Recommended Tivo Purchase

[jonsey]

I'm about to go out and purchase a Tivo and I was looking for some advice. I will be going through and doing the necessary reading for my hacking needs, but I was wondering if there are any current receivers out there that would be recommended that are off the shelf at best buy or circuit city? I have Direct TV and Cable and I'm trying to decide which one to keep. I'm leaning towards Direct TV... My ultimate goal is to be able to move recorded movies over a network or some procedure to play them on my local hard drive or even my modded XBox. Any recommendations? They seem to be relatively inexpensive nowadays. :D :D

[EC-EXCURSION]

If you have digital cable keep it.

[jonsey]

I have it but I'm thinking of dumping it because it just costs too much. I'd like to be able to focus on getting the right receiver for my direct tv (HU) card. I'm familiar with all the HU stuff as well, just not sure about the best Tivo to get with it. I understand the new ones can be converted to work with a P3.

If I were to get a non-DTV tivo, could I get it to work with both cable and Sat? I'm on the fence as far as which model is the best for this situation. I also want to make sure a new Tivo can be hacked. I know the 1st series is easier, but can I assume that the ones in the stores are a series 2 or are hackable?

[drnull]

If you have digital cable keep it.

Just out of curiosity, why would you say this? Is the quality that much better?

And even if he starts with digital cable, can a stand alone ever match a directivo combo unit as far as quality goes? Certainly not space wise, but that's not a real concern. I only have experience with dtivo, but from what I've heard, your quality is always better there.

Oh yeah, and dual tuners are loverly.

[mrblack51]

I have it but I'm thinking of dumping it because it just costs too much. I'd like to be able to focus on getting the right receiver for my direct tv (HU) card. I'm familiar with all the HU stuff as well, just not sure about the best Tivo to get with it. I understand the new ones can be converted to work with a P3.

If I were to get a non-DTV tivo, could I get it to work with both cable and Sat? I'm on the fence as far as which model is the best for this situation. I also want to make sure a new Tivo can be hacked. I know the 1st series is easier, but can I assume that the ones in the stores are a series 2 or are hackable?

dtv doesnt support activation of new hu cards anymore (hasnt for about a year). the only thing you can use an hu card with a tivo for is service theft. dtv service theft is not a topic for discussion at this forum

[jonsey]

Gotcha. I'm just looking for a recommended new model, if anyone has suggestions let me know. Don't intend on stealing service from DTV.

[PlainBill]

Gotcha. I'm just looking for a recommended new model, if anyone has suggestions let me know. Don't intend on stealing service from DTV.

If you go to a retailer (BB, CC, etc) you'll have to take a RID unit (latest version). Except for the remote, the name, and the front panel, they're all the same. So take your choice. At this point they're all hackable.

PlainBill

[jonsey]

Great! Thanks for the suggestion. I'll pick one up tomorrow. What's the best place to get started? Just start scouring the DirecTivo Series 2 forum? One more question, after all the work, is it possible to access the files on the Series 2 units and transfer them to my PC to view there? Thanks for all the help!

[PlainBill]

Great! Thanks for the suggestion. I'll pick one up tomorrow. What's the best place to get started? Just start scouring the DirecTivo Series 2 forum? One more question, after all the work, is it possible to access the files on the Series 2 units and transfer them to my PC to view there? Thanks for all the help!

Yes, it is possible to transfer your recordings and view them on your PC. First, you have to gain access to the DirecTiVo. The easiest way is to use TiVoScripts (AKA Sleeper's ISO). The support thread is here: http://dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28921

I strongly urge you to read the first three pages carefully. It makes the process of Monte-ing your TiVo relatively painless, but any number of people have discovered how to screw it up. If anything isn't clear - ASK. Some of the hacks are out of date, updating them will get you familiar with working with linux, ftp and telnet.

Video extraction is a whole nuther can of worms. Read the video extraction forum, especially the stickies.

PlainBill

[jonsey]

Thanks again for the great replies. One last question - I noticed on Best Buy's web site that DirecTV activation and subscription are required within 30 days of purchase. Is this true from anyone's experience?

[EC-EXCURSION]

Just out of curiosity, why would you say this? Is the quality that much better?

And even if he starts with digital cable, can a stand alone ever match a directivo combo unit as far as quality goes? Certainly not space wise, but that's not a real concern. I only have experience with dtivo, but from what I've heard, your quality is always better there.

Oh yeah, and dual tuners are loverly.

I dont think the quallity of the cable is that great but I needed fast internet and useing a cable modem I get 3 mb's a second download speed and 300 kb upload speed.

Another reson why I picked cable was because I was at my friends house once (he has direcTV) and it was raining so we wanted to watch some TV. There was no TV... true story.

[AlphaWolf]

Another reson why I picked cable was because I was at my friends house once (he has direcTV) and it was raining so we wanted to watch some TV. There was no TV... true story.

I've had both, and actually digital cable has way more downtime than satellite TV from my experience. You have to get a miserably bad weather storm for it affect a ku-band signal (which dtv and echostar use). Usually during my experience, cable quits working during these kinds of storms as well. No idea why, but it definitely does.

I've had my satellite quit working only once in the last two years, and that was actually because my dish was poorly mounted, and a bad windstorm at the time knocked it slightly out of alignment, and coupled with hard cloud cover, that did it just enough to make the signal unwatchable on most transponders (locals coming in through the sat worked just fine, since they have the strongest signal.) Hasn't happened since, and we've been through a hell of a lot of bad weather in the last month even.

