TiVo is back?

[flavius]

Just found an email in my inbox from TiVo - announcing the TiVo HD for $299 with support for two cable cards..

Looks like they finally came to their senses.

I used to own one, for many years. Loved it. While I haven't read any fine print yet, it does look like the days of that crappy Moto 6412 are numbered.

Hm..

[mikesm]

Originally Posted by flavius

Just found an email in my inbox from TiVo - announcing the TiVo HD for $299 with support for two cable cards..

Looks like they finally came to their senses.

I used to own one, for many years. Loved it. While I haven't read any fine print yet, it does look like the days of that crappy Moto 6412 are numbered.

Hm..

It's a nice box, with one way only host support, which means no support for SDV, ondemand, PPV, etc... SDV is a big problem.

Thanks,
mike

[phenixdragon]

Tivo HD does support CableCARD 2.0 which means it can do SDV, PPV, etc... but the software isn't there yet. The hardware does support it. Now TiVo Series 3 does not support 2 way CableCARD.

[mikesm]

Originally Posted by phenixdragon

Tivo HD does support CableCARD 2.0 which means it can do SDV, PPV, etc... but the software isn't there yet. The hardware does support it. Now TiVo Series 3 does not support 2 way CableCARD.

Are you sure? A number of the reviews that it doesn't have the hardware capable of doing 2-way. This would be the first box equipped with it if this was true. Even the Moto cablecard STB's don't have 2-way capability through cablecard - they do it via DSG.

Thanks,
Mike

[stanger89]

The biggest problem with Tivo (IMO) is the "hidden" guide data fee. Isn't it up to $15/month or $300 lifetime?

[phenixdragon]

I could be wrong and maybe it has changed but I remember reviews saying it does do CableCARD 2.0 but it wasn't activated. That was the only feature that was better then the Series 3. But it might have been changed.

I plan on picking up a couple of theses but I don't see a need for 2.0. Any movie I want is running through Media Center anyway.

[phenixdragon]

Originally Posted by stanger89

The biggest problem with Tivo (IMO) is the "hidden" guide data fee. Isn't it up to $15/month or $300 lifetime?

I think it's not something like $11-$20 a month depending on how many years you pay out for.

[flavius]

Originally Posted by stanger89

The biggest problem with Tivo (IMO) is the "hidden" guide data fee. Isn't it up to $15/month or $300 lifetime?

Are you sure this is the biggest problem?

[briands]

I think the biggest problem with Tivo is lack any client support. Who only has one TV???

[stevech]

I wonder if TiVo will go chapter 11 due to cable system DVR prices and in-home support

[mikesm]

Originally Posted by briands

I think the biggest problem with Tivo is lack any client support. Who only has one TV???

Supposedly this is fixed in an upcoming release. What's not clear is if it applies to all cablecard content or not.

If it does, maybe a little hacking could turn a Tivo HD into a networked Sage Tuner. :-)

Thx
Mike

[flavius]

Originally Posted by stevech

I wonder if TiVo will go chapter 11 due to cable system DVR prices and in-home support

I wouldn't want them to.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by stevech

I wonder if TiVo will go chapter 11 due to cable system DVR prices and in-home support

Originally Posted by flavius

I wouldn't want them to.

My understanding is Comcast's next DVR box IS the Tivo HD box with added features. And Comcast isn't suppose to be the only one getting it.


Gerry

[eobiont]

Tivo is $8.something a month ($300 for 3 years) + Cable company charges $2 a month for a dual channel cablecard. My Cable company charges $12 a month for a set top box without DVR capabilities ($7 for STB rental and $5 for interactive guide). So if you can drop a cable box in favor of a Tivo, you actually come out a couple of bucks ahead. The only real cost to consider is the $300 outlay for the Tivo to start with. Tivo service itself is on par with the STB rental fees that you no longer need to pay with a cablecard enabled tivo.

I agree, the lack of clients is a major problem for Tivo. You can do multi room viewing, but ut requires a second tivo along with an additional $7 monthly fee, and even then, Tivo will not transmit anything that is coded as "copy once" to another device. This basically is, or will be, every channel available to you. Perhaps slingbox pro is a spendy solution that can help with this problem.

[mohanman]

Didn't do too much reading on the subject, but there is "big" talk over at avsforum regarding tivotogo and multiroom viewing. Is there any way to incorporate this into sage?
Thanks
Mo

[GbrNole]

Originally Posted by eobiont

Tivo is $8.something a month ($300 for 3 years) + Cable company charges $2 a month for a dual channel cablecard. My Cable company charges $12 a month for a set top box without DVR capabilities ($7 for STB rental and $5 for interactive guide). So if you can drop a cable box in favor of a Tivo, you actually come out a couple of bucks ahead. The only real cost to consider is the $300 outlay for the Tivo to start with. Tivo service itself is on par with the STB rental fees that you no longer need to pay with a cablecard enabled tivo.

I agree, the lack of clients is a major problem for Tivo. You can do multi room viewing, but ut requires a second tivo along with an additional $7 monthly fee, and even then, Tivo will not transmit anything that is coded as "copy once" to another device. This basically is, or will be, every channel available to you. Perhaps slingbox pro is a spendy solution that can help with this problem.

from what i've seen thus far the only channels that can't be used under multi room viewing are the premium movie channels.

if Tivo would introduce a household plan i would be really interested in jumping in on their service but i refuse to pay $27 to $34 per month for guide data for the number of boxes i would require - make a flat fee of say $15 to $20 per month based on the time you want to commit for and i would probably jump in.