DVD Recorder

Fullhalter on 08/10/2008 - 19:43

I'm giving a DVD Recorder to be used by an elderly bloke. Currently he has a widescreen crt and no plan to upgrade soon. He also has ann old dvd player that has to be replaced (cannot play new titles, dvdr, etc)

So basically the criterias: can play ntsc dvds, digital tuner, around $300 or less if possible

Would he be better off with an HD STB and a cheap DVD Recorder? (Hailo + cheap DVD Recorder) hd channels and hdd are nice but not crucial. What important though, is to get a good quality DVD Recorder … at a bargain price :) TIA

Find Me A Bargain

Comments

  • cacbm on 08/10/2008 - 23:16

    I don't recommend a DVD Recoder at all because they are just like VHS but harder to use.

    I own a PVR and it has been the best thing I bought in the past few years. I only have a SD PVR but it's good enough and I heard HD ones aren't that good yet (buggy). I'd suggest a cheap SD PVR and a cheap DVD player (so it can play all zones).

  • Fullhalter on 09/10/2008 - 15:40

    Hi cacbm, thanks for that. I have an SD PVR (dvx-555) with 250GB and it's great, but my friend needs a dvd player to play his large dvd collection hence the DVD Recorder. Plus I bought the HD STB so now I'm looking for a cheap as possible dvd recorder with or without digital tuner.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/10/2008 - 05:29

    A couple of things to remember or consider.

    Is your friend tech savvy - older people can have trouble remembering all the things you need to do with multiple set ups - so all in one makes usable sense, although this depends on the brand being used.

    That said the simplest and probably the cheapest is for a DVD player - which are very cheap even for good brands - under $100 and these have Divx capability (divx a compression technology).

    Then the dvx-555 for recording. But suggest you test yours with his setup as the tuner is not the greatest, before buying. But this all depends on whether or not he wants to record and store or record and watch fairly soon after the recording.

    As for your HD set top box and cheap DVR. some sets cant record from an external device, so you need to watch that. Also can they record from an external device using the timer. Now the STB needs to be on the channel you are recording, if it gets changed then you record the wrong channel, so if you are sure your home set up can remain unchanged when the recording is made, then it can work.

    Frankly the best solution I have found is a HD PVR card in a computer, you can record shows and burn these to a DVD with DVD recorder- either standard DVD format, or Divx and watch on the TV and store later.

    I bought a HD PVR card (leadtek) for around $60 the DVD burner for $30, and use a cheap PC with graphics card, and obsolete CRT- probably total cost around $200-300 and I have a PC (I mainly use my Mac).

    Worth investigating.

  • Fullhalter on 10/10/2008 - 18:35

    So the consensus is that DVD Recorder is a hassle to use. Alrighthy then, "DVR that can record from external source" it is. Htpc and tvix are out because of cost and complexity. Unused budget may even go to 525 remote. Time to hit hardley normals to look around.

    Thanks ozpete.

  • Fullhalter on 11/10/2008 - 13:53

    Caught yesterday's Conia at COTD. Thanks.

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