On Replay there was no commerical skip button.. it had a secret formula to skip commericals automatically without a button. You didn't have to press anything it would skip past the entire commerical break. 90% of the time it was correct. I think it had a way to detect the start and end of a commerical break by some encoding in the closed captioning..

Automatic Commerical skip will never be in a DVR anymore. Copywrite issues will prevent that from happening. The DVR can't leaglly alter or edit programming for you. The viewer needs to be the one in charge of skipping the commercials.

StickyC wrote:While replaying a recorded show on the TiVo, input the following sequence on the remote: Select, Play, Select, 3, 0, Select, Enter (not even sure Enter is required).

Tada! Your TiVo Skip button is now a 30 second skip, since most commercial blocks are multiples of 30 seconds long, you can easily blow past the commercials.

My basic question is whether this is worth getting for me.

Now I have the lazy setup - Comcast HD ditial with an HD DVR ($10/month for that).

I've got some interestin switching for cost and not liking Comcast to Disk or U-verse,

However, if I make a change, one option is a PC used as a DVR - and so I'd like that considered competition' for the Tivo, too. I'm just not taht familiar with what it can and can't do. For example, how do people watch normal cable shows on that setup?

Having said all that, does the Tivo - which sound like it costs similar or a little more with a monthly or annual sub, I am not comfortable to get longer - make sense over all the alternatives?

mboverload wrote:No, you don't need two antennas. 1 antenna. Dual tuner.
Can I ask where you got this impression? Perhaps we could avoid this in future woots.

sometimes you cant use one antenna to get 2 feeds - In this case it sounds like I only need 1 antenna and I can record 2 different channels at the same time WITHOUT the need to connect to paid cable?!

wigout wrote:Can you enable HME apps and utilize these streaming/file pushing apps without a service subscription?

YES, you can. When I briefly didn't have a subscription I could still put data on and pull it off, no problem.

I love my Tivo HD. I got a lifetime subscription (on sale $300, not on sale $400)- lifetime of the unit, by the way. I installed an antenna on the roof of our house, get 70 or so channels, 10-15 of them hd. Works fantastic and no cable bill.

I only watch network TV - no special channels - so this sounds really appealing, and I hate paying for cable when I only watch 5 channels! Actually, I used to watch SF but now there is no longer anything good on air.

So, I really want to do this. But is the HD quality really as good as with a landline cable? I'm EXTREMELY picky about image and sound quality. And how affected is your transmission by weather? I'd freak if I missed a show because of bad weather. And lastly - how does this work in wooded areas? I live in thick forest in semi-rural North Carolina, sort of on the outskirts of Chapel Hill.

bond007taz wrote:so you can connect 2 antenna's and record 2 different shows from over-the-air programming?

You only need one antenna connection. The antenna input is split internally to both tuners.

You only need one cable input. The input is split internally to both tuners.

You can use one antenna input and one cable input and record any combination of signals at the same time (two from the antenna, two from cable or one from each).

bsteenson wrote:You only need one antenna connection. The antenna input is split internally to both tuners.

You only need one cable input. The input is split internally to both tuners.

You can use one antenna input and one cable input and record any combination of signals at the same time (two from the antenna, two from cable or one from each).

AWESOME - thanks!

Craig234 wrote:My basic question is whether this is worth getting for me.

Now I have the lazy setup - Comcast HD ditial with an HD DVR ($10/month for that).

I've got some interestin switching for cost and not liking Comcast to Disk or U-verse,

However, if I make a change, one option is a PC used as a DVR - and so I'd like that considered competition' for the Tivo, too. I'm just not taht familiar with what it can and can't do. For example, how do people watch normal cable shows on that setup?

Having said all that, does the Tivo - which sound like it costs similar or a little more with a monthly or annual sub, I am not comfortable to get longer - make sense over all the alternatives?

The TiVo is just a joy to use. It's simple.
If you don't want to mess around with computers or use the horrible interface of cable DVRs then get the TiVo.

