Educate me regarding DVR please!

First let me state that my audio-visual knowledge is rooted in the era of 33-1/3 RPM LP records and videotape. I'm comfortable with a VHS recorder. CD's and DVD's blow my mind, but I've got a pretty good grasp on how to use the players and recorders.

Now I understand there's some newfangled thingie called a "DVR". Great. Uses a hard disk to record shows and skip commercials. Groovy.

Can I go to a store and buy a DVR and hook it up to my Comcast digital cable? Or do I need to pay a monthly fee to comcast? (Won't do it, cable bill is already over 130 bucks). Switch to Direct TV and get the service from them?

I guess the essence of my question is can I get satisfactory results installing a DVR inline with my cable, or do I need a subscription service?

Thanks!

Comcast and Fios (and the rest I assume) all offer the DVR as an option, and yes, it is a monthly fee to upgrade the box.

You can get a TiVo (the original DVR) that allows you more options and upgrades and hacks, but I believe you still need a subscription to the Tivo service to get the proper guides to work with the DVR.

You can also setup a computer as a DVR, most Windows Vista machines have this capability out of the box I think. I used to do it on my HP with Windows XP because I had the Media Center edition that came with a remote control and everything. You have to have a big hard drive and a TV tuner card and internet access to get the guides.

The extra cost is worth it to me, in fact, I consider it essential to TV ownership. I am paying over $100 per month for TV, and I only watch like 5 shows a week. That means that each of those shows costs me $20. If I miss one, I am out 20 bucks. And who can be home at 8pm to catch a show these days? I can also time shift, skip commercials, and pause live TV. Priceless. I actually cannot watch a show if it is not on the DVR because I miss the level of control that I have.

A DVR will change the way you watch; you'll actually go out of your way to avoid watching something live, knowing that if you wait even 15 minutes, you can fast forward through the commercials. Most service provider DVRs have ample storage space for regular-def content, but if you start recording in HD they fill up quickly. I hooked up an external hard drive via eSATA cable and now have six times more space, so I just record everything in HD these days.

Very much worth the few bucks more per month.

just suck it up and get a DVR from the cable company (or switch to whoever for the better deal)... most comanies have a box made for HD tv but will work with even non HD tv's... thats the one to get as it has a much larger HDD and will store hundreds of hrs of standard def TV... make sure to get a 2 tunner model... so you can record 2 things at once or watch something while you record...

if you have any move channels make a habbit of flipping though... if you see something you like but it's in the middle of the flick (as is always the case because they don't start at standard tv xx:05 times... when it shows again that night (or a month away) you'll have it...

if you really are a cheapskate like many of us GRMers and enjoy tinkering (again GRMerish) you can look at some DIY computer build options...

Go for DirecTV - you'll cut your bill in half and get a far better DVR than what Comcast has to offer. PM me for a referral code to save off your monthly bill for the first year.

I agree that DVR is a game-changer. I watch very little TV, and the best time for me to watch is from 4-6 AM, when NOTHING is on except infomercials. Now I can watch WRC highlights and Wheeler Dealers whenever I want.

My only complaint is that the cable bastards now auto-delete my saved shows after a set period of time. I think it is like 30-60 days.

somehow Comcast snuck me into a 2 year contract that costs an arm and a leg to cancel.

As soon as the contract ends, I am switching to DirecTV.

Comcast has had my internet and OnDemand down for the last two weeks. I am getting fed up.

I have DirecTV and overall, they suck like the rest of the scumsuckers that know you have no choice.

I had an Arenacross race I DVR'd from back in Jan 09, I just now got a chance to watch.

Now, for the USB male A-A cable to arrive so I can free up even more space on the HD.....

Brian

Bright House here in Florida doesn't auto-delete anything, I have some files that are more than a year old. YMMV.

Worth its weight in gold for not having to get up at O'Dark:30 to watch F1 races.

I still get up at O'dark thirty to watch F1 races. Its great seeing that drama unfold live!

I have ATT U-Verse. Their service comes with a 4 tuner DVR. If you need more than 4 things being recorded/watched at once, then you probably need to find another hobby.

We switched because we were tired of Comcast jerking us around. I finally got fed up and told them "As soon as there is another option in my area, I am dumping you." As soon as ATT lit the fiber in my area, I was up and running. They came out to do the preinstall before the fiber was lit. The install tech told me that I was the first customer he'd seen in our area. I still don't know of a single person that's on U-Verse.

In reply to Derick Freese:

i have u-verse as well, but am not really thrilled with the overall cost, around $120 per month. also, its 4-tuner, but only two of the channels can be recording in HD. if you want to record and/or watch more than two channels at the same time, one or two will have to be in standard definition.

i seriously dislike comcast as well, they bought out time warner in houston not long before i moved here, but att hasn't been much better. when i first got it, i got HDnet, and HDnet movies, now they took away hdnet movies, probably want another $15 a month to get it back

I hated my DirecTV HD DVR. That was a lagging, freezing up, random show deleting, takes-15-minutes-to-load piece of E36 M3. Now I have a Dish Network dual tuner HD DVR. The programming packages aren't as good, but at least the receiver doesn't make me want to punch babies.

U-Verse here also and I <3 it. I kept getting jacked on price by Charter. It seemed I was always getting my rates raised every 3 months and would always have to negotiate with them to get it lowered again. None of that has happened with U-Verse.

FWIW I pay $120 a month for DVR/internet/HBO 2 boxes and the second tier programming package. Another plus is the main hub is also the wireless router for the computers.

Even if you don't want to switch the extra $10 or so for the DVR service from your provider is definitely worth it to watch what you want when you want.