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  1. I've been looking to get a Dvd recorder with a built in Hard drive and I noticed that all the major retailers bairly carry any Dvd recorders in store at all. I haven't been able to find any hard drive models at Circuit city or best buy. Is there a movement away from these things or am I just looking in the wrong spot?

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  2. Member
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    One HDD recorder available in the U.S. is the Philips DVDR3576H/37, available at Sams Club stores, Wal-Mart online, and many other online stores.

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  3. You can get HDD recorders on Ebay. I got one for less than $50 total. It was awhile back though.
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  4. I know I can get anything online. I don't get how major retailers aren't carrying them(hard drive models) even on their websites. The Philips/mag models are the only ones I find but I'm sure we don't have to discuss their reliabilty and quality.
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    The Philips 3575/6 is a different animal than other Philips products you may be familiar with. I wouldn't hesitate suggesting it. Otherwise you'd have to go the international route or buy a Canadian Panny, Pioneer, LG or even Sony. Personally I'd stay away from the Magnavox or Liteon recorders w/hdds. They might be the cheapest but theirs a reason for that.....
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  6. Banned
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    Originally Posted by limpy
    Is there a movement away from these things
    Yes there is. The manufacturers have basically abandoned the North American marketplace. I think the situation is the same in Canada. Basically in the USA, people use Tivo if they want to record anything. While there is still some small desire for DVD recorders here, very few people were ever interested in using a HDD to edit video prior to burning. So you now have a situation where there's very few DVD recorders at all available and almost none with HDDs. The situation is exactly the opposite in Europe where DVD recorders and ones with HDDs are much more popular. I remember reading an explanation as to why, but I'm now a little hazy on the specifics. I think it may have something to do with the fact that US cable and satellite providers are giving PVRs to customers for next to nothing.
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  7. People rent DVRs from the cable company, so don't need to buy one.
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  8. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Out of 10 people (a quick representative cross-section), I find that
    - 3 use a PVR, Tivo or DVR (cable or satellite)
    - 1 uses iTunes or only rents as a primary means of watching videos
    - 1 uses VHS or S-VHS tapes
    - 1 uses a computer capture card
    - 2 use a DVD recorder (every 5th "group of 10", one person has an HDD version)
    - 2 don't use anything and/or don't care to record/convert anything

    I think that matches some research from late last year, that showed DVD recorder adoption in the 20-30% range, and HDD versions to be maybe 10-20% of the adopters. The machines simply were not desired by consumers. Hobbyists and pros rarely wanted them either, as quality was too limited for anything they would want to do.

    I love the benefits and convenience of recorders, but some folks just don't like them. It's usually because the machine is too hard for them to use. DirecTV and cable, on the other hand, are installed by an installer, and they often show the consumer how to operate the machine. With a DVD recorder, you're on your own once you've left the store (and the store employees usually are just as clueless).
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  9. Its kind of funny that no matter how many times we hash thru this question, there's always one more latecomer who's just now noticing DVD recorders have "left the building", and DVD recorders with hard drives left the country altogether- two years back already!

    T'was cable killed the DVD recorder in the USA, the particular combination of HDTV + TiVO interface + essentially getting the box "free" with digital cable service does not exist anywhere else in the world. Most people only want a recorder for timeshifting, once they get spoiled by the integrated program guide/recording scheduler in a USA cable DVR they never look back and will not ever again consider a non-integrated recorder. End of consumer interest, end of availability. For whatever reason, Phillips alone has decided to keep pursuing this dwindling USA market, and lucky for us they are providing a decent unit.

