This TV tuner-DVR in a box is a steal at $29.99 shipped.
(Credit: Meritline)Update (Dec. 22, 4 p.m. PT): Sorry, folks, the tuner is sold out--at least for now.
For several years I've relied on free over-the-air digital signals to bring high-definition TV into my house. And I've paired those signals with Windows Media Center for free DVR goodness.
The key bit of hardware in that equation is a TV tuner, and right now Meritline has the deal to beat: a Mygica U6012 Hybrid USB TV tuner for $29.99 shipped.
Because this is a "hybrid" tuner, it can pull in the aforementioned over-the-air HD signals (aka ATSC), Clear QAM (digital signals delivered via cable), or analog channels (aka NTSC, also delivered via cable).
Notice I said "or." I think many people mistakenly believe a tuner like this lets them view all of these sources simultaneously (and some of the negative reviews reflect that), but that's not the case.
What you can do, however, at least with software like Windows Media Center, is connect multiple tuners. Thus, you could have one devoted to, say, analog cable, another pulling down ATSC HD, and so on. That's what I do.
And it works beautifully, though over-the-air signal quality depends in large part on where you live and what kind of antenna you use. The Mygica tuner comes with a small set of rabbit ears, which should pull in at least a few local channels--but you may need something bigger or stronger. Read the FAQ on the product page for more details.
Also, be sure to read the info about updated and forthcoming drivers. I'm happy to see that there's one in the works that will allow the bundled remote to work with Windows 7.
In short, if you've been thinking of dipping a toe into the wonderful world of TV on your PC, this is a seriously affordable pool pass. Other hybrid tuners I've seen sell for upwards of $100.
Backup deal: A site called GameBay.com has Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda for Xbox 360 for $13.49 shipped. That's a mighty sweet pair of games for the price.
LG Lotus with ATSC Mobile TV
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)
LG Voyager showing local TV
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)Aside from showing off its latest handsets, LG also took the opportunity at CTIA 2009 to demonstrate Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) mobile digital television on some of its phones. ATSC is the new digital television standard that is replacing NTSC, and LG has been helping to develop a mobile version of the standard in the form of embedded chips.
An LG Netbook that is connected to a USB dongle with ATSC reception.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)At the show, LG incorporated these chips in the LG Lotus and the LG Voyager, and showed off live local TV on both handsets. There is no real service fee involved, since it's basically receiving the television signal over the airwaves like you would with a rabbit-ear antenna. Reception would depend on broadcasters, and whether they would allow a portion of the channel capacity to be dedicated to mobile viewers. Broadcasters have already announced that they intend to launch mobile DTV across 63 stations in 22 markets some time in the near future.
This isn't restricted to just cell phones, of course. There's hope that this will extend to a new generation of handheld TVs (most of the existing analog models were rendered useless due to the digital TV transition), personal media players, in-car television without the need for satellite, USB dongles for use with laptops or Netbooks, and more. It'll be interesting to see what this new standard will bring to the table.
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
The Dish Network DTVPal DVR ($250) tries to fill the niche penny-pinching home theater enthusiasts have been looking for--an HD DVR that records free over-the-air HDTV, but without the costly monthly fees of the TiVo HD.
The DTVPal works more like an HD VCR than a modern DVR.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)The DTVPal gets around the monthly fee problems by relying on the program data provided with standard DTV signals and also tapping into TV Guide On Screen data if it's available in your area. However, in this case you get what you pay for, as the program data just isn't as reliable as the info you'd get from TiVo or your cable/satellite provider. We were also disappointed to see the DTVPal uses timer-based recordings rather than name-based recordings. Most DVRs offer name-based recordings, so you can tell it to record all the new episodes of "30 Rock," and the DVR will adjust its recording schedule accordingly. With the DTVPal DVR, all you can tell it is to record every Thursday at 9:30 on NBC.
Even if you're willing to put up with those limitations, Dish's skimpy return/warranty policy (all sales are final, only a 90-day warranty) will have you second-guessing. Add in all the troubling online reports of crashes and reboots, and the DTVPal DVR starts to look like a risky buy. We really wanted to like the DTVPal DVR's cheapskate style, but Dish's stingy return/warranty policy makes it really hard to recommend.
Is this old tech worth $1,900 to you?
DVD-recorders with hard drives may be old technology, but they're commanding astronomical prices on the free market these days. Case in point: We reviewed the Panasonic DMR-EH75V about a year and half ago when it had a list price of $500. If you search for the DMR-EH75H on Amazon, you'll see three resellers (all with reputable ratings) selling them for insane prices:
New DMR-EH75V: $1,895
New DMR-EH75V: $1,899
Used DMR-EH75V: $1,498
Is it just a glitch with Amazon? You might think so, but that's pretty clearly not the case. Jumping over to eBay, we found some recent auctions for the same product.
New Panasonic DMR-EH75V: $750
Refurbished DMR-EH75V: $675
Used DMR-EH75V: $760
Sure, that's less than half of the Amazon prices, but they're still very high. How often does the price of electronics increase after being used for a few years? What's going on here?
The answer is pretty simple--if you know the gritty details of consumer electronics and a little economics. ... Read more
Digeo's upcoming DVRs have a pretty slick interface.
