Does anyone use TiVo?
- Thread starter tenzor
- Start date
Pylis
CAGiversary!
I don't know about saving from the box to the computer (though I'd think that it would be possible to hook it up) but TiVo has seriously changed the way I watch television. It's worth every damn penny. I was really skeptical at first, always saying that TiVo was basically a high-priced VCR, but after using it I fell in love.
I also have a TiVo. I have the 80 hour with DVD Recorder. It was definitely worth every single penny. When I bought my TiVo they had a deal where I got a free lifetime subscription to the basic service. I use it all the time and it's nice having the guide to see what is on.
anonymouswhoami
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 18 (100%)
TIVO is incredible! I can't ever imagine going back to watching TV without it. I initially balked at the high monthly subscription rate (which is much, much cheaper if you have Direct TV) but now find that it's worth every penny and more. I shudder thinking about the "old days" of programming VCRs and the awful quality of video tape.
TiVo has just added some features to thier TiVo Desktop, which allows Series2 TiVos to transfer to PCs on the same network... I just heard about it recently and am going to try it. I know that it doesn't currently work with TiVos that have the dvd recorders, but seems like my one with the dvd player isn't allowing the transfers or the system's software isn't updated yet.
I've got the dual-tuner HD-DVR from Comcast and it is amazing. It does everything I need it to do and I rarely ever watch live TV. It is quite simply the greatest invention ever. I really can't even imagine how my TV life was before I got it. I've heard good things about TiVo but the only way it can record HD is with a DirecTV box and that's $1,000 plus you need a DirecTV subscription... if you aren't worried about HD then I say go for it!
It is definitely worthwhile. I really like being able to pause and rewind live tv - that way I don't miss anything if the phone rings. The Tivo box has an output so you can record things from the hard drive to a VCR. Some newer models also include a DVD recorder in the unit. Another option is to mod your Tivo. Check out weeknees.com - some modded boxes can record 350 hours of programming.
Oh yeah, if you are into this sort of thing chack out Build Your Own PVR - it has an unbelievable amount of info on how to get up and running. You can do all sorts of cool stuff that you can't with any commercially produced DVR...
The TivoToGo feature is extremely limited due to keeping Hollywood happy. One of the reasons I really like my ReplayTV, beside the higher image quality, is that I can use a freeware app called DVarchive to pull files off the units hard drive with no restrictions and no encryption. They're easily edited and burned to disc.
RePlayTV has been largely neutered through litigation and you cannot get all of the features I enjoy on the current units, so you must either find an older one or use a PC for the same function to have unrestricted access to your recordings.
RePlayTV has been largely neutered through litigation and you cannot get all of the features I enjoy on the current units, so you must either find an older one or use a PC for the same function to have unrestricted access to your recordings.
doubledown
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 15 (100%)
I have the Dual-Tuner DVR from Comcast also. The thing is GREAT! Records HD. You basically rent the box from Comcast, and it's only $5 more a month for the box than the normal HD box. I love it......
tenzor
CAGiversary!
damn I am sold, I think I will be getting my tivo this weekend. This is the tivo box I am thinking about getting this one
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1082742887515&skuId=6654881&type=product
Does anyone know if that one is able to transfer shows from your Tivo box to your computer. That box only has 40 hours, and I want to be able to save WWE shows, and sports to it. I would just upgrade to the 120 hour box, but I need the rest of the money to buy other things. And also for the people who have TiVo, are you guys paying the $12.95 monthly fee or did you just pay the $299 one time fee to give you TiVo for life.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1082742887515&skuId=6654881&type=product
Does anyone know if that one is able to transfer shows from your Tivo box to your computer. That box only has 40 hours, and I want to be able to save WWE shows, and sports to it. I would just upgrade to the 120 hour box, but I need the rest of the money to buy other things. And also for the people who have TiVo, are you guys paying the $12.95 monthly fee or did you just pay the $299 one time fee to give you TiVo for life.
y2jrevolution
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 6 (100%)
Once you use a Tivo or DVR you will be hooked. There is no way that I could watch TV without it.
