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TIVO, replayTV, etc.... questions from a prospective buyer

G

gopunk

Lifer
so i decided to jump on this bandwagon here... i don't want to pay more than 400 total (including whatever subscription fees)... are there any hot deals right now? do the targets and walmarts still have those cheap ass models? i'd like to get those replay tv things, but hot damn they're expensive.

and how many hours is good? i hear everybody talk about 20, 40, 80 hours, etc... but do you ever use all that? i watch a few hours of tv a week, 20 hours sounds like a lot to me.
 
If you want to save money, buy a small version of the device and add in a secondary HDD or use a bigger one. I've got a 60hr Replay TV and I am constantly erasing old stuff because I run out of space. I average around 5hrs free time in high quality mode.

20hrs low quality is only a few hours high quality. That is way too little if you want to watch a recording that doesn't look like garbage. Low quality is very pixelated when there is a lot of movement.
 


<< What kind of HD you put in there? How do you format it? I mean which formatting do you use? >>

Buy the latest issue of MaximumPC. They have a great tutorial on adding an HDD to a tivo unit - including formatting the drive.
 
I have a 30hr TiVo and I usually have little trouble running out of space (though I'll put a big ol drive in there and/or get another unit someday). I don't find all that much difference between the lowest and highest quality, at least not enough for me to care about. (If I really like a particular show, I'll record it at high quality)
 
For me, if I was recording a football game, I'd record it in high quality mode. If I was recording something like Iron Chef or Star Trek, I'd record it in low quality mode. When watching Iron Chef in low quality, you can easily tell its low quality, especially when someone starts frying something. My screen looks like 16 or 32 boxes.
 


<< so i decided to jump on this bandwagon here... i don't want to pay more than 400 total (including whatever subscription fees)... are there any hot deals right now? do the targets and walmarts still have those cheap ass models? i'd like to get those replay tv things, but hot damn they're expensive. >>



Yes there are still Hot Deals on TIVO's at Walmart's and Target's scattered around the USA, the trick is finding one in stock. I read in a Hot Deals thread that a few WA Walmart's had some TIVO 20 hr units for $60, buy it, replace the hard drive and hack it up to 60-80 hours for a few bucks more. Of course most Walmarts and Targets are wiped out by now but depending on how badly you want one, if you search hard enough you'll probably find a hot deal.

A better alternative is to get a newer DirecTV/TIVO hybrid thing, that is if you are interested in getting satellite TV.

The best forums for everything TIVO/REPLAYTV related is AVSForum.com.

I would also look into an UltimateTV or the new MOXI.



<< and how many hours is good? i hear everybody talk about 20, 40, 80 hours, etc... but do you ever use all that? i watch a few hours of tv a week, 20 hours sounds like a lot to me. >>



20 hours is sufficient, if that's not enough there's plenty of TIVO hacks available to increase your unit's storage.
 
gopunk - How's your PVR hunt going so far?

Someone e-mailed my Hot Deals website stating they had found a TiVo 20 hour unit on clearance in Western Washington from a Walmart for $60 out the door! They hacked it up to either 60 or 80 hours and bought a lifetime subscription.
 
rossman -

my search is at this point non-existant, because i have a final in 3 hours 😉

but that does sound good... i might make the trek to a walmart after my final. there's no walmarts in seattle though (at least that i know of)... i have to go to some suburb.
 
gopunk - Good luck on your final and finding a TIVO in stock at a Walmart, Target or any other store. They're very scarce, break out the phone book! You're better off buying a ReplayTV or TiVo from eBay.



<< What does the subscription service cost on these things? >>



I think TiVo's lifetime subscription fee is $249?
 


<< I found a place that sells them refurbished, I dont know if you are interested in that but here is a <a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.electroline4u.com/" target=blank>Link</A> >>

LOL, got to love the deal on the 14 hour model there:

<< $149 $149 On Sale! >>

 


<< That's not as bad as I thought. Hrmm... now I'm thinking of getting one. >>



You should, you'll never use your VCR again, it's like a VCR on steroids and no more need for VCR plus codes 😀
 
alot of walmarts are selling the 14hr one for 99$

then you could stick another HD in it with help here


my 30hr tivo is now 75.


i have two other direct tivos but haven't modded them yet.
 
