Do they sell independent DVRs?

Question

I want to record my shows at college, but I doubt the campus cable provider has them. I don't need anything fancy, just a few hours worth of recording for the show or two I watch.

Answer 1

There are quite a few different ways you can go about this. Tivo's are great, or you can also build a DVR out of a computer very easily also.

Tivo's are very user friendly, you can download the shows/movies to DVD very easily compared to most cable/satellite providers DVR's. The only downfall to Tivo is that it is about $13 a month, not too bad if you are going to have cable or some kind of TV provider for free at your college. With Tivo and a Slingbox you could acutally leave the Tivo at home and watch whatever it is recording over the internet from your dorm or apartment at college. All you need is a fast internet connection, with most colleges I doubt that would be a problem.

A computer can be turned into a GREAT DVR setup. With software programs like MythTV you can even get the updated TV listings correctly. There are a few other Do It Yourself software programs too. I will post a few links about this in case you are interested in learning more about them..

Here are some links:
http://www.tivo.com
http://www.dvrplayground.com/category/9/Homebrew-and-DIY
http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/13712/MythTV-Ubuntu-Installation-Guide/
http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/14261/MythTV-and-TiVo-Series-3-Comparison--Battle-of-Open-Source-and-Proprietary-DVRs/
http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/14501/MythTV-and-TiVo-Series-3-Comparison--Battle-of-Open-Source-and-Proprietary-DVRs---Part-2/
http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/13531/Free-TiVo--Build-a-Better-DVR-out-of-an-Old-PC/
http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/12576/Hack-Attack--Build-your-own-DVR/

Check out all the links, it will definately help you in your decision. If you have any further questions please feel free to send me an email. Also you can check out the main site for most of those links ( http://www.dvrplayground.com )for all kinds of Tivo and Other DVR Tips and Tricks, Issues, helpful Ideas, Etc..

Answer 2

For such modest requirements, a VCR sounds like it might be just the ticket. Cheap, no subscription fees. You only have to remember to put in a tape and turn it off to allow unattended recordings.

Answer 3

Yeah get yourself a Tivo. I have one and I pay about $13 a month for the service. I love it and I don't know how I survived without it.

Answer 4

there are a bunch of them, but for them to work, your television has to be able to conrtol the channel.
The cheapest way to do it is to use a dvd recorder with re-recordable dvds.