PVR's (Personal Video Recorders)

[Todd Wiedemann]

Originally posted by sp44again in another forum:
Todd, I notice you have ReplayTV. Do you like it? I always hear that it's slow with changing channels.

Originally posted by Steve Mann in another forum:
TiVo, man. Tivo. It's the only way to go.

Yes, sp44again, I would not live without ReplayTV, ever. Originally i had a ReplayTV 3060 (60 hrs. storage). Then the house was struck by lightning. Lost it. Bought a 4508. Love it.

Slow in changing channels ? I guess. Depends on how you view your TV. Would I channel surf with it ?? absolutely not ... the key to remember here is that the Replay is always recording. You have that live TV buffer in effect. That's why channel changing is slow. It's buffering. With the 4000 and 5000 series Replay's we have a bypass button. It turns the live buffer off. When I'm in the mood to channel surf, I terminate buffering, grab the satellite remote and surf away.

ReplayTV vs. TiVo ? Ugh. I'll say upfront that I have never used a TiVo. Played with them in stores, though. Personally, I like the Replay's GUI better. Also, I like the ethernet connectability that is built-in to the box. (I know, you can hack a TiVo to have ethernet capability). The bonus with ReplayTV is show-sharing. I have utilized PlanetReplay quite a few times to retrieve shows I'd missed and would like to see. Furthermore, the connection to the 'mothership' is blindingly fast over the DSL vs. 20-30 minutes on the phone line.

Whew ! Probably my longest post ... anyway, fire away with questions, or whatever !!

[sp44again]

I was hoping you could channel surf without the ReplayTV. I had a Directv/Tivo combo box and it was slow. Thanks for the info!

[borghe]

I resent that slow comment.

Seriously, I have had DirecTivo for almost 2 years now and I couldn't imagine using anything else.

Advantages over Replay:
Two tuners
Better Season Pass capabilities
Two tuners
Better Wishlist capabilities
Two tuners
DirecTV stream recording so always highest quality
Two tuners
Dolby Digital audio recording
Two tuners
...and lastly, two tuners.

Ethernet is cool on ReplayTV, and sending programs to other units in the house is very cool (although sending across the internet is impractical). The new series 2 DirecTivos have USB2.0 ports on them and out of the box can have a USB Ethernet adapter attached, although it is just for transferring Tivo info. DirecTV still needs a phone line.

The one thing I don't know about ReplayTV is upgrading. To upgrade both of my DirecTivos was a breeze. Take a new hard drive, bless it, stick it in, and away you go. I now have two DirecTivos at 106 hours each.

ReplayTV is cool, but the fact that I can auto-record all documentaries on filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and then separately record all of his movies, but only if they are in widescreen, and both of them at the same time even if they happen to be on different channels, all while watching a previously recorded show until they are done..... I've seen a lot of things in my time, but that is just A W E S O M E ! !

[borghe]

sp44again - just curious.. you say "had" a DirecTivo.. curious as to why you don't anymore. Everyone I know that has ever bought when has ended up replacing all DirecTV receivers in their house with DirecTivos.

[sp44again]

Originally posted by borghe
sp44again - just curious.. you say "had" a DirecTivo.. curious as to why you don't anymore. Everyone I know that has ever bought when has ended up replacing all DirecTV receivers in their house with DirecTivos.

I liked it but I had a UTV(UltimateTV) before it and I liked it better. The commercial skip on Tivo sucks rocks! The two tuners is a nice feature that the ReplayTV does not have. It's also nice to have component out on the ReplayTV over the Tivo.

[borghe]

actually using backdoors the commercial skip has become decent. although I have grown way too accustomed to just fast forwarding.

[kjnorman]

Its hard to live without my Tivo these days.  That is why I will not buy a HDTV reciever until I can get a HD PVR.

Well it looks like that wait will soon be over.

At CES 2003 Zenith announced a HD PVr to be available in the spring - suspect this to be OTA only.

Also, though I have still to find the official press release, TiVo are coming out with a HD DirectTiVo.  This is what I am waiting for.  Some commentary is found here.

[kjnorman]

This is also interesting....

DISH Network Wins Best of Show Award For Innovative High Definition Television DishPVR 921 Satellite Receiver at Consumer Electronics Show
Thursday January 9, 6:01 am ET


LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2003--DISH Network(TM) (Nasdaq:DISH - News), a leader in developing advanced home TV entertainment products, announced today that its new high definition DishPVR 921 satellite TV system was awarded top honors as the Best of Show in the Innovations Design and Engineering showcase in the Satellite Systems product category at the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The DishPVR 921 satellite TV receiver is a groundbreaking Personal Video Recording product with the ability to record both standard and high definition programming. DISH Network leads in innovation in the pay TV industry with five nationwide HDTV channels: CBS-HD, HBO-HD, SHOWTIME-HD, Discovery HD, DISH-On-Demand pay-per-view HD movies and a 24-hour HDTV demonstration channel.

