Buying a PVR, which one?? (1 Viewer)

[LesterLiu]

does it have the scheduling capabilities and the program guide that tivo has? any other drawbacks? can it do the "pause tv" function?

 

[Brian Ruth]

Lester... It has a TV guide that you can program, if thats what you mean by scheduling capabilities, and it also has a pause TV function. One drawback I'd say it has is that its computer dependent, meaning that its on a computer, and your computer MAY not have access to a cable box or antenna to watch TV with. All in all though, I'm quite happy with mine.

 

[Reginald Trent]

The AllInOne card may be good for OTA reception. However, you still need a DirecTV receiver to record their programming. Therefore, a UTV or DirecTivo is a better choice if you want to record DTV programs.
BTW www.orbitsat.com is offering UTV units for free if you sign up for a year with DTV.

 

[Dmitry]

Direct link to in-depth comparison between DirecTiVo and Ultimate TV.

 

[MikeM]

TiVo.
I added another HD to my TiVo (which was simple), and have had a 198 hour TiVo for about a year now.
It's simple to add an additional HD, has a great interface, and is so intuitive, even my mom has one. (Sorry mom, but we're talking about a mom who would paint white out on the VCR controls to know exactly what buttons to push to record things. )
I went with the lifetime service, and am glad I did. The lifetime service stays with the unit, not the user. So if you ever up wanted to go with something else, you can eBay the unit with lifetime service, and increase its value.
As for holding out on that service to hold out for a HDTV version of some PVR...I wouldn't hold my breath. Unless there's a huge jump in hard drive technologies, the ability to record about 3 hours worth of HDTV data would eat up an 80GB drive or so. So it's not going to be truly useful anytime soon.
If you're new to DirectTV, you can some great deals online for "combo" DirectTivos. These deals are often only open to new DirectTV customers.
Join the TiVolution...you'll be glad you did.

 

[Stan T]

I have a question about either unit. If you set it up to record a ballgame (NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball) on Direct TV does it only record the estimated time allotment for the game or if the game goes in overtime or extra innings would it keep recording?

Sometimes when I'm not home I would like to record a game on Direct TV to watch later with the better picture quality these units can give but I would want to make sure that the complete game would be recorded if it goes over the time estimated for the game.

 

[Jeffrey Chin]

Obvious choice is ReplayTV
Make sure u get 4000 series or earlier models
4500 series charges you subscription fee

Definitely split your cable signal (video1, video2)
so you can watch one channel while recording the other

I upgraded my 60gb --> 120gb w/ a simple PC hack
Contrary to popular belief, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH SPACE

Why? Due to the fact that 1gb=1hr recording..but only at THE LOWEST QUALITY SETTING. With the highest quality setting (which I only use), cut that time in half. Also, since most people use the "Keep X episodes" option, that will eat into your time remaining. Of course they will never tell you this.

I find the unit indispensible...esp since I watch it more than regular TV now. I don't have to rush home to catch a show. I also don't have to strain my eyes watching inferior VHS quality recordings.

Currently:

* Moxi is forming alliances w/ cable companies to have a media center built into cable boxes

* Zapstation & AudioRequest are the only 2 MP3 w/ hard drive standalone units w/ on screen display for your TV..it's only a matter of time before they integrate PVR fuction

Going Forward:

* By 2005, only 3% will have standlone units, most PVRs will be integrated w/ cable boxes

* Intel is making a portable PVR..take your recorded shows with you!

* X-box is coming out w/ a mega version with PVR capabilities

* MS just announced XP media center operating system..turn your PC into a PVR

Happy watching!

 

[mike_decock]

I have a question about either unit. If you set it up to record a ballgame (NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball) on Direct TV does it only record the estimated time allotment for the game or if the game goes in overtime or extra innings would it keep recording?

They won't automatically "sense" that it's running overtime. You can always program the PVR to keep recording beyond the scheduled time (I think it's in 15 minute increments on the TiVo).


-Mike...

 

[Ken Chan]

The ReplayTV 4000 series is good if you have the required broadband service (DSL or cable). The cost of the lifetime service is built into the unit, so there's no extra, up front or monthly.
It has Commercial Advance, which works pretty well, and no issues about head/tape wear as with VCRs. (It also has manual 30-second forward and 7-second backward skip.)
The units are networkable. Because of upstream bitrate limits, it's not very practical between two homes, but it works well within a home. You can have a unit in the living room record different shows than the one in the bedroom, and watch them on either.

I have also heard that you can't record one channel while watching another?

