HOT! REPLAYTV 80-Hour $269 AR

[gump47371]

OK, I think I already know that I can't, but not for sure, so I will ask.

Is this able to be used with Dish Network, or will the only one that will work with it is DishPVR?

Thanks

 

[sxr7171]

Everyone claiming that Tivo's recording quality is better than Replay TV please post some facts or links to help me understand why. Thank you.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: sxr7171
Everyone claiming that Tivo's recording quality is better than Replay TV please post some facts or links to help me understand why. Thank you.

They are talking about DirecTivo, which captures the already compressed digital stream from DirecTV satellite broadcasts (which are higher quality than cable to begin with and require no conversion).

 

[douglassirk]

yea the NO LOSS directivo stream has to be still way better than the progressive replay (in fact i imagine that brings out more faults than it masks especially with most of the cable and off air streams you are recording)

also i get 235 hours out of 240 gigs...... what is the most hours you get per gig at best picture quality? (which is still waaaay worse than the actual stream downloaded by the dtivo ....

as for what i use all 235 hours for? well its ALWAYS near full... i am constantly having to go in and delete stuff i eventually wanted to watch.......

when you can search for stuff in the 14 day guide as easily as you can in a dtivo you end up finding alot of stuff to take......... and alot of it i end up keeping on the tivo basically forever...... whether its the hard to get widescreen uncut Hickey and Boggs or a bunch of jaques tati.... or every episode of some show i'd rather watch all at once at the end of the year.......

tho now that i have an hdtv, i am finding it all the more hard to justify watching alot of the stuff i have i mean hdtv cr*p is so mesmerizing that i sometimes sit and stare at things i would not be caught dead watching in standard definition

i also mention the new hdtv set as it makes it crystal clear why i cannot recomend any lossy compression device like the replay or standalone tivo's...... its ALL i can do to stand the true dbs signal on not too badly compressed channels in thier origial stream...... video tapes are definately out and the recording that replays and standalone tivos make even at best quality are not much better than a vhs or svhs tape

if yer ever gonna go hdtv dont even think of getting a lossy pvr the artifacts and wretchedness would be more than you could stand even if fed thru a htpc and dscaler....

 

[jasonja]

Not Tivo... DirectTivo. DirectTivo is ONLY available via DirectTV. Normal Tivo's and Replays encode the analog signal on it's way out of the cable/box/sat/etc. DirectTivo is capable of grabbing the still digital signal from DirectTV so it never loses quality in the conversion.

Regular Tivo and Replay are pretty much the same in image quality and both depend greatly on the quality of the signal going in and the level of record quality you select.

Of course DirectTivo is NOT good if you dislike satellite TV like I do. I get much better rates on digital cable than DirectTV could touch and I get a discount on my Cable modem too. My Replay works and looks great with digital cable.

 

[douglassirk]

why do you dislike satellite tv ? price is very equal and yes i get a discount on my cable modem too but only like 5-10 bucks right?
i hope you have a small tv...... all the digital cable signals i have seen both adelphia and tci/at&t really stink in comparison to satellite..... they look and are like 30% the resolution its sickening to watch on anything bigger than 32inches

you can get all kinds of deals on satellite packages too...... i always end up getting all the premium stuff in various deals at like 30% less than they list it...... if you keep an eye out each year you can find a deal......

 

[jasonja]

Actually I have TW Digital Cable and a 53" Sony TV. I had DirectTV for several months but I found it annoying that I had no local channels (yes I know they have them now but they didn't then). The stupid satellite would cut out in rainy season (I live in FL and when we have storms.. DirectTV isn't happy) and the TW had much better rates for premium channels like HBO and stuff. Not to mention I have a two story house and multiple TV's all over the place, running a line and needing seperate tuners for each just isn't worth it.

I get my cable modem and my digital cable (which in my opinion looks just as good as DirectTV) with every HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, TMC, and everything else, plus local channels for $105. Not to mention free cable (not digital) on all my other 4 TV's. Having all that on DirectTV would have cost me $40+ more every month.

 

[sxr7171]

Thanks for the explanation. Yeah using DirectTivo or DishPVR sounds like a much better option than digitizing analog cable. I think some of the cable companies should come out with a recorder that does the same for digital cable.

Actually I agree with jasonja about digital cable because in certain areas digital cable can be better than DirecTV, I also believe that DISH Network is generally better than DirecTV. I used to have DirecTV and before that I had Digital Cable from Time Warner in Northeast Ohio and I preferred the digital cable. When I saw a demo of Dish Network I found myself wanting that as it seemed like better quality - and it offered HBO comedy (which DirecTV didn't offer then). But I was stuck with DirecTV since my apartment complex used a central DirecTV satelite dish and didn't offer cable.

I'm assuming that the service fee for DirecTIVO or Dish PVR are built in to the equipment rental prices? Would they charge you a service fee if you actually bought your DirecTIVO or Dish PVR? As I understand it, the service fee is mainly to cover the cost of getting program schedule data and the satelite providers provide programming data that we get for free anyway.

