-Ever-

My brother just stopped by and said that he's thinking about getting our parents a TiVo system because he really liked his friend's. They don't even watch much tv, just the news and some sports here and there. I think it's more for him in the end...
Can you guys recomend any specific companies he should look for? Any of you have TiVo and like/dislike it?
Thanks for any comments
-Tim

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messy

Yes. If you watch sports, it's worth getting just for the fact that you can pause, rewind, and slow-motion live TV... instant instant replay.

Remember that you have a fee of about $10 a month, or you can pay by the year I believe. I haven't looked at cc bill recently, but when I first got mine a few years ago, it was $9.99 a month. I'm pretty sure it has increased since then.

check out http://www.tivocommunity.com

editted to add that you should go with either a Philips or Sony TiVo. I have a Philips, my friend has a Sony... but they are pretty much the same. The Sony looks cooler though

And if you know your way around a computer (hardware and such) you can easily buy a lower end unit, that is one with a lower recording capacity (mine was a 14 hour unit... may not be able to find them anymore except for on Ebay) and you can add another hard drive to it and increse it's capacity. Mine now holds up to 80 hours of video.

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chiefslappajo

I've had a TiVo for about a year now and I absolutely love it. There's always something decent on to watch, but my biggest reason for getting it was the ability to fast forward through annoying double-volume level local commercials.

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sailor

Or you could do it the hardcore geek way: roll your own!

I just finished building mine out of an old box I had using MythTV (www.mythtv.org). Beware though, it took me two weeks of tinkering to get it running.

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omega2K4

TiVo is excellent. Check out Weaknees for some TiVo options, they hack and modify TiVos. I got my TiVo there, a 280hr model, with 2 120GB hard drives. Probably going to get a new TiVo soon, probably that neat Pioneer DVD burner/300GB TiVo combo.

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charliex

TV without tivo is annoying, i wonder if it got as much recognition as itunes did

my s1 tivo is a bit slow, the menus are really slow and it takes for ever to work out "complicated" scheduling, partly because of the larger drives. i don't know if they upgraded the cpus in the s2.,dtvs etc i sure hope they did.

i've been wanting to get a new one, but im waiting for the DTV dual tuner, with hdtv support, networking and hackable, i'm not aware of such a beast yet.

I do like the idea of rolling your own though since theres a lot of really annoying things missing in tivos software.

yodapaul

If it has the "TIVO" Name on the box you should be fine. As for options the only choices are Directv Tivo, Normal Tivo, DVD-R Tivo or just DVD Tivo (That is a Tivo with a normal DVD player in it.)

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grassygnoll

We have had tivo for about 6mo now. (Series 2; 80 gig; no hacks; usb thru the router for Internet connection) My g/f bought it and I wanted to hate it. I really did. I didn't like the fact that the video was encrypted, that it called "the mothership" every night and got the TV listings while uploading who-knows-what about my viewing habits, that it wouldn't auto-cut the commercials like a good VCR, and most of all, I don't like TV! I mean what the hell do I need with a $400 box and a $12 monthly fee that records something I don't really watch? Man, I was sure it was a piece of crap.

It took about two weeks. Then I was hooked. Not just hooked. I am in love. I don't think I would own a TV anymore if I couldn't have that little box. Live TV is for suckers. They have a "hidden" feature that easy to turn on that skips ahead 30 second to let you breeze thru commercials, You always have something to watch that is good. The interface has a very easy learning curve and is intuitive. It's like the people who wrote the interface USE IT! It really is a mix of user friendly combined with functionality that I didn't think was possible in the video world.

One more then and I'll stop. The first two weeks or so are the hardest. You have to get used to the interface and build up a backlog of video to watch. From then on out, Its just gravy.

