DVR Reccomendations in 2023

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lxsw20

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#303761 7-Mar-2023 21:09

My folks are looking to get rid of Sky, with Nat Geo going it just isn't worth it for their viewing anymore.

What they do want to keep is the DVR capabilities. What are the recommendations these days for something that is easy to use, and reliable? Panasonic seem to be about the only known brand I can see that do them. They're looking for something with UHF tuners.

I am not interested in getting them setup with anything complicated - (HTPC etc)

Cheers

lxsw20

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#3049003 11-Mar-2023 17:50

A panasonic it will be then i guess :D

allan

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#3049013 11-Mar-2023 18:28

We have a Panasonic DMR-BWT760 which my other half loves because it's simple to use and she can watch stuff at 1.3 x the speed 😀

However, one thing that I've never been able to resolve is why it takes it upon itself to randomly record some episodes of series links on the Plus1 channels - e.g. TV1 6pm News. Might be fine tonight, Tuesday might be Plus1 and again on Saturday. Then different days the following week - no rhyme nor reason to it that I can see.

shk292

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#3049055 11-Mar-2023 21:15

I've had two Panasonic DVRs and liked them both. Hardly use the current one because we stream most things. People moan about the UI but it does what it needs to. If you want a simple reliable option, it's Panasonic

scuwp

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#3049083 11-Mar-2023 21:46

Another vote for Panasonic. Long time since we recorded anything though. It seemed to do the trick when we had one. You sure they wouldn't enjoy streaming things? An Apple TV is pretty simple to use and they can access way more than broadcast TV.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

lxsw20

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#3049121 11-Mar-2023 23:37

They've got an Apple TV and do stream, its more so they can delay start something and zip through the ads

JimmyH

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#3051653 18-Mar-2023 18:18

Another vote for Panasonic. I have a DMR-BWT840 in the living room, and an XW390 in the family room. The quality is good, and they have both been running solidly for years with nary a glitch (*). My only complaint is that the interface is a bit quirky and outdated looking, but it's still pretty easy to use once you get used to it, and the quality is fantastic.

I contrast that to a couple of friends who have bought cheaper Dish units. All of them have had issues with the quality and performance of the units.

I still miss my older (pre Freeview) Panasonic EH68. You didn't just have to fast forward through ads, it also had a 60 second skip button which was magic. They apparently had to remove it from newer models in order to get Freeview certification and EPG access.

* It doesn't get much use at the moment aside from playing the odd disc - I have pretty much given up on Free to Air TV, and currently need to get my aerial fixed (which has been the case for more than a year come to think of it, and I still haven't missed FTA TV at all).

lxsw20

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#3051688 18-Mar-2023 21:39

I picked up a DMR-HWT260 for $110 on TradeMe, so we will see how that goes!