Tivo

[Trumble]

Well, I want a DVR recorder. And no, I don't want to build one.

Here's the thing, I want a DVR+DVD Burner, BUT, I don't realy know if I want to pay a subscription fee to Tivo.

See, it seems to me, that Tivo subscriptions are not realy paying for any maintained service. It feels very cloak and dagger. They undersell the actual price of the device, and then resort to a subscription to pay for it, and then to make a minimal profit. So in essence, when you buy a Tivo DVR, it's like a downpayment of 40% of the cost of the hardware, and then you either pay every month ($12.95) OR buy a "lifetime" subscription, which, in essence, covers the rest of the cost.

However, the "super rebate deal" doesn't let you buy a life time sub, so 200$ for box, $160 for year sub, $300 for lifetime after that, setup fee $80 something, so well over $1,000 after tax and all is said and done. That's alot of money for a "$199.99 .99 .99 (repeating) value".

It all seems very odd. Plus I've read that Tivo now has pop-up advertising when you try to fastforward through advertising, WHICH IS THE WHOLE REASON I WANT A DVR. Adds are starting to knaw on my soul.

So, do any of you own Tivo, is it realy a good value, do any of you own a functioning DVR alternative, and if so, what is it?

Again, I do not want to buy a media center PC or build a DVR box.

Also, some of the "amazing functionality" of Tivo sounds nice, season pass for example. (records every episode of a show). But the other add ons are just fluff, I don't care what Tivo thinks I will like based on what I watch, and I don't want to search for all Julia Roberts movies. I have digital cable for that, if I ever cared to do that.

In summary. I want a DVR that records DvDs, will record every Deadwood, Rome, Curb your Enthusiasm, South Park, Daily Show, Colbert Report, Montey Pythons flying circus, Spongebob, Family Guy, Futureama, West Wing, etc at the push of a few bottons automaticly, and not have to pay some weird disguised monthly fee.

Also I do not care about remote programming my DVR from a computer terminal in a cycber cafe while drinking a late and talking about art deco.

Me need helpee.

[Twyll Oathtaker]

I believe I read somewhere you don't have to have a subscription but then it only works like a "vcr".

[Darth Lorax]

Tivo has always made me suspicious but I can't exactly say why. It's just the general feeling I from everything I've heard about it.

Now on the other hand, I freakin love my DVR from the cable company. If you already have digital cable doesn't your cable company offer a DVR? The only thing is I haven't seen a built in DVD burner offered. I would like to find a way to download files from the DVR. I'll have to see what kind of ports it has.

(Freakin is my word of the day. :P)

[Goldenpaww]

Myself, I have a ReplayTV. it's basically the same as tivo, but what I liked about it is that it has an ethernet jack. I don't have a land line phone for the linkup on a tivo. Plus, the replayTV can send the shows it recorded over my network to my PC where I can strip the commercials out and archive to DVD. Tivo and that with a burner archive the full show and commercials.

The main thing with the fee is for the channel guide and updates to the system.

[vascar]

I have two Tivo's and just love them. And yes Tivo has a network hookup so you can send to your pc or another Tivo on the network. If I set it up I can record on one and watch on another or on my pc's that or on the network.

I don't have the DVR system yet but plan on getting on soon.

The life time sub is not so bad it was like $250 and its for the software updates and the channel updates that come out I think once a week. Their always adding new things to it.

The pop-ups aren't so bad and if your fast forwarding through the com's then you don't even see them. Sometimes I get one that pops up while I'm watching a channel but its not bad.

All in all I think it was really worth it.