Pvr Or Dvd Recorders- Which Way To Go

[loopy079]

Hi guys,

Was thinking of purchasing a PVR or DVD Recorder for the bedroom. I was wondering firstly whether I should:

Get a PVR with Twin Tuner

Get A DVD Recorder with a hdd and digital tuner.

Just get a DVD Recorder HDD analog Tuner.

Get a Standalone DVD Recorder and record straight to disc.

Or perhaps get a PVR and connect it to a cheap DVD Recorder for archiving.

And their a few other things I need to know and that is:

Are their any PVR's/DVD Recorders with Chaseplay ( The ability to watch a show whilst it is still recording.

Also I am looking for a PVR/DVD Recorder with a good program Guide ( hopefully 7 days)

And another thing is I would like a DVD /PVR that tells me the Name of the Recording ( not the name of the program before). I have a DSE PVR downstairs and it's annoying trying to remember what you've taped.

Also I would like Timeshift as well.

And are their PVR's that allow you to record two shows and watch a 3rd.

I hope I am not being to choosy but their we have it, My ideal PVR/ DVD recorder.

Sorry about the long post just need some assistance.

Regards

Hutch

[ozdoc]

Hutch:

A few more Qs for us prior to recommendations;

What's your approx budget?

How would you prefer to archive shows - on DVD or to network / PC?

Would you need a media player as well?

Do you tend to archive shows much, or record and delete?

[50mxe20]

Hutch:

A few more Qs for us prior to recommendations;

What's your approx budget?

How would you prefer to archive shows - on DVD or to network / PC?

Would you need a media player as well?

Do you tend to archive shows much, or record and delete?

One more

Have you read the sticky?

Pinned: Digital Recorders Help: Stbs, Pvrs, Dvdrs, Hdd, Sd, Hd ....

[loopy079]

Hutch:

A few more Qs for us prior to recommendations;

What's your approx budget?

How would you prefer to archive shows - on DVD or to network / PC?

Would you need a media player as well?

Do you tend to archive shows much, or record and delete?

Hi Ozdoc,

Well i'm only working a few hours a week so around $150 - $200 dollar mark. I was going to layby the LG DVD Recorder with a digital tuner at JB. But was told the price could change so I didn't lay by. So as you can see i'm really on a tight budget. Not sure if you could anything decent for that price. I was thinking perhaps get devices one by one, being on such a strigent budget.

Ozdoc that's a good question. Well the thing is i like to download the odd tv show and want to play it on my TV. So I guess I would Network it. Can you get a cheap media player that hooks up to your TV? Is it hard to network a PVR/Dvd Recorder?

As for archiving i like to archive the odd thing but mostly watch and delete usually.

[ozdoc]

Hutch.

That's a tight budget.

It certainly excludes a HD PVR or HD recorder.

I wouldn't be looking at anything with an analogue tuner.

I'd also consider a PVR that allows for hard drive spin down (given it's going into a bedroom - the constant hum of hard drives can by annoying)

How about looking at ebay for a second hand Topfield 5000 PVR or Masterpiece PVR? There seems to be some 5000s for around $200 "buy it now" price so you might get lucky on a Masterpiece.

You can then occassionally connect it to a PC (via USB) for transfer of those rare files you want to keep.

I asked the Q about the media player, as the beyonqwiz P1 / S1 has one inbuilt, but these are way out of your price range.

[diesel]

This "budget" would also preclude an all-in-one like the Panasonic DMR X300 DVDR with Dual HD tuners

It would be tough to get a decent SD twin tuner Toppy for that price and even a DVDR with HDD would be stretching the budget.

[pgdownload]

Hi Hutch,

We'll you've got the terminology down and are asking the right questions, as Lyle asks have you read the two main FAQs on PVRs that are pinned?

Given your budget then options start getting pretty straight forward. I spent $1000 getting what you're asking for a fewq years ago, but patience would seem to have paid off in your case

Anyway, you haven't expressed any overwhelming wish to burn DVDs? If this is a must then get any DVD Recorder that you can afford (one with a hard drive preferably)

But given all your other requests, a simple twin tuner SD PVR should do the job. You just have to decide if the HD channels are a must have (although for under $500 I'd suggest you can give them a miss - especially as they're mostly just poor rating stuff that looks nice but doesn't rate enough to go on the SD channels)

If your going frugal then a Topfield 4410 is under $300 and a 5000 under $400. You can get them for $100 less on eBay.

Read up on Toppy's on the Pinned AQA Toppy FAQ to decide between the two.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[loopy079]

Hi Hutch,

We'll you've got the terminology down and are asking the right questions, as Lyle asks have you read the two main FAQs on PVRs that are pinned?