If you like messing with computers and tweaking and modifying or want to save money with your cable DVR don't buy it.

SUPER ULTRA CAR ANALOGY
It's like a nice Honda Accord EX. Sure, you could could get the cheap and horrible to drive Kia (Cable DVR) or the muscle car with tweaking (computer) but maybe you just want to drive in a nice reliable car with no drama.

If you want the Accord EX, get the TiVo.

fairnymph wrote:
So, I really want to do this. But is the HD quality really as good as with a landline cable? I'm EXTREMELY picky about image and sound quality. And how affected is your transmission by weather? I'd freak if I missed a show because of bad weather. And lastly - how does this work in wooded areas? I live in thick forest in semi-rural North Carolina, sort of on the outskirts of Chapel Hill.

In most places the OTA HD signal is better quality than what comes from cable because of less compression.

With a digital OTA signal it's usually all or nothing -- if you can receive it it will be great quality, if you can't receive it you will get nothing. It's not like analog where a marginal signal would produce a degraded picture.

Craig234 wrote:My basic question is whether this is worth getting for me.

Now I have the lazy setup - Comcast HD ditial with an HD DVR ($10/month for that).

I've got some interestin switching for cost and not liking Comcast to Disk or U-verse,

However, if I make a change, one option is a PC used as a DVR - and so I'd like that considered competition' for the Tivo, too. I'm just not taht familiar with what it can and can't do. For example, how do people watch normal cable shows on that setup?

Having said all that, does the Tivo - which sound like it costs similar or a little more with a monthly or annual sub, I am not comfortable to get longer - make sense over all the alternatives?

Check the writeup I just posted on the previous page. Using a PC has some huge advantages (like being able to do multi-room), but does require a little more investment in terms of both up-front cost and getting it up and running if you want to get HD digital cable like this TiVo box can.

That said, if you just want over-the-air HD, you can just stick a $20 ATSC tuner in your PC and be running in under an hour.

fairnymph wrote:So, I really want to do this. But is the HD quality really as good as with a landline cable? I'm EXTREMELY picky about image and sound quality. And how affected is your transmission by weather? I'd freak if I missed a show because of bad weather. And lastly - how does this work in wooded areas? I live in thick forest in semi-rural North Carolina, sort of on the outskirts of Chapel Hill.

Actually, over the air HD is higher quality than Cable. Cable companies compress the carp out of the signal and it looks horrible.

Although there are exceptions (like when stations broadcast multiple subchannels like KQED in California) the over the air will be higher quality.

bond007taz wrote:sometimes you cant use one antenna to get 2 feeds - In this case it sounds like I only need 1 antenna and I can record 2 different channels at the same time WITHOUT the need to connect to paid cable?!

I currently use my S3 TiVo and receive my tv OTA, you only use one antenna, both tuners will work fine.

I notice that with my system.. over the air is much better.. HOWEVER.. The multiple subchannels seldom broadcast full 1080.. In my market CW and MyTV are on Subchannels. Both of them are in SD.. There probably isn't enough bandwidth to broadcast all three channels in 1080.

mboverload wrote:Actually, over the air HD is higher quality than Cable. Cable companies compress the carp out of the signal and it looks horrible.

Although there are exceptions (like when stations broadcast multiple subchannels like KQED in California) the over the air will be higher quality.

What is the use for the two rear USB ports on this Tivo?

fairnymph wrote:
So, I really want to do this. But is the HD quality really as good as with a landline cable? I'm EXTREMELY picky about image and sound quality. And how affected is your transmission by weather? I'd freak if I missed a show because of bad weather. And lastly - how does this work in wooded areas? I live in thick forest in semi-rural North Carolina, sort of on the outskirts of Chapel Hill.

Line of site matters. Trees matter.

That said, if you get a good long range antenna, get it nice and high it should be great. I had a rotator installed at the same time (twenty-thirty bucks more) which allows for fine tuning the direction the antenna faces for the most channels/best quality.

Here's a good link to get started on what channels you should be able to get based on your address and the type of antenna you choose:http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

I'd do go for OTA broadcast everytime.

