who needs a tv? or a dvr? just stream it.

dasiba wrote:who needs a tv? or a dvr? just stream it.

Every streaming service I've tried turns to The Strangers (2008)about 8pm every night.

crossoverking41 wrote:What is better Tivo, Verison DVR, or Comcast DVR?

There is no comparison. Tivo is hands down THE BEST dvr ever made. I have had Tivo for about 10 years.

1. Series 1: I have had this one for 10 years (with lifetime subs) running with first over the air and then Directv.

2. Had a Directv/Tivo more 4 years but it died a couple of months ago.

3. Bought a Series 3 Tivo from Woot a few months back. Currently only use it for over the air stuff. Works great (paid same price for 250gb model)

4. Directv replace broken Tivo with one of there own. It sucks. So much worse than Tivo. Bad bad bad.

I'm going to pick up one of these and drop Directv for cable. So sick and tired of waiting for Directv version that never came.

Tivo rules. Get the life time from day one.

Crab wrote:Verizon installed our cable card for free. The card itself costs $2.99 per month, which is cheaper than renting a FIOS box from them.

Can anyone answer definitively whether this can be used without paying the monthly fee? And what does the monthly fee get you, other than Tivo's Season Pass functionality?

IF YOU CHECK THE FULL SERVICE PLAN DETAILS IT SAYS THAT THE TIVO BOX WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT SIGNING UP FOR THE TIVO SERVICE. TOO BAD, I WAS JUST ABOUT TO WOOT ONE FOR MYSELF.

I would like to hook up a Blu-ray player to this to store BD discs for backup and playback -- am I in the realm of possibility with that notion?...

I have a TiVo HD which is the same machine just a much smaller harddrive. Basically you want the 1TB if you record a lot of shows in HD.

Although TiVo has extra fees it is the BEST DVR experience out there.

I pay no fees to record shows...

My laptop and PC do double duty as DVRs via Windows Media Center (which I LOVE) and they're both plugged in via HDMI to the flatscreen TV...

Why pay for a service?

Although I have no real need to watch/record 100+ channels that cable/satellite/etc provide either. I can catch everything else with Netflix, Hulu, or ESPN.com

Partial quote:

IcedCorn wrote:
You can transfer to PC as well.

It's important to note that many shows are "copy protected" and CANNOT be transfered to PC, even if you pay to use TiVo Desktop Plus. You also can't write those to DVD (although you can save them to VHS without a hitch).

brucedoesbms wrote:I would like to hook up a Blu-ray player to this to store BD discs for backup and playback -- am I in the realm of possibility with that notion?...

I'm not sure about Blu-rays, but for whatever reason you can't save "copy protected" shows (which most are) to normal DVDs. I doubt Blu-rays will work, either. You can use TiVo Desktop, but that can't transfer copy protected shows, either.

If you really need to backup, you can get a Western Digital MyDVR eSATA external drive for this model (or you can hack the TiVo itself to work with other kinds of drives).

Per the TiVo web site "The TiVo box will not work without TiVo service." Seems rather definitive...

I have a Tivo HD right now. First experience I had with TiVo was when I got a DirecTV TiVo when they first had it. We switched to cable later and I got another TiVo (series 2) right away to be used with the cable company. I bought the lifetime service plan. This was about 5 years ago. Later the cable company lured us with new great features that are only accessible through their DVR. After having the cable DVR for about 1 week, I took that box back and went back to the TiVo. Last year I bought the TiVo HD and it just the greatest DVR I have ever used.

I have friends that use HTPCs as DVRs and get free service, but I still highly prefer my TiVo. It just does everything right. I cant imagine using a different DVR at this point. I cant recommend them enough so I just feel if you have been wanting TiVo heres your chance. You wont regret it.

Something that I think is a great feature that a lot of people tend to forget about is if you have video files on your PC (Divx and even MKV) you can watch them on your TiVo if you have it networked with your PC. Thats a great feature and should not be overlooked.

rlj1010 wrote:Can this be used with Directv?

