Do these even exist?

[Kevbo887]

I wanted to get my wife a DVR (I guess you could call it that) as one of her xmas gifts. She records a lot of TV shows (like CSI, some of her Soaps, Law and Order ect) on our VCR and quite frankly the whole VCR deal is getting annoying to the both of us. We hate having to swap through tapes ect and fast forward/rewind to get to what we want to watch at the time or record over.

Now, what exactly is a DVR? Is it just a DVD player that records the TV like a VCR, but instead of being on a VHS, its on a DVD? Also, are these DVD's reusable, or is it a one time deal? Do they categorize what your recording, or is it all recorded into one big file? Multiple recordings (say on Monday I record from 5-6pm but wont record again till Tuesday from 8-10pm, can I use the same dvd?)

Or better yet, is there something other then TiVo (do not feel like adding another bill to all the existing bills) that records directly to a hard drive? That would be exactly what I would want.

Thanks guys!!

[banpeikun]

DVR is unrelated to DVDs except that they're both digital video. DVR usually records to an internal hard drive (that you can usually hack to a bigger drive). Problem with them is that they all need some kind of "TV guide" type service, like Tivo's is $15/mo or something, but you can usually get one free from your cable/satellite company if you have a decent subscription. AFAIK theres no standalone unit one that without being connected to a service. someone else may know of one, but if not, the alternative is to us a TV capture card on your computer and some software that would do pretty much the same thing.

[Malik112099]

call up your cable/satellite tv provider and order their dvr

[dtcarson]

Basically it's a hard drive your TV signal is piped into. It's a "recording device" similar to a VCR, but about 17000 times better, depending on the DVR/EPG software the box is running.
If you have cable, that's quite likely the easiest/cheapest way to get into it. My provider gave me the HDDVR box for no additional cost over the regular digital box, and the DVR fee is only 7.95.month. And it's still there machine, so we can upgrade, or if anything goes wrong with it, they fix/replace it.
Most of them nowadays have title-based recording; that is, I set it to record The Simpsons, and whereever it sees that on the EPG, it records it.

[Milkyman]

Not only does the DVR record your shows, it buffers live television while you are watching it so you can pause your show while someone goes to the bathroom and then start again, you can even skip back to see something again and you should be able to skip forwards to get past commercials too. Some of them also let you do something called a season pass where you just choose the show and whatever channel its on, it will record every show for you automatically.

[K_G]

The OP may be using the wrong terminology....A DVR is commonly used to describe a hard drive based video recording device (such as tivo and similar products from cable/sat companies). There are are also DVD Recorders, which basically function along similar lines of VCR but instead of placing the shows on VHS tapes, they place them on recordable DVDs, some of which are one time use only (DVD Rs) and those that can be used multiple times (DVD RWs). A DVD recorder would have the same problem you currently have with switching tapes but now you would be switching DVDs but there would be no monthly DVR fee, and you could also watch finalized DVDs on other DVD players, while with a DVR, you are stuck watching it on that one box (yeah, tivo series two hardware can shift wirelessly to another unit with right hardware but if this guy is still using VCRs, I'm figuring that might be a bit advanced for him). A DVD recorder can also only record one show at time while DVR with a dual tuner can record two shows at once (you can even watch a previously stored program while its recording the other two shows, so you can do three things at once).

Personally, I would recommend going the DVR route...Once you get it setup right, it is zero work on your part and you'll never be short of something to watch, let alone to have the chance to zip through commercials or jump back 10 seconds in time to see that play again or to replay some garbled dialogue you didn't hear clearly or to pause a show when the phone rings. Yeah, the monthly fee sucks but its money well spent in my opinion.

[sp00ge]

Not only does the DVR record your shows, it buffers live television while you are watching it so you can pause your show while someone goes to the bathroom and then start again, you can even skip back to see something again and you should be able to skip forwards to get past commercials too. Some of them also let you do something called a season pass where you just choose the show and whatever channel its on, it will record every show for you automatically.

My DVR has the option to record all airings of any given show in the schedule recording options.

[WarlordFDC]

If you are willing to pay more you can get a computer with Windows MCE and a TV Tuner. It offers similar functionality to TiVO without a monthly fee. I have been using one for a few years now and it works great. Lets me archive any shows / movies I want to DVD (after I remove the commercials to make it smaller).

[Malik112099]

If you are willing to pay more you can get a computer with Windows MCE and a TV Tuner. It offers similar functionality to TiVO without a monthly fee. I have been using one for a few years now and it works great. Lets me archive any shows / movies I want to DVD (after I remove the commercials to make it smaller).

yeah..cause someone who doesn't even know what a DVR is will definatley be able to set that up

[Kevbo887]

Well, I do have a PC with Media Center on it, and it is all set up, just no tv tuner card. Plus, I dont really want to use my pc for that.

But, yah I did make a mistake with a DVR and DVD Recorder. Just a lot of local shops call DVD Recorders DVR's as well. So, thats why I was curious and asking questions. No need to make a personal attack, even if it was unintentional.

[Koggit]

DVR = Digital Video Recorder = Awesome
DVD-R = DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) Recorder = Cumbersome

If you already have a cable box from your cable company, you can usually upgrade to a DVR-integrated box for $5 - $10 more, which would be your best option. Otherwise, TiVo is a nice service.

[banpeikun]

Well, I do have a PC with Media Center on it, and it is all set up, just no tv tuner card. Plus, I dont really want to use my pc for that.

But, yah I did make a mistake with a DVR and DVD Recorder. Just a lot of local shops call DVD Recorders DVR's as well. So, thats why I was curious and asking questions. No need to make a personal attack, even if it was unintentional.IAWTP, kudos for being mature

[garfep]

Buy an older Series 2 Tivo on eBay that has lifetime service. You'll pay a little more, but no monthly fee and service for life. Plus very easily upgradable hard drives you can buy on weaknees.com.

If you get the Toshiba RSTX20, it has a built in DVD burner for saving stuff you record, plus lifetime Tivo service.