I just bought a 30 hour model last night. Once it is up and running, it's great. With the program guide, there is really no need for digital cable, unless you're a total picture quality freak, or you want those 250 extra PPV channels.

I tell you though, don't get too excited when you first plug it in. It takes a long time to setup, because it does a lot of internal processing. It took about 4 hours to "program" itself before I could even use it. Then I activated my account (currently $9.95/mo, but increasing to $12.95/mo after April 1, 2002), and told it to make it's daily call. The software updated itself while I was watching, and then I restarted the unit. It took almost another hour to restart after the update, and it said some of the features of the update wouldn't be ready until the next phone call. Another daily phone call forced. After the final call, the program guide said I couldn't choose any programs to record for 4-8 hours, so at that point, I went to bed, as it was about 5 am.

Today, everything is great, and I'm thoroughly enjoying my new toy.
 
Garfang - My ReplayTV also took several hours to initially setup because it was downloading the ENTIRE programming guide over their slow poke modem (wish they had a broadband port, could have done it all within 10 minutes instead of HOURS!). So I started the initial setup around 11 PM, made sure that no one was going to use the phone line, went to sleep when I woke up it was ready to go.

I love how you can program your ReplayTV over the web with www.myreplaytv.com
 


<< I love how you can program your ReplayTV over the web with www.myreplaytv.com >>

Oh cool! I'll have to check that out.

Actually, the phone line was not in use for more than about 15-20 minutes at a time, perhaps 15-20% of the total time it spent setting itself up. The machine just takes a freaking long time to uncompress the data and process stuff. I'd love to see about overclocking this thing 😀. Seriously though, it could use double the power it has now. Did I get taken by buying an old, slow Phillips, or are they all like this?

I want to see about increasing HD space, after I get to know this unit a little better of course. I don't want to break it. Medium quality is much better than "basic" quality but it cuts stated capacity from 32 ½ hours to under 19 ½. I got over two extra hours for free (on basic quality) after the auto SW update from 1.3xxx to 2.5xxx. That was cool, ya know?
 
'nother question i just thought of.... which one will allow you to record one show and watch another at the same time? i heard directivo lets you, but i have cable, so i don't think that would work...
 
You can watch a previously recorded show while recording a live show with Tivo...........but, you cant watch a live show, and record another live show on a different channet at the same time.
 
i have a replaytv and i love it, i fill up my 30 hours easily and i watch al ot of tv ( i dont think id use more then 30 though)

to watch one thing and record another you can buy a cable splitter and and have one go directly to the tv and the other goto the replay. then switch the inputs on the tv if you want to watch some thing different at the same time.
 
one more thing with the replay you can watch a show that was recorded before and let something else tape at the same time.
 
The DirectTV Tivo (D-TIVO) is the BEST way to go if you are a DirecTV subscriber.

Pros:
--The MPEG2 data is stored in "raw" format. DirecTV's $100k encoders are doing the work, not a cheaper consumer-level encoder used in standalone units (Tivo or Replay).
--Dolby Digital optical output. Standalones (Tivo or Replay) are not capable of recording or passing DD signals.
--They are CHEAP!! Mi DSR6000 was $109 delivered (they are getting more and more scarce...I think they're $150 now)
--They are easily hackable. I popped in a $99 Maxtor 80gb and have plenty of room. And another bay for another drive if needed! The loader/utility CD images are all over the net.
--The program guide data is sent over the satellite. While you are supposed to keep the unit plugged in the phone line, it is not always necessary.
--You get one bill from DirecTV (TV service plus $9.99 for Tivo).

Cons:
--Only works with DirecTV. Standalones work with any source.


[EDIT] I can't believe I forgot the biggest "PRO": Dual tuners!! Record TWO shows at once and watch playback of another at the same time!!! Or record one and watch another channel!! Dual tuners ROCKS!!!! No standalone can do that (yet)!!!


 
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