As RichN mentioned, this limitation is no worse than on a VCR -- just hit the TV/PVR switch.
But the interesting feature is to watch something you've recorded while it's recording something else. You can't do that on a VCR!
As far as computer-based PVRs like with the ATI, the problem I have with that is that a ReplayTV or TiVo is a piece of consumer electronics, while a computer is just that, a computer. It's probably bigger and noisier and uses more electricity, and occasionally requires a keyboard or mouse to do something. Also, the UI for ReplayTV is optimized for crappy low-res NTSC -- the same thing may not apply to software on a computer.
//Ken

 

[DonMac]

Here's my $.02
A year ago, when I was looking at buying a PVR, I was leaning toward TiVo due to the talk I read in forums like this (I read things similar to DrStrange's detailed, but very slanted, write-up). But then I found a great deal on a Panasonic ShowStopper 1000 (20-hour) ReplayTV (cost including shipping was $261 total after I received Panasonic's $100 rebate check) which made it too good of a deal to pass up. (A TiVo would have had to cost only $11 to be comparable, once the $250 cost of the Lifetime Progam Guide is factored in.) And now that I've used the ReplayTV for a year, I'm very familiar with its capabilities (as well as flaws) and would easily recommend purchasing a ReplayTV to anyone.
My view of ReplayTV vs. TiVo is that TiVo attempts to learn what the user likes and record shows based on that, while ReplayTV is more like a "Smart" VCR. By that, I mean the user has to tell the ReplayTV what to record, but with the scrollable on-screen TVGuide with descriptions, it's a lot easier than programming a "Dumb" VCR (aka a regular VCR).
And I personally don't like the idea of a PVR trying to guess what I want to watch because I know exactly what I want to watch. So I much prefer searching and setting my own record options. For instance, I frequently watch History's Mysteries on the History Channel -- however, a lot of the subjects of individual episodes, I don't care about at all. So I much prefer doing an episode search and, based on description, selecting only the episodes of the show I do want to see instead of having the PVR record every single episode. (I'm very big on cherry-picking individual episodes of most shows instead of recording them all.) And I really like that the ReplayTV allows padding on extra minutes before and after a show, because some shows do start a little early or end a bit late, so having that extra time capability is huge.
I also really like the MyReplayTV.com website. Not only did it allow me to program in something when I was out of town at my sister's house (over 500mi away), but I like using it at work to simply see what's on my box and if anything was recorded overnight that I can watch later when I get home. I also think that the Extended Mode/Lowest Quality Setting on ReplayTV isn't as bad as some say. It's usually better than VCR EP/SLP mode in quality and is also better than TiVo's Lowest Quality Mode. In fact, it's adequate for most "Non-Action" recording (i.e. programs without a lot of action on the screen, so it looks worse when used for Sporting Events, Action Movies, and Fast-Paced Cartoons, but looks fine for Sitcoms, Talk Shows, and Documentaries).
So, after a year, I'm quite glad I got a ReplayTV instead of a TiVo because it suits my personal style of recording programs a lot better. (I like it so much, I plan to do the Hack Upgrade soon to increase my ReplayTV's capacity - http://rtvpatch.sourceforge.net/ - which will extend the usefulness and life of my current ReplayTV.)
Of course, someone else may prefer a PVR that tries to figure out what the user likes and, for those people as well as DirecTV subscribers, TiVo is definitely the best way to go. But I say decide which style of recording suits you personally (which is the real difference between TiVo and ReplayTV) and then make your decision based on features and price.
.

 

[mike_decock]

And I really like that the ReplayTV allows padding on extra minutes before and after a show, because some shows do start a little early or end a bit late, so having that extra time capability is huge.

TiVo has padding, too.

I'm just trying to point out that generally, all the PVRs provide all the same basic functionality as well as most of the "advanced" features.

I happen to have a TiVo and I've got the thing tweaked very, very well to my liking. If I had bought a ReplayTV, I would have been just as happy now.

-Mike...

 

[GordonL]

The Tivo Suggestions is actually a cool feature. For the un-initiated, the way it works is, Tivo uses any un-allocated space to record stuff it thinks you might like, but only records during the times when it's not recording something you've scheduled. This guarantees that something you like is always available for viewing at any given time. With the ReplayTV, once you've run out of scheduled recordings to watch, and there's nothing else to watch live, you might as well find something else to do. I guess for some people, that's not a bad thing, but if you're a couch potato, the Tivo keeps you on that couch!

 

[Stephen Tu]

My view of ReplayTV vs. TiVo is that TiVo attempts to learn what the user likes and record shows based on that, while ReplayTV is more like a "Smart" VCR. By that, I mean the user has to tell the ReplayTV what to record, but with the scrollable on-screen TVGuide with descriptions, it's a lot easier than programming a "Dumb" VCR (aka a regular VCR).

