[Neuner]

Have the Toshiba RD-XS35 but my little one broke it. One of the things my wife and I loved was the TGOS for setting recordings. I've been looking at some other models like the Phillips DVDR3576H/37 or the Magnavox H2080MW8. Do they have some sort of programming guide to them that is similar to TGOS?

 

[Kelson]

Sadly no, the last recorders to have the TVGOS EPG were the Panasonic HDD units which were discontinued over a year ago. No current recorders with digital tuners have an EPG.


I know what you mean, I have an E-85 with 8-day TVGOS and I wouldn't want to be without it. The thought of scheduling recordings by manually setting day and time seems so primitive.


If you have cable or sat, the only way to get a recorder with an integrated EPG is to rent their DVR. If you are OTA, there is currently nothing on the market with free EPG (there is always TiVo with a monthly fee). EchoStar has announced they will introduce the TR-50 HD DVR for OTA users that has a full EPG feature. This unit is currently vaporware that may or may not appear in the Sept/08 timeframe they are claiming.


It is for these reasons that many people with the older models are more than willing to send them back to the manufacturer to have them fixed.

 

[Neuner]

Thanks. That's a bummer.


I'm thinking about building another HTPC to record shows and it wouldn't be that much more than buying a new unit. I already do this with my Theater HTPC and it works good, it's just not quite as simple of an operation. At least it records OTA HD in full resolution and you can schedule recordings through TitanTV!


Anyone else taken this step?

 

[jjeff]

You should still be able to pick up a international Panasonic at WorldImport.com. If they have the EH-55 it should have 8 day TVGOS. I just bought mine at Future Shop in Canada but as Kelson said I think they've been discontinued now for Canada. I got the display at the store I was at.

The price at W.I. will be a little steep, I think ~$500 and the HDD will be a little smaller than the 200gb Canadian model(I think 160gb) but it IS a option.

I don't know a thing about HTPCs.

 

[CitiBear]

Short term you should probably send your Toshiba in for flat-fee service, which I believe Toshiba still offers direct to consumers for about $130. (Toshiba and Panasonic seem to be the only mfrs offering this). They fix whatever your child broke on the unit and you'll get back a renewed machine that should carry you until the next incarnation of recorders with TVGOS appears.


Firm data is hard to come by, but the TVGOS company has made some cryptic trade remarks recently regarding a newer ATSC-compatible version. Reading between the lines and looking at the very few announced new products (mostly TVs) with the TVGOS feature, it appears all the consumer electronics mfrs are simply waiting out the final analog switchoff in the US market next year. The transitional dual-band analog/digital tuner design required during the past year or so has been an expensive manufacturing nightmare none of them wants to bother with anymore. Once simplified ATSC-only tuners become the standard, TVGOS seems poised to make a big comeback in consumer recorders. Most of us thought the feature was DOA, but it looks like a resurrection is pending...

 

[Rammitinski]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff /forum/post/14166733


You should still be able to pick up a international Panasonic at WorldImport.com. If they have the EH-55 it should have 8 day TVGOS.

The Eurasian Pannies only have PAL tuners, so I don't think that'll work for him. And now that I think of it, they don't even have TVGOS.


The W.-I. and B&H Pio's have NTSC/PAL, and I think they're still selling the models with TVGOS (it will say in the specs), but I'm not even sure if the TVGOS is integrated to work when using NTSC. It very well might be, though. I would tend to think that if they are going to go through the effort and expense of putting it in there, then it will work with either format.

 

[mattack]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelson /forum/post/14164585


If you have cable or sat, the only way to get a recorder with an integrated EPG is to rent their DVR. If you are OTA, there is currently nothing on the market with free EPG (there is always TiVo with a monthly fee).

BTW, Tivo has brought back the lifetime subscription, so you *don't* have to pay a monthly fee. Each person has to make the decision whether they think the "gamble" (I don't think it's much of a gamble) is worth it. The most likely thing to go wrong in a Tivo is its hard drive.. and that can be fixed by oneself or one's slightly geeky friend.

 

[80sGuy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff /forum/post/14166733


You should still be able to pick up a international Panasonic at WorldImport.com. If they have the EH-55 it should have 8 day TVGOS. I just bought mine at Future Shop in Canada but as Kelson said I think they've been discontinued now for Canada. I got the display at the store I was at.

The price at W.I. will be a little steep, I think ~$500 and the HDD will be a little smaller than the 200gb Canadian model(I think 160gb) but it IS a option.

I don't know a thing about HTPCs.

There's a couple of retailers in Quebec Canada still selling new EH55s for $550-$600 via ebay. They're actually the same as the U.S. models - minus the U.S. warranty.

 

[plplplpl]

For a Buy It Now price ranging from $599.99 to $1,778.45 +$98.80? Please don't encourage these clowns. Last time I went to some Future Shops a couple of weeks ago, they still all had it on the shelves for about $300 to $400.

 

[80sGuy]

I haven't seen any in futureshop's site for months. Yeah, the sellers there in Canada knows that the demand is here, but it is still a better bet than buying one with a 160GB w/ SCART inputs.

 

[jjeff]

If they only have the PAL tuners then you would probably be correct, they won't do the OP any good. On a side note though, when I bought my floor model Panny EH-55 it didn't have a manual. The sales guy printed me one off from the web, problem was it was the European version. Long story short it did have TVGOS and sounded like many places in Europe use TVGOS. I guess I was a little surprised about this.

