Are the cheap HDD PVR's at Countdown/foodtown any good? any other recommendations?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Are the cheap HDD PVR's at Countdown/foodtown any good? any other recommendations?

paradoxsm

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#11806 12-Feb-2007 23:14

Specs, 80gb Hard drive + DVD recorder, Firewire (dunno about DVD-RAM)

They are cheaper than I have seen them before ($250) and include firewire.

I want to be able to burn DVD discs from my Panasonic MiniDV camcorder and record TV shows for later playback.

Has anyone tried one/hacked one (remove macrovision and Zones)

Or any in a similar price range (to $400)

A quick check of the unit revealed a Samsung Hard disc and Samsung DVD Burner (Just a standard IDE as no surprise) inside.

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#60613 13-Feb-2007 06:46

A mate purchased one about 6 months ago (unsure if it's the same model) and has had no problems at all.

I've often wondered how easy/hard it is to upgrade HDD's in most DVD/HDD units, anybody tried?

Nety

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#60621 13-Feb-2007 08:38

I know the DVD players they used to sell were great bang for buck. No idea about the HDD ones though. Do they have macrovision? The DVD players did not and often the cheaper gear does not.

As far as upgrading HDD's. I have a Sony and I have read elsewhere that you cannot upgrade the HDD. It will only recognise the size that it comes with.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

richms

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#60680 13-Feb-2007 14:38

Yeah, however typically the low cost asian branded manufacturers are not as anti-customer as the likes of sony and panasonic.

As an example, the panasonic dvd-r/vcr combo I had the use of for a while supported the user operation lockout "feature" which none of my asian branded players support. Was a rude shock to not be able to skip the copyright warning on a rented dvd (and they wonder why people copy them and then watch the copys...) - but to add insult to it, it locked out the STOP button, so the usual trick of stopping it and going straight to the title of the movie didnt work either.

Richard rich.ms

photoman

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#60768 14-Feb-2007 13:06

sbiddle - I know that the Pioneer models can be upgraded. I purchased a DVR520 and changed the 80GB drive to a 300GB one. I did have to buy a special remote and a service DVD, but it was worth it. I even went to the trouble of buying a second DVR520 and 300GB drive, but have never got around to upgrading it. Moved to NZ in the interim, and since I now only have Sky, there is no point upgrading the second unit, and I can put the 300GB drive in my PC instead. Just have to get around to putting the DVR520 on TradeMe.

Limerick

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#60771 14-Feb-2007 13:33

What about the DVD recorders only (no HDD)? I have mySky so dont need the HD capability.... just want to archive some stuff from mySky....

The cheap DVD recorders seem to be exactly what I need but cant find out if they show MPG, AVI formats as well....

Any suggestion for the cheapest/best value DVD recorder out there?

cheers.....

paradoxsm

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#60775 14-Feb-2007 14:44

I'm just looking for something that I can leave running for a month and then "backup" the shows to a DVD, also a hard drive lets me delete the ads, Which SKY is riddled with. oh and whatever i get must have an inbult standard (not hdmi) tuner.

EPG might be nice but i can just plug in simple figures. also an EPG probably means I have to leave a whirring, clunky, crashing PC running.

TinyTim

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#60783 14-Feb-2007 15:47

Have you considered a tuner card for your PC?

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tonyhughes

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#60785 14-Feb-2007 15:52

TinyTim: Have you considered a tuner card for your PC?

Paradoxsm: an EPG probably means I have to leave a whirring, clunky, crashing PC running.

Sounds like it, but his old IBM XT seems to be too noisy to run 24/7...

TinyTim

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#60893 15-Feb-2007 14:00

tonyhughes:
TinyTim: Have you considered a tuner card for your PC?

Paradoxsm: an EPG probably means I have to leave a whirring, clunky, crashingPC running.

Sounds like it, but his old IBM XT seems to be too noisy to run 24/7...

10/10 for that answer! I guess anyone using a Nokia 1100 won't have a PC that can run a tuner card/EPG.

richms

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#60899 15-Feb-2007 14:16

At least the nokia 1100 you can swap sims, turn the phone and make a call straight away, other phones I have all make me wait in some cases up to 2 minutes before I can make a call.

Richard rich.ms

TinyTim

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#60903 15-Feb-2007 14:34

I have to admit that I only replaced my old 6210 a few months ago, and one of the reasons was the battery wasn't lasting very long any more.

However the battery on the new phone lasts even less...

Don't second hand 5110s fetch high prices because of their reliability?