Buzz Out Loud Lounge: TiVo vs. Cable DVR
TiVo is not greedy
by rbruce1 - 12/7/06 6:05 AM In reply to: Tivo smokes Cable DVR's, but ............ by CheleNot any more gredy than any other for-profit company--they are in the business to make money. We shouldn't be begrudge them for that. TiVo simply has a flawed business model. People call them greedy because they love the TiVo experience but can't stomach the cost. Unfortunately, $200 wouldn't cover the cost of the hardware for the Series3, let alone the costs of software/hardware R&D. Don't they have the right to make $?
DVR Sony vs Comcast
by russ666 - 12/10/06 9:47 AM In reply to: TiVo is not greedy by rbruce1i was considering getting a comcast settop box. i have a Sony DVR which works well enough but thought i might be missing something. Now, in reading all these posts, i see that all i am missing is the usual comcast double speak. On balance, i think i will just wait for 2008 and what comes next. PS why is TV Guide wrong about what Comcast will be broadcasting in my area (zip-code) about 20% of the time. Even the Comcast printed viewing guide (which i pay for and receive monthly) is dead wrong about 20% of the time about what is going to be coming on. The only reliable guide i have found is the one from Yahoo. Go Figure.
G H
Another TiVo vs. Comcast DVR comparison
by tony7896 - 1/28/07 10:49 PM In reply to: TiVo vs. Cable DVR by MelbaMoI'm one of those people that have both a Series 2 TiVo and a cable company DVR. The DVR is a Comcast Motorola high def box that I've had for 2 years. The Comcast DVR recently got a major software update that did successfully fix many of the problems. The big thing is that it never (knock on wood) crashes, while it used to crash all the time. Crashing is a big deal with those boxes because it takes 12-48 hours to recover the program guide, so this is a welcome fix. The other fixes were minor but valuable user interface improvements.
Aside from that I don't have anything to add about the comparison between the boxes. I like the DVR because the quality is better. The rest of my family find the DVR user interface infuriating and don't understand why I keep it. They love the TiVo. The one problem in their minds is that it can only record one program at a time. That's a biggy. I don't want to shell out the big bucks to upgrade to one of the dual tuner Series 2 boxes or an HD TiVo, so I make do with my DVR/TiVo combo.
I Love My Cable DVR
by lilnyc - 4/15/07 10:20 AM In reply to: Another TiVo vs. Comcast DVR comparison by tony7896I don't understand the TiVo craze, sue me. I subscribed to the cable company's DVR service (Time Warner Cable - NYC) years ago, and I have been very happy. Initially I simply couldn't afford the THEN $300 Tivo box + $300 lifetime service. Now I can, but I don't want to. The cable DVR box (HD version now) does all that I want it to (playback controls, search, season pass) plus it allows the recording of two shows while watching a pre-recorded third. Tivo has tried to catch up by allowing the recording of two shows, but the fine print indicates the limitations that frankly, the cable DVR does not have. So no, I can't set up a remote recording, and I really love that part about Tivo. I have learned about a show that I would love to have set my DVR to record, but oh well, without the remote feature, I have to hope it re-runs. But other than that...my cable DVR doesn't have compeition for MY needs. It's perfect.
what happens when you tivo breaks?
by robstak - 4/15/07 2:21 PM In reply to: I Love My Cable DVR by lilnycLove my time warner SA 8300HD. and if it breaks i just replace it for free...
u tivo lovers sound whiney and defensive. i bet u all have macs :P
poorer interface, but greater features
by 22.smith - 4/15/07 9:21 PM In reply to: what happens when you tivo breaks? by robstakI recently got a Comcast Motorola HD-DVR. I kept the Tivo and put it on another TV to compare the two service for a while. I don't use the Tivo at all anymore, and my wife (a diehard Tivo fan) just conceded that she wants to get rid of the Tivo and get another Comcast DVR.
The Tivo interface is better, but being a winner in only that one category wears thin after a while. The comcast box is $11.00 a month, so aside from being cheaper, it does HD, has two tuners, and has way more capacity than the single-tuner Tivo series 2 box it replaced. Sure, the Tivo interface is better, but I got over than pretty quickly. The Comcast box is better in almost every other way. After a month, no crashes, no missed recordings, nothing really wonky. I'm not looking to switch back to Tivo anytime soon.
