PVR Wire

Normally I refuse to say when a product is priced at $29.99. I feel it's disingenuous on the part of those setting the prices, and I just round up and tell you that you can pick it up for $30. I wish gas station owners and others would follow suit.

That said, it's technically true that OneCall's selling the TiVo Series3 for under $600. Just barely under $600, but still that's $200 off the list price. Of course, if resellers can keep affording to knock $100 or $200 off the price, I wonder why TiVo couldn't have just introduced the Series3 at $700, but I guess they need to recoup the development costs.

It looks like OneCall's sale ends on the 23rd. Keep in mind, if you pick up a new Series3 unit by the end of the month, and if you happen to have a lifetime service plan for an older TiVo, you can transfer that lifetime service tot he new box for $199.

[via All PVR and Techbargains]

ReplayTV is offering a 20% off coupon code for purchases of their PC-based PVR software if you buy a copy by February 27th. That brings the price down to about $80, which brings it closer to its competitors' prices. You can pick up a copy of BeyondTV for $70, and SageTV goes for $80.

ReplayTV is not only a newcomer to the PC software market, it's also one of the highest priced options available. I'm willing to cut them some slack, since they did help to popularize the concept of PVRs with their set top boxes. And some of the search options in the ReplayTV PC edition are quite cool.

To get the coupon, use the code RTVJAN0720 before February 27th. There's also a 30 day free trial of the software, so you can test it out for a full month if you like before deciding whether it's worth spending $80.

Free is always good – I don't think you'll hear many people arguing otherwise. But when you can get a free TV tuner, well it doesn't get much better than that.

Fry's is currently offering a KWorld USB 2.0 PVR-TV 300U TV tuner on their website which comes out to be free after a $30 rebate. Sure it may not be a world class tuner or anything, but if it's free I'd snatch one up pretty quick.

This is a perfect opportunity for all of you who have been tempted to try building a PVR but didn't want to spend too much money on it. Assuming that you have a computer with at least 256 MB of RAM and 1.6GHz CPU, then you can snatch this baby up and away you go.

The downer about this offer is that it is a mail in rebate so you'll have to cough up the cash now. But by the time you get that cash back in a few weeks you should be all set up with your new PVR.

While we're on the subject of putting together a cheap home theater PC, how would you like a cheap TV Tuner/video capture card/FM tuner with a remote control?

Shop4Tech's got a Sabrent card that does all of those things, for just $28.88, with free shipping. There's no way to link directly to the product page, but if you go to Shop4Tech's web site and search for "SBT-VC-TVFM," it should pop up.

It's not surprising that we're seeing prices drop on these older TV tuners, with a new crop of HD tuners hitting the shelves, and CableCard tuners on the way. But if you don't need hi-def yet, I say snap em up while you can. I mean, this isn't as good as a deal for a free TV tuner, but under $30 is still a good price.

[via TechBargains]

We've featured tips for building an inexpensive home theater PC in the past. But this is the first guide I've highlighted... from India. Okay, not really that special a distinction, but Techtree India's put together a pretty nifty guide on building a budget HTCP, so I thought I'd share their recommendations (and my thoughts).

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ because it's reasonably fast, and since it's a Socket AM2 chip, there's potential for upgrading.
Motherboard: The MSI K9GM2 has an onboard graphic accelerator, with support for TV-Out and NVIDIA's Pure Video Decoder. By getting a motherboard with onboard graphics and audio, you can save the money you would have spent on three separate devices.
RAM: Transcend 512MB DDR II 533MHz, because if you're going to blow a lot of money, you should blow it on the CPU, not the RAM in an HTPC. You can always get faster RAM or more memory later.
Case: The Zebronics Pluto is reasonably small, reasonably attractive, and looks good as a tower or on its side.
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 160GB. Basically, put in as large a hard drive as you're comfortable with. They're a lot cheaper than they used to be.
DVD: DVD burners are cheaper than they used to be, so it's a good idea to pick one up rather than just a DVD player. It may or may not be obsolete by next year when everyone does or doesn't switch to a hi-def optical format. Techtree went with an LG GSAH-10N 16X DVD Writer.
TV Tuner: Compro's VideoMate TV PVR/FM M200 is a budget tuner with all the usual functions plus an FM tuner, and it comes with a remote.
Input Device: Techtree went with a Logitech Cordless Desktop S510 Media Remote, which comes with a wireless remote control, mouse and keyboard. If you're setting the system up in your living room and plan to use it for more than watching TV, this might be nice. But if your needs are basic, or you'd rather just plug in a keyboard for the rare times you need one, this might be a waste of money.
Operating System: An OEM copy of Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005. If you're building a machine from scratch, the only cheaper solution is to go with Linux and MythTV, because you do need an operating system anyway, so why not get one with build in media center functions?

