Tivo

[disney junky]

Don't even know if that's the right way to write that. What is Tivo. Is it something you by separately from your cable or is it available through your cable supplier?

 

[sbell111]

It is a separate piece of equipment.

TiVo is a maker of DVRs. Regular DVRs are simply the replacement of our old VCRs. Instead of recording to tape, they have a hard drive which holds all your recorded shows. TiVo takes it a step further by having teh machine download the VT schedule for the next few weeks. This allows you to easily see what's on and figure out what you want to record. The machine will also record other programs that it thinks that you might enjoy watching.

You can also go online to schedule the shows to be recorded. You can transfer shows to other TiVo boxes in your household and watch them on your PC or mobile device. You can also rent videos through NetFlix (and Amazon?) right through your TiVo box.

You can pause and rewind live TV. Set it up to record all eps of your favorite show. Probably lots of stuff that I can't think of right now.

 

[LoraJ]

Correct, you can rent (or buy) through amazon and it will download to your TiVo.

You can also record more than one show at a time. I can actually record two HD shows at a time whike the DVR we have from the cable company cannot. also the DVR from Comcast only has 15 hours of HD storage and my TiVo comes with 150 and has a port for an expansion drive.


The only minus with my TiVo HD DVR is that I can no longer access the cable companies On Demand. I just use it on another TV. The SD TiVo's can use the on demand though.

 

[RangerPooh]

Tivo also requires a monthly subscription service, I don't recall the amount that we are paying now but for the longest time (until the last year) we were paying less than $10 a month, but we also signe dup for our service back in 2002. Personally I love our Tivo! I think that it's better than the DVR that you can rent through the cable company as it allows more storage. The downside is what the PP mentioned, you cannot access the On Demand feature on the tv that it's hooked up to.

 

[Jennasis]

Tivo bblows DVR out of the water...and if our stinkin' DirectTV satellite hadn't stopped being compatible with Tivo, we'd still have one. Stupid DirectTV. Stupid DVR.

I miss my Tivo.

 

[tasha99]

My favorite feature is the ability to transfer a recorded show onto your computer (to make a home dvd if you want one) or transfer an .avi file off your computer onto the tivo.

 

[dakcp2001]

Tivo has changed my life! iT IS THE BEST INVENTION EVER!!! Once you have it, you will never go back! Dvr is almost as good.

You never have to be on time for your show again, you never have to sit through annoying commercials if you dont want to. You can watch your fav show on your own time! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

It really has changed television. Best thing since sliced bread!!

 

[MinnieTink]

Tivo bblows DVR out of the water...and if our stinkin' DirectTV satellite hadn't stopped being compatible with Tivo, we'd still have one. Stupid DirectTV. Stupid DVR.

I miss my Tivo.

I totally agree! We even miss the little sounds Tivo used to make. Dopey Direct tv DVR!

 

[bicker]

TiVo takes it a step further by having teh machine download the VT schedule for the next few weeks. This allows you to easily see what's on and figure out what you want to record. The machine will also record other programs that it thinks that you might enjoy watching.

TiVo also lets you set up Season Passes, which record every episode of a series, or just the new episodes of a series. TiVo also offers the ability to record programs based on the results of keyword searches: For example, one of my TiVo's records all Travel-related programs that have the word "Disney" in their description.

You can also go online to schedule the shows to be recorded.

Yes, TiVo also lets you do most of these programming activities directly online, so you can schedule recordings from vacation, for example. You can also view your DVR's To Do List and recording programs list from the web.

You can transfer shows to other TiVo boxes in your household and watch them on your PC or mobile device. You can also rent videos through NetFlix (and Amazon?) right through your TiVo box.

Yes, Amazon. You can even purchase videos on Amazon, and they'll magically appear on your TiVo a few hours later. Also, you can surf YouTube on your TiVo.

TiVo is really a premiere DVR option for folks, better than your cable company DVR in most ways, though it even pays for itself eventually. However, the break-even point is typically about 3-4 years, and the costs for TiVo are very-much front-loaded. Also, if something goes wrong with your TiVo after the warranty period, you pay for the repair (while with your cable company DVR, you just swap the bad DVR out for a good one).

 

[bicker]

Tivo also requires a monthly subscription service

That's not necessarily the case any longer. You can purchase lifetime service when you purchase your TiVo.

 

[padams]

Tivo is one of man's greatest inventions.

 

[Dan Murphy]

After reading about Tivo here over the years, (years back), we went the Tivo route, and have three Series 3 HD units. They are fabulous. Good for a TV junkie, or, like me, one who watches little, but selected TV. DW Marie loves them. Tivo is great.

