Alternatives to TiVo?

[dicecca112]

I would like a DVR but I don't want Tivo. I just want something that I can record shows to a hard drive. I don't want to build another PC. I don't want it to include a DVD player, because I already have one, but that wouldn't be a deal breaker if I had no other choice. I have a DVD Recorder, but having to us DVD-RWs that degrade is killing me. Or especially when I set it to record and forget to put a CD in

[KnightRid]

Don't most of the standalone dvd recorders taht have hard drives built in let you do this? Pretty sure at least most of them do.

Other than a box from your cable/sat company, or adding a card to your computer, there really isnt anything out there.

Well for full quality video. There are some things taht record for crappy devices like the ipod and junk like that.

Mike

Best suggestion - dvd recorder with a built in hard drive

http://dvr.about.com/od/dvrs/a/capturemethod.htm

"DVD/HDD Recorders

With DVD/HDD Recorders, many TV shows can be recorded onto the hard drive, then any you want to save can be quickly transferred to DVD. Hard drive sizes vary from about 40GB to 400GB. The amount you can record depends on the size of the drive and which recording mode you use.

Before transferring from the hard drive to the DVD recorder, most of the DVD/HDD Recorders offer some type of simple editing, usually in the form of creating a playlist from your recordings. The playlist can contain many different programs, or edit out the commercials of your TV shows before saving them to disc.
"

[dicecca112]

I've been looking at tivo's some say they work without the service some say they don't

[KnightRid]

I've been looking at tivo's some say they work without the service some say they don't

Tivo is a ripoff! you pay for the box ( sometimes you get it free after rebates ) then you have to pay around $14 a month to use the darn thing! Thats fee is just WAY too high for what it does! Now if it would have a built in receiver for each cable provider and sat provider so it could work as a true standalone, it still wouldnt be worth $14 a month - but maybe $8

Mike

If you can find a Tivo with a lifetime subscription on it - that would be ok, but you wont be able to do HDTV on it.

[dicecca112]

don't have HDTV and don't plan on getting it for a while, so that's not an issue for me. Yeah it looks nice watching the BoSox play, but I really don't need to see the guy in the first row behind home plate picking his nose

[camaroguy1998]

don't have HDTV and don't plan on getting it for a while, so that's not an issue for me. Yeah it looks nice watching the BoSox play, but I really don't need to see the guy in the first row behind home plate picking his nose

I use a Hauppauge HVR-1600 in my main computer for PVR/DVR functions and I have a PVR - 350 in my HTPC.
The HVR series will handle Analog Cable and OTA(Over The Air) HDTV!
The software included with the HVR/PVR cards is basic but, it does do most functions that a TIVO can do, such as, OTR(One Touch Recording), Pause Live TV, etc...... For an inexpensive setup(less than $100) and "No Monthly Fees" it serves its purpose well.

If HDTV is not a concern, which I've found you need a roof or attic mounted antennae to get good reception. Rabbit ears just dont cut it, at least not for my area.
I would recommend one of the PVR series cards, the 250 or 350 series work well. The 250 and 350 cards are similar except the 350 has a built in FM tuner. If you want to watch one channel while you record another you can either run 2 cards or use a 500 series card it has 2 tuners built in.

I know you said you did not want to build another computer but these cards can be added to any computer that has an open PCI slot and antennae(cable or OTA) access.

[dicecca112]

I really don't use my desktop anymore, just the laptop. and there isn't much hard drive space here. But thanks for the suggestion. I might look into a PICO-ITX setup at some point

[bubba]

Do you run a satellite? I have Direct TV and the PVR they provide is a TiVo but it only cost me 5 bucks a month over the standard receiver, not sure how much they cost as mine was gifted to me when the inlaws went back to basic cable.

[dicecca112]

nope comcast cable, and we have basic so they don't give you a DVR