Given your budget then options start getting pretty straight forward. I spent $1000 getting what you're asking for a fewq years ago, but patience would seem to have paid off in your case

Anyway, you haven't expressed any overwhelming wish to burn DVDs? If this is a must then get any DVD Recorder that you can afford (one with a hard drive preferably)

But given all your other requests, a simple twin tuner SD PVR should do the job. You just have to decide if the HD channels are a must have (although for under $500 I'd suggest you can give them a miss - especially as they're mostly just poor rating stuff that looks nice but doesn't rate enough to go on the SD channels)

If your going frugal then a Topfield 4410 is under $300 and a 5000 under $400. You can get them for $100 less on eBay.

Read up on Toppy's on the Pinned AQA Toppy FAQ to decide between the two.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

PG your a wealth if info. Would you steer clear of a PVR like this http://www.strathfield.com.au/home.aspx?pa...p;productid=156

The thing is Pete I already have a PVR downstairs and the trap I am falling into is that I record stuff in the hope that one day i will getting around to watching it, no the feeling?

Does the topfield have chaseplay? Also how are the recordings organised? I have found with my DSE pvr you press record and when you go to find it it lists the program name before it. does that make sense at all? Which Topfield should I go for, the 4400 or the 5000?

Also, I am thinking of buying a media player for the bedroom as well, any recomendations?

[ozdoc]

PG your a wealth if info. Would you steer clear of a PVR like this http://www.strathfield.com.au/home.aspx?pa...p;productid=156

Does the topfield have chaseplay? Also how are the recordings organised? I have found with my DSE pvr you press record and when you go to find it it lists the program name before it. does that make sense at all? Which Topfield should I go for, the 4400 or the 5000?

Also, I am thinking of buying a media player for the bedroom as well, any recomendations?

The Topfield has chaseplay. Recordings are named as the program name (eg Supernatural), with a number after it there is a similar existing recording (eg Supernatural2). You can adjust your recorded list for date recorded or alphabetical, as well as arrange your recordings into grouped files (eg "kids", "adults", "movies")

Personally I would suggest the 5000, as it has a USB port that can connect to a PC for data transfer, as well as allowing you to add various 'add ons' called TAPS (which are programs that add lots of interesting functions to the Topfield 5000 or masterpiece, but not the 4400).

Re: mediaplayer: what sort of files are you interested in playing? When you start adding a SD PVR ($400 new) and media player ($200-$300), then you're in the territory of the beyonwiz P1, which the occasional punter has gotten for $690. Then you'd have a twin tuner HD PVR with media player.

[loopy079]

The Topfield has chaseplay. Recordings are named as the program name (eg Supernatural), with a number after it there is a similar existing recording (eg Supernatural2). You can adjust your recorded list for date recorded or alphabetical, as well as arrange your recordings into grouped files (eg "kids", "adults", "movies")

Personally I would suggest the 5000, as it has a USB port that can connect to a PC for data transfer, as well as allowing you to add various 'add ons' called TAPS (which are programs that add lots of interesting functions to the Topfield 5000 or masterpiece, but not the 4400).

Re: mediaplayer: what sort of files are you interested in playing? When you start adding a SD PVR ($400 new) and media player ($200-$300), then you're in the territory of the beyonwiz P1, which the occasional punter has gotten for $690. Then you'd have a twin tuner HD PVR with media player.

Thanks Ozdoc yeah perhaps I should start saving. The thing is in the bedroom the tv is only a 34 cm TV and it has an inbuilt dvd player, it's a teac actually. Perhaps I could get the beyondwiz for the the main tv and perhaps I should start saving. Just a few questions does the Beyondwiz have chaseplay? And like the Topfield does it organise the recordings in an organised way? Which Beyondwiz should I get the S1 or the H1? Would you bother with the ICE tv program guide? Where can you get a Beyondwiz, can you get it online? And where can you get it for 690-$700? Oh and if I was to get a cheap PVR for the Bedroom which would you get? I mean which PVR doesn't make that much noise? I had my DSE PVR in the bedroom and it was very noisy.

[swordfish805]

Thanks Ozdoc yeah perhaps I should start saving. The thing is in the bedroom the tv is only a 34 cm TV and it has an inbuilt dvd player, it's a teac actually. Perhaps I could get the beyondwiz for the the main tv and perhaps I should start saving. Just a few questions does the Beyondwiz have chaseplay? And like the Topfield does it organise the recordings in an organised way? Which Beyondwiz should I get the S1 or the H1? Would you bother with the ICE tv program guide? Where can you get a Beyondwiz, can you get it online? And where can you get it for 690-$700? Oh and if I was to get a cheap PVR for the Bedroom which would you get? I mean which PVR doesn't make that much noise? I had my DSE PVR in the bedroom and it was very noisy.

Hutch - the answers to all these questions are on the forum already. You've not been able to find them with the search facility because the correct spelling is "beyonwiz" and you probably want a P1 not a H1 or S1.

