No more DVR :( too expensive

[lovemymac]

We still have a VCR/DVD combo. Haha. I buy VHS Disney movies at Goodwill for 10 cents a piece and we have pizza and a movie night with the kids. And I'll be recording a Jake and the Neverland Pirates special tomorrow night on a tape that I've been using for about 20 years...lol.

OP, if we miss an ep of one of our faves, we watch it on the network website or buy an episode from amazon.com. Like, for instance, Breaking Bad. But for most things, if it isn't a show we are going to be able to see religiously then we wait until it comes out on DVD and get it from netflix. We have so much going on we don't mind being a season behind.

VHS look horrible on a HDTV. Eve standard DVD don't look great.
We are getting rid of directv once our special price is up.
We use my jailbroken apple tv 2 with xbmc. I can watch most any tv show and movie I want. I get Hulu and tons of other channels for free.

If your interested it can also be installed on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or pc.

 

[gratefulfred]

Truse me...DVR's dont "suck".

I suppose in general you can't take a DVR to a friends house, without some extra effort....but you also:

don't have to find a blank tape.....find the spot of the tape you're looking for...have all sorts of tapes around the house taking up space.

My DVR's store probably a hundred hours of programs....organize them by program so if I have 5 episodes of X recorded, they are all grouped together and put in date order so they are easy to find.

You can skip commericals in seconds....forget to set a program to record...no problem, I can do it by my iPhone.

Watching a show "live" and the phone rings...want a snack...have to go pee...no problem, just pause it. Couldn't hear what they said, just rewind. Watching live tv without a DVR and you can't do any of those things.

I've had a DVR since around 2001 -- I can't imagine watching TV without one.

I know the benefits but Im just saying you don't really have anything, your just renting it for a monthly fee and when you stop paying its gone. I really think this is being pushed on people by the movie and music industry to keep people paying for something they don't have. Why don't they put a usb port for a flashdrive on a dvr? Because they don't want you to be able to keep what your paying for. Oh yeah I really wish I had a dvr

 

[lovemymac]

You can record anything on it to your computer. You just need a device that takes the audio video output from the DVR to USB for the computer. I did a bunch of old VHS for someone that way and cleaned them up.
DVR is great for most people because most people don't keep the shows. They just want them time delayed so they can watch on their schedule. For us it's because I hate commercials so I can typically start watching a show half recorded so I can ff.

That and I can record 5 things at once on my DVR and I use all 5 sometimes. Usually about 4. What can I say we like tv.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[momof3ds]

Some DVRs do have USB ports to attach portable hard drives.

I don't care about storing hundreds of movies or shows, I just want the option to pause or rewind when watching live tv.

 

[momof1princess]

we currently use a VCR, but, when it dies, we're going to get a DVD recorder with a hard drive. you can use the hard drive just like a DVR, but there are no fees. the DVD recorder with hard drive is about $150.00.

ETA: we only use the VCR to tape TV shows we might miss, so the DVD recorder with hard drive would be a great option for us, but it might not be for everyone.

 

[letsgoreds]

We dropped cable (antennae in attic) + 2 TiVos with lifetime service. You can find them (with lifetime membership) on eBay.

I'm not a fan of monthly fees...at all.

 

[gratefulfred]

we currently use a VCR, but, when it dies, we're going to get a DVD recorder with a hard drive. you can use the hard drive just like a DVR, but there are no fees. the DVD recorder with hard drive is about $150.00.

ETA: we only use the VCR to tape TV shows we might miss, so the DVD recorder with hard drive would be a great option for us, but it might not be for everyone.

Wow thats what i want i guess I gotta catch up

 

[momof1princess]

Wow thats what i want i guess I gotta catch up

wal-mart has them we might go ahead and just get it for Christmas. i'm tired of the VCR being so temperamental, lol. you can't record with the remote anymore; it only works if you set the timer, or walk up to the VCR and push the record button.

 

[hsmamato2]

we currently use a VCR, but, when it dies, we're going to get a DVD recorder with a hard drive. you can use the hard drive just like a DVR, but there are no fees. the DVD recorder with hard drive is about $150.00.

