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    Getting a blank recording, no picture no audio. Evolution Cable Box with only Hdmi connection to TV but not sure what has to run from cable box to DVR. Have tried L1, L2 to connect DVR to TV and have now switched to a newer Samsung TV. TV has only one HDMI port. Still Not recording. Is it connections? Help! Have not had any problems with it previously on OTA recording but problems started once the the digital cable box arrived. Thanks!
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  2. Whatever cable box you use needs to have output connections compatible with your Magnavox. If this "Evolution" box really does only have an HDMI output, then you cannot record from it. Most cable boxes do still include analog line outputs: check the back panel. If the Evolution has analog outputs (yellow-video, red-right audio, white-left audio), connect those to the line inputs on the back of your Magnavox. Cycle the Magnavox input selection until you see the cable box. All timer recordings going forward should be set for that input.

    The Magnavox HDMI output connects to the single TV HDMI port. You will need to power on the Magnavox any time you want to watch TV, because the cable signal passes thru it en route to the sole HDMI connection of your TV. Because the Magnavox is permanent middleman, your picture quality will always be standard definition (not HDTV). You may suddenly find a lot of shows are letterboxed (black borders), and the picture clarity will not be as good as it was via the Magnavox off-air tuner.

    If you'd like to be able to bypass the Magnavox when it isn't needed, so you can see a true HDTV picture, you'll need to buy an HDMI switchbox and two additional HDMI cords. The Magnavox and Evolution connect to the switchbox inputs, and the switchbox output connects to the TV. When switched to the Evolution, your TV will get a direct HDTV signal from the cable box. When switched to the Magnavox, the TV will receive standard definition (your recordings, dvds, or the Evolution analog feed).

    Note when you get a cable box, you lose the ability to record one channel while watching another (because the Magnavox and TV are both dependent on the same cable box channel for TV signal). Also, some cable companies play hardball with their customers: they put a lock on their boxes so only one type of output can be used at a time (if you connect the Magnavox to analog, the box will shut off its HDMI output, and vice versa). If thats the case, your viewing options are limited to what I described in second paragraph (the switchbox alternative won't work).
    Last edited by orsetto; 9th May 2017 at 13:17.
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    Image
    [Attachment 41544 - Click to enlarge]
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    [Attachment 41545 - Click to enlarge]
    here is the Evolution box from Adams Cable
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    Your Evolution cable box has only RF out for its SD connection, so it uses an analog channel (3 or 4) to provide an SD signal. You need to connect the cable box RF out to the Magnavox 515H/F7's Antenna In with a short RF coax cable, and tune the Magnavox to either analog channel 3 or 4 depending on which setting is selected on the "3/4 switch" on the back of the Evolution cable box.

    The TV needs to be connected to the Magnavox 515H/F7 using the lower set of AV connections (labeled OUT) at the rear of Magnavox 515H/F7, or using the Magnavox 515H/F7's HDMI connection.

    Note that the Magnavox 515H/F7 can only record whatever channel the cable box is tuned to at the time. A DVD recorder can't change channels on the cable box.

    If the TV has only one HDMI port, and you want to use HDMI for both the cable box and the Magnavox then you need an HDMI switch and 3 HDMI cables. (The cables won't be included with the switch).

    A manual HDMI switch:
    https://www.amazon.com/Switcher-Bi-direction-Hub-HDCP-Passthrough-Supports-DotStone/dp/B01L8LLP2G/

    A remote controlled HDMI switch:
    https://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD1832-Intelligent-Adapter-Supports/dp/B008D6YZXG/

    Ooops, It looks like more posts were added while I was typing this.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th May 2017 at 13:54.
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  5. Ugh: now that you've posted photos of it, I can see the Evolution isn't a proper cable box. Its one of those godforsaken garbage DTA pods the cablecos now force on their budget customers who refuse to give up their "boxless" service plans.

    You have no decent recording options available from this piece of junk. The only possible Magnavox connection is what usually-quiet described: RF output to your Magnavox antenna input, with the Magnavox tuned permanently to channel 3/4.

