TexasCC

I am moving into a new house and DO NOT want cable. I am trying to decide on TIVO or Ulimtimate TV. I don't need the internet access on my TV, although it sounds kinda cool. I just want something with Directv and that can record digitally. I like the idea of paying a one time fee with TIVO instead of paying month-to-month. I don't think you can do that with Microsoft, and I'm sure they'll raise rates as it gets more popular. If anyone that has either machine wants to give me their opinion, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Eternia

Tivo is better.

I don't think Microsoft is even making UltimateTV anymore, are they?

Red Dog

I prefer Replay-TV to TIVO. I cannot comment on Ultimate - never used one. Of course since you have Direct TV, a DirectTivo probably makes the most sense.

TexasCC

Why Replay TV over Tivo? Just curious. I believe they are still making Ultimate TV. I just saw them at Best Buy. Can you watch one program and record the other with both? What about record 2 shows at once? Thanks.

jflynn

Any PVRs that do not require a subscription to work?

(Let's not discuss hacks, only legit solutions. Also, packaged solutions as opposed to HTPC which I want to avoid.)

Red Dog

First off, they both basically do the same stuff.

As for preferring Replay:
No subscription fee. I have a Replay and my roommate has a TIVO. TIVO has one major option that I like not found on Replay and that is 'TIVO Suggestions' - it determines your likes and records programs (if you have space) that it thinks you might like. Other than that, I prefer Replay because I find it much simpler to use and it has the quick-skip feature (and commercial skip in newer models) that makes jumping through commercials so easy.

However, as I said before, you are probably better off going with TIVO if you have Direct TV.

Kevlar

I use an ATI all in wonder capture card. It works in a similar manner to TIVO and Ultimate tv. I paid around 150 for the card, it captures directly to the HDD on your computer. There it can easily be burned to VCD which can be played in alot of DVD players. That feature makes it 10x better than either of the above solutions IMHO. Also there is no subscription fee and there is an online tv listing that downloads all programming in your area by telling it who your cable tv company is. I am sure you can plug in a satellite provider too but I never tried.

It has inputs for a vcr or camcorder too so you can transfer home movies/vcr tapes to VCD through the card. Its also not a bad 3d accelerator either. Well worth the 150 bucks.

Static Cling

How much does a ReplayTV unit cost compared to the TiVo unit plus the lifetime subscription fee?

And as I posted in the Hot Deals thread, it takes about ten seconds to program a TiVo to have the 30-second skip feature if you go to www.tivocommunity.com and find the code... I put the specific thread address in one of the Hot Deals TiVo threads, if you want to do a search for that.

djbrown

Get the DirecTivo integrated unit. By far the best PVR out there. Good luck finding one though. It can record one program while watching another, record two while watching another previously recorded program, etc...

GMan2819

I own a Tivo and a ReplayTV and I think Tivo is better. Two peeves about ReplayTV - 1) 30 second skip (for commercial skip) doesn't work right. I always end up overshooting and then doing multiple replays to try to find the beginning of the return from commercial. 2) Traversing the guide to find what's coming up is cumbersome. You can skip forwards/backwards in 12 hour chunks, but trying to find shows at an exact time is tedious. These comments are based on the old model ReplayTVs, I don't know what the current models are like.

larryw

What exactly doesn't work right about it? You press the button and it skips forward 30 seconds. Now, if the commercial break is not a multiple of 30 seconds then yeah, you will overshoot (or undershoot). But the button does work as advertised.

GMan2819

Ok, poor choice of words on my part. The point I was trying to make was that if people are expecting the 30 sec skip as a convenient way to skip commercials, they should be aware that it's not perfect and its easy to overshoot. Then you have to go back and correct the overshoot by pressing multiple replays. This negates whatever convenience that function is supposed to give you.

Red Dog

If you overshoot, just hit Instant Replay - that takes you back 7 seconds. That almost always takes care of an overshoot.

I find 2+QuickSkip (2 minute jump) is faster and easier than hitting a macro button that is 3 FFs and then hitting play because you have to keep your eyes on the TV with the TIVO macro.

GMan2819

Sure, easy for you to say. I always end up having to press the instant replay from 1-4 times to get to the correct place. The 2+Quickskip is not good either because the commercials aren't always 2 minutes - sometimes more, sometimes less. What happens if you decide to watch a few seconds of a commercial? You're screwed. You will always overshoot. In theory, the 30 second skip sounds good, but in practice it ain't.