queenangelfish wrote:
Can anyone tell how to record the dvr recordings from the cable box to a CD disc?

I assume you mean DVD, and not CD. If you have a standard DVR, you'll have to transfer the recordings the old fashion way: using analog and in real time. In other words, the copy will be somewhat degraded and a one hour movie will take you an hour to copy. You simply hook up your DVR like oldtimers did with VCRs. A/V output from your DVR to A/V input on your recording device. You will most likely be using RCA composite jacks (the yellow, red, white ones) or if you're lucky, a SVideo jack for video.

Your recoding device will be either a DVD recorder (which you can find for less than $100) or your computer. If you use a DVD recorder, see if you can find one with a hard drive (VERY rare in the US. Pioneer stopped selling them in the US many years ago) and high speed transfer. The hard drive allows you to do some editing before finalizing everything on DVD. You can do even more sophisticated editing on your computer but it's more complex and time consuming.

If you really did mean CD and not DVD, you'll definitely need a computer since standalone VideoCD (VCD) recorders don't exist anymore. LiteOn made one about 8 years ago that recored VCDs as well as DVDs. The computer is needed to compress your video to fit the CD/VCD, which holds much less data. There are very few reasons to make VCDs, however, since most US DVD and BluRay players won't play them. And the quality is MUCH worse. Furthermore, blank DVDs are often cheaper than blank CDs (I bought 100 blank Memorex DVDs for $6.99 at Staples). VCDs and SVCDs are only used in Asia these days.

Another choice is to convert the videos into a file, i.e. AVI or MP4. Depending on your bitrate and what compression scheme you use, i.e. XVID or H.264, you can often fit many hours of videos onto a single DVD -- often at a higher resolution than a standard DVD (720x480). In fact, that is the only way to save HD videos without using BluRays.

Please note that any HD programming on your DVR will transfer in standard resolution since you can't transfer HD data through composite A/V or SVideo. The only way to currently transfer HD data to your computer is through your network and most DVRs don't have this capability. Tivo does, but you stated that your DVR is not a Tivo.

badapple702 wrote:Ok, first woot purchase of this item. I didn't read ALL the way down and realized I have to have a subscription, DUH! (no biggie I guess). It says it doesn't *replace* your cable box, but *plugs into your cable*. Someone school me here please, I'm kinda tech dumb. Thank you....

We have a Cox DVR that is too small w/ its memory. I might just put this TiVo in the master bedroom...

The subscription is for the schedule of programs. Without it you can still record by channel and time. There is a cable card that plugs into the TiVo to decrypt the cable signal. This is supplied by your cable provider. In many cases you still need another box supplied by the cable company that handles the decompressing and demultiplexing of the cable signal.

Cable companies are providing so much content it out strips the cable bandwidth to provide it. So they compress the content and chop it in to little bits which the send out all mixed up. The extra box straightens that mess up.

There are many things a TiVo does that a cable company provide box doesn't like NetFlix. There are a few things the cable companies don't let is do like on demand programing.

]


1- you need a multie stream cable card from cox ( they are a few dollars a month ) and depending where you live and what channels you get you will need a tuning adapter ( free )

2 - you can sign up online easy

3 - you can buy a wireless adapter or go wired ... This pulls in guide data and lets you use Netflix and what not

4 - yes it's full hd

5 - take it back to cox when you pick up your cable card

echkbet wrote:How do you buy a lifetime subscription? Didn't TiVo stop selling those?

Yep, in 2007 or so, they discovered that they were losing money because of the Lifetime subscription so they discontinued offering the plan, which was about $299, I believe. In fact, they were very honest about their motives. The fact was that most Lifetime Tivo units were outliving their projected lifespans. However, public outcry forced them to reconsider. To increase profitability, they've increased the price to $499.

doc362 wrote:$14.99 a month is way too much to swallow for a glorified TV guide. Especially when you're already paying for the hardware outright.