Shiftlock wrote:What is the use for the two rear USB ports on this Tivo?

Wireless ethernet adapter, Switched Digital Video tuning adapter.

fairnymph wrote:I only watch network TV - no special channels - so this sounds really appealing, and I hate paying for cable when I only watch 5 channels! Actually, I used to watch SF but now there is no longer anything good on air.

So, I really want to do this. But is the HD quality really as good as with a landline cable? I'm EXTREMELY picky about image and sound quality. And how affected is your transmission by weather? I'd freak if I missed a show because of bad weather. And lastly - how does this work in wooded areas? I live in thick forest in semi-rural North Carolina, sort of on the outskirts of Chapel Hill.

Over the air is higher quality (less compression) than most cable / satellite TV if you receive it at all! If you have an HDTV, you should be able to test what you will see by using the tuner in your TV. I've found it is all or nothing and very good if you get it. (Of course I'm assuming you have an antenna. If not, you sort of have to commit without seeing the picture. The antennaweb.org website will give you an idea what to expect.)

I've had one of these since they were available and have added the TiVo certified external WD hard drive on. The *only* problem I have ever had is with the cable cards. They are sometimes troublesome if the cable company does large channel remamps. The cards don't pick up the changes correctly so channels end up in the wrong place or don't work at all. This is a cable company problem and not a TiVo issue. Swapping the cards out has always fixed it for me, though it does involve waiting for the cable tech to come do it. Having also used a cable DVR, I can say TiVo is well worth the monthly fee. If you look carefully cable companies charge about as much for their boxes... so much for the box and then so much for the DVR part.

If you are already a TiVo customer, adding another box on will usually give you discounted prices to add boxes onto your account, which can lower the price quite a bit.

These are awesome boxes and the power of TiVo is amazing compared to the boxes you get from the cable companies.

I have had Tivo for the past 9 years. I went from a blathering fanboy to a slightly disgruntled customer in that time.

Tivo used to be the best of the best, but over the past 3 years, they have lost their edge. They no longer support their product in house, but instead contract out their customer service and tech support to the company who used to be Clientlogic--crappy company. I have had 7 of these units--all refurbed except the first one which I paid $500 for. They all eventually tear up. This is a faulty product which is beyond it's useful life. But they still sell--they are a novelty due to their OLED screen--something that no other unit has. BTW, there are two colors in the display on this model. Red and Green. If you get a red display unit, it is one of the very first models to be made (ca 2003) and is most likely very rare. If you get a yellowish green display, this is the second generation display that most refurbs come equipped with.

Anyway, Tivo mostly gets lemon juice in the eye now and is about to go under. The fact that Woot has these units simply underscores that.

Tivo will die very soon. As a matter of fact, I just talked myself into canceling my subscriptions.

This would make a great alternative to the tiny capacity, overpriced DVRs Verizon FiOS offers, but I'm afraid the lack of Video On Demand compatibility kills the deal.

kdriscoll wrote:Just plug the cable into your HDTV, run the digital channel search, and you probably will find some unscrambled digital channels (local HD if you're lucky), but the Tivo will display only channel info given it by the cable company, and that will not likely include the "free" digital channels.

Good point! So that begs a question for me:

Right now I am "leaching" off Comcast, in that I have my High Speed Internet from Comcast, but do not subscribe to TV. When I plugged the cable onto my new HDTV, I found that the entire "Limited Cable" package, will all the local HD OTA as well as the lower cable channels are unscrambled, so I get @50 channels for FREE - which would be $13 a month.

So am I to understand that TiVo would not "see" these channels if I am not subscribed to Comcast?

Very interested, however, hoping someone can help clarify some questions. (and I have read/skin through most posts prior).

I use an indoor antenna, most channel I watch are clear. Is the programming function for regular over the air programming as functional as cable counterpart? such as show time, commercial skipping etc etc or will it be like old tape (record at 9:30, stop at 10:00). Seem like a lot of ppl prefer Tivo over cable DVR specifically for the menu/function so some clarification on this when used with antenna is appreciated.

Also, since the tivo lifetime service is tied to the specific hardware, what happen when this is out of warranty (especially since this is refurb), what can be done? It has been mentioned that occasionally, Tivo offer a transfer, however, let's say in 13 months, this machine is just gone. Is my only option to pay some electronic store to repair or just kiss my lifetime subscription goodbye till the day they offer a transfer?

Since I am new to these, trying to read some info on Tivo's new Premier on their website. Is it possible if anyone can summarize the key points? The permier is only $150 more and new with a nicer warranty (and whatever, if any, function advantage).

thanks in advance.

Not a great deal.

I was just on the phone with a TiVo CSR this morning and she said they are currently running a deal where you can trade your current TiVo in for one of the ones about to come out (series 4) for $199.

mikop168 wrote:Very interested, however, hoping someone can help clarify some questions. (and I have read/skin through most posts prior).

I use an indoor antenna, most channel I watch are clear. Is the programming function for regular over the air programming as functional as cable counterpart? such as show time, commercial skipping etc etc or will it be like old tape (record at 9:30, stop at 10:00). Seem like a lot of ppl prefer Tivo over cable DVR specifically for the menu/function so some clarification on this when used with antenna is appreciated.

Also, since the tivo lifetime service is tied to the specific hardware, what happen when this is out of warranty (especially since this is refurb), what can be done? It has been mentioned that occasionally, Tivo offer a transfer, however, let's say in 13 months, this machine is just gone. Is my only option to pay some electronic store to repair or just kiss my lifetime subscription goodbye till the day they offer a transfer?

Since I am new to these, trying to read some info on Tivo's new Premier on their website. Is it possible if anyone can summarize the key points? The permier is only $150 more and new with a nicer warranty (and whatever, if any, function advantage).

thanks in advance.

One way to get around this is to buy a TiVo from Costco or Sam's Club. When it breaks, and they exchange it for a new one, TiVo will transfer the lifetime over (or so they say).

aakash81 wrote:But Tivo is dying!:
http://gizmodo.com/5412735/tivo-is-slowly-dying

-Reuters

The reports of Tivo's death have been greatly exaggerated.

That Gizmodo article is a little dated (November 25 2009) given the recent court ruling in Tivo's favor. And from the Reuter's article you linked to:

"TiVo's shares barely reacted to the results despite beating Wall Street estimates. Last week, they spiked more than 50 percent after a U.S. court decision that could open up new licensing opportunities for TiVo."

Can this box stream Netflix w/o a subscription to Tivo?

I'd like to get 2. One for downstairs and one for bedroom. Bedroom Tivo would be mostly for Netflix viewing. $24 a month for two Tivo boxes isn't cheap.

i have direct tv and tivo,i've had it for years.direct tv uses a card.never had a problem. tivo subsription is usally $7.99 a month.the one i have only has 30 hrs recoring time .I was gonna get this one but the writeup said no satellites on this one.

Shiftlock wrote:I use a Linksys WRT54G router with third-party firmware (Tomato) as a bridge to get internet connectivity to my entertainment center (for Slingbox and Tivo). Works great, and the firmware lets me boost the power all the way up to 251mW. It's also inexpensive for a wireless bridge solution, especially if you pick one up on eBay. It will even work simultaneously as a bridge and repeater to expand the range of my wireless signal at the same time.

Good point. I did the same thing to enable a wired ethernet connection to a Tivo from my home WiFi network with a WRT54G v3.0 router (picked up for a whopping $9.50 on eBay) by flashing it with the DD-WRT firmware. The setup is not exactly for the faint of heart (the possibility of "bricking" my router made me a bit nervous), but I had no problems at all and it works like a champ.

bsteenson wrote:Q. It TiVo worth the money?
A. Unequivocally yes. This is a great price for this unit and the monthly subscription fee can be had for as low as $8.25 a month if you commit to three years.