Dustwalker14
CAGiversary!
I have the 40 hour box and its good enough, im paying monthly right now because I may get a larger one eventually just to have the freedom. Oh if you should get the lifetime plan make sure that the tivo you have is the one your going to have for a long time because it costs a hefty amount to transfer a lifetime acount to another unit.
tenzor
CAGiversary!
[quote name='Dustwalker14']I have the 40 hour box and its good enough, im paying monthly right now because I may get a larger one eventually just to have the freedom. Oh if you should get the lifetime plan make sure that the tivo you have is the one your going to have for a long time because it costs a hefty amount to transfer a lifetime acount to another unit.[/quote]
oh good point, thanks man. I might get the DVR box from my cable company Adelphia. Is the fee usually cheaper if you buy a tivo box through your cable company? or is it still the same 13 a month?
oh good point, thanks man. I might get the DVR box from my cable company Adelphia. Is the fee usually cheaper if you buy a tivo box through your cable company? or is it still the same 13 a month?
40 hours is plenty.
Tivo will soon be offering "Tivo-to-go" as part of the paid service, which will allow you to send recorded shows from your Tivo to your computer via a home network (including wireless), and then burn them to DVD if you so desire. True, there are issues with copyrights and the new service, however, if you just plan on backing up WWE shows -you shouldn't have a problem.
Venture Bros. Season 1 here I come!!
Tivo will soon be offering "Tivo-to-go" as part of the paid service, which will allow you to send recorded shows from your Tivo to your computer via a home network (including wireless), and then burn them to DVD if you so desire. True, there are issues with copyrights and the new service, however, if you just plan on backing up WWE shows -you shouldn't have a problem.
Venture Bros. Season 1 here I come!!
40 hours is nothing if you plan on recording alot Remember that 40 hours is in the Long play mode (meaning Awful playback) to get a picture that looks like Real TV on a 40 hour model you will be lucky to get 11 1/2 to i think 23 hours (that is the 2 best settings) I myself have a COMCAST DVR with up to 50 hours (depends if your taping
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo
tenzor
CAGiversary!
[quote name='slidecage']
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
damn that is a much better deal then tivo
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
damn that is a much better deal then tivo
[quote name='epobirs']The TivoToGo feature is extremely limited due to keeping Hollywood happy. One of the reasons I really like my ReplayTV, beside the higher image quality, is that I can use a freeware app called DVarchive to pull files off the units hard drive with no restrictions and no encryption. They're easily edited and burned to disc.
RePlayTV has been largely neutered through litigation and you cannot get all of the features I enjoy on the current units, so you must either find an older one or use a PC for the same function to have unrestricted access to your recordings.[/quote]
I also use ReplayTV and love it. I have several friends with Tivo and they all have said that they like Replay better. They like the interface better, the organization of recorded shows better, and the best part, there is a button to skip commercials! Not a fast forward button or a 30 second skip button, but a button that skips commercials, its almost always accurate, and a wonderful thing. And as epobirs said, DVArchive is a great program if you can network your replay and computer together for storing programs.
RePlayTV has been largely neutered through litigation and you cannot get all of the features I enjoy on the current units, so you must either find an older one or use a PC for the same function to have unrestricted access to your recordings.[/quote]
I also use ReplayTV and love it. I have several friends with Tivo and they all have said that they like Replay better. They like the interface better, the organization of recorded shows better, and the best part, there is a button to skip commercials! Not a fast forward button or a 30 second skip button, but a button that skips commercials, its almost always accurate, and a wonderful thing. And as epobirs said, DVArchive is a great program if you can network your replay and computer together for storing programs.
elSantoNegro
CAG Veteran
Ive had a TIVO for over a year now...And I love it.. However, Im currently dropping my cable co. and going with Dish Network.. they offered me a deal witha dual reciever/PVR on both recievers 100hr of recording..for 5.98 more a month. I took it. so Im not going to be needing my TIVO anymore.
