I subscribe to DirecTV and am interested in buying a HD Recorder. Am looking at the Toshiba RD-XS32 and the Panasonic DMR-E85H. 80 or 120 HD is fine but can anyone tell me if these are compatible with DirecTV? I want to be able to record a program from one channel to HD while watching another channel. I have read something re: an infrared Blaster but not sure what this is or if it works with DirecTV. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
I purchased a Directv receiver with a 40gb hard drive with two tuners and TIVO. (Philips $99.00). One of the best purchases I've ever made..! For me it does it all..!
I need to be able to create DVDs for my Mother. Also do not want to be saddled with monthly subscription fees for Tivo or have to install a phone jack. I keep reading reviews about how great these HD Recorders are but there always seems to be a caveat "They do not work with Satellite"
I currently have the RD-XS32, with DirecTV. I am very happy with my recorder, and use it for the same purpose you do, I watch all my shows from the HDD, and dump to DVD for other people. 1) You cannot record one channel and watch another channel. This has nothing to do with the DVD Recorder, it has to do with your receiver. You will either need two receivers or one with two tuners in it. If you have this, then yes you can record one channel and watch another. 2) I have not used the IR blaster yet. Currently I select the program I want to record from the DirecTV guide, then set the recorder to turn on at that time and Record from Line1. This may not be the easiest way, but it works. 3) If you subscribe to HBO and/or Cinemax, the programs are encoded with a copyright, that only allows you to record to hard drive or DVD-RAM. This really bummed me out when I first discovered this, but I believe any new Recorder is going to encounter this problem. There are ways around it, and I will be testing one this weekend (i'll post again and let you know). I love the RD-XS32, and for the price you can't beat it.
Andrew903: Thanks for a very clear, concise response. You have answered all my questions. I do have two receivers (NonTivo) so guess I could just buy two recorders and use them as I do my two VCRs now. But given the low price of the Toshiba RD-XS32 I might as well get two of them. Since this unit allows for high speed dubbing from the HDD to a DVD RAM disc I shouldn't have any problem recording HBO, STARS, etc to a DVD... or should I.
A note on HBO and Cinemax. I had read on another board that the Sima CT-2 Video enhancer would allow you to remove the Copy never encoding in HBO and Cinemax programing. This would allow you to record to the hard drive and then burn a DVD that would be compatible with all players. I purchased one on sunday and it works like a charm!!! Good luck.
