Anyone use TiVo with Dish Network?
11-22-04, 03:14 PM
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Anyone use TiVo with Dish Network?
I am thinking about getting my parents a standalone TiVo to use with their existing Dish Network service. Does anyone currently use this setup and have anything to say about it? Does it work alright? Any complaints?
(Yes, I know it would be ideal to move them to a DirecTiVo, but that isn't happening right now. Long story).
(Yes, I know it would be ideal to move them to a DirecTiVo, but that isn't happening right now. Long story).
11-22-04, 03:23 PM
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Well, my only experience with Tivo has been with a DirecTivo unit, but from what I understand of the standalones, they'll most likely have to hook the Tivo up to one of their satellite receivers, and set the receiver to the channel they want to record. Not only that, but if they want to record two things at once, they'd have to hook up one receiver to each input of the Tivo.
11-22-04, 04:41 PM
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Why not use the integrated dvr that dish has? I've had a 508 for over a year now, and it has had only one or two problems the entire time (and I use it to record and watch shows every day). Turning the power off and on again always resets the unit, so no big deal.
11-23-04, 12:28 AM
#5
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One of the integrated Dish DVRs is the way to go in this situation. You lose one or two of the features that Tivo has, but the convenience and picture quality of having the DVR built into the receiver more than makes up for it. The DVR service also costs $5 a month instead of $13 or whatever it is that Tivo costs now.
11-23-04, 12:33 AM
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If you have the full package, you dont pay the $5 a month...plus Dish just had a deal where you could upgrade for just $25 installed.
11-23-04, 08:56 AM
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For those of you suggesting the Dish DVR, do you own or have you ever used a TiVo? I am an avid TiVo user, and everything I've ever read says that the Dish DVR sucks big donkey balls when compared to a TiVo.
The biggest feature of the TiVo is the Season Pass, which (if I am correct) Dish DVR doesn't have. That feature alone is worth the extra $$, and will be a HUGE selling point to my folks. Without a Season Pass, their existing VCR will do the job instead of that Dish DVR.
The biggest feature of the TiVo is the Season Pass, which (if I am correct) Dish DVR doesn't have. That feature alone is worth the extra $$, and will be a HUGE selling point to my folks. Without a Season Pass, their existing VCR will do the job instead of that Dish DVR.
11-23-04, 09:10 AM
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I use Dish Network with my Series 1 Tivo. It uses the IR Blaster. It took me a little while to find the right way to attach the blaster to the Dish receiver. The adhesive on the blaster does not hold it on to the receiver, especially in my entertainment center where it can get kind of hot. I used black electrical tape, starting at the bottom of the receiver and wrapping it all the way around to the top.
I have zero complaints with regards to the Tivo managing the Dish receiver. The only downside is that if you're used to surfing the Dish with the channel up/down buttons, it won't really work anymore. The Tivo inputs the channel number every time. But I so rarely watch live TV that it's not a problem.
I have zero complaints with regards to the Tivo managing the Dish receiver. The only downside is that if you're used to surfing the Dish with the channel up/down buttons, it won't really work anymore. The Tivo inputs the channel number every time. But I so rarely watch live TV that it's not a problem.
11-23-04, 01:39 PM
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Originally posted by Morf
For those of you suggesting the Dish DVR, do you own or have you ever used a TiVo? I am an avid TiVo user, and everything I've ever read says that the Dish DVR sucks big donkey balls when compared to a TiVo.
The biggest feature of the TiVo is the Season Pass, which (if I am correct) Dish DVR doesn't have. That feature alone is worth the extra $$, and will be a HUGE selling point to my folks. Without a Season Pass, their existing VCR will do the job instead of that Dish DVR.
For those of you suggesting the Dish DVR, do you own or have you ever used a TiVo? I am an avid TiVo user, and everything I've ever read says that the Dish DVR sucks big donkey balls when compared to a TiVo.
The biggest feature of the TiVo is the Season Pass, which (if I am correct) Dish DVR doesn't have. That feature alone is worth the extra $$, and will be a HUGE selling point to my folks. Without a Season Pass, their existing VCR will do the job instead of that Dish DVR.
The only thing the dish dvr lacks is setting up a season pass (i.e. if the show changes times for whatever reason the tivo knows but the dvr doesn't) and a one-time override function.
If you can set a vcr, you can use a dish dvr - they work on the same principle. You set the time (it fills in the name of the show in the to-be-recorded list - most of the time, there are exceptions that I can go into if you want) and it records it daily, m-f, one time, weekly, etc., however you set it up.
11-23-04, 01:43 PM
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Originally posted by WarriorPrincess
The only thing the dish dvr lacks is setting up a season pass
The only thing the dish dvr lacks is setting up a season pass
Originally posted by WarriorPrincess
If you can set a vcr, you can use a dish dvr - they work on the same principle. You set the time (it fills in the name of the show in the to-be-recorded list - most of the time, there are exceptions that I can go into if you want) and it records it daily, m-f, one time, weekly, etc., however you set it up.