Anyone looking to buy an 80hr Series 2 TIVO. yes its used. but works like a dream.. I may even keep all the southparks I have on it if you like. got like 15 episodes..
Anyone looking to buy an 80hr Series 2 TIVO. yes its used. but works like a dream.. I may even keep all the southparks I have on it if you like. got like 15 episodes..
jetblac
CAGiversary!
I use ReplayTV. I have my replay hooked up to my computer Network with a program called DVArchive. I can transfer files to my computer, edit and save to dvd. After transfering to computer for an impossible amount of storage space (I have almost every episode of STNG) it can be streamed back to the ReplayTV unit and watched on your tv as if it was still on the replay box (in order to do this the files can not be edited) I can stream video and watch my shows on any of the computers in my house from the replaytv. I don't think there is such a program for TIVO so ReplayTV will be at the top of my list for those facts alone.
[quote name='slidecage']40 hours is nothing if you plan on recording alot Remember that 40 hours is in the Long play mode (meaning Awful playback) to get a picture that looks like Real TV on a 40 hour model you will be lucky to get 11 1/2 to i think 23 hours (that is the 2 best settings) I myself have a COMCAST DVR with up to 50 hours (depends if your taping
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I just got off the phone with my cable company... and they have DVR boxes available! unfortunatly, all the employees i talked to were complete idiots, and it seemed that i knew more about the product than they did... and i have never heard of it
My question now is... Is data transferable? I want to use the DVR to record episodes of some shows i watch... but tivo tempts me because i can transfer the video to my PC or use the DVDr drive in the new tivo machine...
is there going to be any way to get data off the DVR to anywhere else?
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I just got off the phone with my cable company... and they have DVR boxes available! unfortunatly, all the employees i talked to were complete idiots, and it seemed that i knew more about the product than they did... and i have never heard of it
My question now is... Is data transferable? I want to use the DVR to record episodes of some shows i watch... but tivo tempts me because i can transfer the video to my PC or use the DVDr drive in the new tivo machine...
is there going to be any way to get data off the DVR to anywhere else?
[quote name='tenzor'][quote name='slidecage']
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
damn that is a much better deal then tivo[/quote]
Also, the $9.95 is the box rental fee so if you already have a box from your cable company, adding the DVR is actually only a few more dollars a month. Before my DVR I was paying $6.95 for the cable box a month so the $9.95 was really only $3 more.... plus TiVo does not record HD (except for the $1,000 DirecTiVo).
I would also stay far far away from TiVo if there was an option from your cable company...
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
damn that is a much better deal then tivo[/quote]
Also, the $9.95 is the box rental fee so if you already have a box from your cable company, adding the DVR is actually only a few more dollars a month. Before my DVR I was paying $6.95 for the cable box a month so the $9.95 was really only $3 more.... plus TiVo does not record HD (except for the $1,000 DirecTiVo).
I would also stay far far away from TiVo if there was an option from your cable company...
You can tape HBO and any other movie channel with Tivo. I do it all the time.
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.
[quote name='tenzor']RisingZan do you have any idea when Tivo-to-go will be out?[/quote]
Sometime later this month.
As far as 40 hours goes, I record everything in HQ so it's true you only get about 12 hours of recording time. However a few things to keep in mind...
1. Tivo is not provider dependant. So if you quit Comcast (which sucks where I live anyway) and go with satellite, Tivo and your likes and dislikes can come too.
2. Remote scheduling. I don't know if Comcast boxes offer this or not, but I use this feature everyday with Tivo. Log on to tivo.com and tell your tivo at home to record a show you forgot was on, or if your plans change you can tell tivo what to record while you're out. Greatest. Feature. Ever.
3. Home networking and file transfers. This is also a nice way to organize Tivo from your home PC. and with Tivo-to-go you can back up your shows to additional hard drives elsewhere on your network or archive shows to DVD's playable in any DVD player.
Not to mention all the Tivo hacks out there that allow you to make your cheap $99 40hr Tivo into a 300hr behemoth by swapping hard drives. It will void your warranty but that Tivo is yours to mess with as you please. Who knows what the hell Comcast will do to you if you messed with one of "their" boxes...?
