yobbam

Im getting kinda interested in this soon to be replacement for a vcr. it says it records say 30 hrs of programs, I find it interesting. I wanted to know if anyone has any feedback on it or other digital video recorders. Thanks

movielib

I've had a Tivo for about four months. I cannot express too strongly how much I like it. The best thing is that you can watch a show from the beginning while it's recording at a later time.

I don't have any experience with Replay but I think the two systems are pretty comparable.

tavarua88

I do like it other than the fact that I'm having a lineup problem and they're trying to correct it right now.

mostman

TiVo is the best purchase I have made for my HT. If you want to read more about TiVo check out www.tivocommunity.com. It is a forum just like this one.
-Mike


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-Mike Ostman
My DVDS - Nope, I don't use dvdtracker.com!

First said by Recipient: Proud Member of the Other Forum!

caipirina

sh!t .. and i wanted to hate this idea ... and now i have the feeling there is YET ANOTHER GADGET i have to purchase .. grrrr

patrckpiteo

I love my Tivo. I just have one problem. I have a DirecTV Digital Dolby 5.1 receiver. I use an optical cable to my audio receiver from my DirecTv box for the audio. The picture from the Tivo is out of sync from the receiver. The sound is ahead of the picture. I can use the Tivo audio out to my receiver and that works fine. Other then the it is truly one great gadget!!!

mostman

quote:<HR>Originally posted by patrckpiteo:
I have a DirecTV Digital Dolby 5.1 receiver. I use an optical cable to my audio receiver from my DirecTv box for the audio<HR>

This is happening because TiVo is always running on a two second buffer. This is what makes it possible for you to pause live TV. Therefore, if you listen to the audio directly from your Sat, it will be two seconds AHEAD of the picture from TiVo. That is why you MUST use both the audio and video feeds directly from the TiVo. This will keep them in sync. Follow?

It is too bad that TiVo does not support Digital Audio right now. But that will be fixed in a couple months when the DirecTiVo comes out. This box will be a combo box offering the functionality of both a DirecTV receiver and a TiVo box. Again, for more info, follow that link I posted above.
-Mike



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-Mike Ostman
My DVDS - Nope, I don't use dvdtracker.com!

First said by Recipient: Proud Member of the Other Forum!

patrckpiteo

Mike, Thanks for the information. Yea I know why it was happening and the fix, and what they are going to next. But Thanks again. It still is a great machine.

Pat

d-rell

quote:<HR>Originally posted by mostman:
It is too bad that TiVo does not support Digital Audio right now. But that will be fixed in a couple months when the DirecTiVo comes out. This box will be a combo box offering the functionality of both a DirecTV receiver and a TiVo box. Again, for more info, follow that link I posted above.
-Mike

<HR>

Yes, but that doesn't solve my problem with digital audio from my digital cable box! They need to just make a Tivo box that can support digital audio inputs.

Other than that I LOVE my tivo and could not live without it!

quote:<HR>it says it records say 30 hrs of programs<HR>

Not really, 30 hrs. is in worst quality (not really tollerable). You really get 10-15 hrs in reasonable quality.


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"...that gum you like is going to come back in style"

mostman

quote:<HR>Originally posted by d-rell:
Not really, 30 hrs. is in worst quality (not really tollerable). You really get 10-15 hrs in reasonable quality.
<HR>

Unless, of course, you decide to add another drive. The 30 hour TiVo gives you about 30 hours of basic recording quality and about 9 hours of Best quality. However, after adding a 60 gig Maxtor, I have upgraded myself to this:
www.gabrielcomputers.com/~mostman/tivoshot.jpg

Not too shabby



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-Mike Ostman
My DVDS - Nope, I don't use dvdtracker.com!

First said by Recipient: Proud Member of the Other Forum!

BustaP

Wow...How'd you add your own drive? Is this a standard procedure?

mostman

quote:<HR>Originally posted by BustaP:
Wow...How'd you add your own drive? Is this a standard procedure?<HR>

If you have added a hard drive to a computer then you can probably handle it. Check out that link above ( www.tivocommunity.com ) and go to the Underground Forum. On the upper part of the page, to the left of the banner, you will see a link to a FAQ that explains, in detail, how to add a drive. If you need any help, just post there. The people there, myself included, are more than happy to help.
-Mike


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-Mike Ostman
My DVDS - Nope, I don't use dvdtracker.com!