Thanks for posting your FAQ, it's very informative. But I've got to disagree with you here. This whole cable card rental + TiVo subscription fee + TiVo hardware cost is all a bit too much for me. I don't think it's worth paying for.

sucker4crap wrote:Good point! So that begs a question for me:

Right now I am "leaching" off Comcast, in that I have my High Speed Internet from Comcast, but do not subscribe to TV. When I plugged the cable onto my new HDTV, I found that the entire "Limited Cable" package, will all the local HD OTA as well as the lower cable channels are unscrambled, so I get @50 channels for FREE - which would be $13 a month.

So am I to understand that TiVo would not "see" these channels if I am not subscribed to Comcast?

Wrong. The TiVo will "see" the same channels your HDTV does. It has two ATSC tuners just like the one in your TV, so there's no difference between what your TV sees and what the TiVo does. In fact, you can use both of the tuners in the TiVo at the same time, so you can record two different channels simultaneously, and even watch something that's already been recorded while simultaneously recording two channels.

Now, if you want more (premium) channels, you will have to rent cable cards for the TiVo from Comcast. Cable cards are basically just PCMCIA cards that give the TiVo the tuning capability of a cable box. Without cable cards, the TiVo's tuners are like a normal digital TV. With cable cards, the TiVo can tune premium channels (that you subscribe to), like a cable box can. That's a simple way to think about it.

Paying for DVR service = failsauce.

It used to be that building a DVR capable HTPC was a hassle, and the cost could somewhat be justified. But nowadays, you can buy a refurbished slim PC from Dell, HP or Lenovo with Windows 7 Home Premium, add a tuner card, and you're done. Total cost: about the same as 3 1/2 years of TiVo service, not including the TiVo device itself. And as an added bonus, your HTPC is a computer.

The fact that TiVo is still in business = facepalm.

Syndil wrote:Paying for DVR service = failsauce.

It used to be that building a DVR capable HTPC was a hassle, and the cost could somewhat be justified. But nowadays, you can buy a refurbished slim PC from Dell, HP or Lenovo with Windows 7 Home Premium, add a tuner card, and you're done. Total cost: about the same as 3 1/2 years of TiVo service, not including the TiVo device itself. And as an added bonus, your HTPC is a computer.

The fact that TiVo is still in business = facepalm.

for some finding a pc and putting in a tuner card is still a hassle. and it's not that simple, you still need to find software to do everything the tivo will do for you out of the box.

tivo makes something worth doing easier to do. and they do it better than any other company that has tried to do the same thing. that's the hallmark of most successful companies.

i'm sure we're all proud of YOU for being a do it yourselfer, but not everyone is, either due to lack of talent/knowledge or lack of desire.

elgatoesloco wrote:Does this thing support mcards? the googles are coming up inconclusive. It appears you need TWO cableCARDS to use both tuners simltaneously... anyone that has this thing chime in?

My understanding is that your statement is true. The new model can use a single mcard but this model requires two scards if you want to record two shows at once.

KingsDude wrote:Can i transfer my current lifetime subscription to this one??

For Tivo, a lifetime subscription is for the life of the unit (not your life).

While you can't transfer a lifetime subscription, they are offering a $200 discount on a new lifetime subscription (when ordering the soon-to-be-released unit) to existing Tivo owners who have a unit with a lifetime subscription. In my opinion, that's a better deal than today's Woot.

Shiftlock wrote:Wrong. The TiVo will "see" the same channels your HDTV does. It has two ATSC tuners just like the one in your TV, so there's no difference between what your TV sees and what the TiVo does. In fact, you can use both of the tuners in the TiVo at the same time, so you can record two different channels simultaneously, and even watch something that's already been recorded while simultaneously recording two channels.

Now, if you want more (premium) channels, you will have to rent cable cards for the TiVo from Comcast. Cable cards are basically just PCMCIA cards that give the TiVo the tuning capability of a cable box. Without cable cards, the TiVo's tuners are like a normal digital TV. With cable cards, the TiVo can tune premium channels (that you subscribe to), like a cable box can. That's a simple way to think about it.

