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Official AVS TiVo HD Topic! - Page 6

post #151 of 4794
10/17/07 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr View Post

Can you set up a manual recording to take place on channel x, next Saturday at 6:00pm - presumming you don't have a subscription and therefore not using Tivo's schedule guide? Do you get all available cable channels(including HD) and can you record current program? Thanks...

You should really think of the TivoHD as a $600+ box that Tivo is able to sell for $250 by charging a monthly fee. You will not be able to buy a "feeless" dual-tuner HDTV DVR [with CableCard and OTA] for less than $600 anytime soon.

Tivo sells their box at a loss and makes the money back on a monthly fee, so they do not allow you to record anything -- manual or otherwise -- without a subscription.

You can pay $300 upfront for three years of service to avoid monthly fees. If you have a Series2 with a lifetime subscription (no monthly fees), you can transfer that lifetime subscription to the TivoHD for $199.

Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr View Post

In a worse case scenario could you use just like a dumb cable STB?

You will not have guide information unless you subscribe to the service. I believe it will act as a STB with a live TV buffer (pause, etc), but that's about it.
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post #152 of 4794
10/17/07 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfdtv View Post

You should really think of the TivoHD as a $600+ box that Tivo is able to sell for $250 by charging a monthly fee. You will not be able to buy a "feeless" dual-tuner HDTV DVR [with CableCard and OTA] for less than $600 anytime soon.

Tivo sells their box at a loss and makes the money back on a monthly fee, so they do not allow you to record anything -- manual or otherwise -- without a subscription.

You can pay $300 upfront for three years of service to avoid monthly fees. If you have a Series2 with a lifetime subscription (no monthly fees), you can transfer that lifetime subscription to the TivoHD for $199.

You will not have guide information unless you subscribe to the service. I believe it will act as a STB with a live TV buffer (pause, etc), but that's about it.

Fair enough. One last question... Does the TivoHD use a telephone jack or have they modernized with an Ethernet port on the back to connect to the mothership?
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post #153 of 4794
10/17/07 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr View Post

Fair enough. One last question... Does the TivoHD use a telephone jack or have they modernized with an Ethernet port on the back to connect to the mothership?

The Tivo has a phone jack, 10/100Mbps ethernet port, and USB ports.

Tivo hasn't required a phone line for about three years. With the TivoHD and Series3, you have three options for guide data:

(1) telephone jack;

(2) 10/100 Mbps ethernet;

(3) Tivo's 802.11g wireless adapter (USB).

If you want to take advantage of TivoToGo (Tivo -> PC recording transfers), MRV (Tivo -> Tivo recording transfers), or TTCB (PC -> Tivo video transfers) coming in November, you'll need to have the boxes networked with ethernet or wireless.
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post #154 of 4794
10/18/07 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
And don't forget about the other goodies that come with broadband connection on a Tivo such as Photo and Music streaming from PC, TivoCast, Amazon Unbox, Rhapsody, etc.
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post #155 of 4794
10/18/07 at 12:49pm
Ok. So it's an elegant $600 implementation of a pseudo HTPC box with a slick UI. Unlike ye ole, ReplayTV box that would allow some manual-level of recording albeit without a schedule guide if you chose not to pay the monthly fee.

I'm currently using a TWC 8300HD DVR with an external 500GD eSATA drive and was wondering what the big differences are from a useability standpoint if the costs net out over some period of time? In the long run, is the TivoHD the better deal presumming average monthly cable costs for box rental and HD tier programming. Even with the TivoHD, don't you still have to pay for an HD tier level of programming, unless you go with CC rental. I'm not familiar with all the costs of CCs and the TivoHD vs standard DVR rental.
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post #156 of 4794
10/18/07 at 1:39pm
There is no need to pay those ridiculous cable fees every month if you have reasonable watching habits. For me, the TivoHD costs about $60 a month less then getting Cable HD. NetFlix and an outdoor antenna give me all the TV I can handle.

