Looking for comments on TiVo....

[RadioNate]

LOVE LOVE LOVE my TiVo. Can not live without it!

We just got HD TV and lost our TiVo branded DVR to the High Def receiver + DVR.

I HATE it. I want my Tivo back. The FF is slow and jumpy. There is no thumbs up/thumbs down or suggestions. DH was the one who really wanted HD TV. I'm seriously considering buying another TV and added 2 more lines into another room so I can use my old TiVo!

 

[Jillpie]

ok thanks, but what happens to the stuff your missing while your watching the recorded stuff while you were in the bathroom? wow, I'm not even sure if I understand my question

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

We have a DVD recorder with a hard disk drive (HDD) and it does much the same thing, no monthly fees though. Easy to set up, can pause live shows and can start watching if you arrive late. Can copy to the DVD if it is something you want. Has pic in pic picture too. I love my DVD recorder/HDD!

 

[MareQ]

Anyone have this? I am considering it....I am looking for comments on TiVo.
Thanks!
(My tv service -Comcast - has a waiting list for their DVR )

Watching TV WITHOUT one is pretty darn annoying for me now. Best gadget invented IMO

 

[MareQ]

Thank you everyone for these explanations. I'm still a little confused about coming into a program half way thru. Ok, (remember, VCR is still in my mind, so hard to get out of it) So you come in at 9:30, show started at 9, I get that you can start watching it and FF the commercials, so when you get thru with the first half without commercials, it is now 10:00 and you can watch the rest?

And this live thing confuses the heck out of me. Why can't I get it?? You pause it and it starts recording, yes? You come back from the bathroom, you watch the recorded part and what happens to the part that you are now missing because you're watching the recorded part? I feel like a little kid trying to understand how to spell or something!

The Tivo keeps a constant 30 minutes of recording history. When you change a channel it starts over again and will keep 30 minutes of that history. So you can change the channel - hit pause - get up and walk around for 30 minutes and then come back and hit play. You can only fast forward through commercials if you are watching on delay or have recorded it.

It's not nearky as complicated as it sounds.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Jillpie, it's hard to imagine when you aren't actually using the unit. Have you gone to www.tivo.com and looked at the site? That might help explain, too. Since you're not taping a show, but instead recording it onto the TiVo's recorder, it works differently. One thing that I love is the ability to replay when watching live tv (when not recording or watching a recorded show). You miss what was said? No problem, rewind (or hit the little button that takes you back a certain number of seconds, which I always forget about...) and you can watch it over. The telephone rings or someone is at the door? Not a problem--just pause it. That's all for live tv, which I didn't really understand the advantage of before getting the unit.

If you came into a 9PM show at 9:15 and FF through the commercials, you'd end it at about 10PM, the time the show really gets over. If you came in at 9:05, before long you'd "catch up" to the recorded show and you wouldn't be able to FF since you'd be watching in live time (with a second or 2 delay). If you come in at 9:30, you would end the show after 10PM. If you have another show that is recording at 10PM, it will automatically start recording that show, and when you are done watching show A, you can then watch show B if you desire.

Wow, looking at the TiVo site--it's $30 for the dual tuner 80 hour box? That's great! With a 3 year plan, that's a little over $400 (or you can go monthly if you don't want the upfront cost). The 180 hour box, which is what we have, costs $130. Remember, like has been mentioned, you only get those hours of you record on the lowest quality, which we've found to be a little fuzzy. We use high quality normally.


Carapooh--research is done--180 hour box, dual tuner! Go for it! I'll let you decide on 3 years upfront or the monthly plan. Of course you might also want the 80 hour box for a second tv once you get used to one unit--just remember they do give a discount for multi-service (I just looked it up--it's $6.95/ea for boxes 2-6 in a household).

 

[NMAmy]

Okay--here's my question. I have Comcast digital cable now--can I use Tivo with it or do I have to use the Comcast DVR? (Which, thanks to this thread, I've learned is VASTLY inferior! )

 

[Jillpie]

ok, I think I'm getting it! thanks everyone!

 

[katerkat]

You said the "free" on sucks. Ummm, you mean the free one you get at TiVo.com or Free from Comcast. The basic model with TiVo.com is free.....
The next step up model is $30 (again at TiVo.com)......

Thanks!~

Ours was "free" from Best Buy - it was $200 and we got a $100 rebate from BB and $100 rebate from Tivo. This was almost two years ago, so it's a 40-hour Series 2 single tuner. Looks about the same (but half the space) of the free one on the Tivo website. I would at LEAST get the $30 box to record two shows at once. I had to make the choice between Survivor and Earl/Office this season.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Ours was "free" from Best Buy - it was $200 and we got a $100 rebate from BB and $100 rebate from Tivo. This was almost two years ago, so it's a 40-hour Series 2 single tuner. Looks about the same (but half the space) of the free one on the Tivo website. I would at LEAST get the $30 box to record two shows at once. I had to make the choice between Survivor and Earl/Office this season.

Prayers and pixie dust.

I agree about the Dual tuner 80 hour box. And that's only if there's 1-2 people using it and you'll be good about erasing the shows and not using it for storage. You're better off having more storage than you'll think you'll need. At least that's how we justified the 180 hour one for our second box.