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I Think I Want a TiVo?

27 Responses (Add) | Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 4:15pm

I’ve never really had a TiVo, though I’ve been using DVRs for years. The new TiVo HD looks nice, though – and I should be able to grab shows / convert them after connecting the unit to my home network. Kevin does it all the time, and he also recommended that I get my TiVo through some place that does hard drive upgrades for me. Other friends have told me:

I like TiVo, but I'm not all about paying a monthly (or even a 1-time lifetime) subscription for it. Try the Comcast DVR. – Spinn
(I just realized the fail in my statement – chances are that Comcast now charges the DVR. Probably $5-10/month? If that's the case, go for a TiVo. The smooth menus and overall better interface is worth the money, if you're going to have to pay it anyway. – Spinn
TiVo is very nice to have but for the price, it may be worth it to stick with comcast's dvr – Grant
I have Comcast DVR but you can only record like 15 hrs of HD content at a time. Definitely interested in exploring options. – Brian Daniel Eisenberg
if comcast charges for its DVR then go ahead with the Tivo – Grant
Chris- I love my HD Tivo. It's also nice to get rid of the Comcast cable box. The dual tuner PCMCIA cards are nice. I bought the 3 year prepaid. – Ryan
we have Directv DVR in my home and what sucks is you can only record 2 shows in the same time frame but you can't change the channel. so if you're recording A&E and USA at the same time, you can only switch between them two. i was told TiVo is almost the same thing. – Outsanity
Just do it. Been a Tivo owner since '01 on DirectTV. Last year I moved house and switched to comcast. I suffered the comcast DVR box for 1 week before buying a Tivo Series 3. Spousal approval and my sanity returned… – Steve Lacey
If you get a TiVo watch this vid we made re upping storage http://video.gearlive.com/vide… – Andru Edwards
TiVo is uncomparably better…but isn't TiVo supposed to built into Comcast boxes at some point? – George Lee
Luckily I got my HDR212 TiVo in 2000-2001 for $150-200 with a $249 lifetime subscription. $13/month x 7 yrs = would have been $1,170 by now! Awesome deal. Totally changed the way I watch TV. The fast-forwarding is much cleaner than with VCRs and scanning 1 hr in 1 min (60X) is very easy. Look into the after-market upgrading of HDs websites (Image your HD first!) and buying someone's used TiVo with a lifetime subscription. E-mail me if you want more details. – Mitchell Tsai
I have the HD DVR from Time Warner and hate it. Keep thinking about TiVo, but the price always gets me. Though at almost $15/month to "rent" the DVR from Time Warner, I might switch, I'm just not sure of the way it will interact with Time Warner. – Blake
I have the TiVo Series 3 HD and it's a great box. Never fails. You can stream audio/video from your Mac with the software you get with Toast, you can download shows to your Mac and burn them (if they're not flagged to not do it) and I've even burned Blu-Ray compatable DVDs with Toast 9. You can download podcasts and videos, but I found that entering in podcast RSS feeds doesn't always work. – Starman

My house is filled with Comcast DVRs – I like what they do, but I can’t stand how they do what they do. I won’t really miss VOD with a TiVo, either. Ponzi likes VOD, but I think she’d appreciate the networkability of a TiVo even more (though she’s using Windows Vista, and I’m primarily on OS X). There’s gotta be good desktop software for TiVo / TiVo data management, I’d only assume.

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27 Comments

Tackling Technology

July 3rd, 2008
at 8:51pm

Chris Pirillo PDF is an ISO StandardI Think I Want a TiVo?How do you View Web Video and Digital Photos? Isn’t the Wii Fit more Fun than Real Exercise? Am I Sexier than the Wii Fit Hula Hoop Girl?

Tedd

July 1st, 2008
at 5:41pm

I got the TiVo when it was still in Infomercials. At the time it was pretty sweet. Of course, this was before all the DVR or even recordable DVD drives. Direct TV actually used TiVo’s system for some time before coming out with their own version. I think today though, it’s easier and more economic to just get the DVR devices provided by your cable/satellite company.

Also, another option may be Netflix’s new item, which I posted about on my blog. It allows you to stream TV shows and movies directly to your TV, effectively making prime time anytime. With only a one time fee for the device, it uses your current Netflix account.