(Credit: Digeo)Digeo dropped by the CNET offices this morning to give us a demo of their upcoming HD DVR, Moxi. We first saw Moxi many a CES ago and were definitely impressed, but since then only certain areas have had access to the hardware through their cable company. Now Digeo is looking to bring Moxi directly to consumers, in two flavors: the Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR and the Moxi Home Cinema Edition HD DMR.
The Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR is for cable subscribers that want to ditch their current cable boxes and use the Moxi with a CableCard. So what does Moxi deliver that your cable company's box doesn't? Here's a quick rundown of the features:
- Large internal hard drive
- Ability to add additional space via an eSATA port
- Built-in DVD player, can rip CDs to the hard drive
- Can stream any programming (including DVDs) to a smaller second-room unit called Moxi Mate, which is included in the package
- Can stream music, movies and photos from a networked PC
The Moxi Home Cinema Edition HD DMR is geared more towards those that get their programming high-def via over-the-air ATSC broadcasts. It has basically the same feature set as the Multi-Room HD DMR, with a couple important differences: it has both digital and analog tuners, and it lacks the multiroom functionality.
All these features are great, but perhaps the most impressive aspect was the Moxi's interface. The onscreen menus are all in slick high-def graphics and in the upper right hand corner there was a window that was always showing what was playing while we browsed. The interface as a whole navigates very much like Sony's Cross Media Bar menu system--you browse the different functions by scrolling on the horizontal axis and then the options within a function are available on the vertical axis. The best thing we noticed about it was response speed--it was extremely fast and you could scroll through your thousand-plus lineup of digital cable channels in just a few seconds.
Digeo says these boxes will be coming this fall but haven't announced pricing yet, although with all the functionality packed into this box, we're guessing it won't be cheap. It's also worth noting that buying a CableCard DVR from anyone but your cable company is going to remain a risky venture if we see more cable companies moving to switched digital video, because you'll miss out on the extra channels they should be able to provide. And remember all the standard CableCard caveats still apply--you won't be able to take advantage of any video-on-demand or pay-per-view services.
We're already on the list to get a review sample when it comes out, so stay tuned for our hands-on review.
DVD recorders are old news, but they've been given a little shot in the arm at CES 2007. Because of federal mandates that require any product with an analog tuner to also include a digital tuner, we've seen several DVD recorders with built-in ATSC tuners. That means you should be able to pull in free, over-the-air HDTV with these new DVD recorders and an antenna. The bottom line is that these recorders should be able to burn downconverted high-definition programs from the digital HD tuner in the correct wide-screen aspect ratio. Of course these burned discs won't be high definition, but the picture quality should still be pretty good since its starting with a high-definition source.
Panasonic DMR-EZ47V
(Credit: Panasonic)The most promising DVD recorders with ATSC tuners we saw were Panasonic's. That's because the new Panasonics offer two of the same useful features found on the company's previous recorders: DVD-RAM support and a best-in-class LP mode. As we've discussed in reviews of earlier Panasonic DVD recorders, DVD-RAM lets you record one show while you're watching a previously recorded program on the same disc, allowing it to work almost like a digital video recorder. And the Panasonic LP mode is unique because it essentially looks just as good as SP mode, but offers longer recording time. As a result, you can double the amount of content on a DVD, with only a small loss in video quality.
Panasonic released four products with DVD recorders in them, and all of them offering 1080p upscaling over their HDMI inputs, an ATSC tuner, DVD-RAM recording, and their excellent LP mode. The DMR-EZ47V is a DVD recorder/VCR combo, which also offers DivX playback, a FireWire input, and an SD card slot. The DMR-EZ47V will have a list price of $380 when it comes out in May. The DMR-EZ37V is the step-down DVD recorder/VCR combo--which lacks the SD card slot--and will cost $330 when it comes out in April. The DMR-EZ27 is just a DVD recorder and offers essentially the same features as the DMR-EZ47V, minus the VCR. The DMR-EZ27 will be available in May for $280. The DMR-EZ17 is the step-down DVD recorder--which lacks the SD card slot--and will cost $230 when it comes out in April.
Samsung is close behind Panasonic with the DVD-AVR960, which also has support for recording to DVD-RAM. Along with its built-in ATSC tuner, the DVD-AVR960 has an HDMI 1.3 output and will upconvert to 720p and 1080i resolutions. It's compatible with recording to the aforementioned DVD-RAM, along with DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and both +R and -R dual-layer discs. The DVD-AVR960 also has a FireWire connection--so it can easily connect to a camcorder--and DivX file playback. The DVD-AVR960 is scheduled to be released in June for $320.
RCA DRC8335
(Credit: RCA)RCA also rolled out a DVD recorder/VCR with an ATSC tuner, the DRC8335. The DRC8335 is compatible with DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW discs, and has a FireWire input for connecting to camcorders. There's also a feature called "TV Guardian" which apparently can detect offensive language and mute it on playback. The DRC8335 has a list price of $350 and comes out in April.
LG got in on the DVD recorder with an ATSC tuner game with a couple of DVD recorders as well. There's the RC797T Digital Tuner Super Multi DVD Recorder and VCR--yes, that's the full product name--as well as the DR787T, which is the same as the RC797T without the VCR. However, LG hasn't announced the full feature set, pricing, or availability for these players.
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