Help - Tivo or VCR???

[traut]

My VCR was fried during an electrical storm a couple of months ago. I need to buy something new to record with, and I'm wondering which way to go. I was looking at Tivo, and Best Buy's got one for 99.99 (after $100 mail in rebate), but it also says that a $12.95/month or $299 one time fee is required . I can pay my cable company $9.95/month, and utilize the DVR built in to my digital cable box, so what's the advantage of buying the Tivo unit?

Another option is to buy a new VCR, but if I'm going to go that route, I'm thinking I should just buy a DVD/VCR all in one unit. That way, I can use my current DVD player in the bedroom. Does anybody know if those types of units have any disadvantages to their seperate counterparts? Any recommendations on a good brand/model?

I appreciate any and all responses.

Thanks,
Rob

[IsmaVA]

The Tivo service offers many advantages, whether they are valuable advantages depends on you. You get the advance channel guide, teatrical versions of movie trailers, shorts once in a while via their Tivolution "magazine", Season pass and little thing of the like

I have Tivo and, while i love the pvr side of it, the Tivo service I don't really care too much about.

Some of my frineds have the Cox Cable DVR and they are happy with it.

VCR are mostly used in my home as a big coaster to put some plants on . . .

[traut]

The Tivo service offers many advantages, whether they are valuable advantages depends on you. You get the advance channel guide, teatrical versions of movie trailers, shorts once in a while via their Tivolution "magazine", Season pass and little thing of the like

I have Tivo and, while i love the pvr side of it, the Tivo service I don't really care too much about.

Some of my frineds have the Cox Cable DVR and they are happy with it.

VCR are mostly used in my home as a big coaster to put some plants on . . .

Thanks Isma... do I have to subscribe to the service in order to record shows? Can I just buy the component and set it to certain days and times so that it records what I want?

[IsmaVA]

As far as I know the Tivo unit will not work without the Tivo service . . . but, I have never tried it, so I am not sure.

Dish Network provides far better service than cable and their PVR (which is very similar to Tivo) does not requires a subscription.

DirectTv is also better than cable and their Tivo unit is only about $5/month for the service.

Both satellite services PVR/Tivo units have dual tuners which is something I think stand-alone/cable PVR's still don't have.

[Dusty Chalk]

TiVO is such a superiorly convenient format, that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it over "just" a VCR. However, try to get one that has a DVD burner built in, so that you can back up shows when you run out of disk space. Also, try to get one that can handle recording multiple channels at the same time.

[plextor guy]

Once you have one there is no turning back. Zip through commercials, watch what you want when you want. Comparing a Tivo (or any other DVR) to a VCR is like comparing a rickshaw to a Lexus. Tivo is probably the best of the lot in terms of ease of use and would be my choice for someone that isn't a technophile. Take a look at ReplayTV as well. Replay is more hackable if you're so inclined. It's a little easier to do things like offload video to a computer from which you can burn dvd's. Connecting to wireless and wired networks is easier. Tivo's are also pretty easy to fix and upgrade as well. You can use a Tivo without the service for timer recording but having the service makes programming painless. For example, it you program a event with the timer only, if it changes time slots or is a repeat broadcast, you'll either miss it or record something you don't want to. There are many other reasons having the service is desireable. If you have DirecTV and have a Tivo/DirecTV combo box, the service is only about 5 bucks per month. In the end, all DVR's do pretty much the same thing. Just about any of them will be a big improvement over a VCR.

[alumpkin]

I totally agree with everyone in the this thread... tivo is the way to go. I just wanted to mention something though... I would advise not to get a DVD/VCR combo player in any situation. Lately I have seen everything from DVD/VCR players to receivers with DVD/VCR players built in. I have only seen bad things with these for two main reasons:

1. If one fails, you will either have to send in the whole unit to get it replaced (which means you are out your dvd if your vcr fails) or you have spent the extra money to get the combo and now you have to go and buy another DVD or VCR with a broken one just sitting there. I also have seen in a few instances where one fails and they both die. An example of this is if the power supply fails. Whereas you would have only lost one player, you now lost both.

2. The quality of the dvd and vcr players separate are almost always going to be higher quality than the combo drives. And with VCRs fairly cheap today, it is better to get a nicer dvd player and go with the tivo or get a cheaper VCR (unless you use your VCR extensively).

Overall, do whatever fits best for your interests and budget, but I have seen a good deal of problems in the past with combo players.