    Recorded picture quality from that connection will be somewhere between mediocre and dismal. If its a smallish HDTV, you might be able to tolerate it. But if you have a 32" or larger screen, its gonna look ugly. If all you use the Magnavox for is disposable time-shift recording, you might find the results acceptable. You can get somewhat better recording quality from an actual decoder box with the line output connection described in my first reply, but you have to pay $10-$20 per month extra for that (and you'd still end up with letterbox black borders). Or, you could purchase an HDMI>Composite adapter from Amazon, and connect it between the Evolution and your Magnavox. This will give you full widescreen recordings, tho not true HDTV.

    Cable and satellite service are no longer compatible with Magnavox (or other) dvd recorders for reasonable picture quality. If at all possible, use an off-air antenna connected to the Magnavox for local channels: the unit is optimized to make best possible recordings from its own tuner. The minute you bypass the internal tuner with external cable or satellite hardware, recording quality and timer convenience go out the window.
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    This is the only box I ever had with this company. For years the cable stations came via the cable from the wall and I had no problems.

    So, with your suggestion to connect the RF output to the Magnavox out antenna (which on the evolution box labelled "to TV") do I still keep the HDMI connected to the evolution box and the TV? Do I still use the Red, yellow, white cables going from Magnavox L2 to TV? The L1 connection I have tried and it is not recognized at all by the TV. Additionally how do I set the Magnavox to channel 3? I have never had to do that. The evolution box is set to channel 3 via switch on back. Thank you! Ps: I have set this DVR many times and have used it successfully but this setup has confounded me!
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    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    So, with your suggestion to connect the RF output to the Magnavox out antenna
    I suggested connecting the Evolution cable box's RF OUT (or RF "To TV") to the Magnavox's antenna IN.

    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    do I still keep the HDMI connected to the evolution box and the TV?
    After you get the Magnavox to work using a composite video connection to the TV, you should try connecting HDMI out from the Evolution cable box to the TV to find out if the Evolution DTA can output a signal from both its RF Out and HDMI at the same time.

    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    Do I still use the Red, yellow, white cables going from Magnavox L2 to TV?
    I downloaded the Magnavox 515H/F7's manual. Looking at the Magnavox manual, "L2" refers to the set of connections on the front of the Magnavox, which are used for video input. If those are the connections you mean, disconnect them. TVs rarely have any composite and stereo audio connections that output a signal. The composite and stereo audio connections connections on nearly all TVs can only be used for connecting a video and audio source to the TV.

    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    The L1 connection I have tried and it is not recognized at all by the TV.
    Looking at the manual again L1 refers to the left set of yellow-red-white connections on the back of the Magnavox labeled IN, which are used for video input. You need to connect the TV to the the right-hand set of yellow-red-white video connections labeled OUT to the TV's composite and stereo audio A/V connections.

    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    Additionally how do I set the Magnavox to channel 3? I have never had to do that. The evolution box is set to channel 3 via switch on back. Thank you! Ps: I have set this DVR many times and have used it successfully but this setup has confounded me!
    Download the Magnavox 515H/F7's manual from the manufacturer's website. The direct link is http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/m/mdr515h_f7/mdr515h_f7_dfu_aen.pdf Go to page 29, which explains how to scan for channels. Use “Cable (Analog)" for "Auto Channel Preset" to scan for analog channels. It should only find channel 3. You'll need to press [DTV/TV] on the remote control to switch the Magnavox recorder to analog mode for watching or recording cable.

    P.S. I recorded from a different cable box with a Magnavox MDR 513H/F7 and a Panasonic DVD Recorder for a couple of years.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th May 2017 at 22:38.
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    Yes, I have the manual. Thank you

    I am now set up as you have indicated above. Magnavox is connected via the L1 (rear) connection to TV Evolution box is HDMI connected to TV and RF out to Magnavox Antenna in. I can get a Magnavox menu on the screen by selecting source on the TV which is the AV source. Screen is blank but seems to be the correct source. This is now going through a channel scan with auto channel preset which is for cable ----->digital and analog according to the menu choice from Magnavox. My goodness! When did this become so complicated?����.
    Ok. Scanning complete. i still have a blank screen and whenI try to choose channels nothing! Mag remote goes through the various connections L1, L2, DTV and back to L1 when you use channel up/down. Shouldn't I have some viewable channels? I am in NE PA. This is a small cable company locally owned and expensive since they went digital. Plus am in middle of no where so no local stations at all over the air. I am stumped. Just wanted to records some programs to view at night☹️☹️


