Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    31

    DVR w/hard drives

    I've noticed the price of DVRs continues to drop, except for those with internal hard drives. Why do they continue to cost upwards of $500+? Hard drives from the computer store aren't all that expensive, so I can't see why a DVR with and intergral hard drive should cost so much more than one without. Am I missing something here?

  2. #2
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Out there
    Posts
    6,777
    Good question. I'd like to know the answer to that as well. I was pricing some and the figures I saw were rediculous!

  3. #3
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    tuscaloosa
    Posts
    5,528
    You're missing a great deal.
    DVR means "digital video recorder" and records video from cable, sat or broadcast
    in a digital format (mpeg2 usually) and stores it on a hard drive.
    So every DVR ever made has a "hard drive", they are an integral part of a DVR
    in fact.
    My dvr didnt cost five hundred bucks, it costs ten bucks a month from comcast cable
    and records both hd and standard def and is also a cable box
    Perhaps you're talking about a DVD recorder that also has a hard drive in order to make it easier to record and edit video, perhaps?
    Its a good idea to have a hard drive on your dvd recorder, BTW
    LG 42", integra 6.9, B&W 602s2, CC6 center, dm305rears, b&w
    sub asw2500
    Panny DVDA player
    sharp Aquos BLU player
    pronto remote, technics antique direct drive TT
    Samsung SACD/DVDA player
    emotiva upa-2 two channel amp

  4. #4
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Anywhere but here...
    Posts
    13,243
    The DVR's cost so much more than HD's because they have more to them than just a bare drive. It has a controller to tell it when to record, skip, FF, RR , remember your favorite shows etc. They will come down in price also. What we have been seeing is an increase in available space while the prices have not been going up. I have a two year old DVR that cost me over $500 and it only has 80 GB. It would cost about $200 for that size now. A $500 unit now would have 160 GB capacity or more.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  5. #5
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    31
    You're right - I was thinking of a DVD recorder w/hard drive instead of the true DVR.

    Due to the piss-poor audio quality of the TV programs we watch (fast-paced mumbled dialog, poor diction from the actors, backgound music drowning out the dialog, etc) we have to record nearly everything we watch so we can continually go back and re-listen to what they're saying. Once we watch a show we immediately erase it as we have no interest in watching it again (re-runs are bad enough). I'm using a DVD recorder to accomplish this, but it would be so much easier if I didn't have to screw with individual disks that have limited recording capacity.

    And as far as incremental cost goes, given the low cost of computer components, it shouldn't cost that much to add a drive and controller to and existing box, particularly if you buy in quantities. You can buy a decent entry level PC less than $500.

    I've seen ads where they darn near give you the TIVO box if you subscribe - but that still turns out to be more than $150/yr. The only cable I can get in this end of town is TimeWarner, but they require to you buy an upgraded cable package to take advantage of their DRV program, and we don't watch that much TV to justify the cost. I guess what I'm looking for is an inexpensive TIVO-like box that you don't have to subscribe to a service for it to work.

  6. #6
    Color me gone... Resident Loser's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Nueva Jork
    Posts
    2,148

    Wal-Mart...

    ...sells a Polaroid unit with 160gb of disc space for around $260...

    jimHJJ(...dunno if that helps...)
    Hello, I'm a misanthrope...don't ask me why, just take a good look around.

    "Men would rather believe than know" -Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by Edward O. Wilson

    "The great masses of the people...will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one" -Adolph Hitler

    "We are never deceived, we deceive ourselves" -Goethe

    If you repeat a lie often enough, some will believe it to be the truth...

  7. #7
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    tuscaloosa
    Posts
    5,528
    150 a year is worth it, especially since such boxes can be hd capable.
    DVRS literally change the way you watch TV, trust me, they are well worth 150 a
    year
    LG 42", integra 6.9, B&W 602s2, CC6 center, dm305rears, b&w
    sub asw2500
    Panny DVDA player
    sharp Aquos BLU player
    pronto remote, technics antique direct drive TT
    Samsung SACD/DVDA player
    emotiva upa-2 two channel amp

  8. #8
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Anywhere but here...
    Posts
    13,243
    Quote Originally Posted by pixelthis
    150 a year is worth it, especially since such boxes can be hd capable.
    DVRS literally change the way you watch TV, trust me, they are well worth 150 a
    year
    Agreed, and when you rent, you can upgrade to newer models when they come out.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  9. #9
    test the blind blindly emorphien's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    919
    They're expensive because they can rip you off. IMO the components in them don't seem to be worth more than a few hundred a most. Nothing in there is fairly complicated or expensive at this point.

    Still worth it though, I'd miss just about everything I like if I didn't have one.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •