Dedicate a Windows Media Center PC to the task and your problems are over. Seriously, it is an extremely robust system that is realiable and fun to use. I tried a Tivo first--it totally sucked--perhaps because it relied on Linux for an OS. It needed constant rebooting and never worked reliably. Next I tried a Replay TV which was awesome compared to Tivo (including commercial skip!). The only reason I gave Replay up was because of the Media Center's feature set and limitless capacity for storing recorded T.V. and serving up music, photos and video, DVD--the list goes on. This interface will even show original air dates for TV shows which is a cool feature.
If you are going to go that route, you can build up a Windows or Linux system with any of the free or commercial PVR packages available and have something far easier to use, more reliable, with a boat-load more features (and -- for you theming nuts -- far more personalizable too).
Media Center PC is very much like what the cable companies give you save that it doesn't hide that it's Windows.
Also, I don't think that TiVO users care what the underlying OS is. It's only important in that it makes it cheap and reliable. The UI and service have no relationship to the OS.
There have already been a number of 'Buy TiVo' posts. And while that's a viable solution for many, the real issue is the continued effort to reinvent the wheel. There are companies that are experts at creating DVR interfaces - TiVo, ReplayTV, and Digeo/Moxi. All three have, to various degress of success, licensed their software to others. ReplayTV has pretty much fallen out of the market, but TiVo and Moxi are still players. Instead of reinventing the wheel with home-brewed software, duplicating work already done - and done better - by these vendors, why not just license the software?
TiVo is bringing their software to the Motorola DVR platform for Comcast, and it is available for other cable MSOs. We've had TiVo on DirecTV systems, though they're stupidly moving to an inferior home-grown system. (Yes, the new software is from NDS - NDS is owned by News Corp, which owns DirecTV.) Moxi is also available on some Motorola systems.
All of these other companies are spending money to develop software which doesn't even perform at the same levels TiVo was at 4 years ago. Some competition is good, but it doesn't make sense for everyone to try to put out their own home-brew solution. Any more than we needed 10+ flavors of UNIX fragmenting the market. That same money could be invested in adding more features and improving the product. Let the hardware vendors do what they do best - design and build hardware. Offer a choice of software like TiVo or Moxi. Standardize on some interfaces, like the PC industry, and the STB industry would be transformed.
Agreed - although I would through Microsoft's DVR software into the mix (same that is in Media Center) which I feel is personally better than Tivo in many respects. But agree that they should be licensing from companies that know how to do it rather than designing severly inferior products (although I haven't seen th NDS products yet - waiting on their HD DVR).
Agreed - although I would throw Microsoft's DVR software into the mix (same that is in Media Center or was used in UltimateTV) which I feel is personally better than Tivo in many respects. But agree that they should be licensing from companies that know how to do it rather than designing severly inferior products (although I haven't seen th NDS products yet - waiting on their HD DVR).
I have had a Replay TV machine Since Janarury of 2000. The harddrive crashed in about April 2003 but I had a warrenty on it and sent it back in and it worked until I decided to replace it with new model that could be networked. I haven't had any issues with the newer machine at all since last year. If you are at all inclined towards computer hardware you can prevent a breakdown and be back up and running if it does break down it a manner of 30 minutes.
I replaced the 40 GB drive in both of my Replay's with 160 GB drives and can store complete seasons of several shows.
There is much more support out there for Replay and *ack* *ack* Tivo than the Cable DVR's and if you want a good system for about the same price that is more reliable and scalable I suggest going with a ReplayTV. It is Networkable, so you can record a show in the bedroom and watch in the family room. So if you want to record conflicting shows and watch them both from your easy chair in the family room you can.
I LOVE REPLAY TV. I hate watching regular TV any more. I find myself reaching for the remote to rewind or pause it even at friends house that don't have it.
So apparently things have not gotten better. The reality is that cable DVRs are crap because the cable company is looking for the cheapest option out there without regard to the quality of service. The only think that might drive them to fix the problems is if their support centers are constantly tied up with the same issue. Even then, I think they rely on the unholy wait times (average wait time with Time Warner Austin was 30 minutes).
For the record, I've also used Comcast's DVR which likes to lock up at least 2-3 times a week. Just freezes.
While not perfect, Tivo remains the best option. I keep praying for their OpenCable version so I can tell the cable company to stick their crappy excuse for a DVR.'
"Much more important than deploying simpler devices in people's homes, Whitton said, is providing enough intelligence in the network to allow service providers to troubleshoot devices remotely."
The last thing I want is any "intelligence" built into the network. A "dumb" network is a neutral network! I can just see Verizon controling a smart network and saying, sorry, but we don't allow that!
I used to work for iMagicTV in Canada before the dot-bomb nuked almost all the US employees. They were showing this whole idea of Video Recording on demand over the network years ago. As for Windows Media Center, no friggin way, man. Their DRM is way too draconian for something that is being broadcast. Give me a non-handicapped ATI all-in-wonder card and I'd rather roll my own. Funny thing is, I still use my 4-head vcr. No DRM there. Then again, I don't watch a lot of TV anymore. Smallville, Beauty and the Geek, and the local news, so thats not much of a load for a DVR. Rather just read Sabrina-Online.com
Circa 1996, when I wanted to watch an episode of Seinfeld, I had to be home at the time that Seinfeld was on. And that wasn't easy, let me tell you!
Yes sir, I just wish that there was some kind of device that could have recorded television back then, even if it was on magnetic tape, I would've taken it.
