New Tivo HD - Anyone getting one?
#176
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by stevevt
I can't tell by reading this if I, as someone who has never owned a Tivo, can buy a new Tivo HD and pay $400 for lifetime service and be done. Anyone care to chime in?
For $399, you can get service for the lifetime of the box, though service for more than three years is really showing a lack of faith in the rapidly evolving TV technology.
UPDATED There are qualifiers for lifetime, too—it's really only good for old customers activating a new box:
• Must be a current TiVo customer with a qualifying DVR
• Must purchase a new TiVo DVR on the same account as current boxes
• Cannot transfer service, must be a new activation
UPDATED There are qualifiers for lifetime, too—it's really only good for old customers activating a new box:
• Must be a current TiVo customer with a qualifying DVR
• Must purchase a new TiVo DVR on the same account as current boxes
• Cannot transfer service, must be a new activation
#178
I'm thinking about buying my brother an HDTV...he has a regular S2 Tivo (w/Time Warner cable, IIRC), and I think he paid for 3 years of service when he got it (I want to say it was fall of 2006, so about a year and half left).
I haven't looked elsewhere for info (ask first, research later ), but what would be the best deal if I got him just the standard HD Tivo and he didn't keep using his old S2 anymore? There's also a good possibility that once he's done with school in a year or two, he will get DirecTV and not even use the thing anymore.
More questions (disclaimer: I'm a DirecTV guy, always have been, so I don't know much at all about any other company's products or services):
1. Does the cheaper HD model have optical audio out?
2. Time Warner cable...he doesn't watch much that would be in HD on cable, and also might not want to pay more per month (he has the basic non-digital cable package now), but any advice for or against getting a Time Warner HD package and what to expect? It would have to be via cable cards, right?
3. OTA HD...if locals aren't available in HD for very little $$$ through Time Warner, this would be the obvious route - I'm assuming there's an internal tuner that works just fine? Are there 2 OTA tuners?
4. Hard Drive...easy enough to add another or bigger drive?
Appreciate any advice.
I haven't looked elsewhere for info (ask first, research later ), but what would be the best deal if I got him just the standard HD Tivo and he didn't keep using his old S2 anymore? There's also a good possibility that once he's done with school in a year or two, he will get DirecTV and not even use the thing anymore.
More questions (disclaimer: I'm a DirecTV guy, always have been, so I don't know much at all about any other company's products or services):
1. Does the cheaper HD model have optical audio out?
2. Time Warner cable...he doesn't watch much that would be in HD on cable, and also might not want to pay more per month (he has the basic non-digital cable package now), but any advice for or against getting a Time Warner HD package and what to expect? It would have to be via cable cards, right?
3. OTA HD...if locals aren't available in HD for very little $$$ through Time Warner, this would be the obvious route - I'm assuming there's an internal tuner that works just fine? Are there 2 OTA tuners?
4. Hard Drive...easy enough to add another or bigger drive?
Appreciate any advice.
Last edited by aktick; 04-23-08 at 12:33 PM.
#179
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Originally Posted by aktick
1. Does the cheaper HD model have optical audio out?
Originally Posted by aktick
It would have to be via cable cards, right?
Originally Posted by aktick
3. OTA HD...if locals aren't available in HD for very little $$$ through Time Warner, this would be the obvious route - I'm assuming there's an internal tuner that works just fine? Are there 2 OTA tuners?
Originally Posted by aktick
4. Hard Drive...easy enough to add another or bigger drive?
Honestly if he is still in school, why proceed with this venture? It is going to cost him money out of pocket that he doesn't currently spend. By the time he gets out, things in the HD arena will have gotten a little cheaper and more standardized. In the meantime, he should just get a converter box with the government check and watch what he has and STUDY!
#180
DVD Talk Legend
Do these work with DirecTV yet?
My HD DirecTV DVR leaves a lot to be desired. I still have DirecTivos on my older non-HD sets but if I ever upgrade those TVs to HD I will miss the D*Tivos so bad. I might just have to go back to Comcast eventually.
My HD DirecTV DVR leaves a lot to be desired. I still have DirecTivos on my older non-HD sets but if I ever upgrade those TVs to HD I will miss the D*Tivos so bad. I might just have to go back to Comcast eventually.
#181
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Originally Posted by Jadzia
Do these work with DirecTV yet?
My HD DirecTV DVR leaves a lot to be desired. I still have DirecTivos on my older non-HD sets but if I ever upgrade those TVs to HD I will miss the D*Tivos so bad. I might just have to go back to Comcast eventually.
My HD DirecTV DVR leaves a lot to be desired. I still have DirecTivos on my older non-HD sets but if I ever upgrade those TVs to HD I will miss the D*Tivos so bad. I might just have to go back to Comcast eventually.
I use my TiVoHD OTA on my HDTV, and my DirecTivo picks up the slack (like tomorrow when I will HD record Ugly Betty and Smallville and SD Earl and Scrubs). Of course this also means I can only record network TV in HD, but like you, I will be investigating cable options once the DirecTivo is either phased or dies.
#182
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Jadzia
Do these work with DirecTV yet?
#183
Originally Posted by rfduncan
Honestly if he is still in school, why proceed with this venture? It is going to cost him money out of pocket that he doesn't currently spend. By the time he gets out, things in the HD arena will have gotten a little cheaper and more standardized. In the meantime, he should just get a converter box with the government check and watch what he has and STUDY!
So basically the only thing that changes for him is he's watching shows and playing games in HD instead of SD.