The lifetime subscription price is also a riot. $299? For what? Life time access to a service that will probably be bought and sold 10 times before it is finally put down in the dirt and taken out of its misery? This device will be archaic by the time you actually reach the threshold of that fee when compared with the $14.99/mo charge.

You can get Hulu AND NetFlix for a dollar more per month.

I guess if you're already sieving/hemorrhaging $100+/mo on cable or satellite service that forces you to pay for channels you'll never use and you don't mind giving away even more of your hard earned money for a trivial (at best) amenity then it could be worth it.

I fail to see the value.

Cable and satellite are becoming obsolete FAST. Continuing to support it only prevents actual progress in digital media distribution. I refuse to pay for channels I'll never use.

edit: I just noticed on the Tivo site that it's $499(!!!), not $299, for lifetime service! Are you kidding me? Let's all withdraw everything in savings and have a bonfire..

As a Tivo owner for just short of 12 years I have a few comments on your post. Once you have had Tivo, you quickly find that the features (glorified TV Guide) are so quick and simple that you don't mind paying a premium for them. Time and pleasure are worth something and Tivo is the best user interface. I do think the lifetime subscription is overpriced even though I have had it on one of my units for almost 8 years now. I sure got my monies worth out of that one and it is still being used on a basement TV. It has also allowed my to get a discount on service for my newer unit that I decided was probably not worth going lifetime on for these reasons. First, I would love to dump my Cox cable for something less expensive, and the Tivo might not work with what I have available to me in the future. For many years I have questioned whether Tivo would still be in business, and lifetime service for a shut down service isn't much good. Buying a four to five hundred dollar plan that is tied to a piece of hardware and not transferable is risky. Although I have had great service life out of my Tivos, one surge or lightning strike could make it and my lifetime subscription service worthless. Even if insurance would cover a new unit and plan, it is not good to turn anything into insurance that isn't major unless you like high future premiums or being canceled, just my .02 worth.

I already own a Premier box with lifetime service. Would adding a second box w/out a service agreement allow me to stream recorded content on box1 (lifetime agreement) to box2(no agreement)?

Thanks for the help!

Can you use this with DirecTV?

cruellaplc wrote:Can you use this with DirecTV?

No.

Blake9b wrote:I already own a Premier box with lifetime service. Would adding a second box w/out a service agreement allow me to stream recorded content on box1 (lifetime agreement) to box2(no agreement)?

Thanks for the help!

No, a Tivo box without a service plan of some type is just as useful for watching TV as a microwave with the cord cut off is for heating soup. The startup screen is about as far as you will get.

Do you need to pay a monthly subscription fee to use this?

So what TiVo is basically saying is that this unit costs about $450 to buy. It is ludicrous that they charge $400 for a subscription to somebody who is already paying them for another unit. The directory service and software are extremely cheap to provide and a breakdown of the unit shows that it costs nowhere near even half of $450 to produce. They should be happy that existing customers want to buy more units. TiVo makes a nice product and I actually owned the very first unit back in the late 90s, but they have always been overpriced. There are just too many options. I cut the cable years ago and use OTA and downloading for everything I watch (mostly the latter).

shortwave8669 wrote:The simplest solution is to network the Tivo with a PC. I have 3TB of external storage connected to my PC. Am able to stream any of 300 movies or 2,000 TV shows back to the Tivo. Oh the Tivo ToGo software makes it "grandma easy" to transfer a show from Tivo to PC and also convert it to play on an iPad.

One could also ad ext. SATA HDD to the Tivo itself. While easy to do it doesn't offer the "unlimited" expansion with networking the Tivo

It is also fairly easy to replace the internal drive with a larger one. Have done that with all of the tivo's I have owned and a few more.

mikegrmi wrote:No, a Tivo box without a service plan of some type is just as useful for watching TV as a microwave with the cord cut off is for heating soup. The startup screen is about as far as you will get.

