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DVRs - Digital Video Recorders Reviews
Updated October 2007
We found the best Digital Video Recorder (DVR) reviews at CNet.com and PC Magazine, where reviewers go into plenty of detail and do a good job of staying current on this quick-moving technology. CNet editors consider performance, ease of setup, connectivity, design and features, frequently comparing DVRs to those tested earlier. Enthusiast websites and online communities, such as DBSTalk.com and TiVoLovers.com, offer the most in-depth reviews we've seen, but they’re generally not comparative and can be a little overwhelming (one review of the Dish Network ViP622 at DBSTalk.com is 44 pages long). Consumer Reports delivers a broad overview of video-recording devices, but only skims the surface of DVR options. Lacking reviews or ratings, it doesn't provide much insight for this report. The most well known DVR is TiVo, a brand name that’s now also become a verb. However, this report also covers DVR boxes for satellite TV and those you can rent from your cable company. Rather than record to videocassette tapes or recordable DVDs, DVRs -- sometimes also called personal video recorders (PVRs) -- record video to a hard disc drive similar to those found in computers. Because of that, they offer several important advantages over the more familiar VCR or DVD recorder. One is their ability to pause live video; another is that they can "rewind" live video to create an "instant replay" on demand. When watching recorded video -- or paused video that's been resumed -- most offer some type of one-button "skip ahead" function that's conveniently timed to coincide with the length of a typical TV commercial (30 seconds). DVRs also can store much more video than either a VHS tape or a
recordable DVD -- up to 300 hours of standard-definition (SD) video or 55
hours of high-definition (HD) video, depending on the model. The biggest drawback
to DVRs is that archiving and sharing video is more difficult, though all
let you dub to a VCR or DVD recorder, and some will let you off-load video
to an external hard drive. In addition, most require a monthly subscription
fee for their advanced interactive program guide. Not long ago, TiVo was king of the DVRs, but its market advantage
-- due to a staggeringly simple interface and cool extra features -- is slipping
away now that cable and satellite providers offer much cheaper alternatives.
For cable users, renting a DVR from your cable company eliminates the up-front
expense of buying a TiVo unit. In addition, the monthly costs for TiVo are
higher. You’ll need to pay monthly fees (*est $8.30
to $17 monthly, depending on plan) and equipment costs -- the latest dual-tuner
HD TiVos require use of CableCards (*est. $2 to $5 each, monthly) that must
be rented from your cable provider. In the vast majority of cases you'll need
to rent two CableCards to have full two-tuner functionality, but new M-series
(multistream) cards that can decode two or more streams of cable programming
simultaneously have become available. That said, very few cable companies
appear to be offering these newer cards. In contrast, most cable companies will rent you a dual-tuner DVR
box plus programming service for $16 or less per month. Every reviewer we
found says that TiVo has superior functionality and interface, but it's impossible
to ignore the price difference.
When it comes to satellite TV, things are much more clear-cut: Though older, standard-definition Series2 TiVos can be used with satellite systems, current HD TiVo DVRs, including the Series3 (*est. $800 plus TiVo service) and TiVo HD (*est. $300 plus TiVo service) cannot. Therefore, if you subscribe to HD satellite TV, the company-provided DVRs are your only alternative. In the case of Dish Network, the company's Dish Network ViP622 DVR -- recently upgraded as the ViP722 (prices vary by plan) -- has received good reviewer feedback. Things have been a bit tougher over at DirecTV, however. The company's previous-generation HD DVR used TiVo software. However, the current DirecTV HR20 DVR (*est. $250) abandoned that in favor of a proprietary interface. While the interface is not a far cry from that found in Dish Network's DVRs, the change for those who are used to the spiffier TiVo software was jarring, to say the least. To pour salt in the wound, the DirecTV HR20 was buggy when it first shipped, with numerous and consistent reports of system crashes, missed recordings and other issues. It's not all bad news for DirecTV subscribers, however. The early professional and user reviews for the DirecTV HR20 were pretty ugly, but DirecTV has been hard at work pushing software patches and fixes to its customers. So the updated software makes this box a good contender -- still behind Dish Network’s DVRs, and far behind TiVo, but no longer plagued with bugs. In addition, many users report that the patched HR20 is not too bad a performer in its own right and that it even has a few advantages, such as faster channel changing. ... Continued
Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
Although reviewers still love TiVo's interface and ease of use, most say that cable-provided DVRs are the better deal overall. For satellite TV subscribers, the choices are more clear cut -- you must use the satellite-company-provided DVR if you are interested in recording HD programming. Of the two major services, Dish Network's ViP722 is the best choice. User reports indicate that software updates have made DirecTV's HR20 more stable and competitive. Among standalone DVRs, the TiVo Series3 is feature packed but expensive, and critics say the TiVo HD delivers almost the same functionality at a much more attractive price. The TiVo Series2 DT is a good option for standard-definition recording.
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DVRs - Digital Video Recorders Reviews |
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ConsumerSearch and ConsumerSearch.com are registered trademarks of ConsumerSearch, Inc. Other trademarks or service marks on this site are the property of their respective owners. ConsumerSearch is not sponsored by any source reviewed, and we accept no consideration or payment for including, excluding, or ranking any reviews, products or services in our reports.
* Pricing information is approximate as of the time this report was written and is based on observed market selling prices and/or list prices. Actual selling prices may differ.
