Anyone got Tivo? What are pros and cons to having one?

[biggiesmallz]

What are pros and cons to having a Tivo?

Can you watch another channel while you are recording something?

Can you record more than one show at a time?



Can you transfer the recorded TV shows to a computer? If so how big is a half hour show and what format is it recorded in?


Thanks in advance

 

[engineereeyore]

You can't record more than one show at a time, but you can watch something else while you're recording. You'll have to get a coax spliter and send one end to the tv and one to the tivo. Then just connect the tivo with RCA or whatever.

You can transfer over to a computer if you want. You have to buy a certain USB to ethernet adapter. Tivo has the listed known working devices on their website. I haven't picked on up yet, so I'm not sure about the size. It does depend on the quality at which you set it to record though.

 

[Kelemvor]

Biggest CON to me is that you have to pay a monthly fee. That's why I'll never use it.

Go get a copy of SageTV and pick up a tuner card and you can make your own HTPC for cheap. And no monthly fees, can offload the files and do what you want with them, can add more tuner cards or buy dual tuner cards, etc.

 

[Syrch]

you can record two things at once if youre not watching anything, otherwise you can only record one and watch one. Cons: you never watch what you record when you get a G/F.

 

[Pocahontas]

Tivo is great..I love not having to deal with commercials anymore. The monthy fee is a pay but wayyy worth it.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

TIVO is like crack.

You CAN record one show while watchign another if you either put the box on standby or use a splitter. We have 2 networked wirelessly, so we can watch one show and record 2 others, then stream them room to room wirelessly. You can use Tivo2Go to send the files to portable devices or your computer, but I have not done so yet.

If you have any more questions, PM me. Anyone who has it will tell you it's the best $12.95/mo you'll ever spend.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Oh, and the only CON is it makes you hate live TV. I'm always trying to fast forward through commercials.

 

[Crono]

SageTV + Orb is the best way to go. SageTV has most of the options TiVo has (including intelligent recording) and you don't have to pay a montlhy fee (there's a free trial available). And then you can stream tv anywhere using Orb (which is completely free), along with any other media you have on your pc.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Biggest CON to me is that you have to pay a monthly fee. That's why I'll never use it.

Go get a copy of SageTV and pick up a tuner card and you can make your own HTPC for cheap. And no monthly fees, can offload the files and do what you want with them, can add more tuner cards or buy dual tuner cards, etc.

Buying everything you need for a HTPC, there's no way you can do it for $350 and end up with something as good as a Tivo. A Tivo costs $50 after rebate, lifetime service is $300. Heck, a SageTV bundle with tuner and remote is $145.

Recorded shows are about 1.6gb per hour at highest quality. Transfer takes a bit of time. I recorded a half hour episode of Good Eats at the best quality, transfered it to my computer, and it was 831mb.

The Tivo is great. It's especially nice when there's two shows you watch at the same time on different channels. I record one and watch the other live.

 

[daveman]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Oh, and the only CON is it makes you hate live TV. I'm always trying to fast forward through commercials.

Your not alone. Heck I even catch myself wanting to rewind and fast forward the radio in my car.

 

[K1052]

A pro is that you can program recordings using Yahoo TV if you are away from your Tivo.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: daveman

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Oh, and the only CON is it makes you hate live TV. I'm always trying to fast forward through commercials.

Your not alone. Heck I even catch myself wanting to rewind and fast forward the radio in my car.

You think that's bad? I was at a live hockey game and wanted to rewind it to watch the last goal!

 

[Phoenix15]

If you have Dish Network they had there own DVR that you can get for 5.95 a month. That's what I use and I love it. I wouldn't know what to do without it now. With my wife stating school again and my crazy work hours we would never get to see any of our favorite shows. With the DVR we can record everything, then have one "tv" night a week and watch everything.

It's really great when you see a commercial for something special that you would probablly forget about and miss. With the DVR you can look hrough the guide untill you find it and set it to record right then.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: K1052
A pro is that you can program recordings using Yahoo TV if you are away from your Tivo.

I just discovered that and it rocks, it's free all you need is Tivo, broadband and a Yahoo e-mail address.

http://tv.yahoo.com/onlinesch/tivo/introscreen

 

[DnetMHZ]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Oh, and the only CON is it makes you hate live TV. I'm always trying to fast forward through commercials.

QFT

I'm hooked, I even have my tivo setup so I can read my Gmail on it.

 

[Hammerhead]

CON:
Can't record HDTV

 

[RossMAN]

I know that BeyondTV and SageTV recently released newer versions of their software.

Which is better and functions similiar to TiVo?

 

[royaldank]

If you have Comcast, their DVR box is much better. I like having the ability to record 2 HD shows at once.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I know that BeyondTV and SageTV recently released newer versions of their software.

Which is better and functions similiar to TiVo?

I currently am using SageTv 4.0 in conjunction with 4-Hauppauge USB PVR2 tv tuners.

I like it alot very similar to Tivo being able to setup your favorites list but it has a lot more powerful in terms where you can suck down 3 rd party mods which add cool features like sucking down the local weather and even RSS Feeds.

Oh,another thing I like about sage is that with 4.0 they now have a Linux version so now I can stop being Bill Gates bitch


Ausm

 

[DarkManX]

im trying to figure out the cheapest solution to sharring contect between 3-4 tv's in the house without having to get 4 PC's or 4 tivos. is there any standalone devices that can stream content of a centralized HTPC?

 

[RossMAN]

Ausm,

SageTV's screenshots look nice!
http://www.sage.tv/stvscreenshots.html?sageSub=tv

I just wish they didn't sell their Client and Recorder software separately, what's the point?
http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/merch...n=CTGY&Store_Code=SOS&Category_Code=SS

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Ausm,

SageTV's screenshots look nice!
http://www.sage.tv/stvscreenshots.html?sageSub=tv


I agree very nice interface!

I just wish they didn't sell their Client and Recorder software separately, what's the point?
http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/merch...n=CTGY&Store_Code=SOS&Category_Code=SS

The initial cost kind of concerned me also but the idea of lifetime free upgrades sold me. In fact, Sage 4.0 works so well that I don't regret ditching TIVO at all.

Oh, make sure if you want to try SageTv 4.0 to go with a hauppauge Tv tunner card for maximum compatibility.


Ausm

 

[RossMAN]

Thanks, I already have a Hauppauage 150 or 250, might be a 250.

Why did you choose the more expensive external USB over the PCI TV tuner card?

It seems both software companies offer free trials, I'll probably take advantage of both and see which suits our needs better.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: K1052
A pro is that you can program recordings using Yahoo TV if you are away from your Tivo.

I just discovered that and it rocks, it's free all you need is Tivo, broadband and a Yahoo e-mail address.

http://tv.yahoo.com/onlinesch/tivo/introscreen

if you don't have Yahoo, you can also do it at Tivo.com

 

[Kwaipie]

I have 3 TiVos and a Comcast DVR (for HD recording)
Once I had my first TiVo on my main television and got so used to pausing and FF'ding through commercials, I picked up additional units for my office and bedroom. The TiVo interface is far and away the best user interface for this type of activity. Comcast has even gotten in bed with the folks at TiVo for their next DVR. All 3 TiVos are wirelessly connected to my network, I have an application to xfer and convert .tivo files to .mp4 for my G5 ipod. Now I can go to bed at 11 and still watch The Daily Show and Colbert Report on the train into work the next morning.

The best thing about TiVo is that you watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it. On average, TiVo owners watch an additional hour of television a day compared to non-owners.