online.wsj.com— For HDTV owners who want a digital video recorder, the choice can be tough. The Comcast high-definition DVR is a cheaper, but flawed product and the TiVo Series3 is an excellent, but overpriced one.
Dec 28, 2006View in Crawl 4
Same thing with me... I have had a Comcast (Motorola) and RCN (Motorola) dual tuner HDTV DVR. They have lots of issues. Freezing, overheating, etc... They are good for a people who can't shell out the 700 for tivo plus the subscription fee, but the TIVO is sOOOO much nicer... and better. Like comparing Apples and Oranges (PCs). Esp now that the TIvo has the cable card capability, and rumors of expanded hard drives... Maybe even TIVO TO GO! :)
@swankboyI totally agree. I could easily come up with the money for a decent 42" HDTV, but it's all the other extras that I'm going to really want that keeps me from upgrading. Once the Tivo comes down and we get some lower priced HD-DVD, and I certainly am not going to use those crappy cable DVRs.
I have had DirecTV TiVo for almost 6 years now. I currently have the HR10-260 HD DirecTV receiver. I'll be moving to the new HD DirecTV DVR some time in 2007. It will be a sad day when I'm TiVo-less. :(
anti_hax0rYou are confusing outputs with tuners. Most people do this. I've had a 622 since February and regularly record 3 HD programs at the same time while watching HD on one output and SD on the other. Outputs are how the dvr connects to tvs. Tuners are how it records. Dish allows you to hook most of their dvrs to two tvs in different rooms and share the content. The second output is SD only so it downconverts any HD content to SD. Don't believe me, go do some reading at satelliteguys.us or dbstalk.com. The 622 can record 3 HD programs at the same time (1 over the air and 2 from satellite).
Have the Cablevision HD DVR Box (Scientific Atlanta). Not the greatest interface, but it gets the job done. Never had a problem with it freezing up, works just fine.Service only $9.95 a month ($3.00 cheaper then Tivo) plus I don't have to dish out $800 for the equipment. If it breaks or they come out with a better model I just take it down the road to the cable office and get a new one, for free.Only downsides are:1) 20 Hour HD capacity - not a big deal for me as I watch everything I record within a couple of days then erase it.2) Sometimes didn't want to sync the HDMI output with my Toshiba TV. Works fine with the component output. I'll have to try HDMI again as they have pushed a bunch of firmware updates to the DVR box in the last couple of months.Doesn't make sense to spend $800 and go with Tivo. I'll take that $800 and buy a 32" LCD for the bedroom :)
If on the fence about upgrading to a Series 3 Tivo and have lifetime on your current box, BUY NOW. NOW. NOW. If you buy before 12/31/06, you can transfer your lifetime service for $199. Yeah, I know it sucks to have to spend another $199 but it's a limited offer. You have to buy before the end of December and do the transfer before the end of January 2007. You can get an S3 Tivo for $650 or less from a number of online retailers.I just got an HD monitor and tried it with the roommate's Motorola 64212-III HD DVR from the cable company. That DVR is a pile of crap and we pay $15/month for it. 120 gigs for HD?!? That's like going to a buffet that gives out 4" plates. As if the pitiful capacity isn't bad enough, the space management system is totally flawed. I recorded two football games in HD and it wiped out all but two hours of the standard-def recordings. WTF? It's supposed to have 15 hours of HD or 50 hours of SD. I had 6 hours of HD. That should have left room for 25 hours of SD.And the box is horribly slow. At first, I thought the batteries in the remote were dead because I hit "list" and nothing happened. Then, after about 7 or 8 seconds, the list of recorded shows finally displayed. Every aspect of the menu navigation was like that. Hit "guide" and go get a snack. Maybe it'll be up by the time you get back.Quality? Not there. Playback would occasionally stutter when recording one HD channel and playing back another. Not much. Just a frame or two but I could see it. I assume this was due to a slow hard drive because I tried a trick I found an avsforums. Stick the extra tuner on an SD channel then watch the recorded show. The DVR buffers live TV and apparently couldn't handle buffering one HD channel, recording a second, and playing back pre-recorded HD all at the same time. SD channels looked okay but not nearly as good as my old tivo set to best quality.And that doesn't even get into all the scheduling features Tivo has that the cable company's box doesn't have. Wish lists, suggestions (my Tivo's actually gotten pretty darn good over the years), and so-forth.My Series 3 Tivo is set to arrive on Wednesday. I paid $611.something through Dell. Every report I've read says it has better picture quality than the Motorola boxes my cable company provides. It comes with twice the storage of th cable company's boxes and that amount can be tripled by changing the hard drive. It's expensive but at least it's an option. It's not like I'll ever save money going this route but it gives me a better picture, better software, more features, and the potential for expansion.