    I also have a JVC DR-MV 150 which has had little use. Maybe I should try that one if Magnavox does not work!?
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    Wait. I see you said use analog scan only. So am trying that now.
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    Analog scan found 72 channels. Screen still blank. Channel up down gives me a cycle again through L1, L2, DTV. All screens blank. It is a letterbox sceen though!
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    Did an antenna scan too. Screen still blank. ��
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    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    Analog scan found 72 channels.

    That shouldn't happen if you are scanning RF out from the Evolution DTA. The Evolution DTA only outputs a signal on channel 3. Are you perhaps scanning with the Magnavox recorder connected directly to the coax cable coming out from the wall?
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 10th May 2017 at 00:09. Reason: clarity
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    Does your TV have a setting for antenna or cable ??
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    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    Yes, I have the manual. Thank you

    I am now set up as you have indicated above. Magnavox is connected via the L1 (rear) connection to TV Evolution box is HDMI connected to TV and RF out to Magnavox Antenna in. I can get a Magnavox menu on the screen by selecting source on the TV which is the AV source. Screen is blank but seems to be the correct source. This is now going through a channel scan with auto channel preset which is for cable ----->digital and analog according to the menu choice from Magnavox. My goodness! When did this become so complicated?����.
    Ok. Scanning complete. i still have a blank screen and whenI try to choose channels nothing! Mag remote goes through the various connections L1, L2, DTV and back to L1 when you use channel up/down. Shouldn't I have some viewable channels? I am in NE PA. This is a small cable company locally owned and expensive since they went digital. Plus am in middle of no where so no local stations at all over the air. I am stumped. Just wanted to records some programs to view at night☹️☹️

    I also have a JVC DR-MV 150 which has had little use. Maybe I should try that one if Magnavox does not work!?
    I didn't see this before.

    I give up. I'm leaving you in orsetto's capable hands. Plainly I can't provide instructions written in such in a way that you understand them..
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  15. You are suffering the same fate that hit thousands of other long-term Magnavox owners who had their "boxless" service ripped out from under them by the latest "digital cable" upheaval. That fate is to be totally confused and annoyed while you figure out how to work around this mess. Previously, you had no box at all: your Magnavox tuned all channels directly off the cable wire, using its own tuner, more or less the same as if it was connected to an off-air antenna. Them days is over: now they insist you tune channels with either a crummy featureless mini box like the Evolution, or pay more for a normal decoder box with proper connections. In both cases, your Magnavox tuner is bypassed or crippled, and you won't be able to record 16:9 widescreen any more (only letterbox).

    If you followed usually-quiet's wiring instructions, and you're able to view the Magnavox menu screens on your TV (but can't see any channels), there's an issue with the Evolution pod. Perhaps its one of those that can only output via HDMI or RF, not both simultaneously. Try disconnecting the HDMI cable, then manually force the Magnavox to tune channel 3 by pressing "0" then "3" on the Mag remote. You should be able to see the channel selected on the Evolution box (don't ever again use the channel buttons on the Mag remote- leave it on 3, and change channels with the Evolution remote). If you do finally get a channel, reconnect the HDMI cable and check if everything holds. If you lose the channel, that means the evolution can't run both connections at the same time.