If you can set a vcr, you can use a dish dvr - they work on the same principle. You set the time (it fills in the name of the show in the to-be-recorded list - most of the time, there are exceptions that I can go into if you want) and it records it daily, m-f, one time, weekly, etc., however you set it up.
No offense, but you seem to be missing the point of a TiVo. You tell a TiVo "Hey, TiVo? I want to catch every episode of 'M*A*S*H'. I don't care what channel it is on, or what time - just get them all." And TiVo will do just that.
I didn't start this thread to debate the merits of a TiVo over a Dish DVR. It is already clear to me that TiVo is far superior - I just wanted to see if anyone else had a TiVo/Dish Network setup.
11-23-04, 04:48 PM
#11
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You do lose the season pass feature, but everything else about using a Dish DVR will be easier than using a stand-alone Tivo with satellite.
First of all, Istrongly disagree with the statement that programming a Dish DVR is the same as programming a VCR. Programming a Dish DVR to record is way easier than a VCR. Find a show in the guide, click select and that's it. No setting times, days, recording speeds, worrying about how much tape you have, etc. And you have the option of making the timer a repeating timer (weekly, daily, Monday-Friday, whatever) with the click of a button.
With a stand-alone Tivo, you're going to have to configure an IR blaster and set up one device to control the other. Bleh.
Because the satellite tuner is built into the DVR, you're recording the digital bit stream exactly as it comes off the satellite, with zero loss of picture quality. With a stand-alone Tivo, you convert digital to analog, then recompress to digital again, then reconvert to analog. It's a better picture than a VCR, but not as good as a DVR with a built-in tuner.
Season pass is nice, and Dish is working on implementing it on their DVRs (there are patent issues), but the benefits of a Dish DVR far outweigh the loss of that one feature.
Oh, and you don't have Tivo quietly implementing new software patches to take your control of the machine away from you (such as automatically deleting pay-per-view programming after a certain length of time and throwing up popup ads while you're fast-forwarding through commercials).
First of all, Istrongly disagree with the statement that programming a Dish DVR is the same as programming a VCR. Programming a Dish DVR to record is way easier than a VCR. Find a show in the guide, click select and that's it. No setting times, days, recording speeds, worrying about how much tape you have, etc. And you have the option of making the timer a repeating timer (weekly, daily, Monday-Friday, whatever) with the click of a button.
With a stand-alone Tivo, you're going to have to configure an IR blaster and set up one device to control the other. Bleh.
Because the satellite tuner is built into the DVR, you're recording the digital bit stream exactly as it comes off the satellite, with zero loss of picture quality. With a stand-alone Tivo, you convert digital to analog, then recompress to digital again, then reconvert to analog. It's a better picture than a VCR, but not as good as a DVR with a built-in tuner.
Season pass is nice, and Dish is working on implementing it on their DVRs (there are patent issues), but the benefits of a Dish DVR far outweigh the loss of that one feature.
Oh, and you don't have Tivo quietly implementing new software patches to take your control of the machine away from you (such as automatically deleting pay-per-view programming after a certain length of time and throwing up popup ads while you're fast-forwarding through commercials).
11-23-04, 06:18 PM
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I completely agree with everything Mr. Salty said. I should have been more clear in my previous post - what I meant was, if you have the skill to program a vcr, a dish dvr is no problem. It is just as easy as Mr. Salty explained, and as I mentioned in the first paragraph of my first post.
Incidentally, to tell a tivo you want to record something, you have to go through several screens, but to tell a dish dvr you want to record, you just press one button from the guide menu and it's set. You can alter it to be a weekly/m-f/daily occurence, or let it stay a one-time recording. You can search in the 9 day guide to find all episodes of a show, but no, there is no way to have it constantly search out new episodes of a show. Most of the time, shows stay on the same day/time, so weekly recordings are almost as good.
As to why I went into the merits of a dish dvr, I believe the question was asked by you and I was merely trying to be helpful. I gave the caveat that I only used a stand-alone tivo with comcast for one weekend, as opposed to over a year with my dish dvr. You wanted to know if I had used both, and yes, I have, albeit briefly.
Incidentally, since your parents already have dish, what receivers are they using? My old 4900 could be programmed to turn on the vcr and auto-record shows, and the programming of that receiver was arguably more difficult than using the dish dvr. At the very least they require the same level of skill (not much). Perhaps your parents are familiar enough with dish software to make the transition to a dish dvr painless.
As to why to go with a dvr, there is just no comparable feature on a vcr to being able to rewind live tv or pause live tv (unless you are constantly recording the shows you watch - something I've never seen anyone do with a vcr). Plus, if they record a lot of stuff or like to watch several episodes of the same show in a row, a dvr makes all of that much easier. No swapping tapes, no running out of tapes, no wondering where you have a saved episode...the list keeps going.