I got my parents the Tivo
by gblong23 - 6/30/07 5:09 PM In reply to: poorer interface, but greater features by 22.smithWe were looking for a gift for my parents and wanted to get them a DVR. They have Time Warner Cable, but not the digital package. They tape a lot of shows on their VCR. I just got the time Warner DVR and it works well for what we use it for. The DVR came pretty poorly packaged with a remote and power cord. Nothing else. Being pretty computer literate, I was able to figure it out OK. My parents on the other hand are pretty computer illiterate. We bought the Tivo series 2 which is able to record two show at once and had a 1 year subscription, The unit was 'refurbished' but looked new to me. It came with a great manual and a whole bunch of different cords. Basically I was very impressed. My dad ran through the set up guide after installing it and I really am considering returning the Time Warner box and getting a Tivo Myself. The refurbished unit can be had for $50 and the yearly subscription fee is actually $1.00 less per month than what we pay Time Warner. If you have the digital cable, then you have to pay $7.00 to Time Warner for the cable box.
Windows User Here
by nelsondr - 1/13/08 8:58 PM In reply to: what happens when you tivo breaks? by robstakTiVo fan boy and Windows user here. Just a question for you. What happens when your TV breaks? The cable company won't replace it for free.
It's just fact of life that things are going to eventually break. I've had my Series2 for about 2 years now, and no problem with it yet. If it breaks it won't be a big deal since I've already upgrades to a Series3 when I got my HDTV about 4 months ago. Hopefully before anything goes wrong with my Series3 there will be a new better one that I have already upgraded. If not, I'll do the same thing I did when the mother board on my desktop died. I'll buy a new one.
Dish Network DVR (am I missing something?)
by Snerd1ey - 7/2/07 6:32 AM In reply to: TiVo vs. Cable DVR by MelbaMoI've been using Dish Networks' two tuner DVR and I LOVE it. (Granted, it's standard def, but I've not allowed myself to be spoiled with HD yet.) I notice absolutely zero compression artifacts, recordings seem 100% as good as the original broadcast. Scheduling and conflict resolution work 100% as expected, I've never missed a show, or had it shut off unexpectantly, etc.
I've had no problems with the interface. In fact, I've tried friend's Tivo's and I am underwhelmed:
Tivo doesn't SKIP commercials, it fast forwards through them. I know that's a configurable option, but I believe it defaults that way.
I think compression is better on DISH too, It's clear, where the Tivo seemed blocky in fast moving scenes. I understand tivo can be adjusted to save space at the expense of quality, but who would use the high compression if it looks like cell phone video?
Of course, Dish only charges $5.98 for DVR, but you save $5/mo on the second tuner, so it's only 98cents a month, vs what? $13/month for Tivo?
Oh, and it's nice not to be spied on what I watch and rewind, as far as I know. If I'm wrong, please enlighten me. We all know Tivo tracks that information (Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction).
About the only thing that bugs me is you can't switch recordings from one tuner to another on the fly, to free up a tuner on the set you are watching. But then, as far as I know, tivo doesn't do that either.
You all complain about non-tivo DVR's being so crappy, but I don't see it with Dish. So, what am I missing? Why would I want Tivo over Dish? Has anyone else got Tivo-Dish experience?
-S
4 operations at one time?
by Snerd1ey - 7/2/07 6:50 AM In reply to: Dish Network DVR (am I missing something?) by Snerd1eyDid I mention I can record 2 programs while simultaneously watching two recorded shows? I don't know if Tivo can do that, but a previous post suggested Tivo was having problems with one playback and two recordings. My Dish dvr doesn't skip a beat doing all 4 operations at once (unless I'm over 85-90 hours on the hard drive, then fragmentation causes problems, but that's to be expected).