Harl Delos

July 1st, 2008
at 7:52pm

I was reluctant to get a DVR, thinking a VCR was a lot more versatile and a lot cheaper, but when we got rid of Comcast and got DISH, it was almost free, so I tried it – and found that a DVR doesn’t really do the same thing. DVRs are about time-shifting, and VCRs are about archiving; you want to have both.

When we switched from DISH to DirecTV, we got DirecTiVO, and there is NO way I’d switch back. The networking of newer TiVOs would be nice, but the intelligence built into TiVO, the ability to record “suggestions”, is essential. TiVO suggestions have introduced me to many great shows and series I otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

DISH says their DVRs are better than TiVO. Not until they can predict what I like, and can record these shows without my asking for them, no way!

Eddie Ringle

July 1st, 2008
at 9:56pm

Email I sent to Chris:

I hear you are looking to buy a Tivo. Well, I have a few things to tell you.

I have a Tivo, and there was a time where I was on the news. We recorded it on the Tivo, and I wanted to transfer it to my PC. Tivo has strict Digital Media Rights in place, so I could not even touch the video. All it told me was that it was on the Tivo. Oh well.

Stick with a DVR, or, use a TV tuner on your computer to record the shows you want to watch.

My parent’s have XP MCE and record their shows on that, then watch them in their room via a media center extender.

When our cable company upgraded us to a DVR after a complaint my dad made, we haven’t used the Tivo since. (Wowway basically tries to give us less for more money, but my dad always catches them.)

So yeah, go with a normal DVR or TV Tuner. Tivo isn’t worth the monthly fees and copyright restrictions. (Luckily, we got our Tivo awhile ago, before they put into place the monthly fee.)

My few cents.

Best of luck,
Eddie Ringle

Bob

July 2nd, 2008
at 12:07am

I personally have had tiVo for a couple years. The price is steep but the quality is much better. If your looking for great quality go for tiVo. If you want so-so quality and a good price go for comcast DVR.

Matt W

July 2nd, 2008
at 6:03am

Hey Chris-

I’m still using two old, but still very functional ReplayTV DVRs in my household. They can’t do HD, but they have lifetime activation and there’s a treasure trove of freeware out there to do cool stuff with them.

I also have a TivoHD, but oddly enough, I don’t have it attached to a video source. It’s on my home network, and I’ve used it a bunch of times to watch downloads from Amazon unbox.

I’d say that, despite the “convenience” of a CableCo DVR, go with your own DVR, like a TivoHD, because you won’t be stuck with their built-in limitations.

Although — these days, the DRM is EVERYWHERE, and the dreaded broadcast flag will be a more frequent visitor to any DVR.

webpenguin

July 2nd, 2008
at 8:10am

We’ve had TiVos since Moby Dick was a minnow. I love it and hope I never have to be without one or three. We’ve tried DirecTv DVR and ReplayTV (or whatever it was called) and had them at the same time as our TiVo. No comparison. Now if I could just get rid of HughesNet, I could use TiVo to its full capacitiy with downloads. At any price, I love TiVo. The logo dude creeps me out, though! :-)

Joe

July 2nd, 2008
at 11:36am

I have always used DVD players, never thinking about getting a DVR. I just recently got a DVR and let’s just say it is 100 times better then your average DVD, or VCR player.

Joe – http://www.leetwebmasters.com

Christina Warren

July 2nd, 2008
at 12:13pm

Dude, all these years later, TiVo is still the shiz. The Series 3 HD units are awesome — and yes, you pay a bit more (though any cable DVR has a monthly fee at this point), but the quality, user interface and extendable options are SO much better. Plus, built-in you can use it as a media server of sorts for your whole home network, but with some hacking and tinkering, it becomes even more hardcore.

I have two TiVo’s and love being able to transfer shows across the two and stream in basically real time, connect to the net, listen to podscasts, listen to music or view pictures quickly, and I have it synched with my Mac so I can see stuff on it and vice versa.

C222

July 2nd, 2008
at 9:06pm

I’ve been using both the Tivo and Comcast DVRs for a while now. I have had many bad experiences with the comcast one. It has missed many of my shows and crashes and freezes more often than i would like it to.
The Tivo is wonderful. I’ve only had to reboot it once and if it’s connected to your network, updates are seamless. I also love being able to download the shows onto my laptop. I;ts really useful if I have to go on a long flight or trip.

