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Thread: TiVo

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Back in Vegas... again.

    TiVo

    It seems we haven't had a good TiVo discussion for a while, so I thought I'd bring it up.

    I have Charter Cable, and they are the WORST, and I've had Time Warner before. Tonight I canceled my home phone service, because they couldn't match the deal I had for the last year when it was essentially free (student on a budget and all). Anyway, the next step is that I'm going to cancel my DVR service and turn in my DVR boxes. It would appear that getting a cable card from Charter + a TiVo will cost about the same for the first year (accounting for the cost of the box), but then save at least $20/month in the following years.

    I'm curious what people think of TiVo when used in this manner. Any comments?

    I'm also looking into DirectTV but I'm not sure the HOA where I live allows dishes.

    I'd kick Charter totally to the curb if it wasn't for the fact that I need internet service...

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    I moved. Now 12 miles from Heaven, 13 from Hell
    I don't know about TiVo but your HOA cannot deny you the right to install a dish...

    http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-r...n-devices-rule

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    I'll be honest -- if you had told me that Tivo no longer existed, I would not have been surprised. Everyone I know now uses a DVR through their receiver/TV company. I had no idea Tivo was still an option.

    --Jason "amazing that about half a decade ago this product was a must-have for any technology person and I now know almost no one who has one" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    I'll be honest -- if you had told me that Tivo no longer existed, I would not have been surprised. Everyone I know now uses a DVR through their receiver/TV company. I had no idea Tivo was still an option.

    --Jason "amazing that about half a decade ago this product was a must-have for any technology person and I now know almost no one who has one" Evans
    I guess the Tebow Tivo ads haven't been working on you.

    Tivo just released a new model, the Roamio. It allows you to stream recorded programs remotely, includes a bunch of tuners, and is a bit quicker in the menus. https://www.tivo.com/shop/roamio The pricing seems pretty high though. I'm not sure how anyone will be saving money in year two over a cable co DVR. Even with the Lifetime sub, it'd take 3 years to break even with my $20/mo MultiRoom DVR and I would only see $5 savings/mo in year 4. And this is with the low end $199 model.

    Also, yes, an HOA can't forbid satellite dishes.
    "Something in my vicinity is Carolina blue and this offends me." - HPR

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    I'll be honest -- if you had told me that Tivo no longer existed, I would not have been surprised. Everyone I know now uses a DVR through their receiver/TV company. I had no idea Tivo was still an option.

    --Jason "amazing that about half a decade ago this product was a must-have for any technology person and I now know almost no one who has one" Evans
    I still have a Tivo and I LOVE it. It's actually quite a bit cheaper than a DVR would be through my cable company and the usability, functions, and storage capacity are so much better. Through Comcast/Xfinity, they charge something like $17 in my area for an HD DVR with a capacity of about 25 hours of HD programming. My Series 3 Tivo HD XL, which I got about 5 years ago and is still working great, costs me $6.95/month and holds 250 hours of HD programming. So, I save $120/year with a device that holds 10x the hours and is infinitely more user friendly and effective. I bought the device new on eBay for like $200. (Note that the new Tivo's monthly charges are a bit higher now.) I got a free dual-tuner CableCard from Comcast that I just popped in to the Tivo, so it serves as my cable box and I have no additional equipment.

    I work with technology and often attempt to optimize usability so I can certainly appreciate that Tivo is MUCH better designed and implemented than Comcast's equivalent. Searching, storing programs, Tivo suggestions, fast forwarding, going back 30 seconds, remote features, etc. are just all so much better in my mind. Even the fast forward on a Comcast DVR is nowhere near as good and precise - I realize you get used to what you have and make do, but Tivo just blows it out of the water in my mind.

    Ok, that's enough of my cheerleading for Tivo. It's obviously an uphill battle for them from a business perspective since cable companies now offer convenient alternatives - one company in my area has actually teamed up with Tivo and offers them for its customers as the "standard" DVR choice. I personally recommend Tivo to everybody is its not cost prohibitive. It saves me money...

  6. #6
    Directv has a combo receiver/tivo box that is HD. We love it. My wife can't stand the directv dvr's interface, so we stick with tivos. My dad has the FIOS dvr, but she doesn't like that one either.

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