Any reason not to get a Tivo or Replay TV?

[coolred]

I am considering asking for one for Christmas, since i watch a lot of TV and it would be nice not to have to mess with the tapes and the hassle of setting up a VCR. I mainly watch TV series shows, so I think the season pass thing would be a great thing to have. It seems from the little I've read that Tivo is somewhat more preferred to Replay TV, but like I said, that is not extensive research, just what I have seen. SO any reasons to avoid Tivo, any problems with it, anything like that. And telling me that I with a Tivo I will prolly never leave my couch, while Im sure a vailid point is not a reason not to get it. Thanks

 

[murphy55d]

My ReplayTV has been the best purchase I've ever made. ReplayTV + ethernet + DVArchive + DVD burner = teh winnar.

 

[coolred]

Yeah thats another thing I need to consider, if I will be burning the shows to DVD for storage and later viewing. I am not sure yet. I currentlly don't have a burner, but plan to get one with my next computer I build.

Like I said I have done some but not much research, I know Tivo as of yet does not have a simple way of sending the shows to a network so you can burn them on your computer. I was not sure if Replay had this option, and you say they do?

 

[Amused]

If you're into HDTV, you might want to wait because both are supposed to be coming out with HD-DVRs very soon.

If not, go for it. They're great.

 

[murphy55d]

Yeah, ReplayTV's with an ethernet port will allow you to rip the programs to your hard drive over your network with a program called DVArchive, which saves it as MPEG2 I think, then you convert it to divx or whatever you'd like with something similar to DRDivx, then burn to CD/DVD/whatever. (I have a ReplayTV 5040, FWIW)

You can also "trade" shows with your ReplayTV... for instance, if your buddy has a ReplayTV and he recorded a show you want, he can send it directly to your ReplayTV, by using your ReplayTV's Id number. It's really cool.

here's a good resource when it's up:

http://www.replaytvfaq.com/

 

[Gunbuster]

The only down side is how much the lifetime service costs (IIRC tivo is $300+ and replay is $250)

And telling me that I with a Tivo I will prolly never leave my couch

Actually you will watch less TV, 1 Hour shows take 45 minutes, and you watch when you feel like it.

 

[murphy55d]

I think they're both $300 now.

Yeah, I forgot all about Commercial Advance... automatically skips the commercials during playback. (works about 85% of the time, sometimes it misses them)

 

[MrBond]

I'd get a replayTV personally, they're pretty cheap now. $350 for a refirb 4500 with lifetime activation, $400 for a new 5040 with lifetime activation through their web store.

Some people got Replay's for under $300 last summer, i still kind of wish i had jumped on that.

 

[loup garou]

I'm a die-hard Tivo fan, but I'd advise you to wait for something that:
1) Allows HDTV recording
2) Has at least component inputs and outputs as well as digital audio in/outs
3) Has a built in DVD burner or allows high speed and painless transfer to DVDs

Right now, my Tivo is definitely the weak link in my entertainment console. I love it, but I wish it lived up to the capabilities of my other components.

 

[ohtwell]

I have had both and Tivo is the better of the two IMO. I like the fact that if you set up a season pass on it you can cancel specific episodes if you've seen them already. If you try to do that with Replay it deletes the entire record channel and deletes the episodes you still have recorded.


: ) Amanda

 

[CFster]

I like DirecTivo because it's a DirecTV tuner and TIVO unit in one box. The benefit is there's no MPEG2 conversion done between the two units - hence absolutely no loss in picture quality. It blows away other TIVOs and Replay even at their highest picture quality. It also will record in 5.1 if need be and has an optical out. People say, "well the DirecTivo is only 35hrs and the others are 105hrs or more". What they're forgetting is that at the highest picture quality the others are at 30 or 40 hours too. Plus, I just threw another hard drive at my DirecTivo and I'm currently over 100hrs at high quality (actually, it's all high quality - there's no low quality with the DirecTivo).

Also, I'm a little apprehensive about the HD units coming out. One program has got to chew up A LOT of drive space in HD. I wonder how they will get around that and still have it be affordable.

In any event, the only thing Replay has that I want is it's networking capability. My Hughes DirecTivo has the capability, but nobody has written the software yet (or cracked it). I just capture the video into my computer anyway, using a LONG S-Video and RCA audio cables from the living room.

 

[RossMAN]

If you have DirecTV Satellite you should buy TIVO for $99 only $5/mo fee.