Paul Knudsen

July 4th, 2008
at 10:40am

Chris, if you watch much TV at all, you want a Tivo. End of discussion. We have two, and I don’t see how we ever did without them. They work fine with Comcast’s cable box.

Dimitry1996

July 4th, 2008
at 5:52pm

If I would have a dvr I think I would use the HELK out of it! because I know people that just get comcast with a dvr and had it for years and didn’t even know they had a DVR but I think the world will get more into this tech stuff I HOPE!

James

July 4th, 2008
at 6:56pm

OK, I get it. Why is there no mention of Sonic Blue’s ReplayTV?

mattman

July 4th, 2008
at 7:51pm

well my aunt has one and it is really great but sometimes i get confused it is funny. i think everyone should get it because 2 weeks later we got one hahah.

Clayton Yocom (iBook)

July 4th, 2008
at 9:05pm

I have a comcast box. Not dvr but I KNOW I could never live without VOD. I Get Up From Bed Late And Miss “Gene Simmons: Family Gewls, Everyday. I watch it on vod every week.

Calvin

July 4th, 2008
at 9:24pm

I don’t have a Tivo, but I do have Comcast and I really don’t think it’s worth what I pay for it. Sure, it gives you the on demand stuff, but I really don’t use it much anyway. If I had a need to record TV more than I do, I would go buy a Tivo.

PC-Tech

July 4th, 2008
at 9:35pm

hey Chris

wouldn’t a VCR be easier than a TIVO or DVR? i would think so, because with a VCR, you would not have any limits in recordable space, you just put in another tape, and record on, also, what about recording onto DVD s, you could also keep the recordings longer, or just record over them. another good thing is that you could keep them and look at them like 20 years later, (if they still have working VCR’s) and if you wanted, you could pass thee show onto a friend who missed it, and really wants to see it. but, in defiance to what i just said, a DVR/TIVO would be easier to use, and may last longer than a tape, but tapes/DVD s’ could be a cheaper way for the people who do not want to get a DVR/TIVO.

see you later
-PC-Tech

Ryan Kenneth Hamel (techhelper1)

July 4th, 2008
at 11:00pm

Chris i would be careful about the Tivo because the processor gets slow. But the overall gui and the remote is excellent.

Ryan Kenneth Hamel (techhelper1)

July 4th, 2008
at 11:14pm

Sorry if this posted 2 times. But the site didn’t preview my previous blog post. I was going to say that i think the tivo is excellent (from directv satellite) but the only think is that it takes forever for it to boot up and sometimes the processor slows down big time.

Keep up the good videos. No need to critisize about everything single mistake in a message since you have a degree in english.

Sincerly,
Ryan Kenneth Hamel

Chris Fisher

July 4th, 2008
at 11:51pm

Chris, Tivo is the ultimate DVR, much better UI than Comcast DVR!

JCgeekGirl

July 4th, 2008
at 11:52pm

I also have thought that I needed a Tivo. We used to have Dish Network that came with a DVR, and my ex ended up keeping it in our divorce. Now that I have Comcast and I’m never home, I really wish that I was able to watch shows that I can’t get on hulu.

Before, costs have been prohibitive for our family. Perhaps soon!

RockerX

July 4th, 2008
at 11:57pm

My neighbor has tivo and loves it! i hope you get what you want!

I use the DVR on the cable box from comcast..

BbWindowsWHelpbB

July 4th, 2008
at 11:59pm

I want one, but they’re kinda expensive. i

RockerX

July 5th, 2008
at 12:02am

My neighbor has a tivo and loves it… i hope you can find what you want.

I use the DVR on the cable box from comcast

keeheon

July 6th, 2008
at 4:21pm

I used to have a comcast DVR, it kept breaking all the time for some reason….. I gave up when the 4th one broke.

Jeff Hester

July 10th, 2008
at 10:53am

I’ve got the latest TiVo and I have to say, I’m a believer. It’s great to be able to transfer programs to my PC, or even to my iPhone! And you can kinda work around the VOD issue by using Amazon Unbox rentals. True, it’s not instant, but it’s close enough for me.

What Do You Think?