As I said before, the hoopla over tivo, aside from the two bits of functionality which I already said were lacking in the dish version, is overrated. The integrated dish receiver is handy and easy to use. I believe you wanted to know if it is worth it at all without the season pass - I think it is. I should also point out again that I have only had the dvr for about a year - many others jumped on the dvr bandwagon years before I did. Why did I wait? My vcr worked just fine, thank you, so why spend the money. Oh how naive I was. I finally caved when my vcr died, and I kicked myself for waiting so long. It truly makes tv viewing much more pleasant, at least if you record a lot and hate commercials, as I do.
I should also say that while the season pass is a dealbreaker (and the main reason they like tivo) for some, for me it's one minor thing. The other things like perfect digital recordings, rewind/pause/ff live tv, no need for tapes, 60+ hrs of recording time, 30 second skip, unlimited number of recording slots, etc. all make a dvr of any sort a vital part of my tv experience. Do I wish it could automatically adjust for preemptions and time shifts? Of course. But I pay attention to things like that, so it's no different in that capacity than when I used a vcr. Far more important is the ability to pad/subtract minutes in any denomination I choose from the set recording times (tivo limits you in that regard). With networks these days starting early and running over, padding time to the minute is vital. Again, at least for me.
Dammit-one more thing. THis post is way too long, but maybe one of my pet peeves is the same for your parents. With my old 4900 receiver, the guide supposedly held 2 days of information. Lies. It held a few hours of info, and after that, every 1.5 hours had to be downloaded - a time consuming process, and the info didn't save, so if you went back later you'd have to re-download the same info all over again. The dvr holds 9 days, and the info stays without a need to re-download it two minutes later. You don't realize how much time you used to waste waiting for the damn guide to download until it does so automatically without you having to wait for it every time you look something up. A tivo can't help them with that issue, that is, if they find it bothersome.
Incidentally, to tell a tivo you want to record something, you have to go through several screens, but to tell a dish dvr you want to record, you just press one button from the guide menu and it's set. You can alter it to be a weekly/m-f/daily occurence, or let it stay a one-time recording. You can search in the 9 day guide to find all episodes of a show, but no, there is no way to have it constantly search out new episodes of a show. Most of the time, shows stay on the same day/time, so weekly recordings are almost as good.
As to why I went into the merits of a dish dvr, I believe the question was asked by you and I was merely trying to be helpful. I gave the caveat that I only used a stand-alone tivo with comcast for one weekend, as opposed to over a year with my dish dvr. You wanted to know if I had used both, and yes, I have, albeit briefly.
Incidentally, since your parents already have dish, what receivers are they using? My old 4900 could be programmed to turn on the vcr and auto-record shows, and the programming of that receiver was arguably more difficult than using the dish dvr. At the very least they require the same level of skill (not much). Perhaps your parents are familiar enough with dish software to make the transition to a dish dvr painless.
As to why to go with a dvr, there is just no comparable feature on a vcr to being able to rewind live tv or pause live tv (unless you are constantly recording the shows you watch - something I've never seen anyone do with a vcr). Plus, if they record a lot of stuff or like to watch several episodes of the same show in a row, a dvr makes all of that much easier. No swapping tapes, no running out of tapes, no wondering where you have a saved episode...the list keeps going.
As I said before, the hoopla over tivo, aside from the two bits of functionality which I already said were lacking in the dish version, is overrated. The integrated dish receiver is handy and easy to use. I believe you wanted to know if it is worth it at all without the season pass - I think it is. I should also point out again that I have only had the dvr for about a year - many others jumped on the dvr bandwagon years before I did. Why did I wait? My vcr worked just fine, thank you, so why spend the money. Oh how naive I was. I finally caved when my vcr died, and I kicked myself for waiting so long. It truly makes tv viewing much more pleasant, at least if you record a lot and hate commercials, as I do.
I should also say that while the season pass is a dealbreaker (and the main reason they like tivo) for some, for me it's one minor thing. The other things like perfect digital recordings, rewind/pause/ff live tv, no need for tapes, 60+ hrs of recording time, 30 second skip, unlimited number of recording slots, etc. all make a dvr of any sort a vital part of my tv experience. Do I wish it could automatically adjust for preemptions and time shifts? Of course. But I pay attention to things like that, so it's no different in that capacity than when I used a vcr. Far more important is the ability to pad/subtract minutes in any denomination I choose from the set recording times (tivo limits you in that regard). With networks these days starting early and running over, padding time to the minute is vital. Again, at least for me.
Dammit-one more thing. THis post is way too long, but maybe one of my pet peeves is the same for your parents. With my old 4900 receiver, the guide supposedly held 2 days of information. Lies. It held a few hours of info, and after that, every 1.5 hours had to be downloaded - a time consuming process, and the info didn't save, so if you went back later you'd have to re-download the same info all over again. The dvr holds 9 days, and the info stays without a need to re-download it two minutes later. You don't realize how much time you used to waste waiting for the damn guide to download until it does so automatically without you having to wait for it every time you look something up. A tivo can't help them with that issue, that is, if they find it bothersome.
Last edited by WarriorPrincess; 11-23-04 at 06:34 PM.
