Tivo (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

I'm seeing the TIVO (HDR112) 14 hour unit local very cheap ($179 or so) which might be a deal.. if the hard drive can be replaced (giving it more hours) I've got plenty of 120G drives hanging around I could use if it can be..

Of course, then I'd have to go through the maze of making it work with my digital cable..

 

[Kelley_B]

I believe all TiVos can be upgraded. The only thing to be worried about is how much heat does the 120G drive put off? You might need to install a fan unit in your TiVo also.

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

Some times you can find them cheaper but $179 is not bad if it is NIB. If you have a 120 gb HD laying around and you are familair with adding ide components to a PC it is a snap to upgrade. You can actualy have 2 120 gb HDs in one TiVo. I have Direct TiVos and Standalone models. The issue with cables boxs is in the changing of the channels. you must use an IR blaster which is about 98%, 2% agrivation. There are some tricks to fine tune the blaster. Another problem is if you dont have a GOOD signal for the analog channels typicaly channels under 100 the MPEG2 encoder will encode the noise in the picture and it will look bad. If you are lucky and have an all digital system or a GOOD strong cable signal this is moote. With that said I LOVE MY TIVOs and dont know how anyone could watch tv with out one! Even with the above problems I would have one in a heartbeat. TiVo has released the next generation TiVo and they have usb ports for future expansion, a faster menu proccessor, and 60GB hd for 60 hours at worst quality. TiVo has increased the monthy subscription for standalones to $13 a month, the DirecTiVo remain at $10. You can still purchase a lifetime for THE UNIT for $250. You can go here for info on upgrading TiVos:
http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/
This TiVo stuff is the neatest thing in my system. It will totally change the way you watch TV.

 

[Pamela]

I am also on the verge of buying a Tivo. You might want to check out your local Sears. The one by me has a 30 hour unit, NIB, for $199 (regularly $399). They aren't selling them any more. They told me nobody bought them.

 

[Chris]

Wow. See, the $179 was for a refurbished. Everywhere I went (Best Buy, Circuit City) wants $399. Some idiot at CC informed me that there was no such thing as a TiVO that wasn't connected to a DirecTV dish.. what a moron. No wonder I haven't shopped at CC since DiVX. Went around a few more places and found them as low as $339; but nowhere near what you guys are finding them at; links anywhere?

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

The series 2 will be available at BB soon they will most likely be $399, they are a 60 hr unit. You can buy them now at the TiVo.com website. There is also a ATT model that they sell (to anyone not just ATT customers) for $299 and it is a 40 hr unit, with some control buttons on the front like the DTiVos. TiVo is taking off right when they are rolling out their new product lines. TiVo doubled their subscriptions in the last half of 2001. I dont think you will find cheap TiVos much longer.

 

[Chris]

Damn. Well, that about sums up what I seem to run into.. maybe I'll just go with one of the TiVO 2s.. I do like the new ReplayTV idea (it connects to broadband, so no phone line) but people seem to indicate the programming system is more difficult.

 

[Gene S]

Chris,

You might want to take a look at Wal-Mart. I found my 20hr Tivo (now upgraded) for $169. I don't think they carry newer models, but you might get lucky and find an older model still in stock.

 

[Chris]

yep, visited three walmarts in the metro.. they no longer carry TiVO they tell me.

 

[Ian Montgomerie]

You might want to consider DirecTV. The cable service in my area is not the greatest, so I am going to get DirecTV (but probably not till after the summer, as I don't watch much TV during rerun season). Off the DirecTV web site one of their installers has a deal where you get dish, installation, and a DirecTivo for something like 100 bucks (i.e. the DirecTivo is practically free).

There are two benefits of DirecTivo over the regular kind. First, you can record two channels at once (optionally while watching a third, recorded program, or a third channel by bypassing the Tivo). Second, the picture is much better. The DirecTV feed is already encoded, so the DirecTivo stores it straight to the disk and plays it back exactly as it came in, so on playback you get the same high-quality digital picture. With cable, the Tivo must encode the signal itself, which means you will get about VCR quality level (and the quality of the "live feed" will actually worsen too, unless you bypass the Tivo to watch live TV). Also unless you have digital cable, the DirecTV feed will have a noticably better picture than even the pure cable does.