Go with what suits you best. But for me, it's not even a question.
Sometime later this month.
As far as 40 hours goes, I record everything in HQ so it's true you only get about 12 hours of recording time. However a few things to keep in mind...
1. Tivo is not provider dependant. So if you quit Comcast (which sucks where I live anyway) and go with satellite, Tivo and your likes and dislikes can come too.
2. Remote scheduling. I don't know if Comcast boxes offer this or not, but I use this feature everyday with Tivo. Log on to tivo.com and tell your tivo at home to record a show you forgot was on, or if your plans change you can tell tivo what to record while you're out. Greatest. Feature. Ever.
3. Home networking and file transfers. This is also a nice way to organize Tivo from your home PC. and with Tivo-to-go you can back up your shows to additional hard drives elsewhere on your network or archive shows to DVD's playable in any DVD player.
Not to mention all the Tivo hacks out there that allow you to make your cheap $99 40hr Tivo into a 300hr behemoth by swapping hard drives. It will void your warranty but that Tivo is yours to mess with as you please. Who knows what the hell Comcast will do to you if you messed with one of "their" boxes...?
Go with what suits you best. But for me, it's not even a question.
fireball343
CAGiversary!
there is a digital media server option where you can hook up tivo to your computer network.
TiVo rocks!!
we have 400hours of TiVo space to record on
TiVo rocks!!
we have 400hours of TiVo space to record on
whoa, comcast tapes in hd...it just came out in my area...been waiting for 2 years...and no one has answered me if it records and plays in hd tv...I have tivo and love it, but I am upset that i pay $7/month for hd, but never get to use it..someone let me know more about the hd recording on comcast ...the one thing I didn't like about comcast, was the first box was $2more a month then tivo, at $15 for comcast, and if you get a 2nd box it is $18
shrike4242
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 1043 (100%)
[quote name='dschroll']You can tape HBO and any other movie channel with Tivo. I do it all the time.
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.[/quote]
As I own two TiVo's, I wanted to clarify this.
When you have a show on one TiVo that you want to watch on another TiVo, it'd doesn't stream, it copies the program to the TiVo you want to watch it on and starts it playing as it copies.
If there's something I want on the other TiVo, I dump it to the one I'm at, and watch it another time.
And over 802.11B, it's slow to move the shows back and forth. Over Ethernet, it's much quicker. I'd guess over 802.11G or 802.11A, it'll be in-between.
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.[/quote]
As I own two TiVo's, I wanted to clarify this.
When you have a show on one TiVo that you want to watch on another TiVo, it'd doesn't stream, it copies the program to the TiVo you want to watch it on and starts it playing as it copies.
If there's something I want on the other TiVo, I dump it to the one I'm at, and watch it another time.
And over 802.11B, it's slow to move the shows back and forth. Over Ethernet, it's much quicker. I'd guess over 802.11G or 802.11A, it'll be in-between.
[quote name='dschroll']You can tape HBO and any other movie channel with Tivo. I do it all the time.
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.[/quote]
you sure you can tape HBO. I had tivo last summer and it wouldnt record it since TIVO didnt have the rights to record HBO shows
You can't transfer stuff from you Comcast DVR off the DVR unless you have a VCR hooked up to it. Other than replay TV, Tivo is the only other company I know that lets you network your Tivo. Plus, you can network 2 Tivos together so you can stream a program from one to the other....in case you recorded something in the living room and want to watch it in the family room.[/quote]
you sure you can tape HBO. I had tivo last summer and it wouldnt record it since TIVO didnt have the rights to record HBO shows
[quote name='RisingZan'][quote name='tenzor']RisingZan do you have any idea when Tivo-to-go will be out?[/quote]
Sometime later this month.
As far as 40 hours goes, I record everything in HQ so it's true you only get about 12 hours of recording time. However a few things to keep in mind...
