subgeek's Journal: dvr, pvr, whatever you want to call them

time warner cable had some crappy prices for their service so we switched to wow internet and cable several months ago. both services use the same scientific atlanta dvr boxes. the software wow uses is vastly inferior in almost every area. it seems time warner is finally willing to offer reasonable pricing so we're thinking of switching back. the price would be about the same, it would only be to get a somewhat functional dvr.

so i decided to check prices on a tivo just for comparison. looks like the TiVo TCD649080 Series2 80 Hour Dual Tuner Digital Video Recorder (caps from cut & paste) is about $215 right now with a $150 rebate. wait. i just checked tivo's site and it looks like it's only $30 from tivo.

my questions to you all is this: is tivo better than the other offerings out there? is this model worth having? does anybody want to add anything else to the subject?

i sense some of you are going to suggest building a myth tv box. please consider that both cost and features are important. it looks like most decent tuner cards will cost more than the tivo box (at least with current promotions), but that may or may not be outweighed by the monthly fee.

Tivo

[gmhowell]

I have always found the TiVo interface MUCH easier to navigate than the PVR that my parents got from Comcast with their digital cable. YMMV.

Re:

[FortKnox]

TiVo will change your life. Its easier to use, the most mature thing out there, and if you use it right, it'll tape things it 'thinks' you'll like and you'll find more shows you enjoy.

I still have my 14 hour TiVo (the first type they created)... granted its a 120 hour TiVo after some hacking, but still, I've had TiVo since the beginning... feelf ree to ask me anything about it.

Re:

[Em Emalb]

what he said.

I've had several friends switch from Comcact to Tivo, after checking out my tivo compared to their DVR.

It's teh g0de.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[nizo]

I want a tivo. Now all I need to figure out is how to get the scifi channel without paying for a pile o' stuff I don't want before Battlestar Galactica fires back up this fall.

Tivo

[ryanr]

It's only going to get the analog channels, right? It won't be able to pick up the digital cable stuff? Unless you use an IR blaster to let it chnage the cable box, or you can shove your cablecard in the Tivo, etc.... anyway, have you looked into that bit?

Re:

[subgeek]

it says on the product page [tivo.com] that it can record two basic cable channels or one basic and one digital channel at the same time. i assume that means it can understand the digital portion of the broadcast. if you have evidence to the contrary i'd be thankful so i know what's involved.

Re:

[ryanr]

I was thinking at least partly of this:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/time-warner-won t-provide-cablecards-for-series-3-tivos/ [engadget.com]

And this kinda confirms what I was thinking:
http://archive.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/history/t opic/182179-1.html [tivocommunity.com]
Which makes it sound like the Tivo has to use your cable box to change the channel to the digital station, and you can't change it away while it's recording, otherwise it will just record what you changed it to.

The reason I ask is that I ASSume that the Tvio-like boxes

TW Cable

[Pirogoeth]

While the pricing sucks, I'd say I'm very pleased with the software in the SA8200 (I think) box that I have. The only thing I wish it could do is let me record shows based on more than exact show title. for example, I could enter "Alton Brown" and it would record not only Good Eats, but Iron Chef America, Cooking on Asphalt (or whatever it's called) or whatever other show he appears on.

TW seems to push software updates every now and then. Recently I programmed it to record a baseball game and it automatical

Re:

[subgeek]

yeah, i used the SA box from TW for a couple years and liked it. wow uses the same SA box, but doesn't have the same software. wow support told me they weren't planning to update the software any time soon.

anyway, i was thinking about tivo because it's supposed to work with any cable service and i wouldn't have to go back to TW's pricing and crappy service.

Re:

[elmegil]

TW seems to push software updates every now and then.

All of the digital providers do. I have the same with my Dish and my TiVo.