Time Warner DVR Monthly Cost?? (1 Viewer)

[Myram]

I have been looking at my local TW cable website, and it lists a monthly fee of $6.95 for the DVR box. Is that the only charge, or do you have to pay some sort of a subscription fee each month also?

Thanks for any help,

Steve

 

[Bob McElfresh]

You have to be a little careful in understanding this.

You have to subscribe to the "Digital" service which includes a $5-$10 monthly rental fee for the CATV box. Usually the DVR box takes the place of the CATV box so there is no extra fee for the DVR.

My local TW does seem to add in a $2/month charge for DVR service for the "Explorer" feature.

So if you already have their "Digital" package, your bill might go up ~$2 for the DVR service. If you are jumping from basic, no-CATV box service, there is a LARGE jump in price. Call your local office to get more details.

 

[David Shiver]

Get it. You'll love it. I have one in my den and one in the bedroom. The only fee I pay is 2 or 3 bucks extra for each.

 

[Eric R C]

Would this cost be similar to Bright House?

 

[KeithAP]

Interesting, in my area (So Cal) TW is charging $9.95 for the device.

-Keith

 

[Mike OConnell]

The charge in the KC area is also $9.95 for he DVR "service".

This is on top of the charge for digital cable, which includes a charge for a set-top box. That box can either be a standard digital box, a HD digital box, or a DVR.

Mike

 

[Myram]

I already have the Digital Home package + Sports ...that includes every channel possible and Road Runner for $125 per month. I'm already paying $6.95 for an additional digital box for the bedroom, so if I replace that with a DVR...I shouldn't pay any extra at all.

DVR is listed as $6.95 per month here, I just didn't know if that was box rental alone or if there was a service fee on top of that.

I'm getting the new "Digital Phone" service from Time Warner this week....that's $40 per month(but I get rid of Verizon) and there are no long distance fees at all in the cont. USA.

Thanks for the replys.

Steve

 

[Doug Pyle]

Yes, be careful about the "only" in the cost (like Keith's area, TW charges 9.95 here). My condo building provides cable out of the wall, so to add all the pre-requisites needed for adding TW-DVR, I discovered the monthly cost to me would actually be over $20. Not worth it compared to either Tivo or Replay, in my opinion.

 

[Myram]

Well I picked up my DVR box last Monday, and it's great!!

It is $6.95 per month, and there are no additional fees at all. The $6.95 is the monthly rental fee for the box, and since I already was paying $6.95 for an additional box, this is basically free to me.

Steve

 

[JeffWilson]

Whoa! TW now has DVR for only $7 a month? I need to check in Northern NJ to see if it's available here. But how is it different than Tivo? If Tivo costs $250 or so PLUS a $12.95/month fee, who would get it? This might be perfect timing as I was just about to buy Tivo. Thanks vyer much!

Jeff

 

[JeffWilson]

Just got off the phone with TW. Sounds amazing!! Who can tell me how they like it? You can even record 2 programs at once? I didnt think TIVO could do that (unless you had DirectTV). Isn't this a no-brainer? $6.95/month for a Tivo with no up front costs?? Thanks again for any info!

Jeff

 

[Jim Rondeau]

Jeff,

This is a great device. I couldn't live without. I can't compare to Tivo or Replay as I never used them, but for $6.95/month this is a great deal. As you mentioned, you can record two programs at once and also watch a previously record one at the same time. It also has a PIP feature which is great too. It's not quite as clear as a TV's standard PIP, but it's good enough for my needs. It has an 80GB HD and can hold up to around 45 hours of programming. It has the standard pause live tv, instant replay and fast forward/reverse functions. You can't go wrong with it. Highly recommended! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jim

 

[JeffWilson]

Jim,

Thanks! I ran out on Sat and picked one up. Although I notice that it doesn't have the extensive search and recommendations that Tivo has, it is excellent for my purposes. I am not using it to watch MORE TV, I just want to watch it on my time. And considering it is hundreds of dollars less than Tivo, I am thrilled. The fact that it is integrated with the online TV Guide, making it even easier to use, makes it perfect for my wife. I notice that my surfing is slowed considerably and I wonder if Tivo has the same problem. My only wish would be to be able to program it over the Internet, ala Tivo. But in reality, that is more for the cool factor than a need factor.

I would rate it a 9 out of 10.

Jeff

 

[Jim Rondeau]

Jeff,

I agree with the surfing issue. I knew there was something I didn't like about it and that's it. It takes longer to change channels and sometimes there's a delay responding to the remote. I also wish you could go out more than one week on the programming guide. Other than those issues, it's great. Beats using a VCR anyday. I agree with your 9 out of 10 rating too. Enjoy.