1. Tivo is not provider dependant. So if you quit Comcast (which sucks where I live anyway) and go with satellite, Tivo and your likes and dislikes can come too.
2. Remote scheduling. I don't know if Comcast boxes offer this or not, but I use this feature everyday with Tivo. Log on to tivo.com and tell your tivo at home to record a show you forgot was on, or if your plans change you can tell tivo what to record while you're out. Greatest. Feature. Ever.
3. Home networking and file transfers. This is also a nice way to organize Tivo from your home PC. and with Tivo-to-go you can back up your shows to additional hard drives elsewhere on your network or archive shows to DVD's playable in any DVD player.
Not to mention all the Tivo hacks out there that allow you to make your cheap $99 40hr Tivo into a 300hr behemoth by swapping hard drives. It will void your warranty but that Tivo is yours to mess with as you please. Who knows what the hell Comcast will do to you if you messed with one of "their" boxes...?
Go with what suits you best. But for me, it's not even a question.[/quote]
yeah but it won't do HD!
Sometime later this month.
As far as 40 hours goes, I record everything in HQ so it's true you only get about 12 hours of recording time. However a few things to keep in mind...
1. Tivo is not provider dependant. So if you quit Comcast (which sucks where I live anyway) and go with satellite, Tivo and your likes and dislikes can come too.
2. Remote scheduling. I don't know if Comcast boxes offer this or not, but I use this feature everyday with Tivo. Log on to tivo.com and tell your tivo at home to record a show you forgot was on, or if your plans change you can tell tivo what to record while you're out. Greatest. Feature. Ever.
3. Home networking and file transfers. This is also a nice way to organize Tivo from your home PC. and with Tivo-to-go you can back up your shows to additional hard drives elsewhere on your network or archive shows to DVD's playable in any DVD player.
Not to mention all the Tivo hacks out there that allow you to make your cheap $99 40hr Tivo into a 300hr behemoth by swapping hard drives. It will void your warranty but that Tivo is yours to mess with as you please. Who knows what the hell Comcast will do to you if you messed with one of "their" boxes...?
Go with what suits you best. But for me, it's not even a question.[/quote]
yeah but it won't do HD!
hackedfreak
CAGiversary!
[quote name='Amc5kidz']I also have a TiVo. I have the 80 hour with DVD Recorder. It was definitely worth every single penny. When I bought my TiVo they had a deal where I got a free lifetime subscription to the basic service. I use it all the time and it's nice having the guide to see what is on.[/quote]
The bad thing about the lifetime subscript is it's only for the lifetime of the current tivo model if you ever want to buy a newer model the lifetime subscription won't work with the new tivo.
The bad thing about the lifetime subscript is it's only for the lifetime of the current tivo model if you ever want to buy a newer model the lifetime subscription won't work with the new tivo.
Hey Slidecage,
You sure can tape premium channels like HBO on TIVO. No problem. I've been doing it for 2 years. I have a Directv tivo box though. Not the stand alone model. Don't know if that makes a difference. I don't know why it would though. I can record pay per view channels as well.
You sure can tape premium channels like HBO on TIVO. No problem. I've been doing it for 2 years. I have a Directv tivo box though. Not the stand alone model. Don't know if that makes a difference. I don't know why it would though. I can record pay per view channels as well.
[quote name='slidecage']
you sure you can tape HBO. I had tivo last summer and it wouldnt record it since TIVO didnt have the rights to record HBO shows[/quote]
Yep. We get all the movie channels and we are always using Tivo to record them. I have yet to have a problem with it.
Shrike, thanks for the clarification about if it streams or not. I was told it does, but I am glad it copies because that is even better.
you sure you can tape HBO. I had tivo last summer and it wouldnt record it since TIVO didnt have the rights to record HBO shows[/quote]
Yep. We get all the movie channels and we are always using Tivo to record them. I have yet to have a problem with it.
Shrike, thanks for the clarification about if it streams or not. I was told it does, but I am glad it copies because that is even better.
