rayh78

New to some of this and trying to understand.
Since my old VCR broke I was looking at buy a plain DVR to use on the rare occasions when we want to record one TV channel while watching a different one. We just have basic cable and my local Comcast will be switching to all digital and know I would need one of their boxes/adaptors for each the TV and DVR to do this. Have not needed before with just cable basic service, and never considered Direct TV because did not really want the extra boxes.

A friend said he has a Tivo DVR that has a lifetime subscription that he wants to sell.
Said I would not have to pay any monthly fees, and it could be used as a cable box and as a DVR.
Another friend told me I would still have to pay Comcast a extra monthly fee for some type of card to go into the TIVO.

Who is right and any other info appreciated.
Thanks

Spiky

They are both right.

A Tivo with lifetime is free, as opposed to their normal $13/month fee. You'd want to make sure it has lifetime, and make sure you know what you are buying, there have been many Tivo models.

There may be a monthly fee to the cable company, just as there would be for a digital cable box, although cablecard should be far less. If you need to purchase cablecards, they cost something there, too. You'd have to check with your local cable company to see what prices are. Check this out, although I wouldn't assume it is gospel: http://www.weaknees.com/cablecard.php

Another current option is the DTVPal from Dish Network. Or a DVDR, esp a Panasonic model with DVD-RAM capability.

rayh78

Thanks
So if I understand this right and concerned about monthly fees and not one time cost.
My best bet is to just get a DVR or maybe a DVD player with a HDD and another cable box to go before it which would allow me to set the channel the DVR is recording.
From what I remember from Comcast, they will charge $1.99 month for extra box, but $8.00 a month for a card or $15.00 a month for a Tivo unit.

Spiky

Difficult prospect these days. That's why I recommended one with DVD-RAM capability. Better than other DVD tech for time-shifting, more like a HDD.

I thought it was more like $2 for cablecard, $8 for boxes. But I'm hardly an expert on Comcast.

Tivo is the best choice, though. If you had one you'd find far more use for it than occasional recording.

tdoane78

When I had comcast the first cable card was free and each subsequent one was $1.50. The $8 fee per card seems out of whack with FCC guidance on cable cards. In any case -- if you just want to be able to record TV-shows then go with the DVR from the cable company.

If you want to be able to push your own videos to your DVR, extract shows you have recorded onto your IPOD, listen to your MP3 collection, etc then go with a Tivo.

Make sure your friend is selling a Series 3 or TivoHD unit and not a series2.

-Tim (I own 2 Series 2, 1 Series 3, and 2 TivoHD units and could not be happier)

jjcool

I've got a Panasonic DVDr with ram capabilities, and I have come to the realization that it is a piece of shit. Sometimes it decides to just not record stuff that was programmed in. Sometimes it will get all the way through a recording, then get some mysterious error at the end and lose the entire recording. Last night I set it to record 24. Heard it coem on and start recording. at about 9:45 it decided to turn itself off. it continued to try to turn off until about 10:15 when I unplugged it. No type of media seems to be better than any other. It just isnt dependable.
the tivo, on the other hand, is a workhorse. That is the way to go, in my opinion.

SoSpacey

Tivo. Hands down. And I dont agree with tdoane in his assessment that if you are just going to use it to record television, get a DVR.

Get a Tivo, period, no matter how you are going to use it.

I have a Series 3 and a TivoHD. I just added additional square footage to my house and was in need of another DVR. I put the HD in the kids playroom and got a Cablevision DVR to hold me over until Ifind a deal on a Tivo.

What a POS. We basically just use out bedroom Tivo to record Craig Fergusen and The Soup. But I can not tolerate what an absolute POS this DVR is. How anyone puts up with it is beyond me.

The DVR box costs me $16.95/month (box rental + service). How anyone in their right mind would not just buy a Tivo is beyond me. It's night and day and that is just the "recording tv" capabilities.

undkid

Looking at the current charges from Comcast Services and Prices List (for my area anyway): the initial cable card is free. A regular digital receiver is 1.69 per month. An HD receiver is 7.00 per month. What you end up paying may depend on the cable package you have, some packages include the receiver free each month. Regardless the card is free. Also the DVR service from Comcast is 15.95 per month. If you buy a TIVO with lifetime subscription you pay no service charge per month ever again. Provided it is a TIVO that can use a cable card you may not need a cable box either. Even if it is a TIVO that doesn't accept a cable card, you may be able to use it as a cable box depending on the programming package you have/channels you want.
Hope that helps

tdoane78

That's a broad assessment considering some cable companies are now providing semi-crippled Tivo boxes with Tivo software.....then again I don't have any cable company hardware in my house outside 6 cable cards...

-Tim

Spiky

People really need to look at sat over cable. DirecTV is not yet back to Tivo (coming soon), but both companies' DVRs are just about as good as TivoHD at this point. Paying for both Tivo and cable must seriously hurt.