If I did my currency conversion correctly, Techtree's system would set you back about $711 US dollars. Not too bad for what you get. You could cut corners if you don't need a case that looks good in the living room, find a few items on sale, and skip the wireless mouse and remote.

Great, there's finally an official TiVoToGo program for Mac users, but it's part of Roxio's Toast Titanium 8 package, which costs $100.

Well, Roxio currently has a $20 rebate coupon on their site, so that helps a bit. And it turns out that Roxio has another hidden promotion. If you get a 404 error on their site, there's an apology message an a 10% coupon code. I won't list the code here, but all you have to do is direct your browser to a page that doesn't exist, like says www.roxio.com/tivotogo.

Since the coupon is applied a checkout, unlike the rebate, it should bring the price down to $90, making the software $70 after rebate. That's still too much if you're only looking for TiVoTogo, but not too bad for a complete CD/DVD burning suite with TiVoToGo functionality.

Remember the good old days when you'd buy a product for an advertised price, and be able to find the advertised price directly on the shelf or at the product's website? These days it seems like you need a Ph.D. to figure out how to get the best price/deal out of a product like TiVo.

So here's the latest.

If you buy a Series3 TiVo by the end of January and activate it by March 2nd, you can transfer lifetime service from your existing TiVo for $199. This is an extension of a previous offer.

But, if you've got a DirecTV TiVo unit, you're out of luck.

Of course, TiVo's still charging $799 for a Series3 unit, so this is only a bargain if you'd willing to spend $1000 for a hi-def unit rather than waiting a while for the prices to fall. We've seen resellers discount the Series3 by as much as $200+ but that's still a lot of cash.

Or if you're in the market for a new box and hi-def isn't that important to you, check out the latest rebates on Series2 boxes, which basically let you pick up an 80-hour Series2 TiVo for free (plus a year's service).

[via TiVo Lovers]

WeaKnees points out that TiVo's offering up a new round of rebates for Series2 units, replacing the rebates that expired on December 31st.

Just like last time around, you can get $220 off the price of a standard 80-hour Series2 box, bringing the total price to... free.

You can also get $180 off of a dual-tuner Series2, which brings the price to $69. You have to activate your TiVo and sign up for at least a year of service.

The offer is good for Series2 units purchased between January 1st and February 17th, 2007. After that, TiVo may very well offer another round of rebates. No word yet on any upcoming rebates for Series3 units. But at this rate, it's safe to say you'll be able to pick up a free Series3 with a year's service sometime around 2017 when the Series4 3-dimensional holographic recorder is released.

One of the biggest deterrents to me picking up a dedicated Media Center extender for my Media Center PC has always been the cost.

Prices for these devices have always lingered right around the $200-$250 price point which was far enough off from an Xbox 360 to prevent me from buying a second one as an extender, but still high enough that I couldn't justify dropping that much cash for a box that's main purpose was to stream content.

With the imminent release of Vista Media Center, and the fact that the current crop of Media Center extenders will not work with the new OS, you're starting to see this generations extenders at much more reasonable prices.

Case in point, today only Woot has the refurbished Linksys WMCE54AG Wireless Media Center Extender for an attractive $99 with $5 shipping. This is just about low enough to make the purchase a no brainer for me.

Features:

Connects your Home Entertainment Center to a Windows Media Center PC through a Wireless-A, Wireless-G, or wired network

Watch home or downloaded digital movies and browse your digital pictures on your television. Also watch, pause, and record live TV shows

Listen to your digital music collection and Internet radio through your stereo system

Select entertainment from on-screen menus with the easy-to-use remote control

I've used Vista Media Center for the last 2 months, and while it's pretty to look at, I was perfectly content with the XP Media Center Edition.