A good background.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiVo

 

[KAMLEM]

Comcast offers TIVO service on their DVR's. They have to come out and install it. We got it about a month ago and had them come take it off a week later, it was awful. Everything was so slow, it was very frustrating. The menus were not very intuitive, either. I think it's very different than when you buy the actual TIVO unit, though. I definitely wouldn't recommend getting it through Comcast.

 

[Sanchez]

TiVo is really a premiere DVR option for folks, better than your cable company DVR in most ways, though it even pays for itself eventually. However, the break-even point is typically about 3-4 years, and the costs for TiVo are very-much front-loaded. Also, if something goes wrong with your TiVo after the warranty period, you pay for the repair (while with your cable company DVR, you just swap the bad DVR out for a good one).

Just curious . . .we used to have TiVO and switched to DirectTV a few years ago. We are satisfied with the DVR service. What makes TiVo the better option?

 

[dakcp2001]

Just curious . . .we used to have TiVO and switched to DirectTV a few years ago. We are satisfied with the DVR service. What makes TiVo the better option?

It is hard to explain if you havent used both but Tivo is just "smarter" in many ways, and much more user friendly. The warnings about booking too many shows to record at the same time are more obvious, and you get to choose which one it will not record (my dvr just decides based on when I selected my season pass, so the "ratings" of how much I value a show are more of a pain to control on the dvr) On the tivo if you pause something, if you go too long (I think it pauses for 30 min or an hour) when it resumes, it resumes where you paused it, my DVR resumes at the "real time" of the show, therefore you miss the whole paused half hour. This irks me a lot, cuz I will pause to answer the phone or go check email and get caught up.

Tivo organizes you shows and movies better, and the graphics make things easier to see. DVR is ok, but it is not even close to Tivo, Tivo is the BEST!


MinnieTink and Jennasis- DTV still supports their old DTV TIVO boxes if you can get your hands on one of those. I just gave my old one to my sister, she had to pay for them to "activate" or install it and she has to pay the dvr fee, but it is Tivo, not DTVDVR. People who had them got grandfathered or something, but they still support the Tivo DTV box they jsut dont sell it.

 

[bicker]

Comcast offers TIVO service on their DVR's.

Note that this is only in certain areas.

I think it's very different than when you buy the actual TIVO unit, though.

Yes it absolutely isn't really the same as having a "real" TiVo. For example, you cannot readily replace the hard drive inside to (as I have) get three or four more times as much storage than the box originally came with. However, it is a good mid-range option, when it is available to you.

 

[bicker]

TiVo is really a premiere DVR option for folks, better than your cable company DVR in most ways

Just curious . . .we used to have TiVO and switched to DirectTV a few years ago. We are satisfied with the DVR service. What makes TiVo the better option?

Well, first, the comment you're referring to was presented in a different context, i.e., "better than your cable company DVR in most ways". DirecTV is a satellite television service.

Furthermore, and most importantly, DirecTV restricts their service to only host devices that they specifically offer for rental/sale. Effectively, you cannot go into a store, or go online, and buy a TiVo HD DVR, or buy a Moxi HD DVR, or buy an ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner for your PC, and hook it up to DirecTV service. DirecTV (and Dish Network as well) secure their offered services using proprietary encryption, and do not support anything like the open-cable mechanism that cable companies are required to use by law. The satellite services sought and obtained waivers from the law, very early on, specifically because they were new, weak competitors in the marketplace. Unfortunately for consumers, the FCC has not yet taken action to revoke the waiver, now that DirecTV (at least) is a strong company with over 18 million subscribers.

So effectively, the TiVo HD DVR is not an option for DirecTV and DirecTV is not an option for the TiVo HD DVR.

However, DirecTV used to provide a TiVo for use with their service -- it was known as the "DirecTiVo". It was a subscriber favorite, and many DirecTV subscribers were very upset with DirecTV refused to stick with TiVo for the HD DVR offerings. Luckily, DirecTV has changed their mind, and have been working with TiVo for over a year, on a new DirecTiVo DVR.

 

[KAMLEM]

Yes it absolutely isn't really the same as having a "real" TiVo. For example, you cannot readily replace the hard drive inside to (as I have) get three or four more times as much storage than the box originally came with. However, it is a good mid-range option, when it is available to you.

I hated it, I think the Comcast DVR is much better without the TIVO installed. The guy that uninstalled it for me said that most people aren't happy with it. Too bad the guy who installed it originally didn't tell me that.

 

[bicker]

It did suck when it came out, but they've since worked out most of the kinks.

It still isn't as good as a "real" TiVo.

 

[ead79]

Count me in as another TiVo fan! I have Comcast, but I have a "real" TiVo HD DVR, not the one that comes with a Comcast cable box.

TiVo has so much great functionality that regular DVRs lack, and it's easy to use and navigate. It has honestly changed the way I watch TV for the better. It's a product that really lives up to all the hype.