Re: 4 operations at one time?
by pritikinfamily - 12/16/07 1:05 AM In reply to: 4 operations at one time? by Snerd1eyWhy in the world would you want to watch 2 things at the SAME time? That's like the stupid Comcast Central feature that you get with the Motorola DVr's (even though I have comcast digital cable and a comcast DVR). It doesn't make much sense. It's like being in a movie theatre and watching "American Gangster" and "I Am Legend" at the same time. It doesn't make sense because your attention is being divided, and it is stressful.
that was my point.
Economics of TiVo vs. Cable DVR (for HD)
by alpate - 1/1/08 10:40 PM In reply to: TiVo vs. Cable DVR by MelbaMoI'm kind of tired of reading posts casually stating that TiVo is more expensive than Cable DVR rental - this is just not true in my area - Houston, TX for HD. A TiVo HD can be had online for $271.88 (shipping and tax included). Purchase a 3 year subscription for $299, for a total up-front cost of $570.88. You'll need to re-up $299 every 3 years for the TiVo. A multichannel CableCard is free from Comcast, and gives you 2 tuners in the DVR.
Comcast rents the *FIRST* HD DVR for $12.95/mo + sales tax = $14.08/mo (assuming you have no other cable set-top boxes). Any additional HD DVRs will add on a 'cable converter' cost of $7.49/mo, for a total after tax cost of $22.22/mo.
Now, I've owned my current TiVo Series 2 with no problems for nearly 6 years, so I can easily imagine a 6 year life.
Tivo 6-year total cost: $869.88
Comcast DVR 6-year total cost: $1,013.75 (if it's your only cable box)
Comcast DVR 6-year total cost: $1,600.08 (if it's not your only cable box)
In my case, the Comcast DVR is nearly DOUBLE the cost of TiVo. Plus, I get all of the added benefits of being able to copy and view shows on my PC, burn DVDs of shows, play music from my PC's media library on my home theater sound system, view photos from my PC on my TV, etc.
Since I'm looking at adding 5 HDs, TiVo saves me close to $4,000 over a 6 year life.
The only downside is if the TiVo breaks. This would most likely be a crashed hard disk, which can be replaced for much less than the cost difference.
The only other option (other than satellite) is buying a Windows Media Center PC with ATI's new Cablecard TV tuner, but the cheapest PC properly equipped with 2 tuners would run over $1,300.
I made my own DVR
by joedelco - 1/14/08 12:01 PM In reply to: Economics of TiVo vs. Cable DVR (for HD) by alpateI hated Insight's DVR, even though it was a dual tuner, and I didn't want to spend money on a Tivo so I took an old Pentium 4 1.8GHz, slapped a couple Hauppauge tuners in it, got a cheap video card with S-video out, bought a software package called BeyondTV (they threw in a free RF remote), and connected it to my entertainment center.
I didn't need to upgrade the hard drive because 80GB is good enough for 30 hours of programming even at the "Better" quality setting and the software is incredible!
The only down side is that I can't get a digital signal decoded on my computer by itself, so I will eventually be required to rent a couple tuner boxes from the cable company to get the digital signal unscrambled and tuned it, then my home made DVR will be able to record it. It will be a little bit of a hassle that I will need to decide if it is worth it when the time comes.
ATTN Guidemaker Dave
by mementh - 1/6/08 3:12 PM In reply to: TiVo vs. Cable DVR by MelbaMoFrom a fellow comcast rep,
Is the TIVO better on recording the shows and remembering it has recorded a program and been watched?? I understand the tivo will track that and no record duplicates (because it has a better guide or is smarter)
Yup, it's a setting
by milkky - 1/7/08 6:09 AM In reply to: ATTN Guidemaker Dave by mementhYou can tell it to record only new, new + repeats, or all episodes including duplicates (I assume that goes across all channels, tho I've never used it).
There're some parameters (last I came across it months ago) which can still get the wrong results--if a show is repeated after x number of days have passed, it will not be assessed as having been recorded ever. So it does not appear that the TiVo uses the guide data as to whether something is new or a repeat. I've assumed it is an internal personalized dbase of the unit's history, tho I have no real basis for that. Easy enough to check--just delete a season pass and start over--does it re-record stuff that the previous pass was going to skip?
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