Often most of us tend to opt for something which is free of cost. In the same manner, people tend to ignore paid TV channels and rather opt for free channels viewed over the internet. The most common trend prevailing is that we pay a monthly subscription fee for a certain number of channels. However, with the availability of Channel Master CM-7000 PAL DVR, you won’t have to pay each month. It has been priced at $350 and just requires a onetime purchase.

After you have purchased CM-7000 PAL, you won’t have to pay a subscription fee every month.  The reason for this is that the device would record all the channels over the air through antenna based television programming. The quality of the recording is done in high definition for the channels available. However, one major fear is that the device would only record till the time your local DTV stations keep on broadcasting the channels.

Design

The design for CM-7000PAL is nothing very fancy as its basic function is recording and playing channels. The layout of the device is comparatively similar to how Dish TV sets are designed. The casing has been done in black color and it only shows two lights; green for power and red for recording.

Besides the design of the device, the designing of the remote has been done in a very user friendly manner. Often remotes tend to confuse users; however, this remote is easier to use and navigate. The most preferred button is the 30-second skip button which allows users to skip through the ads allowing them to enjoy their shows.

User interface

The user interface has been designed in such a manner that a viewer does not face much difficulty while exploring through the channels. The electronic programming guide (EPG) has a simple layout and blue and gray colors format to go in contrast. It allows viewers to choose between three text size options. However, the smaller text size is recommended so most of the channels can be seen in the list.

The advantage of having the EPG is that it allows viewers to choose from a long list of channels as each channel’s information is displayed in a box. Therefore, a person can choose a channel based on the factor which interests them the most. If this option was not available, then you would have to flip through all the channels. Furthermore, to save time, it also allows the search options. This allows you to look for your favorite channel directly rather than having to go through the list each time.

Features

The best feature of CM-7000PAL is that it is free of cost. This means that you just have to pay the initial purchase price and then no further payments are required. Therefore, this is onetime investment which saves you money. Furthermore, it has a hard drive of 250GB which allows recording up to 30 hours in HD mode and 250 hours of standard recording.

The Good: No monthly subscription fee, HD recording, user friendly interface and remote, allows the search option, fast forward and rewind.

The Bad: Requires an initial cost, lacks appropriate designing for the main recording device, expansion of memory not allowed.

The Bottom Line: For those who want to avoid the hassle of paying each month, this is a preferred option which allows HD recording.