My sister got a tivo for my family for xmas. Its really cool. I like it alot, I'm already watching tons more TV now that I can record and FF the comercials. I haven't had much time to play with everything it does but I think it will change my viewing habits alot. It's worth it in my eyes.
Chris@Volition
CAG Veteran
[quote name='"javeryh"'][quote name='"tenzor"'][quote name='slidecage']
I would also stay far far away from TiVo if there was an option from your cable company...[/quote]
Before I bought my Tivo, I used our cable companies DVR (Motorolla 6408 I believe). The good - it had a 250 gig hd, cost $11/month, and could record HD.
Unfortunately, everything else about it sucked. The biggest hassle was just trying to record the shows you wanted. The DVR didn't have any sort of season pass feature so you had to manually do everything yourself and it took forever to go through the menu's. Simple things like if I came home while a show was recording, I had to manually rewind to the beginning, then watch, and if while I was watching the show ended, the DVR would turn off and I would have to turn it back on start the show again from the beginning, and fastforward to where I was previously.
After 2 months, I gave back the DVR and got an 80 hour Tivo and have been happy ever since. The Tivo isn't perfect either but its head and shoulders about most of the DVR's out there and is well worth the money.
I would also stay far far away from TiVo if there was an option from your cable company...[/quote]
Before I bought my Tivo, I used our cable companies DVR (Motorolla 6408 I believe). The good - it had a 250 gig hd, cost $11/month, and could record HD.
Unfortunately, everything else about it sucked. The biggest hassle was just trying to record the shows you wanted. The DVR didn't have any sort of season pass feature so you had to manually do everything yourself and it took forever to go through the menu's. Simple things like if I came home while a show was recording, I had to manually rewind to the beginning, then watch, and if while I was watching the show ended, the DVR would turn off and I would have to turn it back on start the show again from the beginning, and fastforward to where I was previously.
After 2 months, I gave back the DVR and got an 80 hour Tivo and have been happy ever since. The Tivo isn't perfect either but its head and shoulders about most of the DVR's out there and is well worth the money.
[quote name='StealthySeal']
My question now is... Is data transferable? I want to use the DVR to record episodes of some shows i watch... but tivo tempts me because i can transfer the video to my PC or use the DVDr drive in the new tivo machine...
is there going to be any way to get data off the DVR to anywhere else?[/quote]
I don't think the tivo to go feature will be available to (certain) tivos with a dvd burner built in. the only way to get a dvd burned is through a pc after you transfer the file...even then i think you are restricted to certain codec. I've seen tivo pushing Sonic software or MYDVD...i'm not familiar with it. www.tivo.com/guides
I just got a 40 hour for $99 (after a $100 rebate) from BB. As soon as the ebay seller sends me my network adapter I'll hook up to my network and try it out. I think the tivo to go feature is being rolled out a little at a time. There is a priority list to get on for the roll out... www.tivo.com/priority
My question now is... Is data transferable? I want to use the DVR to record episodes of some shows i watch... but tivo tempts me because i can transfer the video to my PC or use the DVDr drive in the new tivo machine...
is there going to be any way to get data off the DVR to anywhere else?[/quote]
I don't think the tivo to go feature will be available to (certain) tivos with a dvd burner built in. the only way to get a dvd burned is through a pc after you transfer the file...even then i think you are restricted to certain codec. I've seen tivo pushing Sonic software or MYDVD...i'm not familiar with it. www.tivo.com/guides
I just got a 40 hour for $99 (after a $100 rebate) from BB. As soon as the ebay seller sends me my network adapter I'll hook up to my network and try it out. I think the tivo to go feature is being rolled out a little at a time. There is a priority list to get on for the roll out... www.tivo.com/priority
[quote name='Chris@Volition']Before I bought my Tivo, I used our cable companies DVR (Motorolla 6408 I believe). The good - it had a 250 gig hd, cost $11/month, and could record HD.
