My Elderly Dad Needs a Cheap and Easy Way to Record FTA TV, Please

PVA on 22/04/2016 - 14:29

Hi folks, I need some suggestions please.

I want something for my elderly Dad so he can record TV shows like the AFL footy show that is on around midnight in Qld.

Something like the old easy to use VCR but for modern times.

I am thinking the best, easiest is probably Foxtel $51 per month sports pack, the IQ is free and easy to use.

BUT, it is $51 per month.

What else is around for a dollar? Well not that cheap but cheaper the better as long as usability is fine for an 80 year old that finds email difficult sometimes.

Entertainment

Comments

  • RockyRaccoon on 22/04/2016 - 14:39

    What does he want to record.

    There is basic catch up TV, ABC SBS 7 9 etc. That might suit him already and all you need is a box to look at those

    • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 14:40

      I will check what channel 7 has on Catch Up, when I looked last it was terrible.

      thanks.

      • RockyRaccoon on 22/04/2016 - 14:41
        +3

        True, but regular Channel 7 TV is also terrible :) - Thats reality!!!

        • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 14:45
          +1

          sure is. Just looked now - Different Strokes!!! nothing like a really bad 70s US comedy.

          It really is a lot of crap and not much catch up on 7.
          iView is great though.

        • StewBalls on 22/04/2016 - 15:15
          +2

          @PVA: WhatchutalkinaboutPVA ;)

    • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 14:58

      actually there is some footy on it and some isnt shown on Qld Seven (VFL and WAFL)

      thanks.

    • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 15:08

      another reply.

      Your suggestion has just made me think of Telstra TV box - it has all the catch up shows, then he has a remote and watch it on TV and not his computer.

      • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2016 - 15:35

        I've read the above.
        If the main one he wants to watch is in fact the AFL Footy Show with Sam Newman and Co., it's not on Channel 7, but 9. Delayed 'til very late on Thursday nights in Qld.

        Available on 9Now, if he has access to / can use a computer in even the most basic way and he apparently does and can.

        Telstra box aside - down the track, if he needs a new TV and you or he buys a 'Smart' one - w/FreeviewPlus onboard, apps for all the catch-up TV services are also onboard and ready-to-go.

        • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 17:12

          yeah, I realised not long after that the footy show is on Nine.
          I assume thats what he wants to record, but maybe its something else, just my sister says he is after something.
          I see him in a few weeks so will suss out what he really wants to do then.

        • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2016 - 17:28
          +1

          @PVA: Make it fun and easy for him.

        • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 17:38
          +1

          @Tas:
          thats what I need to do, the Telstra TV box has a small simple remote, he has Telstra ADSL so it maybe what he needs.
          I will go in store and see one in action.

          whats the $100 apple tv like ? does it have the catch up tv apps or has apple really got it locked down to apple stuff only.

        • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2016 - 18:58

          @PVA: If the Telstra box offers all needed, maybe the go for him if also simple and not clunky.
          No personal experience with it at all.

          Little experience with Apple TV other than in other people's places. Has always seemed surplus to requirements, even before other options and absent Apple's particular ecosystem. Even if not one of the old ones & 'jailbroken', some people still seem to love 'em, along with Apple's whole way of doing things.

          Most things are cross-platform, now - www.cnet.com/au/news/australian-catch-up-tv-services-compare…

          Re-branded 9'now' lagging, but 'coming soon'. Scroll all the way down.

        • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 22:34

          @Tas:
          thanks, the nine app (and I assume the others) only seem to be going for the Apple tv 4 , that the $350 model, way too much for me.

        • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2016 - 07:54
          +1

          @PVA: At least some of the existing Apple TV apps for/from other networks have definitely been around pre-Apple TV 4. It would be surprising if app packages no longer contained support for earlier models.

          Nine's 9NotQuiteYet app might end up being AppleTV4-spec specific, I suppose. You could post on Nine's Facebook and ask? You might get a response. Stranger things have happened. Not all strange Internet stuff ends up on OzBargain. Just most. :)

  • qwerty on 22/04/2016 - 14:42

    Most PVRs can do what he wants it depends on how much you want to spend

    http://www.harveynorman.com.au/tv-blu-ray-home-theatre/blu-r…

    is $400

  • Nugs on 22/04/2016 - 17:10
    +1

    VHS hooked up to a set top box?
    the sort of things that are given away
    only problem is you can only record a single channel overnight (essentially record the 'line in' when setting the VCR. i did that for a couple of years before going to a PVR

    • PVA on 22/04/2016 - 17:14

      thanks.
      I am going to suss out a Telstra TV device (looks like a Roku box) as catchup TV maybe just what he needs.
      (and bugger, could have bought one for $19 a few days back but couldn't think of any reason to buy it, too late now)

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2016 - 11:10
    +1

    Just keep an eye out for specials on older stock of pvr's
    I have 2, 1Tb and 500gb both cost less than $100 each

    • PVA on 23/04/2016 - 11:26

      thanks. are they simple to use for an 80yo?

  • wayacos on 23/04/2016 - 13:23

    Look at Beyonwiz.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2016 - 15:26
    +1

    No harder than a vcr,
    he's probably had one of those in his day

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2016 - 15:39
    +1

    are they simple to use for an 80yo?

    Remotes tend to be comprehensive, button-wise - if he now, or has always had, issues with that. That said, if you can find something name-branded (Humax, Beyonwiz, Topfield) at a price you're ok with, even if he finds it difficult to set recordings reliably, he can always just OneTouchRecord a block of a given number hours that will encompass the show he wants to record, on the right channel, as he goes off to bed. Very easy on a PVR to FF/Skip many hours into the recording, if he needs to.

    As a rule, the really cheap no-name PVR's seem to have firmware glitches of one sort or other that are less likely to ever be properly resolved - at least relative to the recognised brands.

  • spersephone on 23/04/2016 - 19:43

    Look for a TiVo on eBay - one off cost and much easier to use than most other devices. If he has no actual desire for Pay TV, don't subscribe him to an ongoing cost if it's not necessary.

    • PVA on 23/04/2016 - 21:30

      i wasnt going to sign him up to a bill. The Telstra TV box is a one off cost (unless you want to pay for netfx etc.

      I thought TiVo in Australia had a subscription cost, I also thought the service shut down here.

      • spersephone on 23/04/2016 - 22:01

        TiVo here never had a subscription, it's FTA only. You can't buy them anymore, but we still get the episode guide service. I've had mine for about eight years and replaced the drive. There are people who can fix them too. As long as the guide data continues to be offered, we have a functioning device. It will disappear one day, but I expect us to be given a long notice period when it happens. Keep up with the TiVo thread on Whirlpool for information.

        • PVA on 23/04/2016 - 22:02

          thanks.

        • spersephone on 23/04/2016 - 22:05
          +2

          @PVA: it's really a somewhat out of date product, but it's still the best, in terms of its simplicity and ability to do the job. I'm very happy to recommend them, even though they don't sell them anymore.

        • sleek881 on 24/04/2016 - 02:35

          @spersephone: I have a Tivo as well always up to date TV guide and so easy to use and record. Did I mention how reliable it is!

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