please advise- replacing my components (1 Viewer)

[Nita Rushing]

i'm new to this forum and havent shopped for electronics in a long time, i need advise before i click any 'submit order' buttons! my goals are to have a receiver that i can run audio and video thru. i'm more of a music person than tv tho i think that is because i hate watching live tv. i listen to alot of internet radio & cds, my old stereo system speakers have died so i currently have only standalone tv, (will upgrade that later) with cable internet- (no pvr system avail in my area) and a vcr. only have my pc speakers. have wanted dish dvr but don't want to go back to satellite (many reasons-long story) but want a hd recorder. here are my questions. i want to be able to hook up my pc so i can listen to internet radio thru better speakers. i want to be able to still play my vinyl- yes i still have a turntable (want to burn albums onto disks for safer keeping) and play cds (have a cd burner in my pc- will a dvd recorder burn audio?)- could care less about cassette tapes. i want to burn my old vhs tapes onto disks when needed, and download live tv for viewing at leisure and/or be able to burn onto disks if i choose. i have gotten confused about tivo units, most comments say you cant extract from the hd- but then other comments say you can transfer to vcr??? i don't care to pay tivo fees (paying a forturne for cable already), don't know much about the +/- of tivo, replay, vcr+ etc and/or if necessary w/hd or not??? started looking at ht systems, planned to buy a separate dvd/vcr/hd unit- units, but have narrowed down choices and want your feedback and or other suggestions. if i chose today i would go with sony ht-v2000 (has vcr+)w/combo vcr/dvd unit and the toshiba xs52 w/dvd recorder and 160gb hd. only $80 more than the xs32 unit- supposing would be worth it for the extra 80gb. am i on the right track or??? please help! thanks and happy holidays!!!

 

[Stephen Tu]

If you have cable, get the standalone box and pay lifetime service, just think of the service cost as part of the price of the box. $400 total, no monthly fees. There's no one that's going to sell you a fully functional box for just $100; that would be a money losing business.

For TV viewing nothing beats a PVR device. DVD-R just doesn't compare, the programming is much more difficult & the capacity is a lot lower. The bulk of TV is view once & delete, hard drive is the right way to do that. Get DVD-R separately if you want to transfer VHS tapes.

 

[Nita Rushing]

so are you saying get just a straight tivo box? or something like a toshiba sd400? am i going wrong by thinking of the sx52 unit for hd recording with a dvd recorder built in? i can get this unit for less than $500, i would then have $400 in tivo and still need a dvd recorder! or am i mis-understanding you???

 

[Stephen Tu]

To me the question is whether your primary need is recording TV, or transferring your old VHS to DVD. If the former, I'd get a PVR, and forget about DVD-R and transferring your tapes for awhile if cost is a concern. If tape->DVD is your main concern then get the sx52, which would be OK for TV recording but not as easy to program.

 

[Nita Rushing]

i have been researching this forum, the av forum, the tivo forum and consumer reviews. i guess stephen i have discovered that i want it all. most comments advise as you did to buy the tivo as a standalone unit and an editable hd w/dvd recorder as a separate unit. since i think i mite be happy with tivo basic the general consensus seems to favor a sony, pioneer, or toshiba unit over just a tivo box. i keep leaning towards the toshiba sd h400, looking for deals. leaning towards the pioneer 420(if can find one) or the 520 still listening for advice on specific units, sources for bargains or whatever i am not thinking of. planning on a 30-32" widescreen hdtv purchase later this year if get into this home theatre. first grandbaby on the way so i'm also thinking ahead to editing her viewing and digital pics, etc. still need to know if and how to run pc radio thru ht. thanks for your help!

 

[Stephen Tu]

The Toshiba SDH400 Tivo/DVD player (not recorder) is a reasonable pick if you think Tivo Basic will be enough for you (certainly take the free trial of Tivo Plus to see if you like it). One defect is that it doesn't support the 30 second skip easter egg that the other Tivos do.

I'm not a huge fan of the other Tivo DVD-R units, mainly because they lack any editing features.

Internet radio can be streamed to Tivo via LAN/wLAN if you use the free 3rd party JavaHMO, but you need Tivo Plus for the music/picture streaming features.

 

[Nita Rushing]

i'm suggesting the sdh400 to utilize the tivo- wondering if it also has the black level bug issue. what does no 30 second egg mean? won't skip ahead thru commercials? is that live or at all? could deal with that in edit tho correct? i'm thinking it outshines sony svr 3000 for a less expensive tivo unit w/free basic, and yes i'll try the plus trial service. can anyone suggest a better choice? then the pioneer 420,510,or 520 for the hd recorder with dvd recorder. what tivo unit do you recommend stephen? the lifetime fee for tivo being for the lifetime of the unit is i guess what alarms me about the plus service, too many instances of hearing the hd died after a few months. is that not a usual concern? that would give me the sony ht system with dvd player/vcr unit, toshiba sdh400 for tivo and temp storage, the pioneer unit to edit and burn disks.

 

[Stephen Tu]

You can always fast forward through commercials which works fine. But the other Tivos have a special code you can punch in via remote so that one of the keys does a 30 second skip ahead instead. Some people prefer that method for commercial skip, or for viewing some sports like football where it's just right for skipping huddles.

HD failing is not a concern with the lifetime service - the service transfers if you get it repaired/replaced through an authorized repair center. You can also just repair the drive yourself which retains service (which is tied to a serial number on the motherboard, not drive).