Reliable DVD Recorder with component video input

[Sam]

Research [-]sucks![/-] is too tiring. I'm getting a headache. I just want a reliable DVD Recorder with component video input (not composite). A built in TV tuner would be nice, but not absolutely necessary. If you have one and are happy with it, please let me know. Brand and model number.

Thanks,
Sam

 

[RonBoyd]

Well, I have this model:

Amazon.com: Philips DVDR3576H DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Disc and Built-In Tuner: Electronics

I am real happy with everything about it. However, since getting the Sage setup, it has sat on the shelf gathering dust.

 

[Sam]

Thanks. Did you use the built in tuner? How sensitive (or insensitive) is it?

 

[RonBoyd]

Thanks. Did you use the built in tuner? How sensitive (or insensitive) is it?

I am unsure what being "sensitive" means. I receive an OTA signal through an antennae on the roof. (I don't have cable/satellite service.) I Have both watched TV through that tuner and recorded through it. I was unable to see a difference in quality whether I used the (42") TV (HD Digital) tuner or the Phillips unit.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I was unable to see a difference in quality whether I used the (42") TV (HD Digital) tuner or the Phillips unit.

That's a little surprising. I have heard that even if you have an
ATSC (aka. digital) tuner in your DVD player/recorder, and even if
the machine upconverts media to HD, it does NOT pass an HD signal
from the tuner through to its outputs. I know it's crazy. But it's
what I heard - on something like avforum.com.

 

[Sam]

I am unsure what being "sensitive" means. I receive an OTA signal through an antennae on the roof. (I don't have cable/satellite service.) I Have both watched TV through that tuner and recorded through it. I was unable to see a difference in quality whether I used the (42") TV (HD Digital) tuner or the Phillips unit.

Thanks again. By sensitivity I mean the number of usable (strong enough signal) channels one tuner can pick up compared to another tuner using the same OTA signal. I have a Samsung HDTV that can only pick up 1/2 of the channels picked up by a Zenith converter using the same input attic antennae cable.

 

[Sam]

I have heard that even if you have an
ATSC (aka. digital) tuner in your DVD player/recorder, and even if
the machine upconverts media to HD, it does NOT pass an HD signal
from the tuner through to its outputs. I know it's crazy. But it's
what I heard - on something like avforum.com.

That's new to me. It would be a shame if it's true.

 

[RonBoyd]

Thanks again. By sensitivity I mean the number of usable (strong enough signal) channels one tuner can pick up compared to another tuner using the same OTA signal. I have a Samsung HDTV that can only pick up 1/2 of the channels picked up by a Zenith converter using the same input attic antennae cable.

Oh, I see. I have a Sharp Aquos TV, the (above mentioned ) Phillips Unit, and a SiliconDust Homerun dual tuner currently connected to the rooftop antennae. I have at various times had a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950 and a Pinnacle Tuner attached to the same antennae. All of these units, as far as I can tell, have been able to access the same number of transmissions -- in fact, far more than I ever watched; a lot of Spanish language stations for example.

I can choose to eliminate some channels from the listed stations with the "receiver" -- the TV, WMC, or Sage. Maybe that is what happened with either you Samsung TV or the Zenith Converter.

 

[RonBoyd]

That's a little surprising. I have heard that even if you have an ATSC (aka. digital) tuner in your DVD player/recorder, and even if the machine upconverts media to HD, it does NOT pass an HD signal from the tuner through to its outputs. I know it's crazy. But it's what I heard - on something like avforum.com.

Doesn't feel/sound right to me either. You could check with something like AfterDawn.com to confirm what you are saying. In any event, I stand by belief that the picture/sound is comparable in both units -- but these old ears and eyes have been fooled before.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have the same unit... and it would pick up a stronger signal than the converter box that I bought at Wally World...

Soon after the digital conversion, my old 36 inch JVC blew up... so I went to a small digital TV... got the signals with rabbit ears (and live 40 miles from the source)... now we are a Dish customer with DVR... so the unit is next to the stereo gathering dust...

As for viewing, I could not tell the difference with the small 27 inch set.. since then got a 42, but using the dish... so I can not tell if there is a difference in quality... to tell the truth, it is better than my old set no matter how 'bad' as I had ghosts and snow etc... so all look better to me...

 

[RonBoyd]

For those wishing to use their computer for recording/watching OTA programming (Windows Media Center, SageTV, BeyondTV, etc.) or who already have a HTPC system , I highly recommend this Tuner:

GeekTonic Deals: SiliconDust HDHR Dual Digital TV Tuner $149 Free Shipping

You can watch one program while recording another or record two programs at the same time.

 

[Sam]

For those wishing to use their computer for recording/watching OTA programming (Windows Media Center, SageTV, BeyondTV, etc.) or who already have a HTPC system , I highly recommend this Tuner:

GeekTonic Deals: SiliconDust HDHR Dual Digital TV Tuner $149 Free Shipping

You can watch one program while recording another or record two programs at the same time.

Thanks RonBoyd. A very interesting alternative. I'll look into it.

BTW, I did a little reading last night, and found out that RustyShackleford was correct. The Philips DVDR 3575/3576 is a Standard Definition (SD) machine, and not a High Definition (HD) one. So the DVDR highest output resolution is 720x480p, same as DVD resolution. It does have advanced pass-through that let HD signal goes directly to the TV, as long as it's not in recording mode.