Five years ago I put up an antenna to receive HDTV. This was before the major networks were available in HD from my cable company. I am very glad I put up the antenna, because it now works so well with the TivoHD. I used to get 200 odd cable stations, but once TV shows started appearing on DVD, I found I was never watching much more than Network TV.

You can get your local HD stations from your cable company without paying for the HD tier - all you need is the most basic cable tier. They all arrive in clear QAM format. Unfortunately, TivoHD doesn't provide any QAM mapping, so you have to use the TivoHD like a dumb VCR to record these stations.
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post #157 of 4794
10/18/07 at 1:40pm
What I had (Dish)

1 year of svc $480
1 year of locals $108
___________________
total / year $588
total / month $49
no DVR, no HD

What dish wanted for DVR and HD
1 year of svc $780
1 year of locals $108
______________________
total / year $888
total / month $74
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

What I have now:
HD TV from OTA antenna, crystal clear reception.

One time Tivo HD $250

1 year svc $100 (purchased 3yr/$300)
OTA programming $ 0
Unbox Downloads $150 (all episodes I would watch, not on OTA channels)
________________________
Total / Yearly $250
Total / Monthly $ 21

Even if I amortize the hardware over the first year it's still $42/month

Pros:
I have better service, no CC pixellation problems, no bills to a cable company, no customer service hassles. No bills for three years! (prepaid)

Cons:
I don't get cable/sat only HD channels and Amazon unbox isn't quite HD. No HBO, Cinemax, showtime.

Conclusion:
It is not worth an extra $53 / month ($74-$21) for just an hour here and there for Discover HD or what-not. The few shows I watch on Sci-fi (not HD), and USA (not HD) I can get from Amazon Unbox (commerical free!). Or wait for whole seasons on DVD. and note that the $21/month I came up with includes $150 of Unbox downloads with is about 1 season of 5 cable shows. I really don't have time for premium channels, so why pay for them.
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post #158 of 4794
10/18/07 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyrax View Post

There is no need to pay those ridiculous cable fees every month if you have reasonable watching habits. For me, the TivoHD costs about $60 a month less then getting Cable HD. NetFlix and an outdoor antenna give me all the TV I can handle.

Five years ago I put up an antenna to receive HDTV. This was before the major networks were available in HD from my cable company. I am very glad I put up the antenna, because it now works so well with the TivoHD. I used to get 200 odd cable stations, but once TV shows started appearing on DVD, I found I was never watching much more than Network TV.

You can get your local HD stations from your cable company without paying for the HD tier - all you need is the most basic cable tier. They all arrive in clear QAM format. Unfortunately, TivoHD doesn't provide any QAM mapping, so you have to use the TivoHD like a dumb VCR to record these stations.


I did almost the same thing! I dumped Cable some 8 years ago. Put up an OTA antenna and bought the LG LST-3410A to watch the 2000 olympics in HD. I've just switched to a TiVo HD (shameless plug - the LG is currently for sale in the AVS Marketplace) and have no plans to go back to Cable or Sat. OTA and Netflix give my family all the viewing pleasure we can consume!
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post #159 of 4794
10/18/07 at 2:05pm
Tim-
Lol.... we've 'spoken' before in the 3410A thread. I got the TivoHD because my 3410A keeps on losing its TV guide.

One good thing about the 3410A is that it does allow QAM mapping, so you can use the guide (when you have a guide) to record shows on clear QAM stations.
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post #160 of 4794
10/18/07 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyrax View Post

Tim-
Lol.... we've 'spoken' before in the 3410A thread. I got the TivoHD because my 3410A keeps on losing its TV guide.

One good thing about the 3410A is that it does allow QAM mapping, so you can use the guide (when you have a guide) to record shows on clear QAM stations.

Oh yeah, I know who you are.

I never paid attention to the QAM mapping on either the 3410A nor the TiVo HD. As I don't have cable, I don't really care.
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post #161 of 4794
10/18/07 at 5:25pm
The priority page for 9.2 is now avaliable....

http://research.tivo.com/91priority/index.htm

The 9.2 software seems improved in every way over 9.1. Get. It. Now.

