DVR

[bmfot]

with the digital age around the corner and the elemination of vhs recording , I was looking into buying a DVR with hard drive that works with the antennna
Getting cable is not an option financailly in the long run and recording to DVD seems a little to compicated to me with finalizing etc
I have found the following and was looking for input on any of them

DTV pal DVR
Philips 3576H

Magnavox H2160MW9 with 160GB HDD

tivo

[yoda313]

FYI tivo is a no go if you don't like subscription fees. You can't use the box without paying for it.

I can't offer advice on the others since I haven't used em...

[loster]

The magnavox is very good use it quite frequently to record television. Only issue is the name input format. Also dubbing is confusing at first but quick to learn.
Lots of good info here.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940657

[joecass]

The DTV Pal DVR is an unproven machine so far....a new product with
many apparent anomalies. You'd need a very strong antenna signal
to ensure stable recording.
The Philips 3576 is no longer being made, but one can find them on
EBay and other on line sources for very high prices, $300 and up
This machine has a digital tuner that can record DTV over the air or
analog/digital cable signals onto the hard drive or blank DVD's.
The Magnavox is very similar to the Philips and is sold in stores like
Walmart.
Finalizing only applies to DVD-R or DVD-RW. DVD+R/RW's don't have
to be finalized, it's not that difficult to learn the ins and outs of DVD recording. Much more involved than VHS recording, but worth it in the long run due to superior picture quality.
There are many different brands of used Hard Drive DVD recorders for sale on EBay, however most of them have Analog tuners, which will
not be able to record anything after the DTV transition.
However, you'd still be able to use one if you bought any DTV converter box, just by connecting the output of the converter box to the input of the DVD recorder. I have a Zenith DTT900 converter box hooked up to an analog tuner type DVD/HDD recorder, and it works very well.
Probably the Magnavox is your best bet right now as it's the only machine
still sold brand new.

[usually_quiet]

The Philips 3576H is availble on Walmart's website. The Magnavox is not listed at present. I just looked.

[Edit] Finalizing is not that difficult to get used to. In any case it is only required if one is going to play a disc on machines other than the one it was recorded on, or transfer recordings to a computer.

User manuals generally recommend finalizing DVD+R. Although some computer drives and players will play them as is, others don't handle unfinilzed DVD+R discs very well. DVD+RW discs can't be finalized. DVD-RAM discs can't be finalized, and most DVD players can't read them.

[bmfot]

Ok , this is a silly question, but never used dvd before
what is the difference between the dvd rw, which is what I thought was the one to use to be able to rewrite over it and the dvd+r/rw? Cause if you do not have to finalize it seems it would be easier for my parents, then can you also , lets say tape on hour 2 if you watched it laready but not hour 1 and 3 yet
I have not seen that one in the store. It is hard enough to find the dvd rw in my area
Do normal stores sell them
in the nw sub of chicago

I did order the phillips from the walmart site, claims it should come in the 2nd week of march

[usually_quiet]

The Philips 3576H recorder has a hard drive. There's no need to use a DVD at all unless your parents want to save or share a recording.

From the site glossary "DVD+RW is a rewriteable media format of the DVD+R standard." DVD+RW and DVD-RW are both rewritable. DVD-R and DVD+R are both write once. Most DVD players will play finalized DVD+R, DVD-R, and DVD-RW, but some won't play DVD+RW, or unfinalized DVD+R.

Office Depot's "Office Depot" brand of DVD+RW and DVD-RW are pretty decent. Verbatim DVD-RW and DVD+RW are a bit better, and available online, although their DVD-RW discs are becomming difficult to find.

The Philips recorders use +VR mode for recording on DVDs, which is different from the modes allowed by my DVD recorder. I can't answer the part of your question that relates to erasing individual programs and reusing that area of the DVD.

[joecass]

When DVD recorders first became available, DVD-R was the standard.
DVD-RW soon followed, with two recording modes, DVD Video, which is the standard for DVD players, and DVD Video Recording mode, which allows editing of the disc before finalizing. There were two groups of manufacturers, the DVD Consortium and the DVD Alliance, which set standards for recording. The first computer DVD burners were -R, soon afterward the DVD+R format emerged, later followed by DVD+RW.
The difference are the way the disc information is written. DVD+R is faster to write to, and DVD+RW does not have to be finalized.
DVD-R and DVD-RW's always have to be finalized to play on other equipment such as standalone home DVD players.
On all ReWritable discs of either format, you can erase the disc completely and re-use it, or delete individual titles. On DVD-RW you can edit the disc on certain recorders which use VR mode, after recording, such as deleting or adding chapters or titles. With DVD+RW, the editing is limited after recording.
With DVD+RW, you can record one show let's say for an hour, view it on another machine, then record a second hour later on, all without finalizing. There are many on line vendors who sell +RW and -RW discs,
if you have a Staples store in your area, they will most likely have
whatever type of disc you choose to buy. I only use Sony, Hewlett-Packard and Verbatim, and have never had any problems with those brands, the Staples brand varies in quality, and most people here advise against buying Memorex brand discs.

[SmokieStover]

The Philips 3576H is availble on Walmart's website. The Magnavox is not listed at present. I just looked.

They didn't last long.....out of stock online......checked about noon and just now!

[SmokieStover]

The Philips 3576H does not have a built in RF modulator......not needed if your parents have a TV with A/V inputs.

My Philips 3576H is hooked to cable and it's damn slow changing from one digital cable channel (clear QAM) to another. I have a Zenith DTT901 hooked to antenna at the other end of the house and it's much, much faster changing channels. It's also completely silent. Anytime the Philips is on, the hard drive is running .....doesn't matter if you are just using the tuner......and it is a bit noisier than any of my VCRs.

I would recommend using the Philips for recording, playback and pausing live TV, and using a DTV converter box for casual live TV viewing. Run the antenna cable thru the Philips and then to the DTV converter box. Hook up to TV will vary depending on available inputs.

[SmokieStover]

The Philips 3576H is availble on Walmart's website. The Magnavox is not listed at present. I just looked.

They didn't last long.....out of stock online......checked about noon and just now!

The Philips 3576H is now available online per WalMart's website.......I checked minutes ago.