    The Magnavox cable tuner can be very wonky sometimes: if it won't lock on channel 3 simply by pressing 03 on the remote, you may need to run a channel scan or do some other tricks several times before it "finds" the Evolution output on channel 3. The technicalities can get difficult to explain and repetitive: you might be better served asking your questions on the ground-zero Magnavox thread over at AVS forum. That is the most active, fanatical Magnavox owners forum in existence. They have discussed this aggravation with the Evolution type of digital pod literally 100 times in the past few years, I promise you someone there can help you troubleshoot your issues. Just pose the question as "my boxless cable service has been disrupted by cable company giving me a DTA, and I can't get my Magnavox to recognize it".

    usually_quiet has always been very helpful to people with Magnavox-related questions here on VH. The only reason I'm recommending the AVS forum as an additional resource is they've beaten this digital switchover issue into the ground: it gets re-hashed every single day. Since you are anxious to get things up and running ASAP, you might get a faster solution from someone there (if only because the sheer number of Magnavox owners active on that thread makes it likely someone has dealt with exactly your Evolution pod).

    http://www.avsforum.com/forum/106-dvd-recorders-standard-def/940657-magnavox-557-537-5...76-3575-a.html
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    One last try... Here is a diagram showing the connections. I suggest to Pmint that he does not connect the Evolution box to the TV using HDMI until after he verifies that the Composite video and Stereo audio connection from the Magnavox are able to display a picture to the TV and provide audio.

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    Hi there, thanks a lot for thediagram. I have done this. I have also tried the other suggested connections. Appears the box and the magnavox do not recognize each other. All I get is still a blank screen and no audio. The magnavox menu screen display shows up on the TV using AV output but channel selections scan is useless. Goes through the process but channel 3 Never appears. Do you think another DVR is worth trying? I have a JVC. Or is it likely the cable company just doesn't want customers to use their own DVR?
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    Originally Posted by Pmint View Post
    Hi there, thanks a lot for thediagram. I have done this. I have also tried the other suggested connections. Appears the box and the magnavox do not recognize each other. All I get is still a blank screen and no audio. The magnavox menu screen display shows up on the TV using AV output but channel selections scan is useless. Goes through the process but channel 3 Never appears. Do you think another DVR is worth trying? I have a JVC. Or is it likely the cable company just doesn't want customers to use their own DVR?
    Analog channel 3 is not a DTV channel. It is an analog channel, a "TV" channel as far as the Magnavox goes. To switch the Magnavox from tuning DTV to tuning Analog TV (and vice versa), you have to press the TV/DTV button on the remote.

    If you cannot make it work, go ahead and try the JVC, as long as it has an analog tuner.
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    Yes I did that. The Dtv/ TV button made no difference. Same Blank screen. Will post again when I try JVC. Thanks for your help!
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    JVC DR MV-150 works beautifully! Well, at least Now I am not the idiot everone thought I was!!����. Will try the Magnavox on 2 other, newer TV'S to see what happens before I pronounce final judgment on it. I will try all possible connections once again as you both suggested just to R/O if it is really not working. Thank you for helping me through it all. May be back!
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    The Magnavox MDR513H/F7 (which I own) is very similar to the Magnavox MDR515H/F7. They were released only a few months apart and the Magnavox MDR513H/F7 can even use the Magnavox MDR515H/F7's firmware.

    I don't have a cable box or DTA now, so I tried hooking my mother's Motorola HD DTA up to my Magnavox MDR513H/F7 as shown in my diagram. My Magnavox MDR513H/F7 is set to tune and record from DTV channels. Without scanning for analog channels first, I pressed the "TV/DTV" button and pressed 3. ...and voila, picture and sound from Comcast cable,

    Since the other DVD recorder works with it, there is nothing wrong with your Evolve DTA. Unless the analog tuner in your Magnavox MDR515H/F7 is defective, you should be able to do what I did.
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    I'm posting this here 3 years later for particular reasons. I had a Mag 513 or 515 (?: can't recall now, would require some back-tracing to ID it, since the unit expired and was disposed of), that fell victim to a nasty power surge. More recently, I reclaimed a Mag 2160 from a relative who had scarcely used it. The most plausible placement for this would be in a tertiary location, with a mostly older video equipment stack. (I was always much more a fan of Pioneer DVDRs, which are still run in my more often used locations.) A major factor is connectors: when my older DirecTV DVR Sat boxes ultimately give out, I'll probably be up the proverbial creek. I'm reliant on the S-Video IN connection of the Pioneers, fed by the S-Video OUT from those Sat boxes, as the best decent connection option. Later DirecTV Sat boxes dropped S-Video entirely. This tertiary location I referred to is served by a later DirecTV non-DVR Sat box (the third one to occupy that spot, the previous two having each croaked after a few years), which is tiny compared to its predecessors, and has a disturbing paucity of connectors. I don't know that there is any practical means for connecting that Mag 2160 to it. Worse yet, I might have liked to do some VHS transfer work at that station, but it's more of the same issue for chaining a VHS deck into this setup. (Maybe it would be useful for me to include a pic or diagram here.) It could be that the only option at that location would be much more limited: skip the DirecTV box altogether, with just a Mohu Leaf antenna into the Magnavox for the possibility of recording a few local OTA channels.

