ChannelMaster OTA DVR is on sale!

[renegade734]

I'm so glad I checked online today! The ChannelMaster OTA DVR is on sale for $144.44!

Over The Air (OTA) DVR+ 16GB | Channel Master

I've gone ahead and ordered two. I will let you know how well they work.

 

[Radioguy41]

That's a lot of money for something you have to add a harddrive to. My Mediasonic Homeworx HW-150PVR does OTA in HD (with external harddrive) for $25.

 

[boba]

$399 with 1TB hard drive according to Channel Master in the same add. Not a bargin in my feeling.

 

[primestar31]

$399 with 1TB hard drive according to Channel Master in the same add. Not a bargin in my feeling.

Especially when Tivo OTA's go on sale all the time for under $300, and come with a 1TB drive, and are easily upgradable to 3TB just by dropping in a larger drive. You can go even higher, after running a special utility on the drive ahead of time.

 

[renegade734]

Especially when Tivo OTA's go on sale all the time for under $300, and come with a 1TB drive, and are easily upgradable to 3TB just by dropping in a larger drive. You can go even higher, after running a special utility on the drive ahead of time.

I initially wanted a Tivo. However, I have learned through a friend of mine who has Tivo that it's not possible to auto-tune to a particular program each day without recording it ... you can't tell it to just tune to the news at noon, for example. Auto-tune is a feature I use several times each day, so a lack of that is a deal-breaker for me.

$399 with 1TB hard drive according to Channel Master in the same add. Not a bargin in my feeling.

That's why I chose the 16GB mode for $144l. I can add whatever size hard drive I want.

That's a lot of money for something you have to add a harddrive to. My Mediasonic Homeworx HW-150PVR does OTA in HD (with external harddrive) for $25.

I have tried the Homeworx. It does not meet my needs. I have spare hard drives that I can dedicate to these receivers. Plus, the ChannelMaster has streaming options available.

 

[navychop]

The CM will fall back and use PSIP when Internet is not available. That's why I bought one. Very happy with it.

TiVo does not use PSIP, IIRC.

The sale, and maybe dropping Dish locals, is why I bought a second one. No EDD on #2 yet.

 

[boba]

I initially wanted a Tivo. However, I have learned through a friend of mine who has Tivo that it's not possible to auto-tune to a particular program each day without recording it ... you can't tell it to just tune to the news at noon, for example. Auto-tune is a feature I use several times each day, so a lack of that is a deal-breaker for me.


That's why I chose the 16GB mode for $144l. I can add whatever size hard drive I want.


I have tried the Homeworx. It does not meet my needs. I have spare hard drives that I can dedicate to these receivers. Plus, the ChannelMaster has streaming options available.

Erasing a recorded program is very easy so lack of autotune is just a sign of laziness. Seeing the Channel Master is made by DISH it could suddenly disappear with no support.

 

[navychop]

The CM DVR+ works today. Even if no s/w updates come, it'll work for years. It won't be obsoleted by ATSC 3 because the box will be EOL by most measures before ATSC 3 takes hold, if it ever does. And because it falls back to PSIP, it'll stay working even if Rovi support stops. More than can be said for most other boxes.

By the time the CM dies, it's time for a new box anyway, especially considering the cost.

 

[Tampa8]

The easy work around for autotune with TIVO ..... record it and have it set to keep only one recording. When you go to delete some other program(s) at the same time you can delete those if you want in seconds.

The Channel Master is appealing because you pay no other fees however I did buy my TIVO for $299 no fees on Amazon. TIVO has four tuners and is more sophisticated and has the hard drive. (That can also be replaced with larger if wanted) A BIG plus if you need it is the Mini Tivo with no fees for somewhere around $120 on sale can be used in another room to make a whole house system and you can add a streamer box (no fees) to watch anywhere. I like the Channel Master and like having a choice in may case I wanted the whole system. (And four tuners)

 

[renegade734]

A quick update: The ChannelMaster DVRs arrived today. I have someplace important to be today, so I will not have a chance to install them before tomorrow. I will update this post again after they are up and running.

 

[renegade734]

I have installed one of the ChannelMaster DVR+ receivers. The installation process was easy, thanks to the Setup Wizard. The whole process took just a few minutes, and an initial scan showed 56 channels. After weeding out the ones I will never watch, I still have 38 channels available. I have a 500GB hard drive connected to one of the USB ports, giving me full dual-tuner DVR capability and an accurate and complete two-week guide for all channels provided by Rovi. I'm still just tinkering with it trying to round the learning curve.

The second one will have to wait. I have to make some modifications to my LAN so I can hook it up where I want it.

Next up: an antenna upgrade project that has been quietly in the construction phase for the last two months. I will update on that in the future.

 

[navychop]

I repointed my OTA antenna and now get 51 channels, as opposed to the 48 when I was more or less 90 degrees off. And the one station that was listed before, but was black screen, 23, is now gone.

I have not set up the CM TV channels yet. Maybe later. I will admit, YouTube is slow. But it works.

I have an EHD on it, powered thru the port, and am recording several things tonight.