What can you tell me about TIVO?

[nobody]

I want to buy TIVO for my wife for her birthday in about a month.

Is it something I can give her, hook up and start using right away, or do I need to have some sort of something set-up beforehand? Do I need a phone line for it or any other particular connections?

Just wanna make sure I can give it to her and have it workign same day. I can generally hook up whatver pretty quickly, just have never seen one of these things before.

And, any advice on the things would be welcomed as I don't really watch much TV and have only barely heard about TIVO, other than how much she just has to have it.

[Mr Peabody]

What media service do you have, cable/satelite? TiVo is a name brand. If you have Dishnet or cable your best bet would be to just upgrade your receiver or box to include a DVR (digital video recorder). They really are cool, you can pause live TV, rewind to watch scenes over, record while you watch another show, and, of course, record while you aren't home. I've never had DirecTV so I'm not familiar with the actual TiVo. With Dishnet or cable they charge an additional fee for the DVR service. What's cool about the cable version is you get HDTV channels for no extra fee other than the DVR service.

[nobody]

That does sound like a better idea. Unfortunately, the cable here comes with the apartment and is the basic digital box, and getting an upgraded box wouldn't be an option. Maybe I can find a way, but not likely as the landlord is out of the country until past the birthday.

[Dusty Chalk]

You can get the Tivo box itself pretty cheap, the expensive part is the monthly service fee.

And yes, there is some setting up -- kind of like setting up DSL. I think there are options for all the different types of network you can have -- dialup, wireless, ethernet -- but not sure (they should, anyway, as that's all it is -- it's a lookup service to download the latest program schedule and updates to the software).

It's based on linux, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a better way to do it for cheaper. I know for as little as we watch TV at the house in which I live, it's not worth it for the official TiVO, but it might be if I hack something together.

It's too bad your cable service is through your landlord, as that was the optimal solution. You may want to look into it (look up your cable provider on the web and see what they have) anyway -- it might just be a box replacement. I don't know. At least find out, because if you find out you could have done it without your landlord before her birthday, you're going to be kicking yourself.

[nobody]

Well....the upgraded boxes are unavailable in my neighborhood anyway. So...I guess I'll have to look back to TIVO, or whatever other brands are out there.

[topspeed]

I've got Tivo on the main rig and a DVR in my bedroom and lemme tell ya, Tivo is a heckuva lot more intuitive. I use DirecTV and their DVR is crap, pure and simple. The menu system is so convoluted it would be easier deciphering hieroglyphics on some sarcophagus than arranging something as (seemingly) simple as recording the same show every week. On Tivo, you just type in the name or highlight it on the schedule and Bada Bing! It's done. If you're wife is technically challenge, she will love you long time for getting her a Tivo vs. DVR.

As for set-up, you do need a phone line hooked up for the Tivo. My last couple of DVR's (they break a lot...did I mention that?) updated via satellite, although with cable I'd imagine you'll require some phone connection.

Hope this helps.

[Eric Z]

i have a dvr from my cable company and love it. tivo's graphical user interface is a bit more appealing to the eye, but they pretty much work the same way. my brother has tivo and i use his all the time when i'm staying at his house. it can be set up in no time.

tivo doesn't offer their lifetime membership anymore (paying a flat fee instead of monthly membership). the only bad thing with tivo is when you eventually get an hdtv, you'll have to buy a new hd tivo (coming out soon if not already out). the benefit of the dvr through the cable company is they upgrade it for free (at least my cable company does).

regardless of what type of dvr you use, it will change how you watch tv. it's great to rewind and pause live tv and then watch tv shows on your schedule. i never have to worry about being home at a certain time anymore- it's great! i'm sure your wife will really enjoy it.

[Mr Peabody]

Don't compare all DVR's to DirecTV, the Moxi provided by my local cable is very easy to use. You mostly highlight and push a button. No phone hook up required, it's cable, they communicate the same as cable highspeed.

