DViCo TViX R-2210 Ultra-small HDTV PVR w/ HD Digital Jukebox 2.5" SATA

[any ANONYMOUS forum user]

Let me start by saying I cut cable because it was just getting to expensive. The bill just kept going up for channels that I really couldn't be bothered with. I do a lot of my watching on the web and the shows I do miss I usually acquire through...let's say other methods. But I did miss my DVR and the the only other method for OTA (Over-The-Air) recording was purchasing the DTVPal DVR or the Channel Master CM-7000PAL DVR.

But OTA recording wasn't the only requirement, I wanted to record HD just like my cable's DVR. Now the DTVPal DVR sounded great, with HD recording, TV Guide, pause live TV, and dual tuner for dual recordings at the same time. But though the reviews were good the thing was expensive, the warranty limited (30 Days) and absolutely no returns with customer service basically non-existent. DirectTV just gave the DTVPal DVR really poor backing and support. Plus the thing consumes 23 watts of power on and 21 off...not exactly a green machine. I might have considered it if the warranty was a limited one year policy, but the 30 day warranty, along with the negative reviews that I found really turned me off. Granted the there were more positive reviews, but their were quite a number of negative reviews as well, with some people claiming their machines died after only several months of use.

Now for the DViCo TViX R-2210 Ultra-small HDTV PVR w/ HD Digital Jukebox 2.5 is a great OTA recorder. It does not have a dual tuner, only a single ATSC tuner but I hardly ever record two shows at the same time. But it records in HD and it looks great on a 1080p 46" Samsung TV. I have been recording all my favorite shows in Crisp 1080i and since the TViX R-2210 can be used as an external drive, I just attach it to my Mac and copy the files over. Now I have a collection of my all my favorite shows in HI-Definition. Awesome!!! And just like Cable DVR just hit delete when your done with your shows and it also pauses live TV!

There is a guide that goes up to a week with show listings. It's great but not as extensive as what is offered on cable or the DTVPal DVR. But TViX R-2210's guide does go to a week and provides name and info of shows just like cable. I just hit the record button and it programs itself to record. It's awesome! You can adjust recording quality so you can make more room for your recordings on your installed drive if your drive is small in capacity. But you can install up to a 1TB drive if you want. Unlike a DVR the TViX R-2210 is designed to have any size drive installed. Just slip the cover off and install your drive. It's that simple. I have a 320 GB drive in mine now.

The other thing that the TViX R-2210 does that no other DVR does, is play back any media file. The TViX R-2210 is a media player that plays anything back...mkv, .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .iso .vob, .ifo, .mp4, .asf, .tp, .trp, .ts, .m2ts, .mov(H.264), MP3 etc. It's awesome!

You can also connect a wireless network and stream stuff from your computer but you need to buy a USB wireless adapter...in this case the TViX WLAN-6200C.

The other thing I like is that you can turn it off and the drive isn't always spinning which is great because it will preserve the life of the drive. The TViX R-2210 consumes 12W while running and 0.5W in standby which makes it greener than most DVR's. Also you can turn it totally off too when not in use. The PVR itself attaches to a little fan that blows air directly onto the unit. It's nice but the unit itself rarely gets warm or hot whenever I use it. Still it's a nice little touch

TVIX is a Korean company and it is not well known here in the U.S. They have other machines too with dual tuners that can do everything your DVR can just do it with OTA signals. Though, they are more expensive. But they could be worth the money to you.

If you want to cut the cable bill and go OTA this is the thing. I used to spend 80.00 a month on my cable bill without the premium channels. Maybe if the cable companies do a la carte channels selection I'll go back. But with OTA HD and my TViX R-2210 I am perfectly happy to kiss my cable bills goodbye!

Now I have only had the TViX R-2210 for a month and a half but so far I love it!

With the DTVPal and Channel Master releasing their OTA recorder, I am hoping the OTA recorder market will explode in the near future just like the VCR did years ago!

[any ANONYMOUS forum user]

I've been using TViX R-2210 PVR for a couple of days. I installed a 500 GB Western Digital hard drive, which the unit quickly formatted and now reads and writes to flawlessly. There is no discernible difference in the picture quality of live HD and recorded HD programs. The time-shifting feature is amazing and works just as well as the service-provided satellite and cable boxes I've seen and used.

One feature I love, which I hadn't read about, is the program guide. Like TiVo and other DVRs, you can see a list of programs by date and time, select the program you want to watch or record, and the unit will turn itself on, record, then turn itself off again. I only have over-the-air (OTA) channels, which provide program info and short descriptions for most channels. I'm not sure how this feature would work with other HD services, but I'm very pleased that I'm able to do, with this PVR and no service, what my friends do with TiVos, DVRs, and expensive HD services. Of course, I get fewer channels (about 12, sometimes 15), but that's all I need.

One thing I don't like about the program guide interface is that, when you change the channel on the guide, the video feed changes channels with it. As far as I can tell, you can't look at lineups on other channels without actually changing the channel. Perhaps they'll address this in a future firmware update.

Another minor problem is that, if you switch back and forth between the TViX and regular antenna feed--for instance, I have splitter so that one cable goes to the TVix and another goes to back of the TV, so I can be recording one program on the PVR and watching another on through the TV's antenna input--the volume can be quite a bit louder on the TV.

The picture quality is fantastic! I only have a 32" 720 HDTV, but I assume it would look good in 1080, too. I set mine up to record in 1080 just for the heck of it. (a 30 minute show is a little under 3 GB, so you'll need a pretty big hard drive). If you don't have an HDMI cable when you initially set it up, like I didn't, and choose to use the included a/v cable, don't forget to select "load default" so that you can recalibrate the settings for HD playback.

This thing also plays music, displays photos, and plays a wide range of video formats, all of which you can transfer from your PC using a USB cable. The manual says you can plug USB devices like cameras straight into it, but I haven't tried this. You can also use the TViX as an external hard drive enclosure. There's an optional Wi-Fi adapter according to the website.

I was a little worried that, for some reason, it wasn't compatible with U.S. broadcasting and equipment, but rest assured, American consumers, it does work.