What is a good, cheap alternative (no subscription) to TiVo?

Question

I'm looking for a simple DVR solution with no monthly service charge, decent sized hard drive, and DVD player (but *not* recorder). I don't need to pause/record live TV, or have any programs suggested to me. Just need to store my programs on a hard drive until I'm done with them...

My Panasonic DVR just died, and althout it was around $500 when I bought it years ago, it also burned DVDs--a feature I don't want if it can drive the price down to the $200 range (what your average VCR used to go for).

Answer 1

Hi Digeratist,

I think the best one on the market is the Philips DVDR3575H/37. WalMart sells them. It has a 160 Gb hard drive. I know you don't need it but you can also record DVDs on the unit. It is over your budget at $288 but I think well worth the money.

You can check out the machine here - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d...

Norm

Answer 2

In the $200 range you have 2 choices:

A.

Magnavox 80GB DVD Recorder w/ Digital Tuner

About $199 at Walmart. You program the recordings like you would a VCR. You can ignore the fact that it also burns DVDs.

B.

Build your own DVR if you have enough spare computer parts laying around. Google       DIY  PVR     if you want to learn more about this.