$99 tivo for existing directv customer

[Scyber]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Nothing you said here seems to be based in fact. In all the reviews the Replay 5xxx series seems to get the best ratings for picture quality. And about your second point, the DTivo's with 40GB get 35 hours record time at low quality whereas the 40GB Replays get 40hrs. I know because I have owned both and reviewed the topic extensively (Phillips DVR 7000 and Replay 5040). Show me where you got that information from.

I am a replay owner and fan, and I have to let you know that you are wrong.

While ReplayTVs are said to have better picture quality than Stand Along Tivo's, DirecTiVo's have better quality than both. That is due to the fact that there is no need to encode an analog signal to mpeg. It already arrives in mpeg format.

While you get 40 hours on a Replay 5040, that is only at its lowest quality setting. At high quality you would only get 13hours or so. DirecTiVo's give you 35 hours at their only quality setting, which as I said above is superior to Replays.

If you have DirecTV, the TiVo combo unit is probably the best unit. If you have cable, then you should figure out what features you like best.

In regards to software, the general consensus is that while TiVo has superior recording features, Replay has superior playback features. Plus Replay has the networking stuff built-in.

 

[AU Tiger]

Originally posted by: Snatchface

... And about your second point, the DTivo's with 40GB get 35 hours record time at low quality whereas the 40GB Replays get 40hrs. I know because I have owned both and reviewed the topic extensively (Phillips DVR 7000 and Replay 5040). Show me where you got that information from.

It sounds to me like you are talking about standalone Tivos rather than DTivos. It's widely known that Directivos record the satellite feed so there is no signal loss in the picture quality. There is no quality setting on DTivos whereas on my standalone Tivo I used to have to choose recording quality all the time. I noticed a significant picture difference from when I switched from directv receiver+standalone Tivo to Directivo

 

[rivan]

ordered, ty

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: AU Tiger

Originally posted by: Snatchface

... And about your second point, the DTivo's with 40GB get 35 hours record time at low quality whereas the 40GB Replays get 40hrs. I know because I have owned both and reviewed the topic extensively (Phillips DVR 7000 and Replay 5040). Show me where you got that information from.

It sounds to me like you are talking about standalone Tivos rather than DTivos. It's widely known that Directivos record the satellite feed so there is no signal loss in the picture quality. There is no quality setting on DTivos whereas on my standalone Tivo I used to have to choose recording quality all the time. I noticed a significant picture difference from when I switched from directv receiver+standalone Tivo to Directivo

Oh ok. Got it now. I was wondering why I couldn't set the quality on the DTivo unit... Anyhoo I have to agree. I have set up the Replay 5040 and the picture quality was better on the DTivo for sure. It is tough to notice the difference on my craptastic TV but I'm sure if you had a HDTV or something better you would know it. The interfaces are night and day. The Tivo interface is light years ahead of the Replay interface. I can get the job done with the Replay but it was a lot more plesant with the Tivo. I do really love the network interface and being able to connect and transfer files to my PC though, which is not possible with the DTivo's out of the box.

Bottom line. I liked the Tivo's interface better but it does not have the same functionality as the Replay. Since the Replay is a lot cheaper I'll probably stick with it until they make a DTivo unit that can do the networking stuff without having to hack it and then switch.

 

[TheBeast]

nm

 

[Runciter]

Originally posted by: SnatchfaceBottom line. I liked the Tivo's interface better but it does not have the same functionality as the Replay. Since the Replay is a lot cheaper I'll probably stick with it until they make a DTivo unit that can do the networking stuff without having to hack it and then switch.

You are correct (out of the box). I have a SA TiVo (lifetime) and 3 DirecTiVos and 2 Replay 5040s (lifetime) and the TiVo interface and software is night and day better than Replay (or any other DVR I've seen). The remote on the Replay is very lame, the software seems quite buggy due to lockups and the lack of status bars and season passes (or equivalent) are really want prevent me from recommending Replay.

However Replay is significantly cheaper than SA TiVos for initial cost, lifetime and adding HMO (which of course is built in w/Replay) and excluding CommercialAdvance or IVS. That being said, I use my Replays only for the ease of extracting video and IVS (mainly box to box which TiVo w/HMO supports, but theortically I could do so over the internet).

Back to the topic, I just picked up another DTiVo from this deal and the quality is of course much better than using an IRD -> Replay/SA TiVo and the recording times are longer. Couple that with the $5 DVR fee is for all units, and it is best to replace all IRDs with DTiVo units.

 

[The Sauce]

Actually it appears that Replay does have their version of Season Pass. I don't know if this is just with the latest software or what but after putting in the name of the program it asks you if you want to make a special "Channel" for that program and then culls all of the listings for it and records all of them from all channels. Pretty close to the Season Pass in functionality it would seem.

 

[ericboo]

I already have a Dtivo series 1 but would like another. My cousin works for Hughes, so would that constitute a Directv employee?

