Digital Video Recording (DVR) Choosing a TV Capture Method

Choosing a TV Capture Method for Digital Video Recording (DVR)

Devices for Capturing Television Digitally

The devices for capturing TV or video digitally can be broken down into three categories:

• Set Top Digital Video Recorders or DVRs
• Set Top DVD Recorders
• Personal Computers

Intro to Set Top Digital Video Recorders

Set Top DVRs are similar to VCRs in that you can set them to record your favorite television programs and then watch them when you want. Unlike VCR's, these devices are tapeless and allow for greater flexibility. DVRs record to a hard drive, similar to hard drives found in a computer. The bigger the hard drive, the more hours of programming you can record. DVRs are usually accompanied by some type of EPG (Electronic Program Guide) which allows users to program shows to watch days and weeks ahead of time or, even better, to schedule the DVR to record every episode of a show for an entire season! This feature is very handy when you're on vacation and want your shows recorded while you’re away or if you forget to set a show to record on a particular night. It's already programmed in so you don't have to worry about it.

Another great feature of DVRs is the ability to pause live television. Imagine your watching your favorite show and the phone rings. Just hit pause on the remote, take the call, and then come back and resume where you left off. You can even fast forward the commercials until you catch back up to the live broadcast. Want to see a replay of that touchdown pass? Just hit rewind and watch it as many times as you like. Then when your ready to move on, fast-forward to the live broadcast. You can even rewind and watch a program from the beginning while it continues to record. Some DVRs allow you to watch one program while recording another. These are known as dual tuner DVRs. Single tuner DVRs only let you record the program you are watching or you can watch a previously recorded program while recording another.

Set Top DVRs are available from Cable companies, Satellite providers and vendors like TiVO or ReplayTV. For Cable television companies, DVRs replace your existing cable box. For Satellite, the DVR functions as a receiver, in addition to providing digital recording. TiVO and ReplayTV work with either Cable or Satellite

Set Top DVRs are great for controlling live TV and for setting shows to record days or weeks in advance, or to record entire seasons of a show. They are relatively easy to set up and the prices continue to drop.

One potential drawback for Set Top DVRs is the limited hard drive space. Eventually, if you're doing a lot of recording, your hard drive will fill up and you'll need to delete some shows. This may or may not be a problem depending on how often you watch the shows you record and the size of your hard drive. With DVRs, in order to save your programs, you must either keep them stored on the hard drive or record them to a VCR or DVD Recorder. DVRs like TiVO and ReplayTV require that users subscribe to a service, normally about $13 a month (or a one-time $299 fee). The unit is connected to a regular phone jack so that the EPG can be downloaded nightly. Other DVRs allow you to use the VCR Plus+ or TV Guide On Screen (among others) EPGs to set recordings. If you are already familiar with those EPGs, you may want to stick with the DVRs that offer those EPGs.

As one can see, DVR recording allows users to have more control over how and when they watch television.