ETA: we only use the VCR to tape TV shows we might miss, so the DVD recorder with hard drive would be a great option for us, but it might not be for everyone.

can you explain this further? I am so interested....... it sounds perfect for us!
also how does one find a tivo box that works on ebay,and has a lifetime use membership? I want something that isn't involved with cable SO much....

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I can't imagine watching TV without one.

Me either.

There are alot of things I will give up to save money but my DVR is definetly not one of them.
We don't even watch that much TV but with our schedules it seems we can never watch what we want when we want.

A DVR is sooooo convenient.

 

[Nayan]

You can buy a Tivo on Ebay but YOU still have to pay for the service, it doesn't come with it. Tivo also uses Cablecards if you have cable/sat service and your provider offers them. They usually run about 2/3 bucks a month.

 

[momof3ds]

Some ebay listing are selling their tivos with lifetime service already on the box so one would not have to pay for service if they chose that route

You can buy a Tivo on Ebay but YOU still have to pay for the service, it doesn't come with it. Tivo also uses Cablecards if you have cable/sat service and your provider offers them. They usually run about 2/3 bucks a month.

 

[momof1princess]

can you explain this further? I am so interested....... it sounds perfect for us!
also how does one find a tivo box that works on ebay,and has a lifetime use membership? I want something that isn't involved with cable SO much....

well, a DVD recorder with hard drive works like a DVR. you record the show(s) onto the hard drive, and you can play them back later. it will also allow you to burn the show to a DVD, if you'd like to keep it. pretty simple, and all you have to pay for is the unit itself. no subscriptions or fees.

 

[hsmamato2]

wow- what would I look for in a dvd recorder? I think we could get by with very few channels that we actually watch....and another question if I had one of these,could it be hooked up to a roku for streaming? I am interested in some of the amazon video shows we could buy per show,vs a set price for tv we don't watch most of anyway.
there are so many things out there and I don't know what to look for!

 

[hsmamato2]

looking into options,my own ds has been telling me to cut the cable....

 

[Disneefun]

well, a DVD recorder with hard drive works like a DVR. you record the show(s) onto the hard drive, and you can play them back later. it will also allow you to burn the show to a DVD, if you'd like to keep it. pretty simple, and all you have to pay for is the unit itself. no subscriptions or fees.

We have one and love it. Ours also has a VHS recorder/player, so it enabled us to transfer all of our family VHS's to DVD's. That alone paid for the price of the machine since sending them out to be converted would have been hundreds of dollars.

 

[momof1princess]

We have one and love it. Ours also has a VHS recorder/player, so it enabled us to transfer all of our family VHS's to DVD's. That alone paid for the price of the machine since sending them out to be converted would have been hundreds of dollars.

awesome! i'm going to look for one of those!

 

[lovemymac]

Iove my DVr because I can set things to record from my phone or iPad. It knows new shows vs repeats. It's nice to be able to have more then one thing recording. In fact I can do 5 at once.

Though for those wanting to get rid of cable or satellite I say try XBMC. It's a free program and not only do you get current movies and tv shows but lots of classic movies and tv shows. I love it because it allows our family to watch lots of classic tv. I grew up watching shows like Andy Griffith, dick van dyke and then all the great shows of the 80s.

I didn't know if I'd like it at first but it is nice. You just have to have good Internet. Satellite Internet or dial up won't work. Not that anyone has dial up anymore but some might who live in the country.

 

[JB2K]

That might depend upon what cable service provider you have. I recently got rid of a lot of channels and our dvr. Can you believe the DVR box cost $25 per month and the box without the dvr cost $5 with Charter?

I believe it -- though Charter is one of my "hometown" companies (their HQ is in St. Louis), I know once the promotional period is over, the fees go wild!

OP - if you really, really like your cable company (and want a DVR), I would suggest going to eBay and purchasing a TiVO with a lifetime subscription attached to the box -- it won't be cheap, up front, but that will be all the money you have to pay...

For those suggesting Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc., that's apples and oranges...

 

[hsmamato2]

I've been studying options...thanks to this thread I like the dvd recorder,but I think the tivo option sounds GREAT.....
any opinions? I think tivo is what I want,since I don't care about the recording capabilities....but then,am I stuck with a tivo subscription...kind of like that old satellite subscription?
I guess that's my big question..... I'd like to be more independant of subs.....but again,how is tivo service? if you get lifetime,is it really lifetime?