You are correct. Here are the requirements for multi-room viewing:

Requirements

All TiVo boxes must also be running software version 9.1 or later.
All TiVo boxes must be on the same TiVo billing account.
All TiVo boxes must have an active TiVo service plan.
Transfers must be enabled in My Account.
All boxes must be have a broadband Internet connection.
All boxes must be on the same wired or wireless network.


http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/161/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvc2lkLzdubDJnbVhr

Been looking at this ota PVR. Good specs, dual tuner, etc. Going for less than 300

http://www.mediaconceptusa.com/tvix.html#cart_restore

Soapie0 wrote:

I'd love to get an antenna to pick up my local stations, but my "local" stations are sixty miles away. Can anybody recommend an antenna that will carry that far? I didn't think one would, but I'm kind of tech-impaired myself. (And, no, I didn't set up all the television stuff and yes, sometimes I figure out how to work it!)

I am using a homemade antennae set up for stations 35 miles away. up in my attic a two antennae array that if expanded to 4 would undoubtedly pick up at 66mile.

My only problem is 70 miles in an other direction are stations that TiVo senses and wants to program on. I have to make sure I am not programming on ghost stations. I have thought about putting up an antennae array facing that way but since I already get all the networks ( 3 PBS feeds, why bother.

Could I use this as a go between so I can view my SD Analog Cable on my HD only TV??

Okay, um, a few questions. Please excuse any total idiocy on my part, I've never had a TiVo or a DVR. Don't watch much TV.

The TiVo box replaces a cable box. Do you cancel your cable service, or just stop using the box provided by the cable company? Cause I have a "triple" deal from my cable company; we get cable TV, Internet, and phone service for a reduced price. If I cancel one of the three, the other two go up in price significantly, so canceling my cable would actually cost me more in the long run.

The other thing is that I get OnDemand HBO movies through my cable (Optimum, not Xfinity). It's a separate subscription to HBO OnDemand that I pay five bucks a month on top of my cable package. Will I still be able to access those using the TiVo box?

Edit: Nevermind, read everything I could find on Optimum's website. The OnDemand does not work with TiVo, which is an absolute dealbreaker. My mother might disown me if I interfered with her watching Game of Thrones on demand, since the show is on too late for her to stay up and watch. She also watches the other HBO movies frequently, that's almost all we watch these days. No OnDemand = no deal.

lou090985 wrote:So I've been a TiVo customer since '08. I want to go HD but I'm only paying $10/mo. on a month-to-month contract. Here is how I see my options:

(1) Edited: Purchase this box ($50); upgrade hard drive ($100); purchase Lifetime Subscription ($400). Total cost: $550

(2) Purchase a used HD model w/ Lifetime Subscription on eBay (~$300); either give up my $10 month-to-month contract or continue to use it on my current box; miss out on new apps (which will be for Premiere only). Total cost: $300.

(3) Deleted.

(4) Purchase a used TiVo Premiere w/ Lifetime Subscription and upgraded hard drive. Total cost: ~$550.

Any thoughts on what I should do? Does anyone have experience haggling with their CSRs? I've already spent over $500 and my wife would never let me get rid of the TiVo. I enjoy it, but if I had to choose I'd keep my Netflix subscription first.

glenndu wrote:

Don't count on any help from Tivo CSRs. They are shrewd marketers/salespeople but seem to care less about customer satisfaction and helping you to economical use of Tivo service. Still, I can't give up my Tivo.

i recently switched to comcast and have been completely, horrifically unhappy with their DVR service.
IN FOR 2! WOOT!

Thank you for all the helpful comments on my antenna only question. Almost everything my family watches we can watch through the handy-dandy Roku device we bought from an earlier Woot. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus. CBS, however, is available only online and our CBS station is 50-60 miles away, so I really appreciate the link for the big, bad antenna. I may consider that. For now I'll just stick to cutting the cord and using Roku. By the end of the month we'll have all our movies burned off Direct TV's DVR and they can take it back.

BTW, all you people talking about missing cable channels - with the exception of sports and Food Network almost every other cable channel (USA, TNT, Disney, Nickelodeon, CMT, even MTV if you're into that) allows you to watch the shows online! You won't miss as much cable as you think.

