Need HD Tuner and DVR Advice
 

Greetings,

I've had an HDTV for many years, receiving all my HD programming
over-the-air with the built-in ATSC tuner, while still paying the cable
company about $60/mo. for lousy basic service that I rarely watch.
Apparently, based on FCC requirements, the cable company now has to at least
carry our local channels in digital; however, they use QAM instead of ATSC.

My first thought was to simply buy a set-top QAM tuner, but a DVR with
built-in tuner might be a better way to go. I've also seen inexpensive
tuners with DVD upconverters. Any suggestions? I want to avoid any equipment
that would require activation from the cable company and/or additional
monthly fees. I'm not trying to cheat the cable company - I just want to
watch what I'm already paying ~$60/mo. for, and to possibly record some
programs.

I've seen DVR/tuners from Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and LG. Are there
specific models anyone recommends, or other brands/models I should consider?
My cable co. is Comcast.

Many thanks for your advice,

-Bob

Need HD Tuner and DVR Advice
 

ButlerCellars wrote:
Greetings,

I've had an HDTV for many years, receiving all my HD programming
over-the-air with the built-in ATSC tuner, while still paying the cable
company about $60/mo. for lousy basic service that I rarely watch.
Apparently, based on FCC requirements, the cable company now has to at least
carry our local channels in digital; however, they use QAM instead of ATSC.
....
I've seen DVR/tuners from Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and LG. Are there
specific models anyone recommends, or other brands/models I should consider?
My cable co. is Comcast.
....

Bob:

I've been watching my HDTV OTA for the last 2 years, and for most of
that time I've had a Sony HDD250. Sony has discontinued both the
HDD250 and HDD500, but if you can find one for a reasonable price, I'd
recommend it. The boxes can be used for both OTA ATSC and cable QAM;
the unit does support a cable card. 1 tuner, so you can only record
one thing at a time, though you can be recording one thing and watching
something previously recorded. Can do all the usual tricks: pause or
rewind live TV, fast forward previously paused live TV, watch the
beginning of a recording while the recording continues. They get their
program guide via GemStar either OTA or from analogue cable, so there
are no Tivo type fees. The biggest weakness is the GemStar TV Guide
and cable companies going digital. If the cable company messes up and
doesn't retain one analogue channel to provide the time and guide, the
guide is lost unless you also have an antenna and can get a guide
provider's signal (usually the local PBS station).

I find the recorded HD to be as good as live. The HDD250 can hold
around 30 hours of HD, while the HDD500 can hold about 60 hours of HD.
The unit records digital transmissions, whether HD or SD, exactly as
received. Analogue recordings use a "quality" setting, much like a DVD
recorder. Has 1 HDMI out, 1 component out, 1 S-video out, and 2(?)
composite outputs. SD outputs are active at the same time as the HD
outputs. Has 1 optical digital audio output as well as analogue audio
outputs for all the videos outputs. Recorded Broadcast Dolby 5.1 is
played back via the optical audio port or the HDMI port. I believe the
Dolby 5.1 gets converted to baseband Dolby ProLogic on the analogue
audio connections. There is no way to archive HD from the recorder,
but you can play back and record the output of any of the SD outputs.

Currently, it is suspected that the unit can get its clock and guide
*only* via analogue signals, whether OTA or cable. When OTA analogue
goes dark, probably in Feb. of 2009, we OTA users will most likely lose
our guide functionality. The unit can record like a glorified VCR as
long as it has the time (or you adjust for clock skew), i.e. Channel
2.1 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. *With* the guide, programming is via a
searchable TV Guide "grid" display, with choices of Once, Weekly, and
Regularly. Lots of other capabilities as well. Recordings retain
Title and Episode Summary, as well as Channel, Time, and Date.

If it means anything to you, after several years of use, I will never
be without PVR functionality again. }:) It's that good. When I can
no longer use the Sony, I'll buy something new, build my own PVR from a
PC, or rent a TIVO. Preferably not the monthly-payments-forever TIVO
approach.

Dan (Woj...)

Need HD Tuner and DVR Advice
 

I am curious about why you even want to keep the cable?

=======================================
"ButlerCellars" wrote in message
...
Greetings,

I've had an HDTV for many years, receiving all my HD programming
over-the-air with the built-in ATSC tuner, while still paying the cable
company about $60/mo. for lousy basic service that I rarely watch.
Apparently, based on FCC requirements, the cable company now has to at
least carry our local channels in digital; however, they use QAM instead
of ATSC.

My first thought was to simply buy a set-top QAM tuner, but a DVR with
built-in tuner might be a better way to go. I've also seen inexpensive
tuners with DVD upconverters. Any suggestions? I want to avoid any
equipment that would require activation from the cable company and/or
additional monthly fees. I'm not trying to cheat the cable company - I
just want to watch what I'm already paying ~$60/mo. for, and to possibly
record some programs.

I've seen DVR/tuners from Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and LG. Are there
specific models anyone recommends, or other brands/models I should
consider? My cable co. is Comcast.

Many thanks for your advice,

-Bob