Digital TV/PVR's - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

DuffMan · 03-05-2007, 02:10 PM

I just ordered one of those cheapo Shaw digital boxes, DCT700. This is my first foray into the digital world. Can I hook up any PVR to it? or do I need their better model.

ken0042 · 03-05-2007, 02:15 PM

You can hook anything up to anything. It's always a question of how hard/ user friendly it will be.

What do you have for a PVR?

DuffMan · 03-05-2007, 02:21 PM

Nothing yet, that's why I was asking. I was thinking of getting the better terminal with the built in pvr. I searched on here for shaw and pvr etc. and saw jroc was selling an LG one and that got me to thinking about it.
So I checked FS etc. and there is quite a few to choose from.

mykalberta · 03-05-2007, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

I would bite the bullet and get the Shaw one. PVR rules, you won't be able to go back after having it, plus you don't have to screw around with two brands. It is brutal that these companies have a sort of monopoly on the hardware. I am betting the markup on these boxes is significantly more than pretty much every other electronic item out there.

Yah, what he said.

MYK

burn_baby_burn · 03-05-2007, 02:32 PM

Once you have a PVR you will never go back. You'll need it for every tv. It is the most convienent thing around. No more missing the first period of the hockey game because you had to work late or got stuck in traffic. No more missing out on life because of the hockey game. You can watch the game when you get home. Just stay away from anything or anyone that will tell you the score.

ken0042 · 03-05-2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

I would bite the bullet and get the Shaw one. PVR rules,

I third that.

If you already owned an external PVR like an LG, that's fine. But a Shaw PVR kicks butt. I had an external PVR before getting my Bell PVR, and it's night and day difference in how you use it.

Fotze, Bell doesn't buy back receivers. But I might if the price is right.

Bertuzzied · 03-05-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

I third that.

If you already owned an external PVR like an LG, that's fine. But a Shaw PVR kicks butt. I had an external PVR before getting my Bell PVR, and it's night and day difference in how you use it.

Fotze, Bell doesn't buy back receivers. But I might if the price is right.

I so regretted not getting the hd pvr with bell. I constantly want to puke every day I think about it. I'm just going to fork out the $600 next week to buy it. I like how if you are existing you get no deals but if you are new it's half price!

I bought a Bell HD box on CP here. The transaction was great but setting it up with Bell was stupid. Their customer service is pathetic compared to Shaws.

DuffMan · 03-05-2007, 02:40 PM

Well, I'm sold.
digi + pvr all in one combo, here I come.

Prototype · 03-05-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Well, I'm sold.
digi + pvr all in one combo, here I come.

One thing the others will do that Shaw wont do is record to DVD in most cases.

But I've learned that it's harder to get the full schedule grid with a 3rd party PVR, especially if has anything to do with the TV Guide downloadable sched.

If you're just looking for something to replace the VCR, and not want to keep copies long term, I reccomend the Shaw. I'm sure there's ways to port the signal to your computer, I've just never read too far into that.

Bertuzzied · 03-05-2007, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

Ya, it is like pulling teeth there. The house I bought came with a HDTV so it is killing me to not have HD, but I am debating buyng the box but I don't want to have to commit to them for any longer than I need to. I thought I read about a hardware ownership transfer fee.

The also said I need a new dish even though the previous owner had HD through the one on the house. Are they full of crap? trying to get some "fee" out of me?

You don't need a new dish but you have to activate something on the dish to receive the HD signal. I'm not sure you want to climb up to the roof of your house though.

Is your tv built into your wall? buy a house get a hdtv? hehe

I don't think you should be complaining about Bell since you get EVERY Flames PPV for free. I tried doing the postal code thing and the agent laughed at me! hahahaha

Oh also if you buy the HD Box or PVR it automatically comes with a new dish anyways. Thats why you have to pay $600!!!

corporatejay · 03-05-2007, 03:06 PM

So if I want to keep episodes of shows long term how the heck do i do that? is there anyway to do that on shaw as of now?