Gowan wrote:You don't have to pay monthly. You can buy the box and buy a lifetime subscription and never pay anything again. Buying a lifetime subscription also increases the resalability of the box.

Until the hard drive dies. Then your "lifetime" is over.

My old tv could function like a VCR plus the ability to pause live tv. I had the option of no subscription. Could this box function that way?

geekgalconsulting wrote:I own two Tivo DVR's and live in California with Xfinity and you CANNOT get on-demand with the Tivo's. You would still have to have a cable box to get the on-demand stuff. I found that the Tivo and the cable box do not work well together so I opted for the cable card in my Tivo and have had no issues. I never really used the 'on demand' anyway so it was no biggie for me.

This has just recently been launched in one CA market ( SF I believe). Once the "bugs" are worked out it will be enabled nationwide.

leahmt47 wrote:My old tv could function like a VCR plus the ability to pause live tv. I had the option of no subscription. Could this box function that way?

yes it would still DVR without a subscription but you won't get any guide information you will have to hand program the recordings.

revscotaloha wrote: you also need to get a cable card from your cable provider which our cable company charges us more for.

You're trading that (usually only $5) for the DVR fee they would charge you (usually $15-plus)

Tivo has a software title Tivo Desktop for this. With this you transfer the Tivo recording to a PC and convert for ipod or ipad. This is a super simple process. My mom can do this and she has been on Social Security for a couple of years

sdc100 wrote:I assume you mean DVD, and not CD. If you have a standard DVR, you'll have to transfer the recordings the old fashion way: using analog and in real time. In other words, the copy will be somewhat degraded and a one hour movie will take you an hour to copy. You simply hook up your DVR like oldtimers did with VCRs. A/V output from your DVR to A/V input on your recording device. You will most likely be using RCA composite jacks (the yellow, red, white ones) or if you're lucky, a SVideo jack for video.

Your recoding device will be either a DVD recorder (which you can find for less than $100) or your computer. If you use a DVD recorder, see if you can find one with a hard drive (VERY rare in the US. Pioneer stopped selling them in the US many years ago) and high speed transfer. The hard drive allows you to do some editing before finalizing everything on DVD. You can do even more sophisticated editing on your computer but it's more complex and time consuming.

If you really did mean CD and not DVD, you'll definitely need a computer since standalone VideoCD (VCD) recorders don't exist anymore. LiteOn made one about 8 years ago that recored VCDs as well as DVDs. The computer is needed to compress your video to fit the CD/VCD, which holds much less data. There are very few reasons to make VCDs, however, since most US DVD and BluRay players won't play them. And the quality is MUCH worse. Furthermore, blank DVDs are often cheaper than blank CDs (I bought 100 blank Memorex DVDs for $6.99 at Staples). VCDs and SVCDs are only used in Asia these days.

Another choice is to convert the videos into a file, i.e. AVI or MP4. Depending on your bitrate and what compression scheme you use, i.e. XVID or H.264, you can often fit many hours of videos onto a single DVD -- often at a higher resolution than a standard DVD (720x480). In fact, that is the only way to save HD videos without using BluRays.

Please note that any HD programming on your DVR will transfer in standard resolution since you can't transfer HD data through composite A/V or SVideo. The only way to currently transfer HD data to your computer is through your network and most DVRs don't have this capability. Tivo does, but you stated that your DVR is not a Tivo.

Question: I have a 2002 era TiVo still going strong with lifetime service. Anyone know if I can simply replace it with one of these Wooters, and retain my lifetime service?

http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/product-reviews/B0007MXZB2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Antennas Compared, May 31, 2007
By YSC "ciac"

mkop wrote:It is also fairly easy to replace the internal drive with a larger one. Have done that with all of the tivo's I have owned and a few more.

I was on support chat with Tivo today asking about expanding storage with external drives. They gave me a list of "compatible drives" for expansion. I cant find any of the drives they listed for sale at the main internet retailers (amazon, new egg, etc). I asked them about it and they said "well you will just have to wait for Tivo to announce new compatible drives".