Quote:
This DVDR has an active (amplified) RF/coax passthru that is, internally, separate from the tuner. The coax in/out loop delivers and slightly amplifies whatever signal is fed in, including hi-def TV (HDTV) in its native form, directly to your TV and other downstream components, even when this DVDR is off.

On a separate internal path, the incoming RF/coax signal is slightly amplified and fed to this DVDR's std def. (SDTV) tuner. This allows you to watch your normal HD on your TV AND record on this DVDR at the same time.

However, this DVDR... and ALL SDTV DVD recorders in North America... downrezzes the HDTV signal path that goes thru its tuner or line inputs so it can record in 480i as required by the SDTV DVD-Video standard. For watching DVDR channels or recordings on your TV, the downrezzed signal can be converted to 480p thru Component and HDMI, or converted and uprezzed to 720p, 1080i or 1080p thru HDMI, if desired.

If you want to RECORD HDTV video in its native hi-def on a standalone DVD recorder you don't have to rent, you'll have to move to Japan and change your name to Sokitumi.
End quote.

Source: AVS Forum - View Single Post - Philips 3575/3576 and Magnavox H2160 Features, Setup and Operation

For complete description/discussion/analysis of the 3575/3576
Philips 3575/3576 and Magnavox H2160 Features, Setup and Operation - AVS Forum

Overall, the 3575/3576 is an very good unit, according to the above thread.

 

[RonBoyd]

Thanks RonBoyd. A very interesting alternative. I'll look into it.

BTW, I did a little reading last night, and found out that RustyShackleford was correct. The Philips DVDR 3575/3576 is a Standard Definition (SD) machine, and not a High Definition (HD) one. So the DVDR highest output resolution is 720x480p, same as DVD resolution. It does have advanced pass-through that let HD signal goes directly to the TV, as long as it's not in recording mode. ... Overall, the 3575/3576 is an very good unit, according to the above thread.

Yeah, I believe it. I purchased the unit over two years ago (a very long time in Electronics) at about the same time our analog TVs were being ripped from me. I most likely bought it based on price and certainly not on any technical knowledge on my part. It served us very well -- I was particularly entranced with the TIVO-like ability to start/stop viewing.

Again, it has been gathering dust on the shelf (I have a grandson who wants it) since commiting to the SageTV system. Using the computer keyboard and monitor, for instance, is so much more fun than using a handheld Remote and a TV screen.

 

[RonBoyd]

Sam, I don't want to leave the impression that I believe you should build a HTPC system instead of what you have in mind. I know it is not as desirable for most people as I am implying.

GeekTonic: Why Home Theater PCs Aren’t Mainstream – and Why They Shouldn’t Be

I am just throwing it into the pile for consideration -- so it is not overlooked.

 

[Sam]

Thanks for the warning. I know that HTPC is a lot more involved.

BTW, since your Philips is gathering dust, would you be interested in selling it? If so, please PM me. May be we can work out a deal.

Sam

 

[RonBoyd]

BTW, since your Philips is gathering dust, would you be interested in selling it? If so, please PM me. May be we can work out a deal.

Well... except for that pesky grandson I mentioned earlier...

 

[Sam]

OK, the pesky grandson should be given higher consideration ;-)

 

[free4now]

I'm considering moving my HTPC with HDHomerun from BeyondTV software (which seems to be stopping development and hasn't certified Windows 7) to Windows Media Center or SageTV. Any suggestions are welcome, although I'm leaning towards just going with WMC since it's free and seems like it's finally got enough features and QA to be usable in Windows 7. I don't mean to hijack this thread, just thought it'd be of interest to those considering HTPCs as the software is part of the value proposition.

 

[RonBoyd]

I'm considering moving my HTPC with HDHomerun from BeyondTV software (which seems to be stopping development and hasn't certified Windows 7) to Windows Media Center or SageTV. Any suggestions are welcome, although I'm leaning towards just going with WMC since it's free and seems like it's finally got enough features and QA to be usable in Windows 7. I don't mean to hijack this thread, just thought it'd be of interest to those considering HTPCs as the software is part of the value proposition.

I switched from Vista's MC to SageTV primarily because Sage provided a much simpler way of connecting my PC to the TV. Every HTPC needs peripheral components (input devices, optical drive, TV tuner, sound card) to be functional besides core components (CPU, motherboard, memory, graphics card, HDD, PSU and case). (It is a lot less complicated than it sounds since most of this stuff is already in everyone's system.)

A secondary reason was that Sage was operationally better than MC -- more options. The Windows 7 version seems to have caught up and appears to offer everything that SageTV does at the moment. It is good that they each have such powerful competitors and I suspect that each will get better and better in lock-step with each other.

A good guide to building a MC HTPC system can be found here. Warning: this is a Forum Thread with 10,909 posts (and counting) as of this moment. Nevertheless, it contains a goldmine of data.

 

[free4now]

Thanks. My old Pentium 4 based HTPC never really seemed to have the horsepower to keep up with recordings, so about a third of the recordings would be unwatchable due to stuttering. I'm on the fence about whether to put together a new HTPC or just bite the bullet and get a Tivo. I briefly tested out a new computer and it recorded just fine with WMC, Windows 7, and an i7 processor, but I ended up returning that for other reasons.

Costs could theoretically be lower with the HTPC, but when you add in my time for futzing I think it comes out about equal, and the HDTivo just works. For me the advantage of the HTPC would be the theoretical ability to use it as a server for mp3 playing, network backup of my laptop, and perhaps print server, but I don't really need any of those things.