I have cable internet alongside my dtv dish, and not only is it the cheapest deal in town for broadband, but its the fastest too. Only problem with it is that it goes down at least four times a month. Its worth it other than that though. I also subscribe to the cable company's local phone service (canceled qwest once their monopoly was removed, they are a bunch of price gouging bastards) so I get a good deal on cable internet since I have that, so I don't need to subscribe to their catv service.

[johnd01]

I'm about to go out and purchase a Tivo and I was looking for some advice. I will be going through and doing the necessary reading for my hacking needs, but I was wondering if there are any current receivers out there that would be recommended that are off the shelf at best buy or circuit city? I have Direct TV and Cable and I'm trying to decide which one to keep. I'm leaning towards Direct TV... My ultimate goal is to be able to move recorded movies over a network or some procedure to play them on my local hard drive or even my modded XBox. Any recommendations? They seem to be relatively inexpensive nowadays. :D :D


I think Dtivo is so much better than the SA unit that I added 2 HDVR2s to my 3 lifetime SA units last July and cut my cable back to locals and cable modem.
(It was cheaper to keep locals if I kept cable)
Get your TIVO from DTV and they will install it for you and move your old receiver to an other location. You may need a multiswitch for the extra receiver which they should give you free of charge.

Any one want my 3 SA S1 units? They have been off for the last 7 mo.

[captain_video]

I noticed on Best Buy's web site that DirecTV activation and subscription are required within 30 days of purchase. Is this true from anyone's experience?

This is true when purchasing a DTV receiver from any retailer. DTV subsidizes the sale of all DTV-related equipment and passes the savings on to the retailer and thus on to the buyer. If the receiver is subbed within the 30-day time period, DTV pays the retailer the difference between the price of the equipment you paid and the retail price or whatever DTV and the retailer agree upon. If the retailer does not receive notice of activation for your equipment after the 30 days has expired they will charge you the difference in price. This is why they require all DTV receiver purchases be made with a credit card and will not accept cash.

I've had both, and actually digital cable has way more downtime than satellite TV from my experience. You have to get a miserably bad weather storm for it affect a ku-band signal (which dtv and echostar use). Usually during my experience, cable quits working during these kinds of storms as well. No idea why, but it definitely does.

I have always had more down time with cable than I've ever had with DTV. I have a 30" dish for added gain so I'm rarely down unless I'm getting a torrential downpour or a blizzard. It seemed like my cable went out everytime a utility truck was within a mile of my house. Strangely enough, I rarely get outages with my cable modem but the TV was out all the time. I laugh myself silly everytime I see the ads for cable vs. satellite where they claim cable stays up for longer periods and satellite goes out every time there's a slight drizzle. I am seriously thinking about signing back up for basic cable because for some strange reason I would get a discount and pay less for both wideband internet service and cable if I have them both.

[drnull]

I have cable internet alongside my dtv dish, and not only is it the cheapest deal in town for broadband, but its the fastest too. Only problem with it is that it goes down at least four times a month. Its worth it other than that though. I also subscribe to the cable company's local phone service so I get a good deal on cable internet since I have that, so I don't need to subscribe to their catv service.

Exactly what I do. I have the same problem with cox losing my connection occasionally. I was thinking that maybe it was because I vnc home and run slimp3 off of it to work too (thus using quite a bit of upstream bandwidth). Glad (in a sick sort of way) to hear somebody else has problems with it occasionally.

I just hate coming home and seeing my cable modem's uplink light steadly blinking (i.e., lost connection).

[jonsey]

Is it possible to get a Tivo that works with my cable and then use it with my current DTV reciever with an IR control or serial connection? That way I can be flexible? Thanks everyone for all the great posts so far. :D :D

[captain_video]

A standalone Tivo will do what you want.

[jonsey]

Excellent! I suppose the most I will loose would be the quality recordings from having a directly integrated DirecTivo as opposed to the standalone unit. The standalone will be the way I go, especially because I can use it with my cable and then switch over to satellite using an IR or serial adapter. :D :D

[jonsey]

Oh one last question... is the subscription for the standard box (non-direcTivo) require a subscription at time of purchase? I noticed that best buy's site mentions it, but I wasn't totally sure.

[captain_video]

There is no requirement for a subscription on a SA Tivo. They're not discounted as widely as DTivos are. However, without a sub your SA Tivo doesn't do much but make a nice doorstop. There are versions with built-in DVD players by Toshiba and Pioneer (I believe the Pioneer models have DVD recorders and the Toshiba has a player) that come with a basic Tivo service at no extra charge. The basic service provides guide data for 2 or 3 days but nothing beyond that. It does provide full Tivo functionality but it's unlikely you'd be able to do much with season passes unless you record shows that are aired daily.

[johnd01]

Oh one last question... is the subscription for the standard box (non-direcTivo) require a subscription at time of purchase? I noticed that best buy's site mentions it, but I wasn't totally sure.

No. It will give you a week or so then switch to boat ancer mode if you do not subscribe.

U will give up a lot going with a SA TIVO.
1. SA fees are higher
2. Quality is less
3. Takes more disk to store an hour of programing.
4. One tuner not 2.
5. Cost more to buy.

Disclamer:
I went from SA to combo.