 

[Defender77]

I got one last month with this deal and I love it. First TIVO lik edevice I've owned and I'm glad I did get the TIVO over going with Dish Network. I like DirectTV's service and channel lineup, so I wasn't eager to drop them for DN. This deal offered me a way to upgrade and keep using what I like. I will be looking into upgrading the hard drive though...I think I'll put a 120gb Western Digital in there if I an to keep the noise down over a Maxtor. I have alot of homework to do first a warrenty to expire first.

 

[Runciter]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Actually it appears that Replay does have their version of Season Pass. I don't know if this is just with the latest software or what but after putting in the name of the program it asks you if you want to make a special "Channel" for that program and then culls all of the listings for it and records all of them from all channels. Pretty close to the Season Pass in functionality it would seem.

The Replay Zones or channel is no where near the functionality of TiVo's Season Pass. Let's say you want to tape a show that airs on multiple channels (say Friends), you can create a Zone for Friends, but it will record Friends episodes from every channel. Season Passes can be channel specific. This way you can create a Season Pass only for your NBC station and it won't record the episodes on whichever local stations runs the syndicated shows (Fox in my market) or TBS. You could set your Zone to only record 1st run episdoes, but that will usually still catch all of the syndicated shows.

 

[bgroff]

The Directv installer just left a few hours ago. The whole thing was pretty painless, from ordering it on the web to getting it installed. The installer even gave me a 3x4 multiswitch so I could hook up the old receiver in the bedroom! Thanks for this excellent deal guys!

 

[Sepen]

Mine was installed today also. I met the guy at the door, asked if he would leave me 200' of wire and connectors and the unit and told him I would hook it up myself. He was outta here in 2 minutes. Thanks for a great deal.

 

[Hav0k99]

Tivo is better then Replay. I've tried both and Tivo is much better!

 

[douglassirk]

snatchface.. with a deal like this one how is replay cheaper than dtivos??

your right about the hdtv thing..... even with the recording of the actual stream and no picture loss.... it is tough to stomach even the perfect dtivo picture on my mitsubishi hdtv

i can't imagine that replay would even be watchable........ even at the highest setting.....

 

[The Sauce]

Well I'm having trouble deciding. I really want to be able to archive some shows onto DVD on the computer and it seems that you just can't do that with the DTivo's.

 

[trmiv]

can the DirecTivo's record cable channels also? My parents have DirecTV and cable, and watch things on both. So could a DirecTivo do that for them?

 

[LiQiCE]

The DirecTivo doesn't have an MPEG Encoder on board ... All it does is grab the DTV MPEG signal and record it onto the hard drive ... Because of this there is no capability to record anything except your Satellite TV feed. You'd need a regular Tivo or ReplayTV unit to be able to record both from the Satellite and the cable. Of course, the quality of the recording from the satellite wouldn't be nearly as good since it would have to be converted from digital (satellite stream) to analog (S-video connector or whatever) and then back to digital again (on the TiVo itself).

 

[Wipeout667]

Actually, you CAN use TyTool (the video extraction utility) with 1st generation DirecTivos. You need to install the TurboNet adapter, TyTool, and run the unscramble script. I've got it running on my Hughes G1 DirecTivo and it works great!

 

[negativegravity]

Can Directivos be hacked to allow you to download programming schedules on your PC, send it to the Tivo, and bypass the $5 monthly fee?

 

[keyboardcaper]

sonic|blue pretty much went bakrupt (if they didnt already?) and were sold to some foreign company, ill be suprised if replaytv exists in the next year

 

[keyboardcaper]

 

[Scyber]

Originally posted by: keyboardcaper
sonic|blue pretty much went bakrupt (if they didnt already?) and were sold to some foreign company, ill be suprised if replaytv exists in the next year

Yes because nobody has ever heard of Denon and Marantz.....

ReplayTv and Rio were both bought by D&M. For those that don't know, D&M is a higher-end Home Audio/Theatre company. They formed a new company called Digital Networks North America (DNNA) for the ReplayTV, Rio, and Escient brands. Financially, replaytv has the most stable backers it has ever had.

 

[MagicBoy]

How do you you delete a post. I accidentally submitted a blank post?

 

[MagicBoy]

Do any of you guys know if the $4.99 tivo fee is per receiver or per account? I just got a 2 room system with 1 directivo in August and would love to upgrade my crappy low end Hughes box to another directivo but I'm not sure if I want to do if I am going to get charged the $4.99 twice.

Any potential new customers checkout my signiture for a great directv deals for new subscribers.

thx

 

[bgroff]

Originally posted by: MagicBoy
Do any of you guys know if the $4.99 tivo fee is per receiver or per account? I just got a 2 room system with 1 directivo in August and would love to upgrade my crappy low end Hughes box to another directivo but I'm not sure if I want to do if I am going to get charged the $4.99 twice.

Its per receiver, but from what I understand if you have two Directivos then you just pay the second receiver fee instead of the second receiver fee plus DVR fee.