After picking one of these up I fully see myself using the current version of Media Center for at least another year or two thanks to this inexpensive streaming option.

Sure, it's no free TV tuner card, but a sale at PC Alchemy is always good news for PVR builders.

From now through December 31st, PC Alchemy is offering 5% off of any single purchase over $100 with the coupon code pcalchemy-holiday-5. You must have a PC Alchemy account in order to use the code. The retailer is also offering free shipping on all purchases, no account or code necessary.

I've purchased most of the HTPC items in my computer from PC Alchemy, including two TV tuners and a video card. I don't work for the company in any way, but it's a great place to start if you're looking to build your own PVR system.

[via byopvr]

Way back in October, TiVo announced that Series2 users that had purchased lifetime service packages would be able to transfer their lifetime service to a Series3 unit for $199. While that adds $200 to the price of an already expensive device, it's by far the best deal around for keeping your TiVo subscription bills to a minimum.

Problem was, the offer was only good if you had a standalone Series2 TiVo. DirecTV customers who had received their TiVo's through the satellite provider were out of luck.

Now TiVo upgrader and reseller WeaKnees is reporting that DirecTiVo customers are now eligible to transfer their service -- if they do so before 12/31/06. There's no info about this on the TiVo website yet, but presumably you can get this deal either through WeaKnees or TiVo, just make sure to ask about it before you plop down your money.

Also, keep in mind that Series3 TiVo units will not work with DirecTV or any other satellite provider, so this is only a good deal if you were planning on switching to cable anyway.

Didn't get a chance to pick up that free TV tuner Newegg was selling last month? No problem, Buy.Com has a similar deal for the same card.

Here's how it works. You can pick up a KWorld LTV7131RF TV tuner for $30 from Buy.com. If you use Google Checkout, you get $10 off. And if you buy it between today and December 31st, there's a mail-in rebate coupon worth $20.

What does free buy you? A PCI tuner with an infrared remote control. It has antenna, composite, and S-Video inputs, and can capture TV or video signals in MPEG-1/2/4 formats. Does anyone use this card? Is it worth the price?

A good deal appeared on the 19th but before I discovered it and had time to post it the deal had been and gone. Dell was selling a TiVo Series 3 for just $588.16 making use of a 15% reduction offer valid until this morning and a 10% Dell stackable coupon which you can buy from eBay.

Now Dell look like they have sold out of Series 3s and the special price reductions have expired. The regular price would be $691.95.

Its still pretty difficult to get a Series 3 for under $700 never mind for under $600. Some retailers are offering them for just over $600 but it appears to be a bait and switch operation where the company pretends it is out of stock and offers it for a higher price.

[Thanks TiVoBlog!]

The TiVo community store has rolled out some nice special offers just in time for Christmas. If you feel the need to boost your living room entertainment experience then you might find yourself some great deals here:

• Instant $120 rebate on any TiVo Series 3 – Coupon Code TV120
• $250 off the Nevo SL WiFi Remote - Coupon Code NEVO250
• 15% off all Harmony Remotes – Coupon Code TCR15
• Save 10% on upgrade kits – Coupon Code TCUP10
• Save 10% on all Slingmedia products including the Slingbox – Coupon Code TVS10
• Save 15% on cables – Coupon Code TCC15
• 10% instant rebate on TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter – Coupon Code TCW10

If you fancy setting yourself with a cheap media center PC this Christmas then you might want to check out some of these bargains. A media center PC also makes a great media extender and given the prices of some of these devices it's a great idea.

Firstly set yourself up with a $6 Terminator KW-LTV7131RF Pci Tv Tuner using a $15 mail in rebate and a $10 saving from Google Checkout.

Combine this with a $10 3D Fuzion GF MX4000 Video Card with 8x AGP 128MB DDR and a 120GB Western Digital WD1200BB hard drive for $60 and a sleek looking media center case for under $100, the free GBPVR PC PVR software and you are halfway to a mega cheap HTPC.