Bilbo-
A couple of years ago I got the TIVO bug. I already had Directv so it was a pretty easy decision. Now I have 3. I can’t recommend the standalone unit as I haven’t had one but the reports on it about quality are pretty bad. Not to mention the subscription is about $13 a month. DirecTV/TIVO combo box with the TIVO subscription is $5 a month for as many Tivos as you hook up. You still have to pay $5 per receiver for the DirecTV programming. The 3 major advantages as I see it to going with DirecTV are:
- Quality (there is no reduction of quality and you always get 35 hours of recording) Standalones have a choice of quality settings and the higher quality the less hours of recording. Even the best quality of the standalone will not be as good as the DirecTV from what I have heard.
- 2 tuners (record 2 shows at one time while you watch another one that you have already recorded) this is GREAT!
- $5 instead of $13
I don’t work for TIVO or DirecTV or anything I just love it. Especially if you have kids it is wonderful. I just got a HDTV but I’m not about to pay $1000 for the receiver. You might be able to get a deal that includes a/TIVO combo box for pretty cheap if you are a new customer. I had to pay $99 per TIVO which is still worth it IMO.
Anyway I hope I have given you something to think about. Good Luck!
Matt