It adds official support for eSATA hard drives from "Tivo partners."
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post #162 of 4794
10/18/07 at 6:27pm
I think it's an unfair comparison between your local HD programming available OTA (antenna) with anything the cablecos have to offer, so costs statistics don't really hold up. Aside from what the local PBS station has to offer in quality HD signal as well as superior programming, cable offers a much more diverse selection of HD programming then does pure OTA transmissions. In my market area there are only 4 local channels that offer HD programming and they're the big 3 networks +PBS.

So, I'm confused by what the TivoHD would offer in terms of HD selection without a cable hookup! So, you can get local OTA channels with an antenna. That's not my idea of a superior digital HDTV experience in the year 2007. Why get an HDTV to watch network TV? Especially if you have a nice HDTV just begging for an HD signal.

So, let's assume for a moment that we conservatively compare a basic cable package sans any HD tier @ $39/mth, Tivo sub @ $18/mth. That's $57/mth without any taxes and fees. That's a whopping $684/yr to manually record unmapped QAM channels on the TivoHD, never mind the upfront hardware costs of $300.

I'm going to check my cable bill when I get home, but I'm almost sure I'm not paying that amount per month for my HD viewing experience.

Gotta catch a plane...more later.
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post #163 of 4794
10/18/07 at 6:39pm
Wait! I didn't sign up for anything, but my TiVo got 9.2 update already

BTW, is there any official information about how to use eSATA port yet?
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post #164 of 4794
10/18/07 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman View Post

Wait! I didn't sign up for anything, but my TiVo got 9.2 update already

Tivo is slowly rolling out 9.2 to everyone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman View Post

BTW, is there any official information about how to use eSATA port yet?

Not yet. But it's expected soon.
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post #165 of 4794
10/18/07 at 7:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr View Post

So, let's assume for a moment that we conservatively compare a basic cable package sans any HD tier @ $39/mth, Tivo sub @ $18/mth.

If you prepay for three years it's $8.31 a month and $6.95 for each additional unit (billed monthly).
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post #166 of 4794
10/18/07 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaronwt View Post

It's a little more than paying for TV guide. You've obviously never used a DVR, let alone a TiVo from your comments. The guide data allows you to do many things. You don't record things like a VCR. Although I guess you're happy being stuck in the 20th century with your VCR. I haven't used a VCR in many years and if I was going to record something it would be with a stand alone DVD burner which records the same crappy way as a vcr but without having to use tapes..

He's right, dude. Unless you've had TiVo, you don't know what you're talking about. I'm Canadian and I bought DirecTV with TiVo illegally. Spent nearly $1000. But the timing was ******. After 3 weeks of use, DirectTV shut it down permanently.

Although, I only used TiVo for 3 weeks, it was the best 3 weeks of television watching I've ever had. I'm willing to say, that the experience alone was worth the ridiculous amount of money.

LOL during those weeks I said, who needs a girlfriend. I was so excited to go home and see what TiVo recorded for me.

I know it sounds crazy, but it was that awesome. Americans take it for granted I'm sure. I would too, but if you're Canadian, you'll find out fast that the DVRs that we're accustomed to pale in comparison.

For instance, let's say you want to record everything Tom Cruise. Not only will TiVo record every Tom Cruise movie that appears on cable, it will even record his appearances on the Tonight Show or Oprah. More specifically, if you programed TiVo to record only Tom Cruise comedies, it would skip The Firm, A Few Good Men and War of the World and record Risky Business and Jerry Maguire.

Ah, I miss TiVo. It's so complicated now for Canadians to purchase it. We must have an American address and American credit card. How is that possible? Anyways, like I was saying, you don't know what you're missing.

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post #167 of 4794
10/19/07 at 12:02am
For the HD, would Tivo Desktop 2.3 work on a 2000 pro machine? (for sharing pictures and mp3s) And is it anywhere still available for download? (Looks like 2.4+ don't work on Windows 2000.)
Thank you.
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post #168 of 4794
10/19/07 at 6:06am
Started looking at the TivoHD Series3 yesterday. I currently have a Comcast SA8300HD. I use it very frequently, but I like some of the features Tivo offers. I don't think (correct me if I am wrong) that SA boxes will be getting the Tivo software so that's not an option.