The more I think about this though the more I think Citibear had it right. Since were not positive analog TVGOS will continue after '09 it would probably be best to just get his original Toshiba fixed. Maybe then after digital TVGOS gets a bigger following well see more DVDRs with TVGOS.

After all since Sony committed digital TVGOS to almost their whole new TV lineup it sounds like they believe it will be around for a while.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski /forum/post/14167857


The Eurasian Pannies only have PAL tuners, so I don't think that'll work for him. And now that I think of it, they don't even have TVGOS.


The W.-I. and B&H Pio's have NTSC/PAL, and I think they're still selling the models with TVGOS (it will say in the specs), but I'm not even sure if the TVGOS is integrated to work when using NTSC. It very well might be, though. I would tend to think that if they are going to go through the effort and expense of putting it in there, then it will work with either format.

 

[Rammitinski]

I'll have to check W.I.'s site again. Last time I looked, the models they had didn't have TVGOS. Or they didn't list it. I think those are actually Middle Eastern models if I'm not mistaken. I believe you're right though, that TVGOS (under a slightly different name) in Europe is quite common.


EDIT: Nope. Just checked. Looks like the same ones and none mention TVGOS. Still no NTSC tuners, either.


Anyway, the DTVPal should keep our SD recorder's TVGOS working. I'm waiting for mine and will test it fully whenever I get it.

 

[Kelson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski /forum/post/14171256


Anyway, the DTVPal should keep our SD recorder's TVGOS working. I'm waiting for mine and will test it fully whenever I get it.

I have looked and looked in the house, but I cannot find my E-85 IR blaster. Any idea where I could buy a new one?

 

[Rammitinski]

Panasonic's online store sells them for about $15.00 I think, but maybe you can find them cheaper somewhere else. I can interchange my Sony and Panny ones, and others here have said that they've never had any problems using other ones with different recorders, so maybe any generic one will do.

 

[jjeff]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelson /forum/post/14171904


I have looked and looked in the house, but I cannot find my E-85 IR blaster. Any idea where I could buy a new one?

Rams correct, if I can't get Future Shop to find and send me one I'm planning on buying it from Panasonic.com. I think they were around $20 including shipping.

 

[CitiBear]

Just to clear up some confusion regarding various "flavors" of the same DVR in different territiories:


The "North American Market" recorder models that had TVGOS will function normally in the USA and Canada. This includes older models that were available in both countries as well as whatever recent "for sale in Canada only" models had TVGOS, such as the "Canadian" Panasonic EH55. These have analog NTSC-only tuners and were specifically intended for US/Canada use only.


"International" models sold by World Import, B&H, and other dealers incorporate the European off-air scheduling feature known as "Guide Plus". This is similar to TVGOS but *only* works if you are in a country broadcasting a PAL signal, which you can receive using the units PAL tuner section. When used in North America or Japan, these machines switch to their NTSC tuner sections and NO scheduling data can be picked up by their "Guide Plus" systems. The "Guide Plus" system can be pulled up, but only so you can use its Manual Timer screen, similar to the one TVGOS has. Some machines additionally offer a crude hardware-based manual "quick timer". To repeat, there is *no* TVGOS functionality in the international models when used in US/Canada. None.


Other than the dubious reassurance of getting "new in box", there is really no advantage whatsoever to a USA resident who buys one of the "international" models. They are ridiculously overpriced and more complicated to use. There are usually two or three reputable Canadian overstock dealers on eBay at any given time with North American demo or refurb units available at prices 30-50% lower than the "international" units. If the supply dries up it just means new models are trickling into the system, wait a few weeks and it will be a flood (this is happening right now with Pioneer). Or, you can contact a friend/relative in Canada to just go buy you one on sale in a store and then mail it to you (perfectly legal).


Granted, this applies more to Pioneer since they are still marketing newly-released (non-TVGOS) DVD/HDD models in Canada. If you prefer Panasonic for it's TVGOS feature, move fast because the supply is drying up: Panasonic has now pulled HDD-equipped models from Canada as well as the USA, and when existing Canadian stock runs out, that's all, folks.

 

[jtbell]



Quote:
Originally Posted by CitiBear /forum/post/14167399


the TVGOS company has made some cryptic trade remarks recently regarding a newer ATSC-compatible version.

That would be Gemstar, which is now owned by CBS. In several cities (Minneapolis and Houston for example), the CBS stations are now including TVGOS data in their ATSC broadcast streams, similarly to the way other stations (often PBS stations) carry the data in their NTSC broadcasts. The plan apparently is to have CBS stations (or maybe some other designated station) functioning as an ATSC TVGOS host channel in each market, hopefully by next February.


At least one device has been reported to work with ATSC TVGOS: the Sony HD DVRs which were discontinued a couple of years ago.

 

[Rammitinski]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelson /forum/post/14171904


I have looked and looked in the house, but I cannot find my E-85 IR blaster. Any idea where I could buy a new one?

Try www.replacementremotes.com . Search under "GLINKCABLE"


$6.95 - but only 2 in stock as of this moment.

 

[Kelson]

Thank you all. I'll be ordering a new one.

 

[dreamer756]

Thanks for this info, I was considering an international model and had assumed the only diff was the size of hard drive (Panasonic EH55). I'm choking on the EBAY price, but want another one (I have an old EH50). Other threads have implied the TVGOS will be gone after 2009 when digital feed is standard, but I don't understand why that would be.