High definition PVRs
Date: August 7, 2004
As far as personal video recorders go, high definition television presents a new frontier to be conquered. However, it was only until recently that pvr manufacturers began looking at the possibility of building a device that would also record shows in HD. The most famous of the pvr’s is the TiVo. Until recently, they’ve not focused on building a device capable of high definition recording but have earlier this year announced that they are working on an HD-enabled TiVo pvr (there is the HD TiVo for DirecTV subscribers but you’ll require their satellite subscription to use it).
Others are also jumping into the fray. In particular, Dish Network has come out with their own HD pvr, the DVR-921. DirecTV and Dish Network satellite providers give their subscribers the option to watch certain programming in high definition. Programs span a variety of themes, including, premium movie channels such as ShowTime HD, and HBO HDTV, sports channels (including pay per view and ESPN), HDNet and Discovery HD Theater.
Dish Network’s new high definition DVR-921 has a retail price of $999 (dish not included--$50 extra if required), it’s certainly pricey but in line with DirecTV’s HD TiVo. For $999, you also get two high-definition satellite tuners built-in, a 250 gigabyte hard drive and an over-the-air ATSC tuner.
One of the major complaints about the current generation of pvr’s is the inability to make archival copies. This area is fraught with legal ramifications since the producers of television programming are lobbying hard with the FCC to not permit such technological innovation. Their fear of piracy and copyright infringement in the same sense as what’s happened to the music industry with the advent of mp3 technology is not without basis. Recently, however, the FCC recently ruled that TiVo will be permitted to produce pvr’s that allow a subscriber to archive and transmit a program to a limited number of contacts via the Internet. TiVo intends to use such technology in their new TiVo2Go pvr. So, this area is changing and in flux.
Nonetheless, both DirecTV’s HD TiVo and Dish Network’s DVR-921 allow you to record shows in high definition format to enjoy later on your hdtv and, with a capacity of a couple of hundred gigabytes of storage and change, there’ll be plenty of room to record most subscribers’ favorite shows.
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