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DVR's Tivo and the like... help?
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:25 am
by Scooter
I'm thinking about buying a DVR. You guys know anything about them? All the gigs, Tivo and whatnot have me a little gun-shy. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated... gotta watch my Skins at least twice a week!
Scooter
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:31 am
by cvillehog
What is it that you want to know?
The DVRs that come built-in to your cable or satellite box are extremely easy to use. You just browse to the program in quesiton, select it, tell it to record and you are done. I'm not sure what happens when a program runs outside it's alloted time as football games tend to.
Stand-alone DVRs might be one step harder, requiring you to set a reminder on your satellite/cable box and the DVR, but this isn't always the case.
TiVo is clearly the leader, and has the best interface, but ReplayTV has other advantages, like the ability to offload recorded shows.
Dish Network's proprietary DVR is easy to use and works fine.
DirecTV is available with TiVo.
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:10 am
by General Failure
cvillehog wrote: I'm not sure what happens when a program runs outside it's alloted time as football games tend to.
It cuts them off. If you want to record a football game you better get the postgame show too.
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:58 am
by doroshjt
I know tivo allows you to pad recordings with extra time, I always add 30 minutes after the scheduled time when I record games just to be safe. Tivo has changed my life, the only live tv I watch now basically football. Highly recommend it. I have the 40 GB tivo and thats plenty for my watching style, I have friends that hack their tivo with outside hard drives for a couple hundred gigs of space, they save movies and such, but I basically use it for tv shows.
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:59 am
by Texas Hog
I just got a DVR with my digital cable upgrade a few weeks back. Amazingly at very little cost, and I love it. It is extremely easy to use and very cool! The recording is so easy and pausing and rewinding "live" TV is unreal. I haven't figured out how to integrate it with my Sunday ticket yet, but did use it to watch countless hours of the US Open....and yes be sure and record programs directly following the sporting events you're recording. The DVRs come with plenty of memory/space.
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:09 pm
by Scooter
Thanks fellas! Tivo is a subscription service right? I live in the desert Southwest. My cable company just went to color TV a few weeks ago :0). I've got Direct TV - HD and love it. Now I've gotta figure out which way to go to record stuff. Thanks for the 40 gig piece - that helps. Last thing, you guys mind telling me what I should budget for this equip and / or the fees for services?
Hey, I really appreciate the help!
Scooter
PS- Skins 37 Boys 6
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:12 pm
by cvillehog
There is also a new thing from a company called
Prismiq, that uses your PC as a DVR (their Media Player/Recorder, which is a companion to their Media Player).
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:54 pm
by Scooter
Interesting, I was thinking about a regular PC. My TV has ports and it seems like I could get more memory at less cost than some of the other options. I'll do my homework now - at least I have a LOT better idea where to start. Thanks for putting up with my - completely un-hip questions!
Go Skins!!!
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:40 am
by doroshjt
I believe there is a Direct TV - HD Tivo unit available. That would be wicked cool. I have HD but through cable and tivo doesn't offer HD Tivo unless you go through direct tv. If you are going the HD route, you'll need a larger hard drive. For stand alone tivo, its 12 bucks a month or like 275 for a lifetime subscription. If you get it through direct tv I think its about 5 bucks a month, but I'm not positive.
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:42 am
by cvillehog
I know that Dish Network offers an HD DVR, but it's very expensive, I believe. I haven't seen anything from DirecTV.
(My dad is a Dish Network and DirecTV dealer, so I am fairly up on what both offer, though I only have DirecTV personally.)
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:55 am
by doroshjt
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 10:14 am
by cvillehog
Yikes, indeed.
I believe the Dish Network on is the same price.
Damn it would be worth it though...
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 5:33 pm
by Scooter
I'm narrowing it down. $12.95 would be OK - $5.99 even better :0). I like the idea of the lifetime service. Can't thank you enough fellas! But thanks very much all the same!
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 8:33 pm
by cvillehog
Scooter wrote:I'm narrowing it down. $12.95 would be OK - $5.99 even better :0). I like the idea of the lifetime service. Can't thank you enough fellas! But thanks very much all the same!
Just remember, that's device lifetime, not your lifetime. So if you upgrade your equipment, you gotta start over.