I'm just not sold on getting the HD Tivo yet...it would just cost $300 upfront, he'd activate the new HD Tivo, deactivate the old SD Tivo, and his current subscription that goes until fall of 2009 would remain unchanged, right?
#184
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I got mine a couple weeks ago.
Getting Comcast to CORRECTLY install a CableCard was a nightmare. 4 appointments. Probably 12 hours total. Uggh.
BUT, now it works great. I'm going to have to get one of those external drives though. 20 hours hd isn't much. I've told mine it only gets hd channels so taht cuts down a little, but wiht 2 tuners, every day it's full and I have to delete.
I wish I could tell it to only record in HD, but it is picking up datime stuff in SD from the HD channels.
With this and my 300 hour SD tivo, I'm quite happy.
Getting Comcast to CORRECTLY install a CableCard was a nightmare. 4 appointments. Probably 12 hours total. Uggh.
BUT, now it works great. I'm going to have to get one of those external drives though. 20 hours hd isn't much. I've told mine it only gets hd channels so taht cuts down a little, but wiht 2 tuners, every day it's full and I have to delete.
I wish I could tell it to only record in HD, but it is picking up datime stuff in SD from the HD channels.
With this and my 300 hour SD tivo, I'm quite happy.
#185
DVD Talk Hero
Tivo was recently offering a special - $700 for the HDTivo that included lifetime service and the wireless adapter.
I wish those bastards were offering that last summer.
I had my first hiccup on Monday night. It skipped about fifteen minutes during two back-to-back programs. Looks like a lot of people in Tivo-land had problems after a recent update.
I wish those bastards were offering that last summer.
I had my first hiccup on Monday night. It skipped about fifteen minutes during two back-to-back programs. Looks like a lot of people in Tivo-land had problems after a recent update.
#187
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I just bought 2 dual tuner TiVos but I wanted to get a HD TiVo. I can't seem to find an answer to my question. I know the HD versions can record over the air for free now with a simple antenna. How and will that change when the stations convert to digital next year? I read on the net that these antennas won't work in getting OTA reception next year. Does that mean I would have to subscribe to cable or satellite to get HD or would I have to buy something else? I'm trying to get HD the cheapest way possible.
#188
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Originally Posted by kenage
So with that deal BA the only thing I would have to pay after that would be the cable service if I had one? What is the wireless adapter for?
#190
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by big whoppa
I just bought 2 dual tuner TiVos but I wanted to get a HD TiVo. I can't seem to find an answer to my question. I know the HD versions can record over the air for free now with a simple antenna. How and will that change when the stations convert to digital next year? I read on the net that these antennas won't work in getting OTA reception next year. Does that mean I would have to subscribe to cable or satellite to get HD or would I have to buy something else? I'm trying to get HD the cheapest way possible.
kenage - the wireless adapter enables the user to enjoy several more features since it is connected to internet. Amazon Unbox HD video rentals for example.
#192
Just to be sure I'm not going nuts...you guys are just talking about free OTA signals, correct? You still need to pay to receive the Tivo service, even if you only have OTA locals. Right?
#193
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Originally Posted by B.A.
You will still be able to receive digital HD broadcasts over the air. You just won't be able to receive analog broadcasts any more.
I'm only concerned about picking the network stations. If I can get better reception and a HD Tivo, I'll drop cable.
^To answer the question above, the Tivo box is practically useless without service. You can pause live TV.
Last edited by big whoppa; 04-23-08 at 10:38 PM.
#194
Originally Posted by big whoppa
^To answer the question above, the Tivo box is practically useless without service. You can pause live TV.
#195
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Originally Posted by big whoppa
Oh, so you can still use the old rabbit ears to pick up the HD broadcasts come 2009?
I'm only concerned about picking the network stations. If I can get better reception and a HD Tivo, I'll drop cable.
I'm only concerned about picking the network stations. If I can get better reception and a HD Tivo, I'll drop cable.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
Originally Posted by B.A.
Amazon Unbox HD video rentals for example.
#196
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by aktick
Just to be sure I'm not going nuts...you guys are just talking about free OTA signals, correct? You still need to pay to receive the Tivo service, even if you only have OTA locals. Right?
I love Tivo HD it is great!
#197
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Thanks for the info, guys. I need to make one of those wire hanger antennas. The last antenna I had brought in great HD but I had to constantly fiddle with the thing. I gave up and went to cable where I'm stuck with SD since I'm not paying the premium for HD.
I've rented a lot of movies from Unbox and I've never seen any HD movies on the Tivo or on Amazon's site.
I've rented a lot of movies from Unbox and I've never seen any HD movies on the Tivo or on Amazon's site.
#199
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Originally Posted by datagirl7
Getting Comcast to CORRECTLY install a CableCard was a nightmare. 4 appointments. Probably 12 hours total. Uggh.
#200
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by Walker Boh
Now that you've been through it, do you have any tips on how to make things go smoother with Comcast? I'm planning to get this, but really don't want to use several vacation days to deal with it.
Went home, put the cable card in and called Comcast to activate it. Gave the 2 codes that were on the screen to the rep, they activated it and told me to call back if it didn't work. It worked fine. I'd recommend this over having an installer come to your home. You can go to www.comcast.com and find a bill payment center. It should list if they have cable cards.
Everything worked great. The only problems I've run into is HDCP problems with the HDMI connection. Neither of my displays want to work with HDMI, even though they were fine with DVI on the cable box. I'm not blaming Tivo for that though. HDCP sucks. I've spent way too much time fiddling around with Tivo Desktop and PyTivo, but I think I've learned to avoid any settings regarding subfolders in PyTivo.