"OK, so does anybody actually know of a device that's basically just the equivalent of a vcr with a hard drive? Sure, having the super duper tv guide on the tivo is cool, but it's not $15 a month cool."
These devices do exist in the form of DVD/HD recorders. Instead of video tape, they store recorded programs on an internal HD. Then if you want save that recording, just pop in a blank DVD and transfer it to the disk, then erase it from the drive to reclaim the space.
They're a bit more complex to operate than your standard VCR (since you have to bother with such things as setting the compression for any HD and DVD copy,) but it's nothing that an average/. user couldn't handle.
I bought one over a year ago, and I haven't used my VCR since.
"So, does anybody actually know of such a device? They sure don't exist at best buy. All they have is tivo and tivo clones.
It's obvious by your comments that you didn't bother to read the article. The law in question would make any conversion of CDs into MP3s illegal - even ones you had bought and were only converting for personal use (like transfering songs to a portable player.)
As for that Napster service you mentioned, it has one rather glaring defect: if you decide for some reason to cancel your subscription, you lose access to ALL the tracks you had downloaded. To me that's just equivelent to pouring money down a black hole...
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These devices do exist in the form of DVD/HD recorders. Instead of video tape, they store recorded programs on an internal HD. Then if you want save that recording, just pop in a blank DVD and transfer it to the disk, then erase it from the drive to reclaim the space.
They're a bit more complex to operate than your standard VCR (since you have to bother with such things as setting the compression for any HD and DVD copy,) but it's nothing that an average /. user couldn't handle.
I bought one over a year ago, and I haven't used my VCR since.
"So, does anybody actually know of such a device? They sure don't exist at best buy. All they have is tivo and tivo clones.
Maybe you should extend your search beyond Best Buy. For instance, the online and mail-order company Crutchfield currently has that 7 of these babies available for purchase (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-iuI0CUlXGrp/cgi-bin/ prodgroup.asp?g=69800&nvpair=AG_General_Features%7 CYCHard_Drive_Recorder#see_all)
It's obvious by your comments that you didn't bother to read the article. The law in question would make any conversion of CDs into MP3s illegal - even ones you had bought and were only converting for personal use (like transfering songs to a portable player.)
As for that Napster service you mentioned, it has one rather glaring defect: if you decide for some reason to cancel your subscription, you lose access to ALL the tracks you had downloaded. To me that's just equivelent to pouring money down a black hole...