Sub-$100 DVR: Does it exist?

[nickhamm]

VCRs were great for recording tapes for shows when you can't be home to catch it when it's on, but they are old and VHS tapes don't offer quality. I am looking for an inexpensive (sub-$100) VCR replacement. I am pulling TV over the air, so no satellite or cable is involved, so no Dish DVR or DirectTV DVR would work. I was thinking either a DVD recorder or a DVR that allowed recording to a hard drive. I also don't want some cheap piece of junk that is going to break on me, just something simple and basic.

Also, I really don't want to use a computer. I don't have a spare and my main PC is not really up to par for recording (especially since OTA broadcast is mostly HD.) This setup is actually for my mother who is somewhat tech-illiterate, hence the need to be simple.

[davmoo]

The cheapest option I know of is from Magnavox and Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8054241

But its not sub-$100, its $188. Sub-$100 is the hard part of what you're asking.

I know that original Series 1 (and *ONLY* Series 1) TiVo boxes can function as a manual "VCR with a hard drive" without a TiVo subscription, but I don't know if they can record OTA. You might find one of those under a hundred.

[nickhamm]

I just find it strange that there isn't really a replacement for a VCR around the same price point. You can go out and get a VCR for $60-$80, a DVD player for $50, a DVD Burner for $30 (for PC.) A TV tuner + Hard Drive for PC costs less than $100, so it's just sorta strange that there isn't a cheap DVR of sorts.

I did find an interesting device, the Neuros OSD. It needs some sort of storage added to it (mostly multimedia cards) but it seems to have the basic functions of what I need. The problem is it got very mixed reviews and quite a few people say it isn't user friendly and it's more of a geek toy. Is there any similar devices that are better?

[nav13eh]

Originally Posted by Nickhamm

I just find it strange that there isn't really a replacement for a VCR around the same price point. You can go out and get a VCR for $60-$80, a DVD player for $50, a DVD Burner for $30 (for PC.) A TV tuner + Hard Drive for PC costs less than $100, so it's just sorta strange that there isn't a cheap DVR of sorts.

The reason that DVR is so expensive is because it's new and when DVD players were new they were really expensive too, but now you can go and buy a good DVD player for $30. I use my computer for a DVR because it is free! And I have direct DRM free TV recordings.

Any hd of any decent size would be 100 dollars alone. The only way you could come close would be to start with a bare bones atom based box and go from there or wait six or so months when the arm and atom based cpu's take over the low end market.