I do not need the HTPC functions (mp3s, photos, etc) since I already have a HTPC.

What are some of the pros/cons that users feel with the Series 3? Not ever having a Tivo box I'm not sure what to expect.

Can you turn off the navigation sound? Is it better to order directly from Tivo?
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post #169 of 4794
10/19/07 at 7:33am
When can we expect to have TiVoTogo for TiVo HD?
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post #170 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stryker412 View Post

Started looking at the TivoHD Series3 yesterday. I currently have a Comcast SA8300HD. I use it very frequently, but I like some of the features Tivo offers. I don't think (correct me if I am wrong) that SA boxes will be getting the Tivo software so that's not an option.

I do not need the HTPC functions (mp3s, photos, etc) since I already have a HTPC.

What are some of the pros/cons that users feel with the Series 3? Not ever having a Tivo box I'm not sure what to expect.

Can you turn off the navigation sound? Is it better to order directly from Tivo?


you can turn off (or change the volume of) the navigation sounds. I find that it's worthwhile to order the units from amazon.

I don't know anything about the sa boxes, but from what I've heard, it's worth making the switch. I'm a new tivo user (still have my replaytv's) as of my series3 and my tivohd, and I've been happy with them.
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post #171 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stryker412 View Post

Started looking at the TivoHD Series3 yesterday. I currently have a Comcast SA8300HD. I use it very frequently, but I like some of the features Tivo offers. I don't think (correct me if I am wrong) that SA boxes will be getting the Tivo software so that's not an option.

They are working on the SA port as well
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6474361.html

Quote:


What are some of the pros/cons that users feel with the Series 3? Not ever having a Tivo box I'm not sure what to expect.

Pros:
Better guide, each show has a lot more program info in it, which leads to the next pro.
The wishlist search on Tivo is wickedly cool comparing to my Comcast DVR. You can search by title, key word, actor, etc, and now you can do boolean search with combinations of these, and search for optional words and exclude words.
Trick play is better on Tivo. The jump back on fast forward and rewind is nice, it jumps back to when you hit the button, not when the box receives the remote signal.

Cons:
SDV FUD. Cable companies are talking about using SDV, which the current cable cards out there can not handle. There is a proposed solution that Tivo and cable industry are working on. See Tivo's official statement here
http://customersupport.tivo.com/Laun...1-754c3260112a
Cable card installation is a pain for some people due to cable company's lackluster support
No PIP in guide menu, some people want it.
No VOD or PPV through the box itself. In some areas people can still call in for PPV, as long as PPV is sent to a channel that Tivo can pick p.

Quote:


Can you turn off the navigation sound?

Yes it's a user option

Quote:


Is it better to order directly from Tivo?

No difference IMO. You pay less on buying online, Amazon has the Tivo HD for $250, but it fluctuates there. Note there are two HD Tivo models, one is the more expensive Tivo S3, the other one is the cheaper Tivo HD. Not much difference between the two except for HDD space, and Tivo is on their way to enable the eSATA port on both officially, so that may no longer be an issue very soon.
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post #172 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:23am
I see Amazon has a $200 rebate, is that good everywhere or just Amazon? Also, it looks like Tivo has the better monthly deal right now. If I order from Amazon I won't get that rate.

Edit: Seems to be the deal that was there yesterday is now gone. It was a cheaper monthly rate and came with a refurbbed wireless adapter.
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post #173 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:38am
those of you using the amazon unboxed tivo downloads... how is the quality? are the tv shows in hd if originally broadcast that way? what about movies? dvd quality? more? less?

thanks
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post #174 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
You can buy the HW somewhere else and still sign up for Tivo's monthly or pre-pay service plans. You best deal is probably the 3 year pre-pay for $299, which comes out to $8.31/mon
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post #175 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Winders View Post

those of you using the amazon unboxed tivo downloads... how is the quality? are the tv shows in hd if originally broadcast that way? what about movies? dvd quality? more? less?

thanks

No everything on Unbox is SD. Most of the stuff I watched are movies, and are letterboxed widescreen. The quality is good, almost as good as DVD. Better than SD braodcast.
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post #176 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman View Post

When can we expect to have TiVoTogo for TiVo HD?

