DVD Recorder That Will Record Pay Per View Events???

[danandsassy]

Hello! My husband and I are in the market for a DVD recorder, and we've heard horror stories about the whole "copyright protection" thing. We're hoping that someone out there knows of a DVD recorder that will allow us to record Pay Per View events - specifically, the UFC fights! Also, a combo VCR/DVD recorder would be preferable, but not necessary. Anyone know of a good one??

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

-Dan and Sarah

[jjeff]

Personally I'd suggest purchasing a "video filter" from a place like Worldimport.com or similar. I have a Sima which is no longer made which I really like with something like that you don't have to worry about which programs may be CP'd or which recorder you get. That said if you want to try without a filter I'll make a few recommendations from what I've read.
Avoid every thing Sony, their the worst. Toshibas also have been know to have problems with certain VHS tapes, not sure about PPV.
Pannys and Pios(no longer imported to US) handle CP as good as possible. Note no DVDR will allow you to copy a CP'd DVD or possibly a CP'd broadcast like your PPV, but with a video filter you should be able to record them all.
Perhaps someone who specifically records PPV will be able to advise you on your exact situation. Others may suggest a TBC to remove CP. It would also work but will be more costly and for sure bulkier. For most people a filter works just fine.
As far as model numbers to suggest, what price range are you looking at and do you need the digital tuner or would a tunerless model work for you? Also how picky will you be about PQ and what size/style TV do you have.

[FulciLives]

http://home.cfl.rr.com/filter/

This is the only "video filter" that I am aware of that claims to circumvent the copy protection known as the "broadcast flag" which is what user danandsassy is talking about here.

My understanding is that this is made by a user over at the AVS FORUM and I've read some very nice comments about it over there (when it first came out).

The price is a bit much at $169.00 but it apparently works and should give the user peace-of-mind when recording.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
LOGIC DESIGN is the name of the AVS FORUM user who makes the "video filter" I speak of in this post.

Also I do not have one of these so do not ask me if it works. It seems to work but I say that based on reviews I've read elsewhere ... specifically on the AVS FORUM by users there.

[orsetto]

I'd suggest you avoid spending huge amounts of money for a TBC. Even the legendary $500 DataVideo TBC-1000 has been known to let the DRM signal break thru periodically and ruin a recording. You'll be much happier with a second hand Sima CT2 or its newer re-branded versions, as FulciLives stated there is a lot of advice on these over at AVS forum as well as some threads here on VH. I think $169 is a bit excessive for a video CP filter, but prices have risen that high and fallen again several times during the last couple years so who knows. Be sure whichever filter you buy specifically guarantees it can do what you want: many are misleadingly marketed as "universal" but fail with certain common forms of CP.

The studios are pushing for far greater enforcement of the anti-copy code in PPV, all of their effort and money is being funneled to a current FCC filing on this topic, so those of you who claim they "never have a problem" recording PPV might well be in for a surprise one day. You "don't have a problem" only because your particular cable/sat provider isn't bothering to transmit the blocking signal. That could change tomorrow. In the meantime, those who DO have problems report Toshiba and Sony recorders as being far and away more sensitive to real or "fake" blocking signals than other brands. If you're concerned about this issue, avoid Toshiba and Sony recorders.

[Zen of Encoding]

Hello! My husband and I are in the market for a DVD recorder, and we've heard horror stories about the whole "copyright protection" thing. We're hoping that someone out there knows of a DVD recorder that will allow us to record Pay Per View events - specifically, the UFC fights! Also, a combo VCR/DVD recorder would be preferable, but not necessary. Anyone know of a good one??

Sounds like you're concerned about a problem that most likely won't effect you.
I and many of my friends have recorded PPV fights on several different brands & models of
DVD recorders and only once have I been told that the recorder shut down due to a
"protected content" error. Just buy the recorder at a local store that offers a 30 day
return policy. Try out the recorder connected to your cable or satellite box during the
next PPV event, it'll probably work just fine, but if it doesn't just return it and try a different brand.

[lordsmurf]

I've never run into a single problem on any of about a dozen or more machines, recording from PPV or any other channel.

[pinetop]

Heres another option:

http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html

[oldfart13]

I have found that I can't record some PPV movies from Dishnetwork on my Daytek 950-S. Disney stuff especially seems to be suspect. Just about any other movie or TV series works just fine. The Liteon 5001 ignores all the stop copy flags so that isn't an issue.

[Bix]

The Grex is probably the best bet since it's probably a form of Macrovision or CGMS.

LordSmurf-Some providers do use protection on PPV and VOD. I know for a fact that Comcast does w/ some subscription VOD content.