On 3/26/2010 11:25 AM, Peter wrote:
On 3/26/2010 10:59 AM, wrote:

You might also be able to find some standalone QAM tuner product on
Ebay or someplace. But that leaves one big problem, which is unless
the existing VCR can talk to and change the tuner, it won't be able to
switch among the channels. So, to record something, you'd have to
set the QAM tuner to the channel and the VCR to the record time for a
one time recording.

Which gets back to what James said about DVRs being so much more user
friendly. If you're looking for a cheap non hidef DVR solution,
another possibility might be to find a used Tivo on Ebay that is
bundled with lifetime service. People might be dumping them when
moving to HD, etc. Just make sure you get one with a cablecard, as
that is the critical piece to receive the digital channels.


The OP should also consider the Magnavox H2160MW9, which is a non-TIVO
DVR with built-in ATSC and QAM tuner. It sells at walmart.com and
target.com although it is usually a better buy at walmart. I paid $248
last year, including shipping directly to my home. I've used it
extensively and have been entirely satisfied with it. (It also has a DVD
player/recorder built-in and you can dub either way from hard drive to
DVD, or vice versa.) Although it only records/plays back in standard
definition, it's HDMI output format can be set to 480P, 720P, 1080i, or
1080P to get the best quality picture your TV is capable of providing.

Main issue about using a DVR is that Comcast is quite variable about
what they encrypt. In some markets only a handful of channels are
unencrypted which would render the built-in tuner almost useless.



The DVR has an antenna out jack which is a pass through analogous to a
VCR's antenna out connection. Although I receive over the air reception
only, it seems to me that you could connect the COMCAST cable directly
to the DVR (and choose which digital signal you want to record) and then
connect the antenna out from the DVR to where the cable is usually
connected to the COMCAST box. Although the DVR would not be able to
receive scrambled signals from premium subscriptions, I suspect that all
the standard package signals would be viewable and recordable.