12/9/12 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by harleyjoe43 View Post

Not if the FCC has their way. They're considering doing away with Clear Qam,meaning everyone will need a digital STB.......Google "FCC clear qam mandate" Third from the top, IIRC.mad.gif
You still will not need a cable company STB but you will need a device that can use a cable card and then rent a cable card from your cable company. Silicondust all ready makes one called the HDHomeRun Prime
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post #15270 of 16895
12/9/12 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by atmusky View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by harleyjoe43 View Post

Not if the FCC has their way. They're considering doing away with Clear Qam,meaning everyone will need a digital STB.......Google "FCC clear qam mandate" Third from the top, IIRC.mad.gif
You still will not need a cable company STB but you will need a device that can use a cable card and then rent a cable card from your cable company. Silicondust all ready makes one called the HDHomeRun Prime
Nice dupe. wink.gif
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