Help needed recording TV programs

[Big Cliff]

OK, Sue doesn't ask for much but she likes to record her favorite programs and watch them later. For years she got by quite happily with a VCR then it got worn out tapes were harder to find, so I bought her a DVD recorder. That worked great for a couple of years, it did everything she needed record/play back. Now that just quit working and I have been trying to find a replacement for her but hardly anyone seems to carry them. Am I just getting too old? Do people not record their favorite TV programs anymore? Is there another/better way to do it? Am I looking for the wrong thing when I ask for DVD recorders.

 

HELP! Christmas is almost here, I need to do something fast and I've spent hours trying to find something.

[Handlebarz]

I have the same thing here ours came from Zellers a couple years back worked fine then just quit we have not bought a new one just stopped recording the shows and for some odd reason I get more done after work LOL.

 

I know I was not much help but I did figure out why they had these on sale for around $50 when they were over $200 to start with (a buddy from work picked up two of them one for me one for him they are both not working)

[Jer]

Cliff, you need a PVR (also known as DVR), it's the best thing to come along for TV in a long time.

[Big Cliff]

Jer, can you buy these or do you have to rent them? We are with Bell satilite and don't want or need HD TV. If you can buy them, where and how much (basic unit, nothing fancy, Sue has trouble trying to figure out how to use her cell phone).

[Terry]

how do you get your signal

cable

or satellite

or by antenna

if it's by cable or satellite I would buy their receiver with pvr built in

they are the easiest to use

[Garnet]

We bought the rogers pvr last year about $300 Bell was cheaper. Don't think I could watch tv without it. Recording just bring up menu move to time slot press rec press A to confirm and done. Door bell rings just press pause deal with the door get a snack and press play, fast forward through commercials. When watching live tv if you miss something just rewind and press play.

 

Garnet

[Big Cliff]

Terry Satellite.

Thanks guys, I'll go and see Bell today, it sounds like the best way to go.

 

Cliff

[dave524]

I was faced with the same problem several months ago, our old Panasonic DVD recorder died. I actually have a Bell HD receiver that all you have to do is add a external hard drive to and it becomes a PVR. I went for another DVD recorder instead of the hard drive, specfically this one

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...8436&catid=

 

because....

 

1. Still have a bunch of commercial and recorded DVD's I want to watch

 

2. I can transfer my digital pictures to a DVD/CD for viewing on the HD TV, it also has a usb port so you can transfer them to a usb thumb drive as well

 

3. Sometimes we miss recording a program or 2 come on at the same time, I will download a DivX .avi of the show we need on the internet and put it on the thumb drive or a rewritable DVD for viewing on the TV

 

4 Got a video camera? You can record the camera to a DVD to save the video, even if you make the DVD of the camera material on the computer you can't play it on a PVR if you want to watch it on the TV

 

5 I like to save some TV programs, specifically concerts, with the DVD I can bring them to a computer to edit commercials or add menues, can't do that with a PVR, even one with an external hard drive as a computer will not recognize the format.

 

6. Of specific concern to me was the ability to play PAL formatted DVD of European origin in addition to NTSC format standard here, this machine will play them.

 

7. Got your sound system hooked up to the TV, need it to play cd's and mp3 disks

 

Most people still will need a good DVD machine.

[Fang]

BC

 

If you subscribe to Bell HD and have an HD receiver already (but not a PVR) it can be turned into one instantly by connecting an external computer hard drive (HDD) to it. When you plug in the HDD it walks you through a tutorial. I picked up a HDD for about $70.

 

The remotes for Bell HD receivers already have all the buttons to play/record on them. just like the VCR, Only issue is you have to be watching the program to record it. You can set up the box to record shows the same time each week automatically.

[Big Cliff]

Well, first of all, thanks for the replies and Fang, you have some really good points there and I really appreciate you taking the time to type it all out for me. It's funny how when I go shoping for fishing or hunting stuff, I can spend hours looking, I don't understand a lot of the new electronic stuff and the more time I spent, the more confused I was getting.

 

We do have a DVD player in our home entertainment system and a DVD burner in our computer so to symplify things I ended up buying Sue a Bell PVR system. It was $499.00 plus tax (They offered me a $200.00 programming credit if I would up grade to HD but Sue's TV isn't HD so there was no point) but I'll just take back the nice dimond ring I had bought her and still be way ahead of the game (JUST KIDDING GIRLS, I'm not that brave LOL). Anyway I figure it will save me having to have a receiver and then a recorder and our daughter needed a new receiver anyway.

 

Anyone want a Phillips DVD recorder and remote FREE? It doesn't work but you might be able to fix it? Oh, and you can have a DVD player too, I tried to fix that myself; I think I'll just stick to motors LOL.

 

Thanks again for the feed back! It did help me in making my decision.