    Europe and Japan are different: cable and satellite penetration is much less, there are many government-subsidized free OTA digital broadcasts (some in HD), they have an excellent standardized integrated OTA recorder program guide that is much like TiVO, and they have not built up the price resistance Americans now have from the "free" cable DVR. The Japanese of course will buy anything electronic at any time, preferably more than one: its their national hobby.
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  10. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf
    I think that matches some research from late last year, that showed DVD recorder adoption in the 20-30% range, and HDD versions to be maybe 10-20% of the adopters. The machines simply were not desired by consumers. Hobbyists and pros rarely wanted them either, as quality was too limited for anything they would want to do.
    .
    It makes for an interesting contrast with the VCR era. During the banner years of that period, you had plenty of full-featured models costing $400. to $600., or more -- which I'm sure was more expensive than now, in relative terms. You couldn't really edit on them, unless you used two machines and went an extra tape generation, but I don't think the available features or machine complexity was substantially lower to most users than a lot of these DVDRs. (Remember the ubiquitous blinking 12:00 ?) The only explanation I can see for that degree of market acceptance vs. the one for DVDRs is that we have a lot more options today, including VOD.
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  11. Thanks for all the quality info. I guess I'll be getting the 3575 or 3576 depending on which one is better.
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    It won't matter unless you subscribe to analog cable. If you can get the 3576, that's prob. the overall better choice... new Front-End (FE) Firmware might be important/better in an analog-cable system? Also, not hearing anything bad about the 3576 yet... been out since Feb/Apr.
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  13. For less than a Philips you can get a Toshiba on Ebay. The PQ on the Toshiba recorders is unbeatable and they have more options for customizing than you will ever need. You could buy an extended warranty through Ebay with the price difference and end up with an excellent recorder with warranty.
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    I think that people recording less to archivable media (tape or disc) is due to the availibilty of TV season dvd box sets. Back in the day, if you wanted a copy of your favorite show, you would have to tape it yourself. It was not available any other way. Now people don't bother and can just go buy it from the store or rent it from Netflix.
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  15. Originally Posted by wabjxo
    It won't matter unless you subscribe to analog cable. If you can get the 3576, that's prob. the overall better choice... new Front-End (FE) Firmware might be important/better in an analog-cable system? Also, not hearing anything bad about the 3576 yet... been out since Feb/Apr.
    Thanks for all your help. It seems you probably know more about these machines than the Philips people
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    Originally Posted by Vidd
    I think that people recording less to archivable media (tape or disc) is due to the availibilty of TV season dvd box sets. Back in the day, if you wanted a copy of your favorite show, you would have to tape it yourself. It was not available any other way. Now people don't bother and can just go buy it from the store or rent it from Netflix.
    Or iTunes or XVID torrents. I've stopped recording primetime tv shows, because of this. And then 2-3 months after the season ends, the box set is available for about $25-35 the first week it's one sale (goes up to $40-50 the week after release). The only reason for recording is to timeshift, or to archive something unlikely to hit DVD or on-demand style video, such as newscasts or syndicated tv shows not available for release (or to get the un-butchered version with normal syndicated music).
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  17. When you buy one they give recording time based on lowest resolution. So, 80 hours is low resolution. More like 20 hours at a decent resolution. My Panasonic is listed at around 768 hours. Lol
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  18. If you want the Philips recorder, you can get a new one on ebay for $150 right now. Go to bensbargains.net and look for the Ebay listing, follow the instructions there to get 35% off of the $225 with free shipping price. The total is a little less than $150.
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  19. Being in Europe (sort of) I was of the opinion that I needed an all-singing all-dancing dvd recording machine, but I have recently purchased from my Tv provider a hard disk recorder 160gb for £50 (very tivo like)no ongoing extra payment, which is pretty cheap.. And now I realise that my need for anything more is much less, many others would be satisfied with just this box. I still would like to archive/record Discovery channel, NaTGEOG but if I cant WTH? I now have to starting thinking about a Dvd recorder.
    So maybe the Tv providers over here are also getting the message from america and copying the same ideas.
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  20. Originally Posted by RabidDog
    (...) So maybe the Tv providers over here are also getting the message from america and copying the same ideas.
    Ugh! If that's true, it could really spell the end for whatever choices are left in DVD/HDD recorders on a more global scale, not just in the USA. Outside of Asia, the UK probably has the strongest market for these recorders. Once that goes, who knows...?

    There are days when I really loathe the "average consumer" and his ability to royally screw up a good thing enjoyed by the minority.
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    Wal-Mart Canada now has Magnavox H2080MW8 (80 Gig) for $199. Looks like more crappy Funai product. I managed to snag 2 more Daytek 950-S recorders (160 Gig HDDs) for $1.25 and $0.99 respectively as the E-Bay seller thought they were DOA. One has a bad burner. The other only likes Verbatim 16X +Rs (my standard disc). Both these problems are minor. So for about $25 (that included the shipping cost) I got 2 more HDD recorders....
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  22. Member KeepItSimple's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by orsetto
    Its kind of funny that no matter how many times we hash thru this question, there's always one more latecomer who's just now noticing DVD recorders have "left the building", and DVD recorders with hard drives left the country altogether- two years back already!
    GOOD GOD THE HUMANITY!! SUCH BACKWARD IGNANT BUFFOONS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED!!
    Personally I don't mind updating, without snark, those who've been too busy having a life to monitor every little electronal trend. That's why these forums were created.
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  23. Interesting. That philips, $299, dropped to $244 at Circuit city, but today is just $223.96! Use a $40 off $199 coupon & it's only $184.00 New.
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  24. Member KeepItSimple's Avatar
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    Handyguy how do I get one of those $40 coupons?
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  25. You can get them on Ebay if you can't find one online.
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  26. Originally Posted by KeepItSimple
    Originally Posted by orsetto
    Its kind of funny that no matter how many times we hash thru this question, there's always one more latecomer who's just now noticing DVD recorders have "left the building", and DVD recorders with hard drives left the country altogether- two years back already!
    GOOD GOD THE HUMANITY!! SUCH BACKWARD IGNANT BUFFOONS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED!!
    Personally I don't mind updating, without snark, those who've been too busy having a life to monitor every little electronal trend. That's why these forums were created.
    It was a JOKE, son! I never called anyone ignant or backwards, just pointed out its interesting people keep turning up like clockwork with this question years after the fact, considering the mfr excuse that "no one wants them" and all the coverage of this topic at all the electronics forums and review sites. (And by the way, nobody who posts to these forums can claim to have "a life". The people with "lives" are the ones who shunned DVD/HDD recorders in favor of cable DVRs. )
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  27. Originally Posted by samijubal
    You can get them on Ebay if you can't find one online.
    fatwallet.com usually has an image posted in the hot deals forum under the topic. Or coupon forum. Or buy from ebay or you can get them in the post office sometimes as part of address kits.
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    https://www.dtv2009.gov/ is the official free coupon site.
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    And by the way, nobody who posts to these forums can claim to have "a life".

    I resent this commentary... Mainly because I resemble that remark. :P
    Yeah, I'm probably nuts... But what the hell. Nobody's perfect.
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  30. So I guess BluRay recorders will be out of the question too ))
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