Topic: Electronics
Yesterday I traded in one of my Time Warner digital cable boxes for a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). It is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000.
The first thing I noticed is its huge! Its about twice the size of my other digital cable box (Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200). The remote is bigger as well. Its a universal remote that can be set up to control a TV set, DVD player, VCR, and audio receiver.
The DVR service is only $6.95/mo. This is definitely a better deal than Tivo as far as basic DVR service. Tivo charges just under 13 bucks a month. Most of that charge is probably for their added features which really aren't that worth it.
The SE Explorer 8000 has two tuners. That means one channel can be watched while recording another on the hard drive. Or even 2 channels can be recorded at once! And it can also record two channels at once while another saved recording is being watched off the hard drive.
Its a powerful box. Because of all these capabilites its kind of easy to overlook its ridiculously huge size. The SE Explorer 8000 can hold up to 40 hours of recordings on its hard drive. It also has PIP (picture-in-picture) built in.
One thing that is missing is the option to skip ahead 30 seconds in order to make it easy to skip commercials. I'm pretty sure Tivo has this option on their DVRs. But overall the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 is a great alternative to Tivo.
I think a DVR is a great device to use to enhance one's TV viewing. If you're watching something on TV and want an instant replay you can actually rewind live TV. The Explorer 8000 DVR stores up to an hour of what you are watching live.
Posted by +@\<
at 5:20 PM EST