 

[douglassirk]

the tivo directtv price just got cut by more than a half i think its 4.99 a month now....

as for more than one tv at 4.99 a month for the extra boxes (i get charged several dollars a month for extgra cable outlets its almost a wash)

i also feed other tv's in nearbye/next door rooms via one of the other rf or rca outs..... you do get 3 outs with each receiver as a rule.....

also if you have a 53inch sony and dont see the difference i am amazed and a little dumbfounded..... ever do an a/b when ya had both /if ya ever happened to...... ?

all the digital cable i have seen is still feeding 330 lines resolution...... or worse....... all dtv is like 440 a huge freakin difference.... scan lines should be more noticeable at that size (53") anyways....

 

[vladgur]

wasnt there some controversy about people who have hdtv that it will not be compatible with the content in the future.....

Anyways, with hdtv penetration of the market, its safe to assume that only 10-20 percent of tv viewers have expensive hdtv sets, so difference in quality is neglible. I dont know why people are so obsessed with digital cable, I like analog cable: Its cheaper, has all the channels you need and you still can add premiums to it thanks to FCC.

I am with dish now and while PQ is good, Im considering switching to basic analog cable for $12.99 a month vs 33/month for Dishes cheapest package+2nd receiver+locals. I only watch first 11 channels anywas, fox,nbc, abc, etc.

 

[douglassirk]

yea but with monday night football coming in hd next season (we already get tons of sports on cbs and hdnet including the cbs sec games atm) and with ESPN HD starting up in like a month...... combined with the prices of hd sets coming down to within a few hundred dollars of standard def tv's thats sure to change....

almost all prime time tv is now hi def (cept for rupert draggin his foot murdoch and his scheme to multiplex, resulting in half as*ed widescreen upconerts atm) even stuff that wasn't announced as being hd this year... like ER, all 3 law and orders (that was a pleasant shocker a few weeks back your sony 53in xbr is like 1399 now and you can get any number of hdtvs (good ones) at 51-55 inches for no more than 200 dollars more.... some 100 dollars more.... wheres the rub?

this isnt a far off place....... where nothin is hd anymore...... all of prime time cept fox and news programs are hd..... any bigtime sporting events like the masters or the ncaa tourney, like 70 hockey games and with espn hd in a month a ton more than that

i really cant see spending even a couple hundred dollars on something that if you decide to upgrade yer tv down the road ...... will look like total cr*ap

unless yer in a condo or live under constant monsoon type weather (?!) i'd get the dtivo (tho wait until next month when the new models come out) rumor is they will be under the 200 dollar mark even for current subscribers

 

[m0ssie]

quote:Yeah using DirectTivo or DishPVR sounds like a much better option than digitizing analog cable. I think some of the cable companies should come out with a recorder that does the same for digital cable.

The replay and dish PVR are 2 different animals. Picture quality is better on the Dish PVR, but it's basically a digital VCR, with very limited PVR functions. The replay has 8 days of schedules, replay zones, themes, actors, shows, search functions, an instant quick skip, I bought a shostopper (free subscription) a year ago, and it's the best and most used piece of AV equipment I've ever purchased. It will download to VCR or a DVD recorder if you desire. I can take a rental DVD, that I don't have time to watch and record it on the replay to watch later on. The replay can record OTA signals, cable, Direct, Dish, and DVDs. I believe the Dish PVR with only record a program on Dish.

If you basically need a digital VCR go with the Dish PVR, if you need a PVR go with the replay.

 

[jawatkin]

Originally posted by: douglassirk
yea but with monday night football coming in hd next season (we already get tons of sports on cbs and hdnet including the cbs sec games atm) and with ESPN HD starting up in like a month...... combined with the prices of hd sets coming down to within a few hundred dollars of standard def tv's thats sure to change....

almost all prime time tv is now hi def (cept for rupert draggin his foot murdoch and his scheme to multiplex, resulting in half as*ed widescreen upconerts atm) even stuff that wasn't announced as being hd this year... like ER, all 3 law and orders (that was a pleasant shocker a few weeks back your sony 53in xbr is like 1399 now and you can get any number of hdtvs (good ones) at 51-55 inches for no more than 200 dollars more.... some 100 dollars more.... wheres the rub?

this isnt a far off place....... where nothin is hd anymore...... all of prime time cept fox and news programs are hd..... any bigtime sporting events like the masters or the ncaa tourney, like 70 hockey games and with espn hd in a month a ton more than that

i really cant see spending even a couple hundred dollars on something that if you decide to upgrade yer tv down the road ...... will look like total cr*ap

unless yer in a condo or live under constant monsoon type weather (?!) i'd get the dtivo (tho wait until next month when the new models come out) rumor is they will be under the 200 dollar mark even for current subscribers

You're explaining to buy a dtivo for the HD channels on DirecTV? Can a dtivo record an HD signal? Also, as far as I know, your receiver is getting all the networks OTA for HD channels (other than HBOHD and HDNet)...? Do they have an integrated HD receiver and Tivo for DirecTV? How much does that run? Cause another reason I wouldn't go with DirecTV is because of the cost.. With TWC, I pay $5 a month for my HD receiver/Digital Box combo, rather than $600-$1000 for an HD-compatible dish and receiver from DirecTV...