MRV for TiVo S3 and TiVo HD will be available sometime in November. What are you expecting with regard to TTG?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stryker412 View Post

I see Amazon has a $200 rebate, is that good everywhere or just Amazon?

All authorized TiVo retailers. Not everywhere, but most places. Avoid eBay, overstocks, etc. and you should be okay.
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post #177 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by yunlin12 View Post

No everything on Unbox is SD. Most of the stuff I watched are movies, and are letterboxed widescreen. The quality is good, almost as good as DVD. Better than SD braodcast.

Thanks. Guess for fast/non critical viewing it would be worth it. If I can wait to rent or buy the DVD, seems that would be better. Cost also is a factor, as well as HD support when I finally get around to getting an HD or BD player. :P
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post #178 of 4794
10/19/07 at 8:52am
While Unbox does offer widescreen downloads to PCs, it does not offer widescreen downloads to TiVo.
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post #179 of 4794
10/19/07 at 10:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr View Post

I think it's an unfair comparison between your local HD programming available OTA (antenna) with anything the cablecos have to offer, so costs statistics don't really hold up. Aside from what the local PBS station has to offer in quality HD signal as well as superior programming, cable offers a much more diverse selection of HD programming then does pure OTA transmissions. In my market area there are only 4 local channels that offer HD programming and they're the big 3 networks +PBS.

So, I'm confused by what the TivoHD would offer in terms of HD selection without a cable hookup! So, you can get local OTA channels with an antenna. That's not my idea of a superior digital HDTV experience in the year 2007. Why get an HDTV to watch network TV? Especially if you have a nice HDTV just begging for an HD signal.

So, let's assume for a moment that we conservatively compare a basic cable package sans any HD tier @ $39/mth, Tivo sub @ $18/mth. That's $57/mth without any taxes and fees. That's a whopping $684/yr to manually record unmapped QAM channels on the TivoHD, never mind the upfront hardware costs of $300.

I'm going to check my cable bill when I get home, but I'm almost sure I'm not paying that amount per month for my HD viewing experience.

Gotta catch a plane...more later.

It really comes down to opportunity cost.
Money vs. Diverse programming.
I have discovered that the programming that I've sacrificed from Sat/Cable is not missed. Some of it is, but that little amount is absolutely not worth the price of admission. Seriously it would cost me $50/month for less than 10 hours of watched programming.
In some cases, more choices is not better. It is fine to pay higher prices for more diverse programming, but it's not necessary. There's nothing to be confused about.

I'm not trying to convert those that really must have their non OTA programming. Just pointing out that it is possible to be happy without a Sat or Cable package.
I get 6 HD channels with more programming than I have time to watch OTA.
ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, FOX, PBS All commercial free (skip, skip, skip)
After reviewing the "extra" HD channels on Sat/Cable, I just could not justify the added $50/month. That's me, and I'm just sharing my experience.

As far as a "superior" experience with OTA. that is obviously a subjective description. It is superior for me. Maybe not you. I get great HD and am thrilled with my new HDTV. I could not get OTA before digital that was watchable. Now I get better picture than I did with Dish without having to pay them every month.

Yes, I'm advocating dumping cable or satellite completely. But it's just my opinion. The masses will surely give their money to the big companies regardless of what I do or say.
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post #180 of 4794
10/19/07 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by yunlin12 View Post

You can buy the HW somewhere else and still sign up for Tivo's monthly or pre-pay service plans. You best deal is probably the 3 year pre-pay for $299, which comes out to $8.31/mon

I was looking at that and if I do that, that would put the total cost near $1k which is too much right now.
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