Thanks, I understand that for the channels, but it's the scheduling of recording that I am wondering about. My guess is that Comcast would make it as hard as possible.

robgiv wrote:I have had TERRIBLE luck with refurbed TiVo's. I'm on my second REPLACEMENT for the TiVo HD I bought on Woot a couple of years ago and about to send it back too. Spend the extra dough and get a new one!

it's a c_r_a_p shoot. i am still loving mine!!!!

davewilhite wrote:This unit has two cablecard slots for dual tuner HD cable content. You will need two cablecards from your cable provider. But take warning that they don't work that good and many cable companies are doing more switched video for the HD channels so you will get less and less HD channels as time goes by.
Plus they hate these things and will try and sell you their dvr instead of figuring out why it doesn't work.

Cable companies are required by the FCC to provide you a cable card for a box like the TIVO if you request it. With the cable card you will get all the channels that you would if you have a cable box. You won't get their PPV and On Demand stuff.


If you have an OTA antenna and digital cable
you can watch something OTA and record something on the digital cable, etc. I got a lifetime subscription so if you take a look comcrap charges about 30 a month for DVR service plus a box. Comcrap will also charge you 10 a month for a cable card so it's a savings of 20 a month but it will take about 2 1/2 years to make back your investment.

There is a reason why TIVO is the same as DVR but TIVO's interface is so much better than everything else(No I haven't tried a Moxi box)

jgmcgowan wrote:Can this do Unencrypted QAM Cable?

That's the free Over the Air Network (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) Channels that the cable companies give to their Analog customers.

Yes, and no. The problem is in the recording. Without the cablecards, you won't have an accurate channel listing, and without that, recording becomes a huge chore, as there's no simple "start recording now/stop recording now" interface. (That is one of my biggest annoyances with all DVRs.)

At that point, your option would be to either use the menus to manually input a start and stop time, or to use the empty channel listings to record in blocks of 30 minutes. However, with no rename functionality, your recordings would become very difficult to sort out.

So obviously, using cablecard decoders is greatly preferred, but not entirely required.

PS. For a helpful listing of channels in their "raw" mapping (for use with clear QAM), use http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us.

Craig234 wrote:My basic question is whether this is worth getting for me.

Now I have the lazy setup - Comcast HD ditial with an HD DVR ($10/month for that).

I've got some interestin switching for cost and not liking Comcast to Disk or U-verse,

However, if I make a change, one option is a PC used as a DVR - and so I'd like that considered competition' for the Tivo, too. I'm just not taht familiar with what it can and can't do. For example, how do people watch normal cable shows on that setup?

Having said all that, does the Tivo - which sound like it costs similar or a little more with a monthly or annual sub, I am not comfortable to get longer - make sense over all the alternatives?

If you are currently using the "lazy setup" I'd suggest Tivo as your next choice. It's far easier to use than either Comcast DVR or Windows Media Player, and more capable than Comcast DVR in terms of internet and home network use. Tivo started as a TV-recording device and been growing into an all-in-one media hub, whereas Media Player started as basically an mp3/cd player for your computer, and has been growing toward a media hub. Tivo's ease of use, and great remote control, are excellent. And, if you want fairly straightforward access from your tv of home video, photos, and music stored on your computer, or Rhapsody, both of those functions worked pretty well for us too. We used to have Comcast DVR - you will definitely appreciate the upgrade.

elgatoesloco wrote:Does this thing support mcards? the googles are coming up inconclusive. It appears you need TWO cableCARDS to use both tuners simltaneously... anyone that has this thing chime in?

Yes. I have an mcard installed in mine which allows you to use only one cablecard slot to get multichannel decoding. The mcard option is nice because it also cuts your hardware rental fee from your cable provider in half (mine is $3/month with the mcard, whereas it would be $6/month for 2 cablecards).

Now relying on the cable tech to install it properly was another matter all together...

cytation wrote:TIVO just came out with a new machine that does everything a computer does. This model is obsolete

And the link to the new machine is where?