    Incidentally, I just saw a listing on eBay for a Mag 2080 -- presumably the closer model to this 2160 -- claiming that it was much preferable to the later Mag DVDR models. True ? False ? (If I ever knew the answer I don't remember.)
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  23. Originally Posted by Seeker47 View Post
    Incidentally, I just saw a listing on eBay for a Mag 2080 -- presumably the closer model to this 2160 -- claiming that it was much preferable to the later Mag DVDR models. True ? False ? (If I ever knew the answer I don't remember.)
    Typical eBay seller hyperbole: the 2080 is not superior to the 2160 in any significant way (I'm leaving that door open a crack on the off chance a 2080 aficionado posts here to the contrary). If anything it is quite a bit less desirable today than any of the later Magnavox units: at 80GB it has half the HDD capacity, it lacks a DV/FireWire camera dubbing port, and (crucially) lacks an HDMI connector for optimal playback on non-CRT flat screen HDTV televisions.

    The 2080 was simply a stripped-down version of the then-popular Phillips 3575. The Phillips was a hot seller for WalMart as the one-and-only ATSC-tuner DVD/HDD ever offered, but the rapidly dwindling number of customers interested in buying one was becoming cheapskate to the point of lunacy. Despite the fact similar non-ATSC recorders had sold for $599 the year before, the Phillips at $429 was widely considered "too pricey" by late 2007. So it was "de-contented" and re-branded as dull-looking Magnavox at a dramatically lower price point.

    Phillips applied a couple bug fixes to the 3575 to create the near-identical 3576, but the astonishingly cheap Mag 2080 had permanently poisoned the market for the premium Phillips unit. So it was phased out in favor of the upgraded Mag 2160, which was merely the 2080 with the 160GB HDD, DV port, and HDMI connection added back in with only a moderate increase in price (IOW, a Phillips 3576 in a cheaper uglier cabinet). Sales of the 2160 were decent at $299 but it exploded into legend when Funai/WalMart implemented an utterly insane unprofitable "refurb" strategy (allegedly consumer returns, repacks, surplus and seconds) discounted to $159. There was a seemingly limitless supply of these refurbs, and they totally killed sales of the "brand new retail" recorders. Funai/WalMart let this roll for quite a long time, incorporating the improved successor 513 model.

    Eventually the "refurb" strategy was dropped and prices crept steadily upward back to the $400-$500 zone, culminating in the final overpriced, underpowered, nearly useless 700/800/900 series. These tried to combine the best of both worlds: Hi Def viewing and HDD recording with the option of downconverting to offload HDD contents to DVDs. Unfortunately cheapjack Funai proved wholly incompetent at designing/mfrg something so ambitious and beyond their usual wheelhouse. The things were a pricey, unreliable, unworkable disappointment: plagued with every unresolved issue of former models, with newly added glitches, corners cut and features crippled. WalMart wisely euthanized the whole lineup a few years ago, which finally ended the Funai-extended era of North American DVD recorders.
    Last edited by orsetto; 8th Jun 2021 at 15:17.
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  24. Is there an alternative brand to this? one that does the same thing?
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  25. Originally Posted by pygar-33 View Post
    Is there an alternative brand to this? one that does the same thing?
    No, not anymore: disc+hdd recorders vanished from North America a few years ago with the demise of the final problematic Magnavox units. Europe, Asia, Australia and NZ had a wider variety of units to choose from, including BluRay+HDD, but most of these were also discontinued some time ago. Recording to physical media like discs has fallen into steep decline worldwide, replaced by HDD-only recorders and various streaming services. The bottom fell out of the disc recorder market, so there are no new or current models available.