Bench Warmer · 03-05-2007, 03:24 PM

Okay, I'm going to ask a real dumb question. I have Bell HD but decided I didn't want to spend the extra $30/mth for the PVR receiver (but I do miss PVR). Are there any stand alone PVR units out there that I could buy and hook into my non-PVR Bell receiver and record shows?

Bertuzzied · 03-05-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bench Warmer

Okay, I'm going to ask a real dumb question. I have Bell HD but decided I didn't want to spend the extra $30/mth for the PVR receiver (but I do miss PVR). Are there any stand alone PVR units out there that I could buy and hook into my non-PVR Bell receiver and record shows?

No. the closest thing you'll find is a dvd burner with a hard drive. It's about $350 at costco for Lite on with a 320 gig harddrive.

worth · 03-05-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

So if I want to keep episodes of shows long term how the heck do i do that? is there anyway to do that on shaw as of now?

there's a firewire port in the back of my 6416 from shaw. it is connected to my computer. I can stream video from my pvr to my computer (although you will need a lot of hhd space especially for HD) and then i can burn it to DVD.

Prototype · 03-05-2007, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bench Warmer

Okay, I'm going to ask a real dumb question. I have Bell HD but decided I didn't want to spend the extra $30/mth for the PVR receiver (but I do miss PVR). Are there any stand alone PVR units out there that I could buy and hook into my non-PVR Bell receiver and record shows?

My Toshiba PVR had a function to use a IR unit to change the channels on a non-HD Shaw box. It was slow as hell.

My buddy got the same one, and had Bell. Same thing, but you keep the guide, which is the bonus.

I would imagine that, much like mine, there's two options. Use whatever IR doodad they have, or use an input on the PVR unit. The downside to both is having to set two timers.

renny · 03-05-2007, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

So if I want to keep episodes of shows long term how the heck do i do that? is there anyway to do that on shaw as of now?

HTPC... I built one over a year. I love it, it has an HD capture card, and I can record and do all the 'cool' VOD stuff while I'm watching TV as it buffers it on the hard drive (much like the PVRs). The key here, with an HTPC you don't just record shows you can surf the net, listen to music (digital jukebox) etc.. with it.

The only drawback, I don't like deleting my TV, so I have tons of hard drives in my HTPC.

Bench Warmer · 03-05-2007, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

The Bell one is only $10 per month higher IIRC. Phone and see if you can swap it.

You might be right there, I'll have to look into it. When I bought the dish, with the Bell Themes pack or whatever it is there were 2 price options out there. $68/mth for non-PVR, $97/mth w/ PVR. I went non-PVR at that price...

ken0042 · 03-05-2007, 03:40 PM

Good luck getting Bell to swap it. You have a better chance of convincing me that Winnipeg will get an NHL team.

It's like a lease on a car. If you sign a 2 year lease on a Civic, and 6 months later you decide you want an Integra, you can't just swap and pay the difference.

I know Shaw probably lets you. But you won't find Bell in the Yellow pages along with Shaw in the "Doesn't suck" section.

ken0042 · 03-05-2007, 04:01 PM

I can't see Bell paying somebody $100 to come and take your dish that costs them $20. Unless you are breaking the contract or something; then I wouldn't put it past them to be jerks.

WindomURL · 03-05-2007, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

So if I want to keep episodes of shows long term how the heck do i do that? is there anyway to do that on shaw as of now?

I've used the Bell HD-PVR to record shows in HD and the installed 250 Gig harddrive holds about 25 hours of HD content (180 hours of standard definition). The good news is that if you are technically savvy enough and unafraid of jeopardizing the warranty on the PVR, you can swap hard drives and keep shows permanently instead of having to erase them when you've reached the 25 hour capacity. At roughly $90 for a 250GB SATA drive, it's fairly economical in terms of $/hr of HD programming, but it's hardly convenient or easy for most people.

I've heard though, that the Shaw PVR has an active firewire output (it's disabled on the Bell unit.) And that means you can buy a capture card such as a "MyHD" card for your computer to record via firewire from the HD-PVR. The filesizes involved are huge and then you have to learn to use editing software etc.
It's too involved for me to delve into,

but people do it all the time.

Have a look at http://www.avsforum.com to find a thread on this very topic.