Nope.

drmurdoc wrote:can you use it with out paying for service

Nope.

imsochady wrote:Is there a way I can remove the movies/shows recorded here and into my computer?

Theoretically, yes--Galleon, TiVo Desktop, and the like. However, there's no software that can transfer or play the "copy protected" recordings--which CANNOT be played or stored anywhere but on the TiVo itself. Unfortunately, most recordings I see--especially the HD ones--are copy protected.

mvsopen wrote:Are these as user-friendly and expandable as the first generation TiVo units? It was easy and cheap to install a 2nd hard drive, and get more than 500 hours of recording time. Plus you could play in the Unix shell ;)

Yes, they have a esata plug on the back. Just plug in an external 1TB drive and you are done. But really, it already has 1tb in it. I have a series 1 Tivo with a second drive and I rarely fill that up. Once recorded an entire season of '24' and watched it in a week in summer.

Tivo rules, every thing else fails. Get the lifetime for sure. Pays for its self in a few short years. I have had my series 1 with life time for almost 10 years and it still runs great.

NewYorkCityBoy wrote:Can you unlock or jailbreak this ?

If you mean make it work without buying TiVo service, No.

If you mean installing a bigger hard drive. Yes.

Ok I have no cable. I want to know if the TiVo could be a replacement to the cable companies? I'm thinking this just records movies??? If I purchase the TiVo and purchase the 13 dollar a month subscription than will I be able to watch shows that the cable companies broadcast? If so than I'm definitely buying it. If it does broadcast shows than what stations are available? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just want to make sure because I have no idea if this is an alternate solution to watching cable shows.

SuperTully wrote:All right, let's get serious. You can get a DVR from your Cable provider for $5 per month, so what does Tivo offer that a cable provider doesn't?

First, the user interface is SOOOOOO much better! Really, there's no comparison - the TiVo was the first and only electronic device that made me an early adopter - when I saw it, I had to have it. I've tried the DVR programs that Time Warner and RCN have, and they're just so off-putting - they don't have the functionality, grouping characteristics, or ease of navigation that TiVo does.

Second, TiVo keeps adding extras like the ability to download Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon rental movies instantly, and the latest version lets you link to YouTube, etc.

The bells and whistles are nice, of course, but for my money, the interface is the real star. Sure, the cable DVR is cheaper, but in this case, it's definitely worth paying a little more for a VASTLY better experience.

I just got the Premiere recently
(among other things, I wanted the TiVo device to replace my cable box as well as record shows), but if I hadn't, I would have jumped on this deal - the TiVo site sells this same device for $229.99 (https://www3.tivo.com/store/clearance-tivohdxl.do), and this *IS* the most recent pre-Premiere model, with a lot of the same extras as the newest version has.

1rudeboy wrote:So, someone please. Answer me this from first-hand knowledge once and for all. Can I use this thing as a drv without all the fancy tivo bells and whistles, guide, etc. and not have to pay the monthly fee?

Emphatically NO. Without TiVo service it is a shiny door stop (or as TiVo likes to say, a boat anchor).

anddreus wrote:I recently switched from Direct TV to cable triple play. The cable company installed a HD DVR for free and I can record any movie or program I want.
If I have to buy a Tivo, pay Tivo Service and get a new card from my cable company....How is Tivo better than the HD DVR I already have?

Easier to use. More features. More reliable. And most cable DVRs aren't free, at least not after a promotional period is over.

There's all sorts of useful stuff in these discussions from earlier Woot offerings of the TiVo Series 3 High Definition 250GB THX Certified DVR:

Woot 2

Woot 1

reggaemyelitis wrote:Say I wanna add some additional terabytage -- what about that TV-technofreaks?