Unfortunately, everything else about it sucked. The biggest hassle was just trying to record the shows you wanted. The DVR didn't have any sort of season pass feature so you had to manually do everything yourself and it took forever to go through the menu's. Simple things like if I came home while a show was recording, I had to manually rewind to the beginning, then watch, and if while I was watching the show ended, the DVR would turn off and I would have to turn it back on start the show again from the beginning, and fastforward to where I was previously.
After 2 months, I gave back the DVR and got an 80 hour Tivo and have been happy ever since. The Tivo isn't perfect either but its head and shoulders about most of the DVR's out there and is well worth the money.[/quote]
The new models (6412) have addressed a lot of those problems - they have a season pass feature now and it's pretty cool. I also had the 6408 and I wasn't too impressed but now I'm in love. Also, the 6412 is 120G instead of 80G so you can record more shows...
Unfortunately, everything else about it sucked. The biggest hassle was just trying to record the shows you wanted. The DVR didn't have any sort of season pass feature so you had to manually do everything yourself and it took forever to go through the menu's. Simple things like if I came home while a show was recording, I had to manually rewind to the beginning, then watch, and if while I was watching the show ended, the DVR would turn off and I would have to turn it back on start the show again from the beginning, and fastforward to where I was previously.
After 2 months, I gave back the DVR and got an 80 hour Tivo and have been happy ever since. The Tivo isn't perfect either but its head and shoulders about most of the DVR's out there and is well worth the money.[/quote]
The new models (6412) have addressed a lot of those problems - they have a season pass feature now and it's pretty cool. I also had the 6408 and I wasn't too impressed but now I'm in love. Also, the 6412 is 120G instead of 80G so you can record more shows...
shrike4242
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 1043 (100%)
[quote name='slidecage']40 hours is nothing if you plan on recording alot Remember that 40 hours is in the Long play mode (meaning Awful playback) to get a picture that looks like Real TV on a 40 hour model you will be lucky to get 11 1/2 to i think 23 hours (that is the 2 best settings) I myself have a COMCAST DVR with up to 50 hours (depends if your taping
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?
[quote name='shrike4242'][quote name='slidecage']40 hours is nothing if you plan on recording alot Remember that 40 hours is in the Long play mode (meaning Awful playback) to get a picture that looks like Real TV on a 40 hour model you will be lucky to get 11 1/2 to i think 23 hours (that is the 2 best settings) I myself have a COMCAST DVR with up to 50 hours (depends if your taping
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?[/quote]
You forgot the fact that Tivo is cool enough to sell replacement remotes that match translucent blue Xbox controllers! Just what I always needed!
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?[/quote]
You forgot the fact that Tivo is cool enough to sell replacement remotes that match translucent blue Xbox controllers! Just what I always needed!
shrike4242
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 1043 (100%)
[quote name='RisingZan']
You forgot the fact that Tivo is cool enough to sell replacement remotes that match translucent blue Xbox controllers! Just what I always needed![/quote]
Yeah, that too.
You forgot the fact that Tivo is cool enough to sell replacement remotes that match translucent blue Xbox controllers! Just what I always needed![/quote]
Yeah, that too.
tenzor
CAGiversary!
[quote name='shrike4242'][quote name='slidecage']40 hours is nothing if you plan on recording alot Remember that 40 hours is in the Long play mode (meaning Awful playback) to get a picture that looks like Real TV on a 40 hour model you will be lucky to get 11 1/2 to i think 23 hours (that is the 2 best settings) I myself have a COMCAST DVR with up to 50 hours (depends if your taping
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?[/quote]
damn I am leaning back to tivo now after what you just said :?
HDVT 8 hours tops
Reg TV 32 hours tops
Digital tv 50 hours around
Right now i got around 43 hours into my box (93% filled) so i would never go back to TIVO. Plus you cant tape HBO and the other movie channels with a TIVO you can with the COMCAST BOX .. ALSO
TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
I wouldn't touch a cable-company DVR with a ten foot pole. Some reasons:
1) You don't own the box, so you can't do any upgrades to it, like you could with a TiVo. Not an issue with someone who doesn't want to mod it, though when you don't own it, you don't have any control on what happens to it.