Jim

 

[DanHaya]

I just got mine yesterday, and so far I am pretty impressed, but I did find a few areas for improvement:

1. The scheduler needs to be improved. I scheduled mine to record "Enterprise" every Wednesday night, but because I told it to record every episode, it also picked up the Saturday rebroadcast of that week's episode...which isn't a huge problem, but it's just something I'll have to delete each week. When I tried to delete the Saturday recording from the schedule, it also deleted the Wednesday entry.

2. Response time from the remote to the box needs to be improved, if possible.

3. Output to DVD recorder and PC. If you record a lot of things to save permanently, as I do, this is gonna be a must! I haven't tried to record from the DVR to my VCR yet (the installer said you couldn't do it), but I will post the results when I do.

I loved being able to record 2 programs at the same time. I recorded the Bucs-Eagles game last night and was able to record the ESPN Monday Night Countdown as well as the local pregame show from my ABC affiliate. It'll be nice to have both on my VHS tape/DVD.

If anyone has been able to output to PC, please let me know. I just got a DVD+R drive and wanna get some use out of it.

 

[JeffWilson]

Dan

A few points:

To only record the Sunday Enterprise and now Wednesday, you can do that in the setup. After scheduling it in the guide, press LIST and then press C to go to the Series Manager. Go to Enterprise and press SELECT. This will give you various options. One will ask if you want to record only first run shows or reruns also. Another will ask if you want to tape all nights or just Sunday night. This should take care of all of the problems you are having.

Regardng the output to VCR. I was told explicitly that you can output to a VCR and cannot think of a reason that it wouldn't work. I haven't had time to look at it and so I can't say for sure, but I am almost certain it will be fine. I don't thnk the DVD option is available yet, nor has the FireWire port been enabled...but hopefully will be sooner rather than later!

Have fun!

Jeff

 

[Jeff_S]

As an owner of an upgraded stand-alone TiVo for over 2.5 years, I can offer a direct comparison between it and the new Time Warner DVRs (as previously noted, it costs $9.95 per month per DVR in Southern California).

Stand-alone TiVo:

- Easier-to-use

- Better interface

- Better search options

- Faster channel change response (this is referring to analog channels only using the TiVo as the tuner... I don't know what kind of channel change response you might get with a stand-alone TiVo controlling a digital cable box via IR)

- Because you own it, you can hack/upgrade it without worries

- Better remote

- More stable

Time Warner DVR:

- No up-front hardware costs

- Lower per month costs per DVR (assuming no lifetime TiVo subscription)

- Can record two shows at the same time (two tuners)

- Can record digital cable directly (no need for IR control of digital cable box)

- Can record Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (depending on show)

- Built-in PIP allowing you to watch two recordings (or two live broadcasts) at the same time

- Better picture quality

- No phone line needed for guide updates

I picked up a Time Warner DVR on a Thursday, hooked it up and played with it that night, then the next day, I picked up another unit for my bedroom. For me, the benefits of the Time Warner DVR outweighed the benefits of the stand-alone TiVo.

I think it is definitely worth trying out to see if you like it.

 

[Henry Carmona]

I just moved my TW DVR to the bedroom as i picked up an HD box (not HD DVR).

My wife wants to save on the bills and wanted me to return the DVR and buy a Tivo instead.

I had no idea Tivo had a subscription cost AND its more expensive than the TW DVR monthly charge.

Why would anyone opt for a Tivo instead? I read the comparrison up top, but its just not very interesting for the extra money, not to mention i have to BUY one.

Guess im staying with the DVR and grabbing an HD one when they come out.

 

[Robert_J]

Why would anyone opt for a Tivo instead? I read the comparrison up top, but its just not very interesting for the extra money, not to mention i have to BUY one.

I wanted Tivo for the name based recording. Season Passes and Wishlists are great. Set the Tivo up and forget it. A lot of people also like the suggestions.

-Robert

 

[Stephen Tu]

I had no idea Tivo had a subscription cost AND its more expensive than the TW DVR monthly charge. Why would anyone opt for a Tivo instead?

The standalone Tivos have a $299 "unit lifetime" service fee option, so you can just pay upfront and be done with it. Even if you just trash it after 4 years that would work out to ~$10.50 a month at current 40-hr Tivo prices. Cheaper if you use it longer (I've had one for 4.5 years already, still working, and I plan to keep it working with a relative after I upgrade to HD PVR). With cable DVR you have the DVR charge, sometimes rental on the box itself, & usually requirement to sub to the digital cable tier which many people could do without. So for the cable DVR the extra cost may get closer to $20/month than $10/month. The Tivo may start to look more economical in the long run depending on your subscription preferences, or at least close enough given the software superiority. If you are already subscribing to digital cable then the cable DVR would likely be the better option.

Also a lot of people are switching to DirecTV satellite and getting DirecTivo, which is only $99, and $5/month, often quite a bit cheaper than cable given similar programming.