JZ1276

No, he's right. Cablevision's DVR is definitely a POS. The software looks like it's from the 80's and is sluggish as hell.
However, the DVR from FIOS is probably up there with TIVOs.

tdoane78

What does Cablevision's DVR have to do with the OP's Comcast DVR option?

-Tim

SoSpacey

Comcast has basically the same shit DVR that Cablevision does. The next town over from me uses Comcast. My friend wants to throw it out the window. It forgets to record programs and the UI sucks. It feels like a different model to the one I have. It is way closer in quality to the Cablevision one than a Tivo.

Again, after seeing those prices for a Comcast DVR, why would anyone not just get a Tivo with lifetime?

And anyone who thinks that cable companies or FIOS has a box close to a Tivo, just doesn;t have a Tivo. I am a fanboy, I admit it. But Tivo deserves it. I would never consider a dish for 2 reasons...1- I can't use Tivo, and 2- I especially like watching television when it is raining outside.

SoSpacey

Why is it different than paying for Direct and the DVR service? Is DVR free with Direct/Dish? Have you ever owned a Tivo?

Tivo HD + Lifetime will cost you $500. Renting a box and paying for the DVR service must cost $15 from direct/dish? no?

At that rate it takes me 34 months to break even from what I paid compared to what the monthly is from most providers. After that it costs me nothing and everyone using DVRs from providers are still paying. That would hurt me more.

SoSpacey

and let me say this before i forget. Tivo with me isn't really based on any cost analysis. i would pay $1000 for a unit with lifetime sub if i had to. I LOVE tivo. more than any othr component in my system.

Would rather lose my wife than my Tivo. And my wife feels the same way about me. And she HATES electronics.

Spiky

Couldn't agree more. And my wife the same. But, to answer the ??s....

The sat companies charge less than cable companies for DVR service, or Tivo's direct fees. It is $6 DVR fee for me for any number of DVRs, plus receiver fees of $5 (first one free). I have had 3 DVRs since I acquired my first HDTV years ago, costing $16/month in fees. Some pay more than that for one.

The main thing that Tivo had over others was consistency and USEFUL features. The gap has been closed. The 2 sat companies don't have exactly the same features as Tivo, but they are usable.

My DirecTV HDTivo is still running in my house right now. My other 2 Tivos have been lately replaced by free HR21 models from DirecTV, which have finally received firmware (as of last Sept) that makes them usable. (introduced speed and dual buffers) They have all the features of my older Tivos plus a few. Networking is supposed to be coming soon, the "special" people have it already.

Dish has been comparable to Tivo for a couple years. They actually have some features that no one else has, like 4 tuners in one box and multiple video output. I don't actually have Dish, so I speak from reading and listening to others.

Maybe you have a better deal somewhere that I don't know about, but Tivo just reduced the price of TivoHD to $250. That plus $399 LT doesn't add up to $500. But anyway, at $16/month for 3 compared to $500 each, that is nearly 8 years before paying them off. AND I have higher quality video on channels and more HD than cable. So, I'm ok with DirecTV's world, esp when Tivo comes back this year. (assuming it's this year) And when I want NFL ST.

Throwing around "$1000 for Tivo" commentary is so 2001. I did pay something for my HDTivo several years ago, maybe $150, I forget.

rayh78

Thanks for all the advice, but what do you think of this for someone like me.
My thinking is I really spend way too much time in front of the TV the way things are now. And don’t have the problem as some. Due to a good work schedule and free time. I don’t really miss much that I want to see unless watching another channel.
VCR used to take care of that before it broke and was just looking for a option to replace what that did. Will average using it about 1 hour a week.
I am thinking of a used TIVO series 2 box that I can buy used with a lifetime subscription, and then I guess I will need to have a separate cable box to use as a turner for it.
Since I could not use it as a cable TV box also it would not get much use and last a longtime. Thinking if I get a higher priced series 3 or HD I would pay more and it would not last as long since it would be used every day for no more than a cable box.
And if ever I switch to direct TV I could still use as I would which would be like a VCR or DVR.
A DVR would actually be good for me but the non-TIVO models don’t seem to have very good reviews.

What do you think?
Thanks again

SoSpacey

Yeah, for me, I would pay almost anything for my Tivo. Cablevision irks me that they charge so much for such a terrible box/service. But it's the only thing I don't like about them. Direct/Dish may have an advantage with HD channels, but they charge $10 more. And, to be honest, Cablevision blows away Comcast in its HD programming. I think I have 140 HD channels now. And the opnly ones I pay extra for are the premium movie channels.


AFAIK with a series 2 you must use a cable box. I have no clue what you get charged for a box but factor that in.

And in terms of spending too much time in front of the TV, that's why I have a Tivo. I get to watch a show that is on for an hour slot in 40 minutes. Tivo has actually reduced my time in front of the television.

And as any newish parent will tell you, Tivo/DVR is essential with little kids. For one, you get interupted way to often to not have one and be able to actually watch the shows you want. And 2, we Tivo Sesame Street and have about 25 episodes on their Tivo at a time. My kids only watch Seasame Street and they can't literally wait until 7am for it to come on.