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Advantage of TiVo over PC+TV card?

do yourself a favor and get a replayTv instead they have ethernet ports on the back which will let you copy your shows straight to a computer and you can play them off a computer too on your tv.
 
I have no trouble pausing and then watching live TV on my Tivo. I still haven't figured out how to do it with my PC card.
 
TiVo is easier to use...

I have a Dish PVR myself, so much nicer to have it built right into the sat receiver... makes recording and watching shows real easy...

: ) Hopper
 
Originally posted by: Ameesh
do yourself a favor and get a replayTv instead they have ethernet ports on the back which will let you copy your shows straight to a computer and you can play them off a computer too on your tv.
Click to expand...
There was one on th eFS/T forum last week. Don't know if it's still there. It already had the lifetime payment made.

 
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Believe that can be done with TiVo too, just takes a bit of reading.
Click to expand...

oh man i have to check that out!!

back to the poster's ques:
tivo is all set and ready for u go to. it's made specifically for pvr functions..

a pc and tv card wil work, but u'd have to manually set the stuff u want to record.
 
Originally posted by: Rufio
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Believe that can be done with TiVo too, just takes a bit of reading.
Click to expand...

oh man i have to check that out!!

back to the poster's ques:
tivo is all set and ready for u go to. it's made specifically for pvr functions..

a pc and tv card wil work, but u'd have to manually set the stuff u want to record.
Click to expand...

Ahh, OK!

 
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Believe that can be done with TiVo too, just takes a bit of reading.
Click to expand...

it costs about $70 for the adapter and you have to cut open the back of your tivo case. but it works 🙂
 
Tivo & ReplyTV are just plain easy (plug it in, pay your fee and go).
Building a computer based PVR or HTPC is just plain fun.
I've still yet to find a piece of free software that lets a computer have full Tivo/replayTV functionality.
 
replaytv is great, its nice to have it recording shows for you to watch later. You just set the replaytv to record the show once, and forget about recording it.
 
Originally posted by: aircooled
Tivo & ReplyTV are just plain easy (plug it in, pay your fee and go).
Building a computer based PVR or HTPC is just plain fun.
I've still yet to find a piece of free software that lets a computer have full Tivo/replayTV functionality.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I haven't tried WinRecorder Platinum yet though and it's supposed to do well especially with a digital TV tuner. Problem is that a replayTV or Tivo unit do have that subscription service that makes things easier.
 
Tivo/Replay=appliance

PC=tweek/update/make quiet/run 24-7/hope it works/dont play games while it records/bla bla bla/.....
 
Originally posted by: Evadman
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Believe that can be done with TiVo too, just takes a bit of reading.
Click to expand...

it costs about $70 for the adapter and you have to cut open the back of your tivo case. but it works 🙂
Click to expand...

tivo is already more expensive on all fronts, why woul you want to pay even more and half to cut open your case in the process.
 
Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Originally posted by: Rufio
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Believe that can be done with TiVo too, just takes a bit of reading.
Click to expand...

oh man i have to check that out!!

back to the poster's ques:
tivo is all set and ready for u go to. it's made specifically for pvr functions..

a pc and tv card wil work, but u'd have to manually set the stuff u want to record.
Click to expand...

Ahh, OK!
Click to expand...

I've been looking into this exact question for the past few weeks and have some good answers for you.

1: A Tivo does realtime hardware MPEG conversion. A typical TV Tuner card for your PC will be doing software MPEG conversion which will require a hefty system to accomplish on any kind of good resolution and there's always the possibility of an occasional hiccup in the system when the VirusScan autostarts or you get an IM or any kind of scheduled task goes off and in that case your CPU may be too busy to accomplish the conversion at that moment and you'll end up with missed frames. You can buy a realtime hardware MPEG encoder TV Tuner card, but they cost ~$140 which is close to a Tivo on sale.

2: A Tivo will seamlessly fit into your living room entertainment system whereas a computer will be a whirring eye-soar unless you're planning to copy shows to CD and show them later.

3: A PC solution, no matter how easy it is for you, will not be easy for your wife or girlfriend or kids or parents to use. You'll need to either buy an RF remote control and receiver to operate it from the other room as well.

4: A PC TV Tuner card has no monthly fees. 🙂

5: A PC TV Tuner card is cheaper and there's some good free software for show scheduling and recording.

6: With a PC TV Tuner card you'll find it easier to move recordings around to other computers or CDs or DVDs or Email or Web.

7: If you're going to get a non-hardware MPEG encoding TV Tuner card, you're best off not going with a Leadtek TV2000XP or AverMedia card or any of the current generation cards. You're going to want a newer and slightly more expensive ~$80 Asus TV Tuner that uses fewer system resources and has better picture quality. These cards are currently extremely hard to get a hold of. I actually got the last one from the last store I could find that had any in stock. PixelView makes a similar card, but I've never liked PixelView.

8: It's easier to expend the storage for a PC TV Tuner card.

9: If you have digital cable or satelite or a cable box, you'll need to buy or build an IR transmitter to change channels without having to manually change the channels on your cable/stelite/digital box when you want to record a different channel.

So, as you can see, I cannot recommend one more than the other. Take these factors into consideration and make the best decision. I actually just bought a ReplayTV because SonicBlue was clearing them out for $129+tax and shipping after rebate. They're soldout as of right now. I figured I could use them both for different circumstances or sell one if I found the other did a better job.
 
Originally posted by: Ameesh
Originally posted by: iamme
What format is the video from ReplayTV when it's on your PC?
Click to expand...

mpeg
Click to expand...

does ReplayTV have various quality modes to record? any idea what the highest resolution is? bitrate? MPEG-2 or 1?

i've always wanted a PVR.....
 
Does an ATI All-In-Wonder do hardware mpeg compressing, or would any setup which uses the built in TV-ripping functions of an AIW use the CPU to do its dirty work?

Jason
 
Originally posted by: jjessico
Does an ATI All-In-Wonder do hardware mpeg compressing, or would any setup which uses the built in TV-ripping functions of an AIW use the CPU to do its dirty work?

Jason
Click to expand...

It uses the CPU. 🙁
 
Well, I can tell you what I know about TIVO. Specifically DirecTivo.

DirecTivo is a combination DirecTV satellite receiver and a Tivo unit in one box. So there is no MPEG signal conversion between the tuner and the TIVO. The result is an IDENTICAL recorded picture compared to the original. ALL other TIVO units have some loss of picture quality - that includes Replay. Also, DirecTivo is the only TIVO which can record in 5.1 Surround. There is a TosLink optical audio cable going from my DirecTivo to my surround sound amp.

The only downside to DirecTivo is that the only input can be a DirecTV satellite signal. You can't plug cable or an antenna into it. Personally, I thought it was worth it as satellite picture quality blows away any other signal IMHO.

Oh and by the way, a lot of people are bitching about DirecTivo's 35hr recording capacity compared to the 80hr or 100hrs found on other units. The problem is that at 80hr capacity it's actually recording at the lowest quality setting. At it's highest setting it's more like 40hrs - and it's still not as good as the DirecTivo picture. Regardless, it is possible to upgrade the DirecTivo's capacity yourself - if you can install a hard drive in your computer then you can do it.



 
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