I realize that I am in the minority here, but even if the Comcast box was free, I still would have bought the S3 Tivo. Using the Comcast box was so frustrating and maddening that it made me dislike watching tv. It was worth $680 not to want to smash the Comcast box every day.
lukeamotionDec 29, 2006
Same thing with me... I have had a Comcast (Motorola) and RCN (Motorola) dual tuner HDTV DVR. They have lots of issues. Freezing, overheating, etc... They are good for a people who can't shell out the 700 for tivo plus the subscription fee, but the TIVO is sOOOO much nicer... and better. Like comparing Apples and Oranges (PCs). Esp now that the TIvo has the cable card capability, and rumors of expanded hard drives... Maybe even TIVO TO GO! :)
dezpotDec 29, 2006
@swankboyI totally agree. I could easily come up with the money for a decent 42" HDTV, but it's all the other extras that I'm going to really want that keeps me from upgrading. Once the Tivo comes down and we get some lower priced HD-DVD, and I certainly am not going to use those crappy cable DVRs.
culbedaDec 29, 2006
"Tivo licensed the software to Comcast over a year ago, and after several delays the trials are finally underway."Unofficial word is that they'll be releasing the TiVo-powered, Comcast box will be released into the wild in April. It was originally slated for this month, but they decided to push it back. Some markets are already in beta.<a class="user" href="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317300?hilite=tivo+april">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317300?hilite=tivo+april</a>
hofferDec 29, 2006
I have had DirecTV TiVo for almost 6 years now. I currently have the HR10-260 HD DirecTV receiver. I'll be moving to the new HD DirecTV DVR some time in 2007. It will be a sad day when I'm TiVo-less. :(
scooby2Dec 29, 2006
anti_hax0rYou are confusing outputs with tuners. Most people do this. I've had a 622 since February and regularly record 3 HD programs at the same time while watching HD on one output and SD on the other. Outputs are how the dvr connects to tvs. Tuners are how it records. Dish allows you to hook most of their dvrs to two tvs in different rooms and share the content. The second output is SD only so it downconverts any HD content to SD. Don't believe me, go do some reading at satelliteguys.us or dbstalk.com. The 622 can record 3 HD programs at the same time (1 over the air and 2 from satellite).
njguyDec 29, 2006
Have the Cablevision HD DVR Box (Scientific Atlanta). Not the greatest interface, but it gets the job done. Never had a problem with it freezing up, works just fine.Service only $9.95 a month ($3.00 cheaper then Tivo) plus I don't have to dish out $800 for the equipment. If it breaks or they come out with a better model I just take it down the road to the cable office and get a new one, for free.Only downsides are:1) 20 Hour HD capacity - not a big deal for me as I watch everything I record within a couple of days then erase it.2) Sometimes didn't want to sync the HDMI output with my Toshiba TV. Works fine with the component output. I'll have to try HDMI again as they have pushed a bunch of firmware updates to the DVR box in the last couple of months.Doesn't make sense to spend $800 and go with Tivo. I'll take that $800 and buy a 32" LCD for the bedroom :)
jtownDec 29, 2006
If on the fence about upgrading to a Series 3 Tivo and have lifetime on your current box, BUY NOW. NOW. NOW. If you buy before 12/31/06, you can transfer your lifetime service for $199. Yeah, I know it sucks to have to spend another $199 but it's a limited offer. You have to buy before the end of December and do the transfer before the end of January 2007. You can get an S3 Tivo for $650 or less from a number of online retailers.I just got an HD monitor and tried it with the roommate's Motorola 64212-III HD DVR from the cable company. That DVR is a pile of crap and we pay $15/month for it. 120 gigs for HD?!? That's like going to a buffet that gives out 4" plates. As if the pitiful capacity isn't bad enough, the space management system is totally flawed. I recorded two football games in HD and it wiped out all but two hours of the standard-def recordings. WTF? It's supposed to have 15 hours of HD or 50 hours of SD. I had 6 hours of HD. That should have left room for 25 hours of SD.And the box is horribly slow. At first, I thought the batteries in the remote were dead because I hit "list" and nothing happened. Then, after about 7 or 8 seconds, the list of recorded shows finally displayed. Every aspect of the menu navigation was like that. Hit "guide" and go get a snack. Maybe it'll be up by the time you get back.Quality? Not there. Playback would occasionally stutter when recording one HD channel and playing back another. Not much. Just a frame or two but I could see it. I assume this was due to a slow hard drive because I tried a trick I found an avsforums. Stick the extra tuner on an SD channel then watch the recorded show. The DVR buffers live TV and apparently couldn't handle buffering one HD channel, recording a second, and playing back pre-recorded HD all at the same time. SD channels looked okay but not nearly as good as my old tivo set to best quality.And that doesn't even get into all the scheduling features Tivo has that the cable company's box doesn't have. Wish lists, suggestions (my Tivo's actually gotten pretty darn good over the years), and so-forth.My Series 3 Tivo is set to arrive on Wednesday. I paid $611.something through Dell. Every report I've read says it has better picture quality than the Motorola boxes my cable company provides. It comes with twice the storage of th cable company's boxes and that amount can be tripled by changing the hard drive. It's expensive but at least it's an option. It's not like I'll ever save money going this route but it gives me a better picture, better software, more features, and the potential for expansion.
thundercat1971Dec 29, 2006
I realize that I am in the minority here, but even if the Comcast box was free, I still would have bought the S3 Tivo. Using the Comcast box was so frustrating and maddening that it made me dislike watching tv. It was worth $680 not to want to smash the Comcast box every day.
thatsnotpuddingJan 1, 2007
Re: monolith: I have never seen a php forum with no (zero) postings - until now. Wow.