So, if I buy this box I would like to expand it. Does anyone on here have experience upgrading a drive in the Premiere box (not the older boxes) - either internal or external - and NOT necessarily using a drive Tivo listed as compatible?

Negative, a Tivo will not work unless a subscription is active. For example, you may have several shows recorded to it. The day the subscription expires you can no longer watch those shows even though they are sitting on the Tivo's internal HDD. I learned this when my vredit card expired before I updated my billing info.

Zapp Brannigan wrote:yes it would still DVR without a subscription but you won't get any guide information you will have to hand program the recordings.

jrhusc wrote:One more thing about TiVo: I own one and like it but it is an energy hog. My electricity bill has increased and not dropped down since I put it in. It is in an enclosed base with glass doors, and in a room in which sun comes in.

If it is warm or hot in the room, the unit does not work and the temp inside the base is very high. The TiVo pumps out a lot of heat, and it seems to run all the time. I know it is a hard drive and has to stay cool, but one would think the TiVo designers would figure these sorts of devices are often kept in small enclosed areas or shelves and made allowances in design.

I have to cool the room down and aim a fan at the unit to be able to use it on hot days.

Yup, I noticed it after I got my TiVo and gave back TW's DVR and my wife b'd about not having TW's DVR clock. So I eBayed a USB powered digital clock/thermometer to replace it and the thermometer has displayed as high as 94 degrees in the cabinet.

I have one of these at home and it works great.

I've had TiVo for a long time; one of my first Woots was a TiVo HD in 2008 for $160 (it's still running).

Yes, you must have service for it to do anything. TiVo is selling the box at a loss and making it up via the service. So add together the box cost and the service cost.

Yes, there are advertisements in the interface. They don't force you to watch an ad before you can do something, though.

If you get lifetime, yes, the lifetime is the lifetime of the box. However, if it breaks it can be repaired. 90% of the problems are a failed hard drive which can be replaced without affecting your subscription. The remaining 10% of problems are the power supply, which can also be replaced. The only other likely thing to fail is the cooling fan which, yes, can be replaced. The rest of the box will last essentially forever.

I still have a Series 2 with lifetime from 2003 that I replaced the drive and power supply on, and it's still working.

No, it's probably not for people who are getting all their programming online. If you want Hulu/Netflix/Amazon, there are other devices that will support the better.

I love mine and they're way better than the sucky Cox DVRs.

You can buy HD Homerun to record TV on your PC without subscription

IcedCorn wrote:Most cable companies give you the first two cable cards free.

If you are getting an HDDVR for less than $14.99 a month, let us know what cable company you have.

My cable company charges $16.95 for an HDDVR box...I get the first two cable cards free and since I bought lifetime I'm good.

My HDDVR is $10/mo. I have Time Warner.

doc-no truer words were ever spoken.As long as people think of cable/satelite as a "utility"-we're all screwed

strohminator wrote:I believe it's been mentioned, but I'd like to clarify: "Lifetime" service is the lifetime of the box. If this refurb dies after a year, you're SoL.

Also, a HTPC is a better solution than TiVo these days. It's a bit more expensive, but you get expandable storage, ability to watch Hulu/stream music/photos, and everything else a real computer can do. You can use a Xbox or other hardware to watch recordings in another room as well. You'll need a Silicondust HD Homerun prime (that deals.woot was selling not too long ago).

you can easily make a "free" HTPC by taking an old computer you have lying around,erase windows and files -assuming you either transfered them-or no longer need them-,load either a full Linux distro or a "pup" ie splashtop,the GUI will be very similar to what you're accustomed to from your DVD or bluray player(which btw at a cost of $40(refurbed) will get all the services this tivo will and more), purchase a USB tuner card (newegg.com had one for 20 bucks last week,if its not still on sale another will be soon.BTW-if you dont have an old 'puter someone will a friend or even Craigslist will net some goodies that can be worked with

Yes, you can switch Cable cards. However you probably have two single stream cable cards in your HD, but you will want a single multi-stream card for the premier (it only has one slot.)