Now of course on the down side there is the monthly cost of DirecTV. But it's carrying local channels in many areas now (so you don't have to worry about seperate antenna/cable service), and it doesn't cost that much more than cable. I look at it this way, with DirecTV I get MUCH better Tivo functionality for ~300 bucks lower startup fee, which is like 6 months of free DirecTV on the plan I am looking at.

Anyway, the picture quality difference is enough to convince me to pay for the DirecTV option myself, rather than staying on the cable service that I share with my roommates and thus only pay 10 bucks a month for.

PVR technology will eventually advance to the point where PVR encoders are good enough that quality doesn't suffer while using them, and they can record two channels at once. But don't expect it to happen this year.

 

[Pamela]

I am victorious! After finding out that the Glendale Sears was out of Tivos, I had my mom check the Sears by her, in Lancaster, PA. They had one, new-in-box, for $199. So she got it for me and the best part is, I don't have to pay for it! She said it's an early birthday present. Woo-hoo! Thanks mom!
So if you scour those Sears stores, you might still be able to find a deal!

 

[Mike Broadman]

That DirectTivo thing is something I'm getting to as well. Until this week, I had digital cable with a 20 hr stand-alone Tivo. Me roommate wanted DirectTV mainly for the sports channels. It costs about the same as the cable, so it was fine with me. We didn't find any good deals with the DirectTivo. In fact, our local Best Buy stopped selling the combo boxes because they're waiting for Tivo2 (I know, it doesn't make sense, but what can ya do?). For $100, we got two regular satellite boxes, the dish, and the installation. When Tivo2 comes out, I'll look into getting the combo box, though it'll probably be very expensive.

 

[DeborahK]

Mike,

Just a heads up here: To the best of my knowledge, TiVo2 is not yet in the offing for DirecTV (correct me if I am wrong, anyone). If you go with a standalone unit for your DTV service, you will end up with programs that have been compressed twice, once by the dish and again by the TiVo. One of the big advantages of the DirecTiVos is that every recording is absolutely at broadcast quality. Of course, the recording quality may make no difference to you but in case it does I just thought I would mention this.

Deborah

 

[Ian Montgomerie]

Dude, go to www.directv.com click "buy online", and choose the American Satellite link. They have 35 hour DirecTivo + dish + installation for 100 dollars. It is ridiculous how much cheaper they are than buying Tivo from local retailers.
(Or a 60 hour unit for 400 dollars, but personally I'd buy the cheap box and get a bigger hard disc installed, even if you needed to pay for an HD install kit rather than putting everything together yourself).

 

[kieran]

There is the AVS forum you can find (kinda hidden) at www.tivo.com for instructions on "blessing" your dive. I would not upgrade with IBM model 120GB if I were you though. They have a known problem in the 120GXP family.

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

There are 2 types of TiVos;
Standalones, these will record 1 program at a time from RF cable, Audio/Video stereo, S-Video/Stereo They CANNOT record 2 things at once. They will control most DTV sat boxes throught the low data port. Other boxes ie Digital Cable are controled via IR blasters. Their recording capacity is at the lowest of 4 compression settings. A 30 hr SA(standalone) will record about 9 hrs at best quality.
DirecTv with TiVo service known as DirecTiVos, combos DTiVo;
These are for Direct TV ONLY they CANNOT record anything but the DTV bitstream, no compresion, no quality selection. They playback the bitstream as if it was live. They have 2 DTV tuners and can record 2 programs at the SAME time. They are also a DD DTV receiver with a optical out.
All TiVos can play a recorded show while it is recording another. The software for both TiVos is very simalar and any one familiar with one would understand 95% of the othere type.
TiVo has released the Standalone series2 and it is a TiVo brand the old series 1 were Sony or Philips.
TiVo has agreed with DTV for the series 2 DTiVos and they are due to be released this fall.
The TiVos that American Sat is selling are DTiVos, a great deal if you want DTV, but remember they DONT RECORD ANY SOURCE BUT DTV. IMHO the DTiVo is the best unit beecause it can record 2 things at once and the PQ is as good as any DTV receiver. It is more efficent with the HD space as most will do 30 hr or more at better than a SAs best. The sound out put is better also. But if you need to record other than DTV then you will need a Standalone. I am a certified TiVo nut. I have upgraded the memory of ALL the TiVos I own and I have 6. 3 SAs and 3 DTiVos.
Hope this helps.