New dual tuner Tivo box incoming

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
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Just got an email from Tivo saying I could order the 80 hour Series 2 DT Tivo box now for $254 (including a year of service). Apparently it's got dual tuners and built in wired-ethernet (finally).

It's still not highdef, but it looks very similar to the hidef model that's supposed to be out any time now.

The fine print says you can't record from two digital/satellite channels at the same time (obviously) and that it doesn't support recording from an over the air antenna. I don't see how it couldn't support OTA antennas, considering it's got to take some sort of coax input and I'm sure it has a tuner since it works with analog cable.

Honestly, I'd be all over this if it weren't for the fact that I can't get a lifetime subscription on it anymore.
 

mcvickj

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2001
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"you can't record from two digital/satellite channels at the same time" Why wouldn't you be able to do this? If it has dual tuners can't you just split the digital/satellite signal into both tuners?
 

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
29,986
408
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Originally posted by: mcvickj
"you can't record from two digital/satellite channels at the same time" Why wouldn't you be able to do this? If it has dual tuners can't you just split the digital/satellite signal into both tuners?

I think you wouldn't be able to control them independently .
 

mcvickj

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2001
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Duh. I forgot you would need an additional digital/satellite box to control the channel you are watching.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
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my motorola dvr box is a dual-tuner model. one coax input and I can record two different channels. i can record one, push swap on the remote and get to another channel.
why is tivo behind the times?

Originally posted by: mcvickj
Duh. I forgot you would need an additional digital/satellite box to control the channel you are watching.

ah crap your right... forgot tivo is just a stand-alone set-top box and not an all-in-one like a dvr cable box.
 

davestar

Golden Member
Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: destrekor
my motorola dvr box is a dual-tuner model. one coax input and I can record two different channels. i can record one, push swap on the remote and get to another channel.
why is tivo behind the times?

yeah, if i have to give comcast kudos for one thing (and ONLY one thing), it's the HD dual tuner DVR.
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
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Originally posted by: destrekor
my motorola dvr box is a dual-tuner model. one coax input and I can record two different channels. i can record one, push swap on the remote and get to another channel.
why is tivo behind the times?
Tivo has been really, really slow incorperating things into their devices. This is why we're JUST NOW getting built in ethernet ports (really should have built in wireless too, but I doubt it does).

When they came out, they had one other competitor (ReplayTV). They tried to license their techology to other companies, who turned them down (except for DirectTV - which probably saved Tivo) and came out with their own products that had more features.

Honestly, this dual tuner box is a long time coming and should have been what the original Series 2 was. Tivo is just slow at adapting to these things.

Winning that patent lawsuit against Echostar will help them a lot too now. I love my Tivo - I just wish they hadn't gotten rid of the lifetime subscription.

 

DnetMHZ

Diamond Member
Apr 10, 2001
9,826
1
81
I just got the same email. My HD-DVR from cablevision lets me record 2 shows at once from digital cable.
I think I'll stick with my current Tivo until the HD models come out.
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
Originally posted by: DnetMHZ
I just got the same email. My HD-DVR from cablevision lets me record 2 shows at once from digital cable.
I think I'll stick with my current Tivo until the HD models come out.
HDTivo should be out this year, as far as I know it's essentially finished. It will support two cablecards (both 1.0 and 2.0 I beleive), so you'll be able to do dual-stream recording.

Unfortunatly, since you can't get lifetime service anymore, the cost of renting two cablecards + Tivo monthly service will probably make your HD-DVR from the cable company more affordable. The Tivo does some cool things, but most people see the cheaper cable company solution and just go with that.

I'm not sure how the recent lawsuit in favor of Tivo will effect them, they should be able to enforce their patents on certain DVR technologies now, but I don't know if that will effect companies beyond Echostar or not.
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,855
355
136
If this was HD, had built in WiFi, Ethernet with lifetime $299 ... I'd all over that like RossMAN @ CostCo
 

theNEOone

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2001
5,745
4
81
for me, the convenience of having a single box for DVR and cable (that is HD) is more important than having satellite TV, despite the fact that comcast is craptastic. buying the equipment seperately is just too damn expensive, plus the inconvenience of a seperate box, seperate remote, seperate bill, etc. etc.


=|
 

arod

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2000
4,236
0
76
the next big thing imo will be the series 3 box and really more importantly media center for vista.... thats going to be the one that really gets microsoft into the living room imo (it will also have cablecard / native directv support) all in an interface thats one of the best out there. (it actually does a few things tivo cant)

im still using a cable hd-dvr mainly for the dual tuner and being able to record hdtv stuff and use my mce server to record all my sd content and stream it to my media room via xbox360 (which works suprisingly well)

this tivo is a welcome addition but imo its too late.... everybody should be waiting for the series 3 boxes now.
 

arod

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2000
4,236
0
76
the view tv guide for movies on (like the my movies plugin but for movies on tv), easy backing up movies to dvd/removing commercials (3rd party software but designed for dvr-ms files), true extender devices (so all your media can appear in the same format for every tv in your house)

and more detailed here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2005.asp
 

AStar617

Diamond Member
Sep 29, 2002
4,983
0
0
My Series2 scared the sh!t out of me by rebooting itself (outside a normal update reboot) and hanging at the grey screen. 2 days after the lifetime sub went away...

All is well after a powercycle tho :)
 

CFster

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
1,903
0
76
Originally posted by: MrBond
Just got an email from Tivo saying I could order the 80 hour Series 2 DT Tivo box now for $254 (including a year of service). Apparently it's got dual tuners and built in wired-ethernet (finally).

It's still not highdef, but it looks very similar to the hidef model that's supposed to be out any time now.

The fine print says you can't record from two digital/satellite channels at the same time (obviously) and that it doesn't support recording from an over the air antenna. I don't see how it couldn't support OTA antennas, considering it's got to take some sort of coax input and I'm sure it has a tuner since it works with analog cable.

Honestly, I'd be all over this if it weren't for the fact that I can't get a lifetime subscription on it anymore.

I have a Series 2 DirecTivo with dual tuners. You said "DT", so I assume you must mean a DirecTivo. But then you talk about cable and OTAs. Not sure which box you're talking about.

With my box, I can record on two channels at once. Furthermore, I watch a recorded program while recording two channels as well.


 

allisolm

Elite Member
Administrator
Jan 2, 2001
25,151
4,684
136
Since I have analog cable with no box, this would be perfect for me if I didn't already have 2 regular series 2 units and a vcr. If I can't record everything I need with those, what I need is to watch less TV.