    One must make do with second hand recorders, or move on to a more contemporary (albeit less convenient) solution. Some versions of TiVO allow offloading cable or off-air recordings to a PC. A popular budget option is one of the $50 iView-style recorders like the Homeworx. These are small off-air HDTV tuner boxes capable of timer recording to USB flash drives or external HDDs. Then you have "game recorders" like the Avermedia units which can also record from line inputs or HDMI (with some restrictions). Most current recorder solutions that allow permanently saved files are designed for off-air broadcasts: if you want to record from cable or satellite you're pretty much limited to your service's sealed box subscription recorder (no offloading or permanent archiving). The North American cable tuner situation is so hopelessly convoluted nobody except TiVO is willing to deal with it, and even TiVO requires a special decoder card from the cable company.
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    Orsetto, thanks for all the background information
    My Magnavox MDR 515H just died, so I'm looking for tips on what to do. I find Walmart has some refurbished models.
    One is the 513 which apparently is similar to my 515

    They also have a Magnavox H2160MW9

    I got lost in the history of these models. Is the 2160 newer than the 513? Which do you think is better? Prices are similar
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    The Magnavox MDR513H/F7 is a more recent model. I never had the other model so I can't compare them.
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    Originally Posted by orsetto View Post
    Originally Posted by pygar-33 View Post
    Is there an alternative brand to this? one that does the same thing?
    No, not anymore: disc+hdd recorders vanished from North America a few years ago with the demise of the final problematic Magnavox units. Europe, Asia, Australia and NZ had a wider variety of units to choose from, including BluRay+HDD, but most of these were also discontinued some time ago. Recording to physical media like discs has fallen into steep decline worldwide, replaced by HDD-only recorders and various streaming services. The bottom fell out of the disc recorder market, so there are no new or current models available.

    One must make do with second hand recorders, or move on to a more contemporary (albeit less convenient) solution. Some versions of TiVO allow offloading cable or off-air recordings to a PC. A popular budget option is one of the $50 iView-style recorders like the Homeworx. These are small off-air HDTV tuner boxes capable of timer recording to USB flash drives or external HDDs. Then you have "game recorders" like the Avermedia units which can also record from line inputs or HDMI (with some restrictions). Most current recorder solutions that allow permanently saved files are designed for off-air broadcasts: if you want to record from cable or satellite you're pretty much limited to your service's sealed box subscription recorder (no offloading or permanent archiving). The North American cable tuner situation is so hopelessly convoluted nobody except TiVO is willing to deal with it, and even TiVO requires a special decoder card from the cable company.
    The story gets worse, orsetto. My issues with DirecTV service that came to a head recently -- finally and fortunately fixed, for the moment -- made certain things quite clear. Even if they have no success with their preference to unload DirecTV and U-Verse to some other owner, AT&T really wants to phase these out, moving as many customers as possible over to their new DirecTV Streaming platform. Take that step and say Bye Bye to the DVR receiver boxes with an HDD inside, and so long to recording stuff and time-shifting -- at least being done conveniently at home, under your direct control. Or editing and saving your own chosen content. (I have no use for doing anything in the cloud, outside of my direct control.) They already discontinued allowing us to own our own equipment. So it is most likely that I would not be allowed to activate my one remaining spare DVR receiver box that I'd salted away, for that day, certain to come, when one of the main boxes croaks. The DVR receiver box that they would supply as a replacement would have to be a leased one, and of a later hardware generation that does not connect with downstream gear like our DVDRs, because these boxes no longer have the requisite ports. My preferred generation of DVR receiver that does offer the necessary connectivity option has been discontinued, and is no longer officially supported. So, I'm in a legacy limbo that is temporary. If these factors are indeed absolute, they point to a parting of the ways between myself and this service provider, down the road.

    So, it's a situation of smoke 'em while you've got 'em . . . .
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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