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Looking for DVD and HDD recorder

#1
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9/5/05 at 6:14am
  • Joined: September 2005
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Hello all,
I'm new to the boards. I am going to begin my Home Theater in the comming months, and I'm going to be asking for a lot of advice when I do start. Right now I'm looking for some stuff to finish off the components that I'll be putting into my HT.
I've read about several large manufacurers that are making a DVD player/recorder with built in HDD and TV guide for recording. But so far that I've seen there is nothing available in the US. Does anyone know who might be making something like this for the States, or if someone is going to be making one for sale in the States soon?

Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.

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#2
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9/8/05 at 3:54pm
  • Joined: September 2005
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No luck anywhere I go to find something like this.

How about this?
Some software for my PC to make my PC a HDD recorder.
any ideas?

Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.

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#3
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9/9/05 at 2:37pm
  • Joined: April 1999
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These have been around for years already. You apparently aren't looking very hard. Search this forum for old posts.

Panasonic, Toshiba, Pioneer,Sony,Humax all make products.

You could also get a standard Tivo, network it to your PC & get software & a DVD burner to burn shows. You can also get hardware to turn your PC into a DVR.

For primarily recording TV shows, I'd recommend going the Tivo route. For primarily making DVDs from camcorder footage, get one of the non-Tivo DVD-Rs + hard disk drives, which make editing easier.
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#4
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9/9/05 at 3:16pm
  • Joined: September 2005
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Sorry, I didn't mention in my original post, I was wanting one with HDMI output. Looks like Toshiba makes one available in the US.
thanks

Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.

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#5
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9/9/05 at 3:38pm
  • Joined: April 1999
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I don't know if HDMI output upscaling is worth all that much. Should you be putting a lot of money into an expensive DVD-recorder w/ hard-disk right now? I wouldn't, unless making DVDs from home movies is going to be the major use. If you are building an High-def system, for recording television shows an HD-DVR rented from the cable company is much more attractive. DVD player - Blu-ray/HD-DVD are just around the corner, it makes sense to wait or just buy one of the cheaper HDMI players to hold you over until then. The Blu-ray machines are supposed to be able to record to regular DVD as well.
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#6
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9/12/05 at 7:11pm
  • Joined: February 2001
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I would agree for the most part with Stephen. I recently was in the same situation as you, building an entire system for a new basement HT. I wanted a DVD/HDD machine so I could archive DV tapes and burn them to DVD. Also wanted a decent DVD player to bridge me to the time when Hi Def DVD (what ever format) becomes available.

I ended up with the Toshiba XS34, and have been very happy with it. You will find a very robust discussion of DVD Recorders over on the AVS forums. Like any other component there are plusses and minuses to the Tosh. Many people don’t like the fact that the fan runs all the time (apparently to cool the unit since the TV Guide is always downloading). It has a front panel FireWire port which was a big selling point from my end.

I’d be happy to provide a more complete review if you are interested. BTW, I’ve got it hooked up to a 55” Sony LCD.

wally
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#7
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9/27/05 at 9:47am
  • Joined: January 2005
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Quote:
I've read about several large manufacurers that are making a DVD player/recorder with built in HDD and TV guide for recording.


Hello, by co-incidince I'm considering buying the Sony RDR-HX900 model DVR and I have a question about the "TV Guide" feature. How does the DVR retrieve this feature/info? Is it a requirement to have, say, your Directv satt or cable signal (the input coax coming from the satt dish LNB[s], for example) inputted to the DVR in order to utilize the "TV Guide feature?

"Checkmate King Two Out"  "Combat! A Selmur Production"

I'm a 50's - mid-90's TV/DVD Collector. Two DVD shows since '96: Firefly & Smallville

My 2 all-time favorite TV shows: "Combat!" & "The Fugitive"  My 2 all-time best blind-buys: "Smallville" & "Donna Reed Show"

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#8
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9/27/05 at 10:29am
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It would have to be a cable signal. Satellite wouldn't work.
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#9
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9/29/05 at 11:59am
  • Joined: February 2001
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The Tosh XS34 will also pull the TVG info off the air with and antenna connected. Just for local stations though. And yes, satellite is a no go for TVG.
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