Tivo - experiences?

[fishman]

Seeing the thread on satellite tv got me to thinking again about tivo. I don't know that much about it except that it records something like a vcr, only better /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif, and you have to pay a monthly fee.

To those that have it, is it worth it? I've heard it will also seek out similar shows to ones you've asked it to record and get those for you as well. Is this true? Are there other, better competing systems out there? Any good deals to be had? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I have directv if that has any bearing on it.

I get tired of having 200 channels with nothing good to watch the few times I want to take a load off. It would be great to just sit down and think "wonder what my tivo picked up for me today?" Is this too much to ask? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[bebster]

TIVO is great! Have had it for over a year. Records our favorite shows automatically, so now we decide when we want to watch TV. I even find that I sit down to watch a show 15 mins after it begins, figuring as I skip commercials I'll eventually catch up by the end of an hour. Have programmed in all favorite shows and they record automatically. Some I then even download to my VCR if I want to save them, since the harddisk only holds 40 hours (I should have bought the 80 hour model). Bought it at Circuit City I think. Couldn't live without it now!

DirecTV has a special deal that is even cheaper and has a model that enables you to record one channel while watching another (standard Tivo only records the channel you are watching), and that's certainly the way to go.

from another post:
<font color="blue"> They have a combined unit called DirecTivo or Diretv DVR. These units are actually better than Tivo standalone units. They come with two tuners so you can watch one channel while recording another, or record two channels at the same time. They are currently on offer from $99.00 dollars for units that will record about 35 hours. The extra cost of the Tivo service for you will be $4.95 for all your receivers. </font>

 

[aloha]

Why do you suppose TiVo does not give subscribers a no-phone line option? Could it be that they are in the business of sucking commercially valuable data out of subscribers' households? You need to decide the value you put on your privacy.

 

[Muhammad]

Have it, love it, and wouldn't give it up. With TiVo, TV fits around your schedule, not the other way around. I use it mainly for programs that are on while I'm not home (or late at night)... and sometimes sporting events.

Plus, you can record back to a VCR (tape or DVD) so you can build quite a movie collection.

There's really no comparison. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[zuiko]

For the DirecTivo boxes that are Tivo and DirecTV combined in one unit you only need the phone line to activate the recording options. Once you do that you can leave it unplugged. It will nag once per day but that isn't too bad. The only reason it calls in any more is to report what you are watching.

I activated a couple boxes at my house for my Dad who doesnt have a phone line. It was no problem. The boxes dont even need to be hooked to the satellite to do it.

Of course the standalone Tivo units need the phone line to pick up guide data and software updates.

 

[zuiko]

I wouldn't be without mine. 95% of what I watch is off Tivo. About the only thing I watch live is Fox News Channel. I also have DirecTV.

 

[Inspector507]

Is there a monthly charge to use Tivo?

 

[GaryM]

Inspector,

$4.95 no mater how many receivers you have. At least that's what I was told when I signed up.

 

[MikePA]

I have had two ReplayTV devices for a couple of years. I tried a Tivo and could never get its modem to download data correctly. The current models can use a broadband connection and you can connect them to a computer network which allows you to transfer recordings between them. When I bought them, ReplayTV must have been anxious for cash because they offered a $200 (I think) lifetime subscription or a monthly fee. I opted for the lifetime subscription on both units.

While I like being able to record shows, being able to pause, stop, rewind, etc. live TV is just as valuable. Want to fix a sandwich and not miss anything? Hit Stop. Gotta take a phone call, Hit Stop. Need to run out and get dinner? Hit Stop. What kind of tractor was that guy driving? Rewind.

Tivo and ReplayTV are one of those devices you wonder how you'd use it until you buy it. Then you wonder how you lived without it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif When I first bought them, my wife thought they were just another electronic toy. Now she can't live without them either. In fact, we will be watching live TV, a commercial will come on and she will tell me to fast forward through it!

The online channel guide specific to your cable or satellite provider is great, being able to seach it is valuable as well. We use it to record shows late at night and we also keep some of them long term for watching when the cable goes out.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I have the Direct TV unit that lets you record two different channels at the same time or watch one and record one. I had the Dish unit and only could record but not watch at the same time if it was a different channel. The Direct TV unit is the way to go, especially if you have kids and they want to watch something at the same time you do, ( only big screen and sound system in the house) no more fighting. To down load to a VCR is easy, start the move, start the VCR, DONE! Since the signal is digital you do not loose anything going to the tape. When the DVD recording units come down in cost, I will replace the VCR with a DVD recorder.

You can never say "nothing on TV to watch" with a two channel recorder!