still trying to buy a TiVo

[infoMonkey]

I have spent a lot of time sifting through this site and several other TiVo forums and blogs trying to figure out all the details required to make my purchasing decision, and I am still hopelessly confused. I'm really really hoping someone can help me.

Here's what I'm looking for:

A higher-quality VCR replacement
Ideally, something that allows me to archive shows to my computer or DVD without loss of quality, in a standard format. (Not absolutely essential.)
Something I can hack into later on to add functionality. I have no problem tinkering in software, but don't have much experience doing hardware hacks (beyond memory and expansion card installation). (Again, not absolutely essential.)
Something I can use without doing anything unethical.
Something inexpensive, that doesn't require both subscription fees and initial hardware cost. (This rules out a new TiVo.)


Here are the options I see so far:

Refurbished Philips TiVo Series1 40GB or 80GB

Price: $86 or $116
Pros: inexpensive; easily hackable for video extraction and other features.
Cons: older hardware; networking it is expensive ($70); no onscreen guide at all.


Refurbished Toshiba S-DH400 80GB

Price: $130 (with rebate, and including temporary TiVo Plus upgrade to qualify for rebate)
Pros: component video output; newer hardware; cheaper to network ($25ish); onsceen guide through TiVo Basic.
Cons: more expensive (though networked, the price is the same as #1); less hackable.


Comcast DVR (Motorola 6812)

Price: $10/month more than I'm paying now
Pros: No up-front cost or commitment; component video out; digital audio out; single cable/DVR box; if I get HD or another new technology I can just cancel without a loss of investment.
Cons: Comcast can be a real pain; most expensive option long-term; no way to hack or extract.




Here's the stuff I'm still confused about:

How much more difficult is it to hack into a Series2 (particularly to extract recorded video, but also for other purposes) than a Series1?
Is there a difference in video or audio quality between a Series2, a Series1, and the Motorola?


Anyway, I think my head's going to explode. There are so many variables and so many aspects to this and I've spent the last 3 days researching without really figuring it out. The Comcast option seems like the highest quality. The Series1 option seems like the most flexible. But the minute I start networking, the Toshiba Series2 is no more expensive than the Series1 and has several additional features. Aack. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[eastwind]

Hacking the Series 2 to extract video or whatever else isn't very difficult. Took me about 8-9 hours including the time I was waiting for the dd to duplicate the drive in case I messed up. Problem is it doesn't work without a subscription.

Maybe you would be better off with a PC-PVR type setup?

ew

[infoMonkey]

A standalone Series2 requires a subscription. But the Toshiba Series2 I'm looking at comes with TiVo Basic, which is free and thus can work without the subscription fees.

As to PC-DVR: It's really tempting, but the research I've done so far leads me to believe it's more expensive than the other options and will require a lot of time (probably weeks of evenings and weekends) to get working. Particularly since I don't think I have an appropriate box to mod, the closest being an old 300MHz G3 Power Mac. I would guess that in a couple years it'll be a better prospect, which is one reason why I'm trying to stay cheap and subscription-free now.

[eastwind]

A standalone Series2 requires a subscription. But the Toshiba Series2 I'm looking at comes with TiVo Basic, which is free and thus can work without the subscription fees.


Forgot about that Basic sub (not sure it that constitues doing something unethical or not--restricting the functionality of TiVo).

ew

[captain_video]

I'm assuming you do not currently have DirecTV. If you do then the obvious choice would be to get a DirecTivo. The equipment cost is minimal, as are the monthly fees. A DTivo will yield the highest picture quality available short of HDTV.

If you only have access to cable or OTA antenna and you do not want to pay any fees then you might want to consider getting an older model ReplayTV (2000 or 3000 series) or Panasonic Showstopper. Neither of these models require a subscription to get the program guide and you can extract videos from them for burning to DVD. The only caveat is that you have to pull the hard drives every time you do this but a set of removable hard drive racks takes care of this quite easily. I haven't followed the progress regarding any hacks available for the Replay models but there really wasn't much you could do beyond adding a larger drive or even a 2nd drive. There are Replay forums over at the AVS Forums that discuss such things.

[DocTauri]

If what you're looking for is a Series 2 Stand Alone, I have a 240004a that's less than a year for $50+shipping (actually it's my dad's, no use for it now that he's switched over to DTivos).

PM me if interested and I'll give you his e-mail.
Doc