First said by Recipient: Proud Member of the Other Forum!

[This message has been edited by mostman (edited September 05, 2000).]

dalegen

after buying the equipment, i read you still have to pay a monthly fee. is there also an activation fee? what are these fees for?

broadwayblue

I am thinking about getting a tivo...besides the lack of 5.1 support I have only one complaint. I noticed that on the sony unit the channel guide is set up differently than it appears on my sony dss receiver. It lists all the channels and what's on for the current half hour block, but for the next column-where the programs for all the channels next half hour should be, it instead only lists the programs that will be coming on later for only the channel you are currently highlighting. So, it appears that the only way you can see whats coming on in an hour is to actually scroll down one channel at a time. Is there a way to change the display so that it lists the programs for all the channels for each time block? Thanks.

broadwayblue

I am thinking about getting a tivo...besides the lack of 5.1 support I have only one complaint. I noticed that on the sony unit the channel guide is set up differently than it appears on my sony dss receiver. It lists all the channels and what's on for the current half hour block, but for the next column-where the programs for all the channels next half hour should be, it instead only lists the programs that will be coming on later for only the channel you are currently highlighting. So, it appears that the only way you can see whats coming on in an hour is to actually scroll down one channel at a time. Is there a way to change the display so that it lists the programs for all the channels for each time block? Thanks.

mostman

The fees are for what broadwayblue just described. When you hook up the TiVo you no longer use your DSS or Cable remote to change the channels. You tell TiVo to change the channel and then the TiVo sends a signal (via serial line which most dss receivers have, or just a simple ir blaster) to the receiver or box telling it to change the channel. Because of this, you get a new guide, the TiVo guide.

As broadwayblue said, the guide is quite a bit different then most DSS guides. But I promise that you will get used to it. At first, I was hostile to it, but after awhile, it grew on me.

Another reason you need the subscription is for adding things like Season Passes. Season Passes are basically this: Lets say you like to watch the Simpsons. So you have the TiVo search for the Simpsons and, because of the subscription, TiVo knows exactly when it is on Fox (or any other channel). You tell TiVo to get you a SP for Simpsons on Fox and then EVERY time the Simpsons comes on, it gets recorded for you. This happens even if the time slot changes. So, for reasons like this, and many other, you need to pay a subscription fee. The fee is 10 dollars a month, 100 dollars for a year, or 200 dollars for a lifetime subscription. I am signed up for the monthly and it is more than worth it. There is no activation fee.

To answer your other question broadwayblue, like I said, you will get used to the guide. Besides, you will hardly ever be watching live TV. Most of the time you will be watching stuff that TiVo recorded for you. Don't forget, that TiVo, using the Thumbs up and Down feature, builds a profile of what kind of shows you like. So, when you aren't watching TV, TiVo will use whatever extra recording space it has and fill it up with stuff it thinks that you will like. Therefore, you spend much less time watching live TV and likewise, you don't use the guide much


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-Mike Ostman
My DVDS - Nope, I don't use dvdtracker.com!

First said by Recipient: Proud Member of the Other Forum!

Otto

To better answer broadway blues question:


You can do what you asked. You want to see what's on in an hour, on all the channels. Hit guide, then hit FF to move forward in time by half an hour. Do that twice to move forward an hour. The channel list on the left will now show you what's on in one hour. If you look just above that channel list on the left, it shows the time you're looking at, and a picture of the FF and RW buttons to move back and forth.

But no, you cannot get the guide in the same format as the dss boxes.. That format really sucks anyway, once you get used to the Tivo format. It grows on you.

It's rumored that the DirecTivo will allow you to choose either the normal DSS style guide or the better Tivo styled one. It's known that the DirecTivo will get it's guide info from the satellite feed instead of dialing in, but since they don't feed 2 weeks advance data like Tivo does, it'll still dial in occasionally.

caipirina

thanks to whoever started this post ... it tipped me over, started my curiosity ... and now through ****** -> mercata.com I get a 30 hr unit for 285 $

movielib

Regarding the time vs. quality levels: Yes the 30 hour lowest quality is not very good. I've put mine on the second highest quality level that gives me about 15 hours, I think. I've never come anywhere near filling up that amount of time and it never seems like I am watching lower quality than regular "live" TV.