Any differences between regular TiVo and the TiVo/DirecTV combo?

[ead79]

I have a regular stand-alone TiVo (and love it!), and my parents are choosing between a stand-alone TiVo and a DirecTV receive with built-in TiVo. Are there any differences between the two? Does the DirecTV/TiVo combo have all the same features as regular TiVo (e.g. Wish Lists, Season Passes, TiVo's Suggestions, etc.)? Any advantages/disadvantages either way?

 

[stinkerbelle]

We have DirecTV with Tivo.
I assume your parents already have DirecTV or are planning on getting it? (satellite/etc..)

Yes, the set ups are the same - some variations in the remote, but all the options are the same.

And this is something new I learned from a friend. (probably an advantage of DirecTV w/ tivo)

We have a 40 hour box as does he and he was complaining that it never stored more then 20 or so hours. (he has regular cable.)

apparently - DirecTV satellites transmits in mpeg format (or something like that) and it's stored at mpeg. cable is analog, so the 'show' must be converted to mpeg...and you have 'qualities' to record at - the higher the quality, the more space it takes up on the HD. (so 20 hours of TV would take up 40 hours of space.)

we LOVE our Tivo. We ran a second line from our satellite so that we can record 2 shows at once (or watch on, record another). We're actually getting a second Tivo for our bedroom. (yes we watch too much TV)

oh - another plus with DirecTV w/ Tivo. It's a flat charge a month added to our DirecTV bill...I think it's $5...and we don't pay ANY extra for additional receivers. (so when we get the second tivo, we won't have to pay any more a month for the system.)

the DirecTV w/ tivo boxes are relatively inexpensive..we bought ours in March (a Phillips) for $100...I think DH said they are around $80ish now?

hope that helped!

 

[Dan Murphy]

We have TiVo/DirecTv combo, Elisabeth (very much based on you, LOL, and your liking it so much). It has all the same, the only thing is it that the unit is a 40 hour, which is more than enough.

 

[ChristmasElf]

We also have Direct TV with Tivo. I don't know how I ever lived without it! LOL
What I love about it, was last night I forgot CSI had started, so at 9:06 I hit the record button. The unit went back to 9 pm and started the show from the begining for me.
So I was able to see the 6 previous minutes I would have missed.

I also like the fact that it will tape 2 shows at the same time.
Another benefit is fast forwarding through the commercials.

 

[ead79]

Sounds like it's pretty much the exact same as stand-alone TiVo. Sounds like it will work well for my parents. They have DirecTV already, and one of their receivers broke, so they think they will just get a TiVo/receiver combo and get the best of both worlds.

Glad you like your TiVo, Dan! I LOVE mine (I'm thinking of asking for a second TiVo for Christmas, LOL!).