[ozdoc]

Thanks Ozdoc yeah perhaps I should start saving. The thing is in the bedroom the tv is only a 34 cm TV and it has an inbuilt dvd player, it's a teac actually. Perhaps I could get the beyondwiz for the the main tv and perhaps I should start saving. Just a few questions does the Beyondwiz have chaseplay? And like the Topfield does it organise the recordings in an organised way? Which Beyondwiz should I get the S1 or the H1? Would you bother with the ICE tv program guide? Where can you get a Beyondwiz, can you get it online? And where can you get it for 690-$700? Oh and if I was to get a cheap PVR for the Bedroom which would you get? I mean which PVR doesn't make that much noise? I had my DSE PVR in the bedroom and it was very noisy.

> Beyonwiz has chaseplay and all the usual "PVR tricks". The only thing it doesn't have is resume play (restarting a file at the point you previously left it), but this can be overcome with setting a bookmark.

> Recordings are named - Date recorded - Time recorded - Duration - Name (eg 16/6/08 8:30pm (60min) Smallville), and stored in order of date recorded. If you connect to the beyonwiz from a PC using a program called WizFx, you can also view the order alphabetically. There is currently no ability to store recordings in subfolders, apart from a 'favourites' folder.

> If you don't need a DVD player, then the P1 would be my suggestion. (note: the H1 is a single tuner set top box with a network media player, that you can add a external hard drive to turn it into a single tuner PVR, as well as watch recordings from other beyonwiz machines on the network)

> I have bothered with ICE guide (one subscription covers both my beyonwiz P1 and Toppy 5000), but it is by no means essential. The 7 day FTA guide is pretty reasonable these days. The benifit of ICE guide is remote access (you can set timers to record from a PC, such as from work or on holidays, and the P1 will do it's stuff...) You get a three month free subscription with a S1 / P1 purchase.

> Beyonwiz can be purchased from any whitegoods supplier (HN, Goodguys, JBs, Altronics etc) or online such as tvbox.com Check out best price thread for the low pricing.

> Re: low noise PVR for bedroom. The best bet is to turn it off before going to bed.. If you need one to record while you're asleep, make sure it has the ability to turn timeshift off, or has hard drive spin down (the Topfield 5000 can do this, with the TAPS mentioned above).

[loopy079]

> Beyonwiz has chaseplay and all the usual "PVR tricks". The only thing it doesn't have is resume play (restarting a file at the point you previously left it), but this can be overcome with setting a bookmark.

> Recordings are named - Date recorded - Time recorded - Duration - Name (eg 16/6/08 8:30pm (60min) Smallville), and stored in order of date recorded. If you connect to the beyonwiz from a PC using a program called WizFx, you can also view the order alphabetically. There is currently no ability to store recordings in subfolders, apart from a 'favourites' folder.

> If you don't need a DVD player, then the P1 would be my suggestion. (note: the H1 is a single tuner set top box with a network media player, that you can add a external hard drive to turn it into a single tuner PVR, as well as watch recordings from other beyonwiz machines on the network)

> I have bothered with ICE guide (one subscription covers both my beyonwiz P1 and Toppy 5000), but it is by no means essential. The 7 day FTA guide is pretty reasonable these days. The benifit of ICE guide is remote access (you can set timers to record from a PC, such as from work or on holidays, and the P1 will do it's stuff...) You get a three month free subscription with a S1 / P1 purchase.

> Beyonwiz can be purchased from any whitegoods supplier (HN, Goodguys, JBs, Altronics etc) or online such as tvbox.com Check out best price thread for the low pricing.

> Re: low noise PVR for bedroom. The best bet is to turn it off before going to bed.. If you need one to record while you're asleep, make sure it has the ability to turn timeshift off, or has hard drive spin down (the Topfield 5000 can do this, with the TAPS mentioned above).

Ozdoc are their any PVR's that are quiet. I'm thinking of purchasing the topfield 5000 for the Bedroom and noise could be an issue. If it's noisy, any other PVR's that aren't as noisy or that are quiet.

Regards

Hutch

[pgdownload]

You can take out the harddrive on many PVRs and run acoustic management software on them (from a PC) that sets them from high speed to much lower and thus much quieter (PVRs don't require a fraction of the performance a PC needs from a harddrive). The Toppy 5000 has a TAP that will set this without removal. You can also just set timeshift buffer off (doesn't disable any ability really) So if you're not recording its silent. If you want the TS buffer on then TAPs will shut it off at say midnight and back on at say 3pm for a silent nights activity.

Bottom line the 5000 is pobably your best bet for options to have a quiet PVR - have a read of the AQA for more info.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[ozdoc]

Bottom line the 5000 is pobably your best bet for options to have a quiet PVR

Hutch, meet Mark...

Mark H's Toppy for sale: $200

I hope there's a finders fee..

[sail]

Bottom line the 5000 is pobably your best bet for options to have a quiet PVR - have a read of the AQA for more info.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

Second that Peter!

MY Black Panther would be less than 2 metres away from my bed in a very quiet bedroom and running 24/7.

Never hear a thing from it.