2) TiVo, for now, doesn't do any limitations on how long programs can stay on it. Supposedly, they will change that for movies and PPV stuff, which I'm OK with, as long as it is something reasonable. With a company who owns the service and owns the box, you have no idea on what they could do to the box. Zone off 50 hours for their use? Doesn't matter, you don't own it.
3) Most of the DVR solutions put out by the cable companies are bastardized versions of other products. Charter's DVR is a Moxio solution, and the original Moxio solution was an elegant piece of work. Charter's DVR, a complete piece of crap.
4) When I call for support, it's the same people that are lucky they know how to reboot my cable box. When I have a problem with TiVo, I call them, they tell me what's wrong, problem fixed.
5) I can buy a Tivo that allows me to burn shows to DVD without any issues. I can also move them to my PC with TivoToGo. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no. Never happen.
6) I can pass shows back and forth between two TiVo's, plus pull up MP3's and photos from my PC. Cable-provided DVR? Heck no.
7) The TiVo interface is nice and easy to use, it's easy to configured, and it's using modified Linux at its core. Cable-provided DVR, could be Windows Embedded, Linux, something else, who knows.
8) I just don't like the cable company enough to hand them more of my money. Whatever solution you use, you're stuck with them for its use. The TiVo, I can take it anywhere, and I could even get a third one to do over-the-air broadcast recording. Yes, they can do watch one/record one channel on the cable-provided DVR, though why would I want to watch live TV while I could watch it later from the TiVo? I already do watch one pre-recorded show/TiVo two others at the same time, so what's the big whoop?
9) When my TiVo breaks, I can still watch analog and digital cable. When the PVR breaks, nope, can't watch anything.
10) TiVo has been doing this for a few years, this is new territory for the cable companies, and they're only doing it to add revenue and convert the people who don't think Tivo is better.
Should I continue on, or have I been on the soapbox enough today?[/quote]
damn I am leaning back to tivo now after what you just said :?
[quote name='slidecage']TIVO SET UP 100-400 for the box and 12.95 per month
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
XBOX $150 for the box
playstation 1 $15 for the box
so I would stay FAR FAR away from XBOX
...
That is, not all DVRs are equal. TiVo is by far the friendliest and easiest to use. My cable provider offers a DVR that I wouldn't use for free since it's so incredibly annoying and stupid.
COMCAST 0 for the box and 9.95 for the service a month
SO if your cable company has DVR boxes or getting them soon I would stay FAR FAR away from tivo[/quote]
XBOX $150 for the box
playstation 1 $15 for the box
so I would stay FAR FAR away from XBOX
...
That is, not all DVRs are equal. TiVo is by far the friendliest and easiest to use. My cable provider offers a DVR that I wouldn't use for free since it's so incredibly annoying and stupid.
spincut
CAGiversary!
"the only way it can record HD is with a DirecTV box and that's $1,000 plus you need a DirecTV subscription... if you aren't worried about HD then I say go for it! "
firstly this is wrong, i'm getting a DVR hooked up in my parents house from Time Warner that records HD for no more than the regular.
and i own a Tivo from Directv, and it's very good, my only gripe would be for some reason directtv is being a bitch and not letting us get the ethernet/usb/tivotogo features the regular tivo box customers are, that's just stupid.
and no matter how good a deal comcast is (i still think an 80GB dual tuner direct tv box with 5 bucks a month is great) it's a locational thing, not nearly everyone has comcast available in their area, they would either have a different cable provider or directv available to them.
firstly this is wrong, i'm getting a DVR hooked up in my parents house from Time Warner that records HD for no more than the regular.
and i own a Tivo from Directv, and it's very good, my only gripe would be for some reason directtv is being a bitch and not letting us get the ethernet/usb/tivotogo features the regular tivo box customers are, that's just stupid.
and no matter how good a deal comcast is (i still think an 80GB dual tuner direct tv box with 5 bucks a month is great) it's a locational thing, not nearly everyone has comcast available in their area, they would either have a different cable provider or directv available to them.
bread's done