Our most helpful positive review

4 people thought this was helpful.

Good product at a good price, but don't expect TiVo performance August 16, 2009

From the DTVPal DVR FAQ @ AVSForum.com:

"The Dish Network DTVPal DVR is a dual-tuner HDTV DVR that supports SD and HD channels from an off-air antenna. Satellite and cable (QAM) are not supported. The DTVPal DVR allows you to watch one HD channel while you record another; it will also record two different channels while you watch a third, previously recorded show. You can use pause (up to 1hr), instant replay, and rewind on live programming. Recording capacity is 30 HD hours and 150 SD hours with a 250GB hard drive. The bundled IR remote includes buttons for 30 sec skip, 10 second replay, and supports four speeds of fast forward and reverse, slow motion, and frame-by-frame advance."

"The DTVPal DVR features an electronic program guide (EPG) with 8-days of program information from TVGuide On Screen (TVGOS), where available...If TVGuide service is not available, the DTVPal will display the more limited program information -- typically 8-24 hours worth -- offered by your local broadcasters via PSIP."

"All recording on the DTVPal DVR is performed with VCR-like timers, created manually or set automatically through a program guide selection. When you select a show in the program guide, you are given the option to (1) create a reminder, or (2) schedule a recording in that time slot: once, daily, weekly, or M-F. You have the same options when selecting a show with keyword search. A list of all existing timers is shown on the DVR -> Daily Schedule screen, where you can cancel, edit, or add a new timer for a single or repeating (daily, weekly, M-F) recording in a specific time slot."

"The DTVPal DVR lacks many features found on subscription-based TiVo, DirecTV, and Dish Network satellite DVRs. Features absent from the product include comprehensive program information on all channels, conflict management, dual channel buffers, external storage expansion, multi-room viewing, remote scheduling via web and mobile phone, picture-in-picture, picture-in-guide, guide filters / favorites, and the ability to transfer/download recordings. Most notably, the DTVPal DVR relies on time-based recording rather than name-based recording; it does not know when a scheduled program has changed its day, time, or duration. The DTVPal DVR lacks the ability to record only new episodes and ignore repeats."

"Name-based DVRs [from TiVo, satellite, and cable] simplify recording so the user only has to deal with program names, without regard for dates, times, or channels. They make use of more comprehensive guide data to provide a much higher level of reliability with "set it and forget it" recording. Timer-based DVRs like the DTVPal DVR require much more maintenance to avoid missed shows, but also cost significantly less, because they have no need for comprehensive (i.e. costly) guide data. In effect, you spend your time to keep up with program and scheduling changes, rather than paying extra to have someone else do it for you."

"If a person already has modern cable/satellite DVR, and they are accustomed to name-based recording with the ability to record only new episodes and ignore repeats, then the VCR-like timers on the DTVPal can seem like a major step backward. For those that currently use VCRs and DVD recorders, the DTVPal DVR takes that functionality and significantly improves upon it with a program guide, dual-tuners, hard drive recording, pause and rewind on liveTV, and high-definition output."

Summary -- if you currently use a VCR or DVD recorder to record from an antenna, then the DTVPal DVR is an excellent, low-cost (relatively speaking) upgrade.  Being a cheaper timer-based design, it will never have the reliability or usability of TiVo, but it's less than half the price once you add TiVo's lifetime subscription to eliminate the fees.  It is a no-brainer upgrade for those that want a high-definition, hard drive-based version of their existing DVD recorder or VCR with the ability to pause and replay liveTV.  You won't find the same functionality in another fee-less product for less than double the price.

Our most helpful negative review

4 people thought this was helpful.

Very buggy, good when it works September 10, 2009

When it works, its GREAT, problem is, it doesnt work half the time. The clock tends to change time sometimes, which sets all the recording timers off, and those in itself are completely off sometimes. The hardware itself seems to be well made, and could be very powerful, however the system installed is buggy, and updates sometimes introduce more bugs than fixes. If you dont have a good signal on a channel you are trying to record, it gets skipped.

On the good side, when recordings get recorded, they are the same quality as live tv, and the 30 second skip is very useful. If tv guide data is available (i had 24 - 48 hours) it tags the recordings with that data, otherwise nothing. It does NOT require an internet connection for those of you worried about privacy issues.

The warranty is only 90 days, and mine broke at about 100 days, so put it on a credit card, or buy an extended warranty if you buy it.