A
DVR is a piece of technology that is popular with many television consumers.
However, there’s a lot to understand about DVRs before purchasing one. Read
below to learn more about DVRs and their capabilities.
What is a DVR?
Digital
video recorders, or DVRs, are devices that allow you to record your favorite
television shows to watch later. According to How Stuff Works, some DVRs come
with dual tuners. Dual tuners allow for the user to record two different
programs at the same time. Other DVRs can allow users to record two different
shows while watching another pre-recorded show and right now there are some
that allow recordings of up to 5 or 6 shows. Playback control is one of
the biggest reasons why DVRs popular with television viewers. You don’t have to
wait until the program has finished recording to watch it with a DVR. With a
DVR, you can even rewind and pause live television while it’s being
recorded.
Parts of a DVR
As
stated above, the DVR is made up of a hard drive and tuner, along with the
different jacks that connect to your television. The unit’s tuner recognizes
the television signal either from your antenna, cable or satellite, while the
hard drive stores recorded shows. If the signal comes from cable or an antenna,
it is then funneled to an MPEG-2 encoder, which converts the signal from analog
to digital. The signal is then sent to the hard drive for storage and the
MPEG-2 decoder, which changes the signal back to analog and sends it to the
television.
An
operating system is also a part of the DVR. The operating system can be found
on the unit’s hard disk along with recording space, a live broadcast buffer
and, in the case of some DVRs, expansion space.
DVR Types
There
are different types of DVRs. Three types of DVRS include stand-alone
models, computer DVRs and set top boxes.
· Stand-Alone
DVRs – A stand-alone
DVR, like TiVo, is purchased and used to enhance the cable television viewing
experience. Aside from the initial purchasing price, this kind of DVR
generally comes with a monthly subscription fee, which changes based on the
amount of recording space your DVR has. To save money and space, look for DVRs
that also have a DVD player built in.
· Computer DVRs – If you want to control your television
from a computer, this DVR allows your desktop to connect to your cable system
through a TV turner card. After the computer is connected, you can record shows
directly to your computer hard drive, which is typically much larger than most
set top or stand-alone DVRs, giving you more space to save shows.
· Set Top Boxes – Some set top boxes that consumers get
from cable or satellite bundle packages might come with DVRs built in. Having
your set top box and DVR located in the same device not only saves space, but
means that the DVR will work well with your preferred cable package. If you
have to pay higher fees for the additional DVR depend on the cable or satellite
provider.
How Much Does a DVR Cost?
Costs
of DVRs can be as low as about $100 to as high as $17,000.The costs vary
depending on storage space and special features the units come with. Depending
on whether you buy a stand-alone or a DVR and cable/satellite bundle, the DVR
you use might hold around 20 hours of HD/100 hours of SD programming or even up
to 2,000 hours of programming.
DVRs
are helping television users keep up with their favorite shows. Do you already
have a DVR or are you looking to get one?
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