DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
|
OP
axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833 |
We've been considering getting a dvr so we can watch some programming that comes on later at night. I called our cable provider (Comcast) and they want $16.95 a month to rent theirs. That to me is ridiculous.
What would be a good stand alone dvr that wouldn't break the bank. I tried looking around and didn't make much sense of most of it.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458 |
Rick, a standalone DVR such as the TiVo still requires a monthly fee... in essance because the unit relies heavily on constantly-updating program data to allow for the great way it operates.
::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
|
OP
axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833 |
Well darn it, what to do, what to do?
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458 |
Get a TiVo anyway. In a month, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Seriously.
::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
|
OP
axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833 |
I'll check into it. Thanks Mark.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
Or get a TiVo with a lifetime subscription. It costs (a lot) more upfront, but if you keep the unit for several years, it pays for itself. Of course, the lifetime subscription is permanently attached to the unit, so you can't upgrade without the significant cost of buying a second lifetime subscription.
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
|
axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
Well darn it, what to do, what to do?
Repent and cancel cable.
Fred
------- Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185 |
Tivo. You can hunt Craigslist or ebay for a Tivo HD (or Series 3 but HD will be cheaper). Then you get a Cablecard from Comcast. Yeah, you have to pay the monthly fee but the GUI is much better than Comcast AND you can pull the shows off Tivo onto your PC/Mac and view it on the road. The Tivo will also play Netflix.
If you are handy w/ Linux, you can upgrade/replace the Tivo drives yourself. If not, you can always get pre-programmed drives on Weaknees or DVRUpgrade.
Sometimes you actually can transfer lifetime w/ a fee, I've done it before. But you almost never do that. I have one box w/ Lifetime and just pay a monthly, reduced rate on the 2nd box. W/ multiple Tivos, you can share shows between boxes, then you don't have to record the same shows in different boxes. Think of it as distributed storage.
The Tivo can also see video servers on the network and play video that way. It's not really DLNA, but it's close.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
What do you use to transfer shows to your Mac? I know Roxio has a solution, but it pains me even now to pay for Toast...
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6,471
axiomite
|
axiomite
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6,471 |
TiVo is indeed a life-changer.
DirecTV is cheaper, but you don't get real TiVo, you get their own knock off, which is not that bad, now that I've gotten used to it. On the plus side, I only pay $5 monthly for it.
Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16 |
Rick - you might also want to take a look at the Moxi boxes.
I've been sitting on the fence for over a year, wondering if I should get a TiVo or Moxi and dump the DVR that the cable company is making me rent.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185 |
What do you use to transfer shows to your Mac? I know Roxio has a solution, but it pains me even now to pay for Toast... I'm w/ you. I liked Toast but I hated paying for it. There's a few open source ones I like and that work well. TivoDecodeManager works well. If I remember the other one, I'll post. My HP MediaSmart Server EX495 now has a Tivo plug in. I don't know if it's a standard plug in for WHS. pyTivo works great for sharing to the Tivo. I've looked at Moxi for years. Sadly, they have never been able to release a box at a decent price point. The concept is fantastic, the execution, not so much.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
Oh, it's a decent price point if you consider that they're competing with a TiVo+Lifetime. Of course, I think that's insanely expensive, too...
How's the UI? I noticed that there's not a lot of pics of it on their site...
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185 |
Which UI? Moxi? I've never seen it, to be honest. I don't know anyone that's even considered it.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
Yeah, Moxi. The reviews I read of TiVo's new UI were not exactly positive.
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185 |
Yeah, Moxi. The reviews I read of TiVo's new UI were not exactly positive. I think the new Tivo GUI is nice but not worth buying a Premiere. I'd still just buy a Tivo HD and save the money. It doesn't sound like the performance is that much faster.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 670
aficionado
|
aficionado
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 670 |
Tivo/DVR/PVR is so great, I could not go without one anymore, got my first one about four years ago. I still contend they add hours in the day because you can go run an errand, come home with the game (or whatever) half over and you just about finish watching the same time as the live broadcast anyway.
Up here we can rent them for about $20 a month but I just bought both of mine up front.
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,185 |
Tivo is like the TV version of Axiom. All the fans pour out of the woodwork. Now if you add Tivo w/ your Slingbox like I do, you'll NEVER get anything done...
|
|
|
Re: DVR recommendation
|
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301 |
I'm with JP, I use DirecTV and their box and have been really happy with it.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics24,945
Posts442,477
Members15,617
|
Most Online2,082 Jan 22nd, 2020
|
|
0 members (),
792
guests, and
3
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|