Also, Tivo does not condone hacking the tivo for video extraction. So keep that kind of talk off of the tivo community boards. Go here instead.
http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/

mrap1

I love the Tivo way of life, although I think that the monthly charge is bogus.

sailor

Another good reason to roll your own

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yotta

I've got a hacked series 1 TiVo, and I love it. 2x120GB drives, 300 hours max recording time, and ethernet so I can download shows off and burn them to DVD. Speed on hacked series 1 units can be improved by a cachecard from 9thtee.com. DirectTV TiVo are $5/month, and Stand Alone are $12.95 a month, or $300 for the life of the unit. If you don't plan to hack it, get a series 2 unit. series 2 units are kinda locked down, but it's still pretty easy to upgrade the storage space.

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Redlemon

I have an iMac, which I love. And an iPod, and a Sony Clie, and many other cool tech toys.

I'd give them all up before I gave up my TiVo, and I don't watch a lot of television.

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MexicanOnABike

i'd like to get one but its too fucjkin expensive./

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diergray

Once you have a Tivo you can never go back to watching TV normally. It is one of the greatest inventions ever!

Depending on how much you want to spend Pioneer is now shipping a model with a built in DVD recorder! I expect the prices on these units to drop quickly. I can't wait to get one.

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eribrav

I'm in the fan club too. I'm no technical whiz, so I just have an off the shelf Sony unit.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, that I like a lot is you no longer have to know or care when your favorite shows are on. You just tell TiVO you want them recorded, and it does the rest. When you turn the TV on at night, there they are, ready to watch. It also helps when you want to find/record some obscure movie or show. Just tell TiVO you're looking for it, and whenever it finds it on the air, no matter what channel, no matter what time, it records it. Couldn't watch TV without it at this point.

brandon11983

If I didn't have a DishPVR 721 (2 tuner, 90 hr record time), I would get a ReplayTV. The commercial skip (as in it doesn't record commercials) is an awesome feature. Plus they bundle lifetime subscriptions with the units rather than pay a monthly fee. Replay also doesn't report your viewing habits back to who knows where like TiVo does....

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Hrothgar

I hate watching TV but being able to pause a football game if I cant wait for a commercial is awesome.

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Cynthetiq

I love my TIVO ... in fact sometimes when I'm listening to the radio.. I wish there was Tivo for radios...

pukuk pukuk...

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micah67

My DirecTivo is hacked up to 109 hours. I love it and it's the one home-theater component that my g/f is happy I bought.

Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show I saw the Hughes-made HDTV version of the DirecTivo. 4 (four!!!) tuners (2 OTA, 2 sat) and a 250GB drive. So one could record two different HDTV signals while watching a previously recorded third. It's due out in March, $999, and I hope to be one of the first to get one.

250Gb will get you about 30 hours of HD programming or about 250 hours of regular satellite or some combination of both.

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Scorpion23

Cynthetiq: that's why you build a HTPC instead of a Tivo. The ATI AIW 9600 Pro has recording and live pause features for both video and radio.

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yotta

By default, your viewing habbits are only tied to your zip code. And you can opt out of that. Not recording commercials would suck it it made a mistake. And my TiVo has 240GB, so that's not a problem.

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brandon11983

The technique the Replay uses leads me to believe that it wouldn't make mistakes. (not saying that shit doesn't happen at times) The Replay locks into the sync pulse that is transmitted with the program. It basically cues an automated process at the production facility to begin inserting commercials. This "looks" different to the Replay, so therefore it pauses the recording, and kicks back in when the program resumes.

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gilada

TiVo, what would I do with out it. Got DirecTivo in the living room and a stand alone in the bed room. I've got to get one for my parents... I can't stand going down there and watching normal tv. Fortuately, my father-in-law was sold on it when he saw mine.

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quest1mark

if you tivo owners had to choose between tivo and high speed internet (cable or dsl) which would you choose?

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Redlemon

I'd give up dialup, let alone DSL.

Cynthetiq

i don't listen to the radio at home. I watch TV at home, and listen to the radio in the car.

not to mention, I don't want to tinker, I just want it to be a stupid consumer idiot box so that I don't have to fix anything to watch TV.

