Franklin
join:2009-06-04
Palo Alto, CA
| reply to dishrich
Re: Digital Transport Adapter Unboxing Photos
said by dishrich  :said by Franklin :but not tape VCRs which are now being made "tuner free" How about this one that does BOTH - you can record w/the tuner on either the VCR or DVD recorder: » www2.panasonic.com/consumer-elec···00005702 |
|
weddingvideoman
@rcn.com | reply to Franklin
do not buy any panasonic brand dvd recorder they are the worst! get toshiba. i've owned every brand of dvd recorder for my work (broadcast/shooting/editing ) |
|
Franklin
join:2009-06-04
Palo Alto, CA
1 edit | reply to dishrich
said by dishrich :said by Franklin :but not tape VCRs which are now being made "tuner free" How about this one that does BOTH - you can record w/the tuner on either the VCR or DVD recorder: » www2.panasonic.com/consumer-elec···00005702 I looked into this machine - Its received some pretty bad reviews - such as buggy software and lockups - plus worst of all - It won't record directly from a digital channel to VHS. |
|
Franklin
join:2009-06-04
Palo Alto, CA
| reply to tvnut
said by tvnut :
yeap! Looks like a good one..
As far as VCR goes, Please move into the 21st century!
I will try to find a price for the panasonic model mentioned by dishrich - but I note that it doesn't have S-VHS
As far as moving into the 21st century, I don't consider direct to DVD recorders superior to tape for simple reliable time shifting - However I would be interested in finding a reasonably priced Hard Disk Recorder that didn't require a monthly fee.
Until a few months ago, Magnavox was selling combination 160 GB Hard Disk and DVD recorders for $249.95 - but they have been closed out, apparently because Magnavox is no longer making them, but you can still see the Walmart ad at:
»www.walmart.com/catalog/product.···10104532
Many of Walmart's customers probably don't subscribe to cable - A recorder like this would be almost perfect for such people. - I say almost, because it can't record in high definition. |
|
tvnut
@shrineservices.com | reply to dishrich
yeap! Looks like a good one..
As far as VCR goes, Please move into the 21st century! |
|
dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL
| reply to Franklin
said by Franklin :but not tape VCRs which are now being made "tuner free" How about this one that does BOTH - you can record w/the tuner on either the VCR or DVD recorder:
»www2.panasonic.com/consumer-elec···00005702 |
|
Franklin
join:2009-06-04
Palo Alto, CA
| reply to tvnut
said by tvnut :
There are MANY DVD-Recorders coming on the market with clear QAM Tuners..I did a search and found several brands that had it. So, that might be the solution to people that bought HDTVs prior to 2008.
Yes - it is possible to find DVD recorders with QAM tuners - but not tape VCRs which are now being made "tuner free" -plus try to find either one that can use a cable card and doesn't require a rental fee like Tivo. - I actually have a DVD recorder and even if it had a QAM tuner I would prefer to use tape because it is simple to use, reliable and easy to erase compared to recordable DVDs. |
|
PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| reply to ak3883
If a TV supported CableCARD, they supported QAM/ClearQAM (as that was actually part of the requirements for CableCARD). Also, even of the major brands, ClearQAM is still only common *above* a particular size (usually 40"); look at the major brands in terms of 32" and smaller LCD TVs (even Sony, Toshiba, and LG).
As far as the remote communicating with the STB, consider the STB's remote communicating with the VCR. (Comcast's STB remote *is* a universal model; in fact, Universal used to manufacture them.) |
|
bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | reply to tvnut
Yes, sorry... missed that thread connection. |
|
tvnut
@shrineservices.com | reply to bicker
Right, but right now in order for their new DTAs to work, they must receive Clear QAM..(Until they change that, I am going to not use the box and just my QAM Tuners.) |
|
bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | reply to tvnut
Yup; Folks just need to keep in mind that there is no obligation on the part of service providers to provide anything via unencrypted QAM (as long as they offer local broadcast channels via unencrypted analog.) |
|
tvnut
@shrineservices.com | reply to Franklin
There are MANY DVD-Recorders coming on the market with clear QAM Tuners..I did a search and found several brands that had it. So, that might be the solution to people that bought HDTVs prior to 2008. |
|
bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | reply to Franklin
Remember: You are the consumer. If you don't like what is offered, do without. You have all the power. |
|
Franklin
join:2009-06-04
Palo Alto, CA
| reply to bicker
I have never seen a VCR that can use a cable card and DVRs like TIVO require a monthly fee. The cable companies have such a strangle hold on the industry, that it is becoming difficult to even find a VCR with a tuner of any kind. If the cable companies wanted to do so, it would have been easy for them to keep VCRs compatible with the switch to digital, by including timers in every set top box.
Another solution to the problem of programing a VCR would have been to make it easy for older cable ready VCRs to communicate with set top boxes. I have a cable ready JVC S-VHS VCR that has an infrared output that can change the channel on more than 30 brands of set top boxes. - My problem is that neither Motorola nor Pace is on the list, and I have been unable to program my VCR to communicate with either of the units supplied by Comcast.
I resent having to pay a monthly fee to time shift programs - I am hoping to be able to find a VCR with a QAM digital tuner which will be usable to tune in unencrypted channels directly - at least until Comcast gets a waiver, which I hope it never does. |
|
ak3883
join:2005-08-20
Bensalem, PA
| reply to PGHammer
It's 2009. The vast majority of LCD TVs have ClearQAM tuners. I would venture to say every model from major brands(Sharp,Panasonic,Toshiba,Samsung,LG,Sony) has a QAM tuner in it. Only in some of the cheapest of cheap sets will you find only ATSC tuners, as req'd by law.
In 2005 there were many more TV's with cablecard slots, and QAM tuners were not as common. |
|
PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to eangel88
Typically, any TV that has ClearQAM support will have one of the following in its documentation:
1. The term "digital-cable ready" or iDCR.
2. CableCARD-ready.
Horribly, most LCD HDTVs don't support ClearQAM (at best, they support ATSC in addition to NTSC) for price reasons. (Typically, ClearQAM/iDCR/CableCARD support was confined to the higher end of the price scale - plasma TVs, larger LCD HDTVs, and projection TVs. That was a decision by the CEA, not the cable companies.) I bought my Philips 42PF7320A/37A plasma in 2005 because it was, at the time, the lowest-price in-stock TV that supported CableCARD. (I almost didn't have enough continuous wall to mount it - it is a bedroom TV.) |
|
bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | reply to tvnut
I think that's a good assumption. |
|
tvnut
@shrineservices.com | reply to bicker
Don't think that will happen anytime soon, otherwise, they would have rolled out STB to everyone instead of wasting time making millions of DTAs. |
|
bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | reply to Tvnut
Or when they require expanded basic subscribers to upgrade from DTAs to STBs. |
|
Tvnut
@shrineservices.com
 from:
The Q
| reply to tvnut
so again. long story short, if you have expanded basic right now and you have a QAM tuner TV, then you dont need the stupid box!!! ONLY WHEN THE DTA BOX DOES SOME TYPE OF DECODING WILL YOU QUIT WORKING. |
|