 

[bonk102]

thank you for that quick answer m0ssie

 

[m0ssie]

AFAIK there are currently no PVRs with high-defn capabilites. Dish is planning their release of their high defn 921 PVR the 2nd quarter of '03, probably in the $800-$1000 price range.

The below 4000 models are subscription free. Because of this most of those PVRs sell higher now used than they did new.

 

[douglassirk]

no as of now you need a 169 and an avx1 to record hdtv off directtv and you do that to a htpc and a hard drive.....

best place to read up on that kinda stuff is here at AVS avs

if all you want is off air the best way to go atm to record hdtv is a dvhs recorder imho.....

as for the dtv hd receivers well some new models are just coming out now and over the next month... if ya cant wait then you can get a decent hughes for like 450$ at best buy

wait a month or so and after the new ones are all out i bet the entry level will be around 250.....

yes it gets the off air hdtv signals (6 locally tho one does no real hd with it) and it gets the 3 dtv hd signals hdnet, showtime and hbo.... tho i would imagine espn will be available when it debuts in a month or so.....

yes ya gotta pay for hd..... but if you've ever spent a nite with it in yer own home or someone elses.... its like meeting god......... theres no goin back

i really cant believe if anyone has a 32 inch or bigger tv that they wouldnt drop thier mouthy open at the 100plus more lines of res of satellite comapred to cable/digital cable....... let alone the 700 or so more lines of hd......

you can also sit right up on top of the things (hdtv's) if you got within 6 feet of a 45" plus projection sdtv all you see are lines that look like someone took a grey sharpie and drew lines all across the tv....

 

[jawatkin]

 

[jawatkin]

Whoops.. What I was trying to say is... Yes, the resolution is most definitely better for Sat TV, but the cost of an HD receiver keeps me from going that way. I'd rather have the TWC (which is much better quality than I've seen of most cable systems) and the rental charge for the decoder box, than the $600-800 oop for the direcTVHD decoders.

As for the direcTIVO vs the replay, I think that the CA features and most definitely the networking make it a better choice. I usually delete shows as soon as I'm done watching them, and the quality is MUCH better than any VCR. I have a 36" tube, so quality is an issue on a TV this large, but it is more than sufficient with my 4508. Also, using planetreplay.com when I forget to record a show, or am recording something else during that time totally ROCKS!

-J

 

[MrBond]

wasnt there some controversy about people who have hdtv that it will not be compatible with the content in the future.....

I've heard that studios want copy protection built into all HDTVs, something current HDTV's do not have. The studio's will not want a set top-box with said copy protection either, because they think the signal could be pulled out of the box before the TV, thus allowing the creation of perfect digital copies.

If this happens, it will make every current HDTV obsolete. Hense the reason why I'm staying away from them for now. I'll give it a few years to mature even further and at that point, my TV fund should be able to afford me a mind-blowing television.

I'll try and find John Dvorak's column on that.

 

[FatPat]

Thanks slueth715, I've been thinking about getting one of these for about a month. This is the best deal I've ever heard of, so I just ordered one: Model RTV-4508 $319.95 Shipping $15.78. Now if I can just get the rebate.

 

[douglassirk]

yea that was a great dvorak colum almost as good as the 1.45 or whatever the price was cd rant

but almost all hdtvs now have dvi (which will work with the possible valenti imposed debacle)

trust me tho it'll never happen (the downres thing for non dvi devices) if it ever is then stuff out that people payed 3-10 grand for would have to be grandfathered in in some way......

i knew all about dvi/hdcp etc and still went with a non dvi tv a few months ago even when all my second choices hgad dvi/hdcp...... thats how little i care or fear the threat

its really not something to worry about........ if yer worried then get almost any current model hdtv besides mitsubishi (i got mitsubishi as i like the picture better and am smart enough to not be worried by all the drumg and strang valenti trembling)

 

[azoomee]

The prices seem to be going down pretty fast . The one thing I'm concerned about is if some law is enacted prohibiting the 4000 models due to their ethernet connectivity.

 

[SpotDancer]

Originally posted by: azoomee
The prices seem to be going down pretty fast . The one thing I'm concerned about is if some law is enacted prohibiting the 4000 models due to their ethernet connectivity.

If that happens I wonder how many people it would take to enforce it? One enforcer for every owner of a Replay, and one each at all of their relatives' houses? Dunno.........just wonderin'??? :Q