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smarm

I'd like to get a Tivo, but it would be a big pain to get a telephone jack over by the TV. The Tivo site says you can use broadband or wireless. I have a wireless router connected to my cable modem, so that seems like the best way to do it. I heard there were compatibility issues with the wireless cards on the market. Anybody have any experience hooking up Tivo this way?

-smarm

Redlemon

I haven't, but www.tivocommunity.com would have all the information you could ever desire to learn on the subject.

Also, TiVo's recommended adaptor list and setup instructions.

Cynthetiq

I am using a USB Linksys wireless and it works great!

smarm

Did you have a hard time finding the correct version when you bought the Linksys? It states on the Tivo site that you have to have ver2.6 or you have to go through a whole Tivo software upgrade. I understand through some fairly unreliable sources that version 2.6 isn't sold anymore.

-smarm

vapusforever

Tivo is a great idea, but prices seriously need to come down. $299 for the box and $299 for the products lifetime service!!! $600 can buy a 17in LCD TV.

docbungle

Yes, the All-In-Wonder card does the same thing as Tivo, without the monthly charge and it's also a great video card.

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brandon11983

The store I work at took back the above mentioned 721 today. I'm in major withdrawals right now. Live TV fucking sucks. I'm seriously looking at an 80 hr. ReplayTV. Anyone have any experience with Replay??

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Cynthetiq

brandon,

sorry to hear that... I love my Tivo.

you should start a new thread about Replay.

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frankdrebben

I think that I may be the luckiest guy ever...I am a brighthouse cable subscriber and they just started offering a DVR (made by Scientific Atlanta link ) for about $9/month. So basically, I get all of the benefits of Tivo, but I don't have to buy the unit or pay the monthly service fee (outside of the $9 on top of my digital cable package).

I don't know how I ever lived without it. My fiance and I always spend Sunday relaxing and reading the newspaper while we watch all of the shows which it recorded during the week. I just watched four American Idol episodes and fast forwarded through all of the commericals. Now, when I do watch live TV, I am always tempted to just wait ten minutes to start so I can use the FF.

Call your cable company to see if it is an option...

micah67

Exactly. We never watch "live" TV, we start at least 15 minutes into the show. The DirecTV unit I have has two tuners so when I do watch live TV, I just pause when the current show hits a commercial, go to my other tuner and continue watching that show until that show hits a commercial, switch back, etc.

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Cynthetiq

I have both the DVR subscription from my cable company and Tivo and the Tivo service is far superior to the DVR service. While it captures 95% of the Tivo strengths, it does not harvest TV like Tivo does with keyword searches and actor/actress/director.

digme

I really want to get one, but the monthly fee is what is keeping me away. I really hate adding to my monthly bills...

I've also considered trying to make my own HTPC, but find it cost prohibative right now.

My current idea is to mod my Xbox, and then leave the TV recording part to my main computer and download the shows to my Xbox when I want to watch them. Of couse, then I dont get time shifting....

asshopo

Making one would be so much cooler, but the problem is, most TiVo systems are only $299 (or more with DVD burners, etc). Thats the base price of a CHEAP pc with a half assed processor and a 40 gig drive. Then, you have a computer sitting next to your TV. YOU may not mind it (as I wouldn't) but I know my wife would. And unless you build something with an IR sensor, you are using a KB/mouse. Then to be able to record 2 shows at once, you have to have 2 tuner cards, 2 cable boxes (if you have cable). Alot of headache.

However, rolling your own COULD be sweet if you have the money for the slimline cases that look like a cable box and the tinkering time to make it all work (windows or linux rollouts). They just cost money, again, pushing WAY over the $300 mark.

TiVo is easy, out of the box, cheaper than a HTPC, and just works. No tinkering.

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messy

No big deal. I just keep a 50 foot telephone cord attached to my TiVo at all times, and when the "Programming Data" runs out... I just run the cord across my living room for about 10 minutes while it updates. Unplug the cord and roll it up... you're set.

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