DVR or TIVO (1 Viewer)

[Louisp]

I want to purchase either a digitial video recorder or Tivo for DirecTV. My budget is no more than $250.

Your advise is appreciated


The unit will become a part of our living room home entertainment system. Our current A/V equipment includes:

Sony KV36HS510 HDready TV
LG LSS-3600S HDTV Tuner
Denon 2200 DVD
Sony SLVN700 VCR
Harmon Kardon AVR 525
Monster Power Center 3600
Infinity Speakers:
Alpha 50's Front Right and Left
Alpha 50 Center Channel Speaker
Alpha 20's Book Shelf Speakers 00(Surround Right/Lef tI
Point 5 Surround Rear Right and Left
Entra Subwoofer Two

Thanks in advance

 

[Stephen Tu]

Uh, Tivo is a digital video recorder. If you meant purchase "either a DVD recorder or Tivo", my advice is to go with the Tivo (officially known as "DirecTV DVR with Tivo"), if your main goal is for TV viewing rather than making DVDs of home movies. It's cheaper (albeit $5/month more, unless you have DirecTV's top tier package), the video quality will be better, it records two shows simultaneously, it supports DD audio recording, and it's much easier to program.

 

[Robert_J]

In this thread you talk about having Tivo. Is it a stand alone model? It's not listed in your equipment list.

-Robert

 

[Eddy-C]

I'm getting a DVR with time warner digital cable on tuesday. I was going to get a tivo with DirecTV but they wanted me to get a written note from my landlord and I just don't feel like dealing with those people.

 

[ThomasC]

Is there such a thing as a stand-alone digital video recorder ONLY (no DVD recorder combo) without a one-time or subscription fee?

 

[Stephen Tu]

Not really, best you can do is DVD player / DVR combo model. Toshiba SD-H400, with the free Tivo basic service.

 

[Tyler Harris]

I have the Telly MC1200 which has a DVR without a subscription fee. The Telly is really a Home Entertainment Server, so it includes a Music and Photo Library as well. It's a little more expensive than a Tivo, but it has expandable storage.

Overall I like the Telly, but it lacks some of the reccomendation features of my Tivo. Mainly I got it because it has the ability for lots of storage, almost up to a terabyte.

 

[Brian Gi]

Rca makes/made a model that you can find in a google search, I forget the letters prefix but the model numbers have 7000 and 7005 in them. I refuse to go Tivo because I value my personal information not being released/sold.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Your personal information isn't sold. The data they collect is stripped of personal identifiers. Read http://www.tivo.com/privacy
You can even opt out of your anonymous information being collected at all.

 

[BrianAe]

That Telly looks pretty cool, it is pricy though. I have a comcast DVR but am having it removed and will probably be getting a Tivo or Tivo/DVD-R combo. My main problems with the comcast DVR are 1) it is way way too loud, it humms away at about 60db (not listening position), it is very audible even when listening at moderatly high volumes. 2) It degrades picture quality a lot. 3) Software/programming cabilities way inferior to TIVO.

I haven't tried a TIVO for a while though, so I wonder whether the noise of a TIVO will be an issue for me as well. Can anyone speak to this?

 

[Brian L]

In a dead quiet room, I can here mine from the listening position, but not enough to bother me, and its totally drowned out when there is music or TV playing.

I recently put a DirecTivo in our bedroom, and can hear it, but its not loud enough or bothersome enough for me to take it out.

Of course, everyone has different sensitivity to that sort of thing.

BGL

 

[Brian Gi]

This is from the Tivo privacy policy, UPDATED JUNE 2004...

3.3 Contractors and Third Party Service Providers.
We use contractors to help with some of our operations. Some of these contractors will have access to our databases of User Information on a temporary basis for specific tasks. TiVo also uses third parties to help with certain aspects of its operations, which may require disclosure of your User Information to them. For example, TiVo may use a third party to communicate with you (via telephone, e-mail, or letter) about your TiVo service or upcoming features or services, to mail rebate checks, to generate demographic profiles based on User Information of current TiVo service users, and to perform other work that we may need to outsource. If you are a TiVo Plus service user, TiVo may additionally use a third party to process and collect payment for your TiVo Plus service via your credit card. TiVo contractually binds these contractors and third parties to use your User Information only as necessary to perform the services they are asked to perform. Such contractors and third parties are legally liable for misuse of User Information.


They want us to hold third parties responsible for privacy lapses!? Has anyone read about what has happened in California to several hospitals? In a nutshell...


Several hospitals contract out transcription of medical records to a company in Florida, who took their cut and contracted to a guy in Texas, who took his cut and contracted with individuals in India. The guy in Texas was slow paying a girl in India, (Who contracted to others in India) so the girl in India sent patients private info to the Hospital in California and threatened to put patients private info on the web unless she was paid in a timely manner. Nevermind that the Hospitals contract with the company in Florida prohibited subcontracting.

Have you ever tried to deal with Dell and their 100% third world support? Same thing here, if Tivo contracts out info to companies either here or worse, overseas, there is no guarantee that those contractors will abide by the rules if they see profit in selling info.

As I recall a year or two ago a judge demanded at one point that Tivo disclose personal info.

When and how will they revise their policy in the future? Has the federal do not call list worked-NO!

No thanks, no Tivo for me, but I am glad to have energized the debate!

I have a Toshiba RD-XS32, no modem.

 

[Robert_J]

It's really hard for me to see the correlation between personal hospital records and the proof that I watch late night Skinamax. Just to let you and the entire world know, I'll be watching Scrubs later tonight and recording Law and Order:SVU and NYPD Blue.

-Robert

 

[MannyE]

Ummmmm Yes it has. I have not recieved a single sales call since I listed my numbers with the DNC list. Not one. I used to get upwards of 10 a week.

What does medical info have to do with what you watch on TV? Although your fear is well placed, and it is true that to remain on the grid, we expose ourselves more and more, I would rank info about my TV viewing habits waaaaaaay below my credit card number, medical info, SS#, etc.

Any purchase at a restaurant, online, gas station, dentist, doctor...the list can go on and on, exposes you and I to ID theft and gives our personal info to either a third world sub or a minimum wage schlub and both are just as dangerous.

So why make Tivo look like it's any different than anything else?

 

[MannyE]

Oh and to speak to the noise issue. My Series 1 stand-alone is audible from about 12 feet away in a quiet room, but does not intrude during playback.

My Series 1 DTivo is much quieter and can only be faintly heard from the listening position....this is after being modded with a 120 gig HD. In stock form it was only audible from a foot or so.