This comment, and the paragraph that followed about preferring to select individual episodes, is misleading and misses the point. Tivo has these features also; the core of Tivo is recording the shows you want. The "suggestions" are just a completely optional secondary feature to make use of what would otherwise be idle recording space/time, to get shows you might like.

Frankly, in terms of grabbing exactly the shows you want, IMO Tivo does a better job than Replay, because of better scheduling and space management algorithms. When your various recording requests create conflicts, on Tivo it's easier to tell exactly what will and will not record, and to juggle the priorities so that the machine does exactly what you want it to do.

Replay's advantages are the auto-commercial skip, the networking w/ other Replays in your home (outside home somewhat impractical because of uplink speeds), and the web feature. But you need a home network setup.

As for the original poster, if you have DirecTv and get the locals you want recorded off DirecTV, in my view it's 100% clear to get a DirecTivo. Multiple simultaneous recording, and better video + audio quality in less space make it a no brainer. If not, Tivo series 2 or a Replay, depending on price and what features are critical to you.

 

[Swami]

Can I use a Tivo without subscription to just pause live TV and skip commercials? What kind of PVRs can I buy that allow this?


Thanks

 

[DonMac]

Stephen Tu wrote:

Replay's advantages are the auto-commercial skip, the networking w/ other Replays in your home (outside home somewhat impractical because of uplink speeds), and the web feature. But you need a home network setup.

I say the MyReplayTV.com Website and having the Guide included in the final cost of the box (something that's unfortunately going away) are ReplayTV's stronger features over TiVo. I also like ReplayTV's traditional TV Channel Grid system over TiVo's Channel system, but I'm someone who previously searched the TV listings every week and then program my VCR to record things, so the ReplayTV way of recording programs fit perfectly into my own way of recording that I had been doing for years. Likewise, anyone else who prefers the Channel Grid method of programming may also prefer the ReplayTV over TiVo.
.

 

[Pamela]

Can I use a Tivo without subscription to just pause live TV and skip commercials? What kind of PVRs can I buy that allow this?

You can use a Series 1 TiVo without the subscription, although it will constantly nag you. Can't do it with a Series 2. IMHO, there's not much sense to spend the bucks on a PVR for only those two functions.

 

[GordonL]

Quote:

The priority-based Season Pass manager with the ability to not record re-runs requires far less management on my part and is far easier to use, IMO. For example, say you want Season Passes to Alias and Sopranos, both broadcast at 9 pm Sunday. If you give Alias higher priority (because it is broadcasted only once a week), Tivo has the intelligence to automatically schedule and record the Sopranos when it is rebroadcasted at other times.
And to show how good the Season Pass manager is, lets say you have yet another show you want to record on Sunday's at 9 pm. Give it a Season Pass but set the option to record all episodes including reruns and give this show lower priority than Alias but higher than Sopranos. This will allow you to catch all episodes of all three shows automagically with little management on your part! How's that for convenience?

 

[Ken Chan]

The screen redraw in the channel guide on the Replay 4000 is fine; it must paint as fast as I push, because I've never noticed a problem. (Not sure what you mean by "graphics" -- everything is rendered pixel by pixel.) It moves a half-hour with the arrow keys (or maybe to the next show if it's longer?), 12 hours with forward and reverse.

//Ken

 

[GordonL]

My comment about the screen redraw applies to the first generation machines (2000 & 3000 series) which I've noted. The screen redraws cannot keep up with my keypresses. It does a complete draw of the whole grid before processing the next keypress. This is way too slow if you want to jump ahead say, 6 hours. A better implementation would be to only redraw the screen for the first and last keypress.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

The very concept of a "program grid" is allegedly patented by Gemstar. I say allegedly because Gemstar recently lost a couple of legal challenges against companies that are using a program grid without paying the piper, and they may have similar weak legal footing in other pending cases. TiVo may think that Gemstar's patent isn't valid but they'd rather not pay a bunch of lawyers to find out, so they designed a program guide with a different layout.

However, DirecTV apparently does have a license on the Gemstar patent so the DirecTiVo has both the TiVo-style guide and the same grid-style guide that all DirecTV receivers have. You can pick the one you like.

But I've had my DirecTiVo for almost two years and I've found that I rarely watch live TV and therefore rarely need to surf the program guide. When I watch TV, I watch something TiVo recorded days or weeks ago. When there's a new show that I want my TiVo to record, I find it by searching by name. The channel and time are irrelevant.

The monthly fee for TiVo service on the DirecTiVo will soon drop to $5, except to Total Choice Platinum customers, for which it will be free. The program guide data is sent to DirecTiVo receivers in the satellite signal rather than the phone line, so TiVo doesn't have to pay as much for access to local Internet POPs all over the country. That's a major component of the $12.95 subscription fee for standalone TiVo units.