You can add up to a 1 TB external drive through the eSATA port, or swap out a 2TB drive with the existing internal drive, but to do the latter you must open the box, voiding the warranty.

i get ota hd atsc programming [no dish; only internet cable]

what will this tivo do that my htpc won't?

my htpc [to be]:

mythbuntu linux
2.5 ghz dual core, 4 GB DDR2 DC 800mhz, 2 TB HDD SATA2, DVD RW, BR RW
nvidia 8600gt pci-16 with 512 ddr3 ram
USB tv wonder 600
100mbs wired lan, cable broadband web

brucedoesbms wrote:I would like to hook up a Blu-ray player to this to store BD discs for backup and playback -- am I in the realm of possibility with that notion?...

There are no video input jacks, so the only way get it on the TiVo would be to copy from disk to PC then transfer from PC to TiVo (which is actually easier than it sounds).

Joiseygal wrote:Ok I have no cable. I want to know if the TiVo could be a replacement to the cable companies? I'm thinking this just records movies??? If I purchase the TiVo and purchase the 13 dollar a month subscription than will I be able to watch shows that the cable companies broadcast? If so than I'm definitely buying it. If it does broadcast shows than what stations are available? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just want to make sure because I have no idea if this is an alternate solution to watching cable shows.

No, you can't use this in place of cable service. Even if you got the Premiere, which takes the place of a cable box, you'd still need to buy the cable access from a cable company.

Basically, the TiVo service you're paying for is a "program guide" (which lets it identify the shows on the various channels you receive). However, if, say, you had cable but weren't paying for HBO, the TiVo wouldn't be able to get around that - if you tried to record a show on that channel, you'd probably get a "Call your cable company to subscribe to this channel" screen for the duration of the recording.

If you only have network stations and an antenna, I imagine you could probably still use the TiVo as both a digital DVR and a Netflix downloader, but you wouldn't get any more channels than you do now.

rowanator wrote:Theoretically, yes--Galleon, TiVo Desktop, and the like. However, there's no software that can transfer or play the "copy protected" recordings--which CANNOT be played or stored anywhere but on the TiVo itself. Unfortunately, most recordings I see--especially the HD ones--are copy protected.

Depends on your cable provider. On mine (Mediacom) almost nothing is copy-protected except for premium channels (HBO, etc.).

rlj1010 wrote:Can this be used with Directv?

Nope, but I'm ready to dump Directv for HD and Tivo. I've had Directv for years and I've been waiting for the HD Tivo that works with Directv, but it never comes.

Get this and then get cable. Directv's lose.

rlj1010 wrote:Can this be used with Directv?

Nope, but I'm ready to dump Directv for HD and Tivo. Get this and then get cable. Directv's loss.

I highly recommend... TiVo is the best DVR out there. I have the smaller version of this model and it works great. I even hooked up a eSata 1 TB external drive so that it can store many hours of HD content. Love it!

I know this will record two shows at once, but is it possible to watch two shows (on two different TVs) at once? For example, we have DishNetwork with a dual-tuner DVR. It's connected to two separate TVs and we can watch a different show on each TV at the same time. Am I making sense?

CaptainWes wrote:I've had TiVo for over 4 years. It's $13 bucks a month

Why haven't you purchased the lifetime subscription by now?

Very tempting, I hear nothing but good about Tivo, but between the no 1080p (no idea what I need it for but with a 65" LCD and the new Tivo having 1080p it's probably good for something) and more importantly being locked into cable-only Comcast (SF bay area)...

I do have comcast now, with an 'ok' HD DVR I think for $5/month (or $10?).

But I'm thinking of switching, Comcast is a bit too evil. And expensive.

mvsopen wrote:Someone mentioned installing a cable card if you want to use this as a stand-alone tuner (Without a cable box). While the feds are allowing cable companies to sell/rent cable cards, I have yet to see any of them reach the market. Anyone know if Time/Warner will ever allow this? Their set-top tuners are junk, yet they charge $9 a month for them. Even if I buy the same make/model tuner box as theirs, they refuse to activate them.

depends on where you are..i work for time warner (dealing with texas)and we do supply cable cards all you have to do is call in and say i would like a cable card for tivo we will get you set up however it generally can be a sucky process to get it actually up and running as the technicians tend to "forget" the proper equipment to get this set up

iwearnosox wrote:That's called transcoding. I'd rather get a root canal than sit around waiting for my shows to transcode, you must be a patient man.