Using a massive 250 gigabyte hard disk drive, DishPVR 921 is capable of recording up to 40 hours of high-definition programming, up to 250 hours standard definition programming, or any combination of the two. Other advanced capabilities include the ability to record two programs at the same time while watching a third pre-recorded program, and picture-in-picture capabilities on any TV. Details of the price and availability will be announced later this year.

As a Best of Show winner, the DishPVR 921 will be on display at the Las Vegas Hilton at the Innovations 2003 booth no. 55083. Demonstrations are available at DISH Network's booth no. 25167 in the South Hall on Jan. 9-12. DishPVR 921 embodies four of the most exciting emerging technologies available today into a single, easy-to-use product.

        1.) DISH Network satellite TV -- An enormous selection of
            hundreds of all digital satellite TV entertainment,
            family, news, sports, foreign-language and local TV
            programming.

        2.) High Definition Television -- Capable of seamlessly
            delivering DISH Network standard and high definition
            television programming in addition to programming from
            off-air analog and digital broadcasts.

        3.) Personal Video Recording (PVR) -- Easily record your
            favorite programs, pause live TV for up to an hour, create
            your own 10-second instant replays, skip ahead 30 seconds
            through recorded programs, and more. It's TV how you want
            it, when you want it.

        4.) Interactive Television -- The combination of receiving TV
            and data signals via satellite along with a massive amount
            of hard disk drive storage creates opportunities for
            future enhancements that may include displaying photo
            albums on your TV, games, instant home shopping and a
            library of music, movies and other content.

Like all DISH Network satellite TV products, the DishPVR 921 is software upgradeable via satellite which provides consumers new capabilities instantly as they become available.

DishPVR 921 offers features such as two satellite TV tuners for recording up to two programs at once while viewing a pre-recorded program, personal video recording, a seven-day on-screen program guide. Additional features include Caller ID, UHF/IR remote control for use between walls or cabinets, front panel jacks for future use with still or video cameras for capturing images to attach to e-mail, and additional USB connections for future interface with peripheral devices like printers, cameras, CD writers, etc. Standard functions include V-chip type technology for parental controls and an optical Dolby Digital output.


The full story is
here .

[borghe]

I just posted about the DirecTV box to the equipment forum. I like how Dish wins best of show for their horrid PVRx21 series when DirecTV with Tivo has an HD version of their significantly better PVR coming out.

[Matt Heebner]

I too am waiting for a HD PVR. I also do not like the fact of having to pay a monthly fee or a $250 lifetime. Why don't they just make the price with the $250 included?? I looked into the DirecTivo's, but unless you have the "ultimate" programming package, it's $4.99 a month ON TOP of the $4.99 I pay for the extra receiver. I have 4 DirecTv recievers...thats $15.00 a month extra on the bill, and I have to pay a Tivo fee ??.
Having a HD PVR though.....I would consider the extra fee worth it!

Matt

[kjnorman]

I think the lifetime membership is worth it.  I got my Tivo October 2000 and it has paid for itself many times over now.

By specifying the memberships as monthly or lifetime, the monthly fee lowers the cost of entry to those people who can not afford the one-time upfront fee (but ironically will cost them more long term).  Got to admit that it is a good marketing strategy.

In comparison Replay tried to include the cost in the unit and consumers thought the Tivo was cheaper (headline price in the showroom), so Replay abandoned that selling strategy and adopted Tivo's.

[Greg Oman]

You make a good point Matt-- only an extra 4.99, extra $2 for unlisted telephone, extra $10 for higher speed DSl, extra, extra, extra!

Before you know it you can drop some pretty substantial money for all this stuff.  With TV, satelite or cable, most of it is stuff I don't watch regularily.

What I want is a TV meter-- I get everything, but pay a per minute fee or something.  Flat rate.  Whatever I want.  Like my long distance bill maybe.  Oh yeah, and paying my fee allows me to time shift/record it if I want for viewing later to a non-commercial audience.

Greg O.

[drgingras]

At one time I had the Dish 500 series PVR. One of the worst electronics experiences I ever had. Thank goodness for E-bay:)
Just the same, being a Dish subscriber, I'll probably be standing in line when the 921 goes public. Two words: Firewire and archiving!

BTW, aren't all the lifetime memberships gone now? I thought all the PVR services have gone to monthly fees only, with grandfathered previous lifetime suscribers. If not, a one-time fee seems a pretty small price to pay for HD recording.

Here's an article on DirecTv at the CES

Dave

[borghe]

I'm not sure. I know the lifetime fee is gone for DirecTV DVRs, but I am not sure about the standalone units.

[sp44again]

Is this a good deal?

linky