HDTV DVR Comparison - Consumer Owned Units - Page 2

The OP needs updated. Its the TVIX 6620NP now.

Look into a HTPC, it can do all of it.

It was announced last December for a "2010" release, but it isn't available yet.
BUT, it is on their website;
http://www.epvision.com/HDTVSTB/phdez1pre.htm


Only one RF input (still)??
Will this have separate memories for OTA and CATV?
This only lists a HDMI output. No component, composite or S-video?
Nothing on HDD size/time capacity.

The table is wrong because it mentions a list price of $129 in regards to an option that is not required to receive analog channels, due to the fact that its dependant on your cable provider, and not a limitation of the hardware.

Which model?

AZBox makes several receiver models that have ATSC/QAM and DVB-S2 record capability.

I've been testing an AZBox HD Premium receiver.

Tuner 1 = DVB-S2 (standard)
Tuner 2 = ATSC / QAM (user installed)
Hard drive = 1TB (user installed)

The box has HDMI, and component video outputs. 4:2:2 video is supported.

I can make High Definition recordings from C/KU "Free To Air" (FTA) satellite channels, ATSC "Off The Air" (OTA), and unencrypted QAM digital cable channels.

The recordings are .TS (Transport Stream) format. The receiver is fully networked. NFS and SMB (Samba) and FTP file transfer protocols are supported. The recorded files are fully accessible from any device connected to my local area network.

The ATSC firmware is in a beta state, but it's usable. The FTA firmware is a little better. (The developers are in Portugal and don't have ready access to ATSC signals).

I own the box and it's fully operational. I don't have to pay monthly rental fees to TIVO, Cable, or Satellite companies to make recordings. I use the box just like a VCR.

The AZBox also functions as a Networked Media Player and will play back virtually any file format as well as streaming Internet Video feeds.

Internet Cost $325 (includes shipping)

Additional Information: http://azbox.com/

Wow, what a freaking awesome resource. Great work.

The Moxi.

There is this disclaimer:

ok, so I guess I am missing something, but I am not sure what. I thought an HD signal can be transmitted from an A/V source device to a recorder over either a HDMI cable or a set of component cables. I just dont know what the other way is. There are also various compressed formats used around the word for HD broadcasts (ATSC/QAM in the USA, for example) for which a unit may have a tuner for, but not a feature most people would use as I assume most get their HD from either cable or satellite.

Now, since this thread is for stand alone units, wouldn't the most important feature to be listed in the matrix is whether the unit has HDMI or component INPUTS? This is NOT on the matrix. I at first thought it was just a given that all units could record HD through either HDMI or component inputs, but when I went to one of the manufactuers sites, the unit had NEITHER input, and was just a broadcast recorder. I came to this thread looking for an alternative to a Gefen unit, but I can't even figure out if any of the units can even record in HD by looking at this matrix. And the Gefen unit is not even listed, which makes me think I am just in the wrong place.

So, either this tread does not make any sense (unlikely), or I am missing something (almost certainly). No need for a long explanation, but if someone could just point me in the right direction, it would be appreciated.

Because there aren't any. None of the units listed in the product matrix in the first post has any. These devices all capture the multiplexed, encoded video/audio streams to disk. Devices that could capture from component would require additional expensive components to capture the analog video, convert it back into the digital domain, encode video (and potentially audio) with decent compression ratios and quality *in real time*, etc. Also, they engender copy protection concerns. There are devices for the PC that can do this sort of capture, but they cost half as much to nearly as much as some DVRs themselves. Also, HDMI capture isn't really an option, due to HDCP concerns; unencrypted HD could be captured, but encoding would still be a serious issue.


The thread makes perfect sense. It's for DVRs that record encoded digital video from OTA and cable sources. I think perhaps you've got some mistaken expectations though.

Upon further research, you are pretty much correct. However, since this a thread for the HD recorders matrix, I think that listing only OTA and cable source recorders in the matrix is a limitation that is confusing (at first) and caused me to spend considerable time in finding HD recorders that suited my requirements, as they were not listed

Since this is the first thread that someone would probably review when looking for an HD recorder, I think it should be updated to include units from Gefen, Cypress and maybe others which have both HDMI and component inputs.

Hello,

Please forgive me for my lack of TV terminology knowledge, but I think I've come to the right place in my search here.

I receive the basic network channels in HD (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, as well as a few other HD channels like CW, ion, My9TV and TBS - atho My9TV & TBS is usually in 480i or 720p) thru a physical cable hooked to the back of my TV. I believe this is called QAM.

So looking at the Matrix, it looks like only the Moxi and the Moxi v2 will work with my setup - am I correct?

If so, is there anything else I should be aware of with my type of setup?

Also, where can I look for possibly a second hand Moxi or any retailers you recommend for a cheaper price?

Thank you!

Anyone?

A Tivo would work, but without a Cable Card(CC) you'd only be able to make manual recordings and you'd be losing a big benefit of the Tivo.
I'm not very familiar with the Moxi but since they are relatively new, I don't know how much luck you'll have finding one refurbished or discounted.
Personally I'd think your best bet would be a refurbished Tivo HD but I'm not sure how much a CC would cost you per month. I think CCs are only a couple bucks but you may need to subscribe to a more expensive package that could cost much more.