It isn't bad. Takes about real time to transfer a show over using iTivo. I bring the shows over uncompressed in a batch and I convert them overnight in a big batch. No reason to wait by the computer while everything happens.

Pedro105Woot wrote:Nope, but I'm ready to dump Directv for HD and Tivo. I've had Directv for years and I've been waiting for the HD Tivo that works with Directv, but it never comes.

Get this and then get cable. Directv's lose.

speaking of which they need to just stop being so stuborn and just make it compatible with any tivo rather than contracting it so tivo software runs off there equipment

jgarcia408 wrote:I have a Tivo HD right now. First experience I had with TiVo was when I got a DirecTV TiVo when they first had it. We switched to cable later and I got another TiVo (series 2) right away to be used with the cable company. I bought the lifetime service plan. This was about 5 years ago. Later the cable company lured us with new great features that are only accessible through their DVR. After having the cable DVR for about 1 week, I took that box back and went back to the TiVo. Last year I bought the TiVo HD and it just the greatest DVR I have ever used.

I have friends that use HTPCs as DVRs and get free service, but I still highly prefer my TiVo. It just does everything right. I cant imagine using a different DVR at this point. I cant recommend them enough so I just feel if you have been wanting TiVo heres your chance. You wont regret it.

Something that I think is a great feature that a lot of people tend to forget about is if you have video files on your PC (Divx and even MKV) you can watch them on your TiVo if you have it networked with your PC. Thats a great feature and should not be overlooked.

Pretty much the same here. TiVo is a hard sell, until someone uses it for a few days. Buy the lifetime subscription and be happy for years after.

DVvM wrote:Looking at the TiVo site, it looks like it's $12.95/month, $129/year, or $399 for a lifetime license. So if you plan on living more than 30 months...

The thing to remember (last time I checked at least) is that a lifetime license would be tied not to you, but rather to your Tivo device. So, it's less a matter of how long you plan on being around, and more a matter of how long you think that device will be functional / technologically relevant and useful.

It's very difficult to convey just how great these DVR's are. Sure the cable companies offer DVR's, but it's like comparing a Luxury car to a econo box, both have wheels and transport your butt around town, but one does it with easy and comfort, the other is a pain in the rear.

You can test the TiVo service with a monthly sub, but I'm sure once you've tried one of these, you'll agree they are worth the cost.

Also, most cable deals charge you for use of their DVR's, so there really isn't a great deal difference in monthly cost, plus you'll own this and have complete control by doing so.

I bough one last time they were on Woot, the DVR isa an awesome device! I used it to upgrade from my series 2 tivo. The series 3 only works with cable service. Not satelite service. (seies 2 does work with satelite services). Also, my series 2, I could pull all shows to my computer. Series 3 also has this ability, but the series 3 is subject to the cable company flaging content as copy protected. So there's many programs that you can't copy to the computer, where the series 2 copies everything.
Tivo also has lots of extras, like netflix, amazon, etc. If you get the tivo software (relatively cheap), you can share video from you computer. (music & pic sharing is already included in the tivo)
Again, this is an awesome device. I'm sooo glad I bought it.
After years of having a tivo box I couldn't imagin watching TV witout it

djcozmik wrote:The thing to remember (last time I checked at least) is that a lifetime license would be tied not to you, but rather to your Tivo device. So, it's less a matter of how long you plan on being around, and more a matter of how long you think that device will be functional / technologically relevant and useful.

My Current TiVo is a Series3 HD, very similar to what's for sale here. I've owned it for 4 years, and it's still performing perfectly. I also have it behind a UPS devise to protect the unit from power surges and such. The Hard Drive may fail first, but swapping in a new one is easy enough. These units will last for years, at least they have for me.