One other option would be one of the DVD recorders with built in hard drive. The one I have from JVC basically hooks up like a VCR, cable hooks up to recorder and recorder out to TV. It may not have all the features but it's worth looking into. One other draw back is only NTSC is available. The JVC model I have even includes that TV Guide feature to help find what you want to record. Actually I don't use this unit much so I'm not sure if it allows you to record one while watching another. I bought mine because it has a IEEE input for mini DV hook up.

[N. Abstentia]

I've got Tivo on the main rig and a DVR in my bedroom and lemme tell ya, Tivo is a heckuva lot more intuitive. I use DirecTV and their DVR is crap, pure and simple.

Dude, all DirectTV has IS Tivo! That's why it's called DirecTivo! Or do they have a standalone DVR now without the Tivo function?

[nobody]

Thanks for all the comments.

Ease of use is of primary importance for her and we can't get the DVR from our cable company yet, so it looks like TiVo is going to be the way we'll have to go.

Any advice about which models are worth getting or features that are useful or subscription plans that are a good deal?

[Eric Z]

Just check out tivo.com and you'll be able to check out models and monthly fees. Pretty much you're looking at an 80 hour TiVo box and you have a choice of a dual tuner for a few more bucks. The dual tuner just allows you record 2 shoes at once- it's a pretty nice convenience.

I checked some regular stores and they sell these TiVos for about $100 (80 hour) or $200 (80 hour Dual Tuner); however, I check the TiVo website and the 80 hour is free and the 80 DT is $30. There's also a 160 hour TiVo, but I think 80 is fine. I have 80 in my dvr and that's more than enough- you just have to be sure you don't save things forever. I keep my Bears games for a while and those add up.

Now remember you have to pay the monthly subscription fee- ranges anywhere from $17-$20/month- you can also get a 1-3 year subscription.

Fyi, the HD TiVo (I know you're not looking at this one) runs for $799- that's crazy!

Good luck!
ez

[topspeed]

Dude, all DirectTV has IS Tivo! That's why it's called DirecTivo! Or do they have a standalone DVR now without the Tivo function?
Well, it's not technically a stand-alone as it's built into the same tuner chassis, but the answer is "Yes," DirecTV has both Tivo and DVR equipped tuners. My HD tuner has Tivo but the other tuner is simply a DVR. No Tivo and no phone line for updating. Of course, the damn thing rarely works, but that's been covered.

[JeffKnob]

Just check out tivo.com and you'll be able to check out models and monthly fees. Pretty much you're looking at an 80 hour TiVo box and you have a choice of a dual tuner for a few more bucks. The dual tuner just allows you record 2 shoes at once- it's a pretty nice convenience.

I checked some regular stores and they sell these TiVos for about $100 (80 hour) or $200 (80 hour Dual Tuner); however, I check the TiVo website and the 80 hour is free and the 80 DT is $30. There's also a 160 hour TiVo, but I think 80 is fine. I have 80 in my dvr and that's more than enough- you just have to be sure you don't save things forever. I keep my Bears games for a while and those add up.

Now remember you have to pay the monthly subscription fee- ranges anywhere from $17-$20/month- you can also get a 1-3 year subscription.

Fyi, the HD TiVo (I know you're not looking at this one) runs for $799- that's crazy!

Good luck!
ez

Wow! Tivo is expensive. :shocked: I have a HD DVR through my cable company and it only costs me an extra $5 a month and there is no box to purchase. That is a big difference in cost. The HD channels are included and I can record from any of them with this box as well.

[nobody]

Thanks for sending me to the TiVo website. They had some refurbished stuff packaged with service that was pretty cheap.

I was able to get a combination CD/DVD player/recorder/TiVo machine with a year's worth of service for 250. And, this lets me get rid of my old DVD/CD player so I don't have to add a box. And, we get a DVD player in the bedroom.

Just hooked it up for her last night...gotta do some fine tuning this weekend with the wires goin' all over the place for now, and wanna keep the VCR that I just yanked out hooked back in, but seems pretty simple and straight forward to get going.

I think you can only burn DVDs from stuff you record to the hard drive first...meaning only being able to burn televised stuff rather than actually burning actual DVD, but good enough for our purposes. Gota figure out if it can burn normal audio CDs...like from analog inputs. Then, I could get rid of another box.