Since we got Netflix I realized that we hardly ever watch cable TV anymore except for some PBS stuff and maybe the odd football game, special or series. The OTA HD reception with my old attic antenna (~35 miles form Boston) is excellent, however, and covers >75% of the stuff we usually watch, so we decided to drop the TV service from Comcast along with my HD DVR. That saved me around $50 per month (even with an internet upgrade), but I do miss the program guide and pause / live replay capabilities. The DTVpal seems to be the best thing out there for OTA recording, but also has a few quirks and seems a bit dated. Any idea whether we can expect to see anything new in this arena?

I'm not interested in TiVo because of having to pay their fee; as well as having to pay the cablecard fee. That is the reason I am interested in the Moxi as my understanding is that it works w/ QAM channels.

I'm already paying for Netflix streaming, so I don't want to add any more cost. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn't have a lot of the TV shows I like for streaming. In addition, I'm happy w/ my basic QAM channels; I was just hoping I could record as as it would be nice to watch some of the day time shows when I get home from work.

So if anyone has set up their Moxi w/ QAM channels (or if this is possible - it seems like it is from the Matrix chart), please post your feedback. Thanks.

That's understandable.
You might want to post your Moxi questions in this Moxi thread. This Sticky Thread is more for comparisons between the different DVRs. I'd think the majority of Moxi users would hang out in the linked thread

Hi everyone,
I'm a newbie on the Forum and need help deciding which way to go, do I pay$995 for the JVC 1250 Blu-Ray/HDD Recorder, or go HD downconverted to 480i with the Magnavox 515 DVD/HDD recorder, From what I've read, the JVC has no tuner, but I'd be using the component hook up from my Charter Cable box anyway. From what I understand no Blu-Ray/DVD?HDD recorders have HDMI inputs, which makes it hard to get the best PQ on the recordings. Any help would be appriciated....Thanks!

That JVC will only record from select camcorders or S-video/composite inputs(no component inputs).
Coming from a STB you'd have to use S-video which will just be SD anyway so the Magnavox would be just as good.
If you wanted to build a HTPC you could record HD from Component using a Hauppauge card and you'd also need a BR burner in the PC.
If you were OK with SD but didn't want a Magnavox then something like a international Panasonic would also record from S-video outputs but unlike the Magnavox the international Panasonics don't have a US tuner. Click my signature for info on the international Panasonics.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._ray_Disc.html

Hi,
Yes, your post makes sense. Even if I use the red green blue component hook up, I'd also have to use the analog RCA Left Right audio inputs, so the resulting recording, even using a BR blank would be still SD, right?
I'll think I'll go with the Magnavox, for now. If they ever put out a BR recorder with HDMI inputs, I might get that...but I'm not holding my breath for THAT!
I think the MPAA will prevent any consumer electronics company from offerring that.
Thanks!,
John

How do you think the new products like the Reycom REC series and a couple of other manufacturers that announced at CES should be positioned in the forums? Are they HTPC's or HDTV DVR's? I think they're direct competition to Tivo. (with extras like optical drives). It's just my opinion but i think embedded systems are inherently more stable than full blown operating systems.

Any chance of adding HTPC to the comparison?

The problem I could see with adding HTPC to the chart is their would be so many variables or ways to accomplish the task. I also think BFDTV(the OP of this thread) wanted to keep things to pre-packaged standalones only. On a side note I haven't seen BFDTV around in over 6 months I sure miss his posts and hope all is well, without him the OP(chart) won't get changed, it will just be a snapshot in time of the last time he updated it

Also, there already is a separate, HTPC forum here.

BFDTV doesn't post on the TiVo Community Forum anymore, either, where he was quite proliferic, too. Not good, I fear. I think even if he ended up in another country, or completely changed his lifestyle, or something like that, he would've at least posted something.

I am currently playing with the Hauppauge HD DVR to record HD. You need to use a computer but a laptop will work. I uses componet (up to 1080i), s video, composite in and uses either R & W or optical in for the audio.

Records in bluray format AVCHD (or something like that) in .TS format, xbox 360 format (M2TS?), and PS3 (.mp4) formats.

The recording can then be burned to a DVD (if you keep the quality down a bit (but still nice picture) to keep it under 4.7G) or a DVD DL if you need more space. These can then be played in the respective (see above) machines OR you can use a WD Live to stream the files from a hard drive - I record to an external usb hard drive.

Pretty much works on anything that will give you any of the 3 outputs, so it is a good way to get material off of a DVR, among other things.

jjeff the mods could always amend the list and rammitinski maybe he got banned. I know of quite a few people who are victums of the poor moderation that site has. Honesty, those mods couldnt perform a proper task if there lives depended on it.

You have no idea what you're talking about - bfdtv would be one of the last people to get banned on this board and the mods do a great job here. You got run off before for posting a bunch of crap, so please don't start again.

+1
And bfdtv is the OP, rammi may get banned some day but I think not. From what I've seen the mods do a fine job but of course they can't be everywhere nor do everything, I doubt they would have the time to constantly update the OP with the latest HTPCs.

It would be nice if the chart included tuner bandwidth, like 54MHz-860MHz or 54MHz-1GHz.