Does anyone have a TiVo?

[VenomXt]

I don't have a TiVo, but we do have a Dish Network subscription, which included a 100-hour DVR unit.

I find the DVR indispensable now, especially since I don't have a TV in my room while I'm at university. I've set up the DVR so that it records all the TV shows that I want to watch during the week, and I watch all of them when I go back home on weekends. Being able to skip through all the ads is also a nice added bonus.

I haven't really looked into what benefits and additional features a TiVo offers over one of these, but I'm more than satisfied with the DVR unit we have. 100 hours is easily more than what I need, the channel guide and DVR UI is pretty intuitive, and there are a number of nice features, like the ability to automatically skip recording a particular episode if it's a re-run, for example.

Net you should buy them a slingbox and throw them onto the web for yourself.

 

[Aprox]

You can put it into a standby mode, but its not really a fast and easy to get to function.

tivo button (main menu) > Settings > Standby

hope that helps

 

[madmatt]

Aprox, I saw that feature. But I assume since it is burried it is not necessary.

American Woman, thank you for your input.

 

[kcnychief]

DVR is rather nice as it does turn off, uses the clock (which I wreckon it pulls down through the coax since it resets itself after an outage), and "wakes up" when needed to record programs.

Mine is better than yours - pfffffffffffft

 

[madmatt]

Nothing is better than TiVo. At least according to what I've read and who I've talked to.

 

[kcnychief]

What are some of the features that make it better? Justify your statement please.

 

[madmatt]

I can login via the 'Net and program my TiVo. TiVoToGo. SeasonPass. It uses my wireless network to download firmware/OS updates, program guides, etc.

I only spent 30 minutes playing with it yesterday. Rather cool stuff.

 

[kcnychief]

Very interesting features indeed, not sure how much I would use them though.

Firmware/OS updates seem like the nicest thing, mostly because Comcast has no warranty behind their product and just offers replacement - which would make you forfeit anything you have on the HD of the DVR

 

[American Zombie]

Nothing is better than TiVo. At least according to what I've read and who I've talked to.

Check this out: Free TiVo: Build a Better DVR out of an Old PC

 

[madmatt]

Well, you got me. I think the new version of Media Center (and I've read good things about Beyond TV) is better than TiVo, but that wasn't an option. Good post though.