I used a VCR for a long time and only since 2004 did I start using a TiVo. Here are the issues I had with the VCR.
1. Power outtages - These would wipe the clock out. Even putting a UPS on it didn't solve the problem if the outtage was longer than the battery could handle.
2. Tape Management - I found that I wanted all of one show on a single tape, so I had to constantly shuffle tapes around to maintain an archive. Shuffling files around is much easier, as is burning them to DVD without commercials.
3. Commercial skip - My VCR had a 30 second commerical skip feature but if you overshot the mark getting back was a PITA. Also overall performance with magnetic tape is much slower than hard drive access.
4. Lineup/showTime changes - With a VCR I had to be on top of any show time or channel line up changes, and often I only had a days notice of the change. TiVo updates automatically when a show changes time or your cable lineup changes.
5. Encores - VCR's were a bear to manage and required quite a bit of research if you wanted to catch an encore at another time. TiVo will grab the show if it wasn't able to record it earlier.
6. Space - My VCR at most would only record 8 hours of programming on one tape. My TiVo does 180 hours. Now I'd never watch 180 hours of TV in a month, but now everyone in the family can have there own set of shows available when they want them. We also save up shows and have a marathon once or twice a year with shows like Survivor and Big Brother where the whole family gets together to watch. We can also archive shows to watch during the summer of during reruns periods and there is always a good movie on.
It's not an isolated issue as they stated. Just last night my DVR reset and I lost the entire channel guide. The Scientific Atlanta box is the worst piece of equipment I have ever used not to mention how much it digitizes my recorded shows as well the studdering while watching live tv. I have a Tivo HD DVR with Direct TV (HR 10-250) which is 100 times more reliable. Now if they would be able to improve the speed of the guide, then it would be 1000 times better.
I have one of the old RCA 7000N models. I got it because I'll be darned if I'm going to let Tivo (or their like) extract dollars from me on a monthly basis after I've already shoveled out dollars for their unit.
No question, it could be better. But in the end, it's like a super long VCR tape, so I stick with it.
If they finally come out with something DECENT where they're not trying to eek every last cent they can out of you on a monthly basis, I'll probably buy another one.
Charles R. Whealton Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
I like the Windows Media Center the best. I have DirecTV with all the options they have, I have a Tivo, the HD Receiver, the DirecTV DVR and normal sat receivers and my faves are the one's running through the media center... I don't see how you can dispute the pros and cons when the only pro that matters is the NO MONTHLY FEE that Media Center has. We pay 10 a month for both the tivo & the hdirectv dvr. It's just not needed when you have the media center, it does the same thing with many more options and a much easier on screen menu to learn. I can't imagine our tv system without the media center, but i can deal without the others, in fact the one tivo is run through a media center just for the streaming video features that we can't get with tivo.
www.livingroam.com
I got my great setup from www.livingroam.com and i couldn't have a better setup, we can watch tv dvd's or music from any of the pc's and receivers in any room with a hookup, i couldn't be happier.
The real solution is for TIVO to license its software to Cisco and other companies that build the boxes for cable companies. Unfortunately TIVO doesn't want to think of its self as a software company.
Wall Street and other investors pressure them to be more than a software company. TIVO wants reoccurring revenue from things such as programming guide and ad placements. The problem is that cable companies already have a programming guide, that are superior to TIVO because they know what they are broadcasting -- so they don't need to pay TIVO for the service.
Having said all that, I have a Time Warner DVR, and would gladly pay $10 a month to have TIVO run on the Cisco box. This scenario you get the best of both worlds. You can record two HD programs, not have a separate box, and have a great UI.
TiVo has agreed to build software for Comcast boxes...
TiVo has agreed to build software that will run in Comcast's Motorola DCT boxes. Hopefully we will see some of that software be deployed before the end of the year.
I switched over from DirecTV to Time Warner when it finally came into my area and sadly had to switch to the HD Scientific America DVR. It seems to pixelate randomly during recordings and live TV and the software isn't at nice as DirecTV's HD Hughes DVR.
With the exception of the on demand capabilities built into Time Warner's box; the Hughes program seems to be a lot easier to use and you dont have all the pixelation problems.
I hope they come out with something new and better soon!
Cable DVR are full of so many little bugs. Most of the time I have called Tech support, they are happy to announce that the problem in question is a "Known Issue" and the techs are hard at work to resolve. If Dish or Direct TV offered better Pricing on HD\ With DVR I would switch back in a minute. My Comcast Service is horrific!
It's the worst piece of crap that was ever made. Everything I turn the TV on, I want to boot-kick that MotorolaXXXX right out the window.
Comcast SAYS they are going to upgrade the interface& BUT THEY NEVER DO. For 3 years, nothing but talk and bullsh_t. Instead of the sound cutting out when youre recording a program, NOW, after 1 year, the sound cuts out while youre simply watching it. I guess I made the mistake of pressing the play button, dam what was I thinking. Its good to know that $100 dollars a month buys such quality. This is the second box.
Just moved from Pasadena, Texas to Rockwall, also Texas, and had to change cable providers. In Pasadena, it was Time Warner, and my wife and I had two DVRs, the same Scientific Atlanta models. We loved them when they worked, and they completely changed our viewing habits. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to follow the Sci-Fi channel's lineup while working my hours. And, my wife made a ritual of programming the DVR every morning when she woke up. We rarely watched shows live while in Pasadena. But, the things were horribly buggy; I must have returned over the course of two years of use six or seven of the buggers, and when we finally moved, one of the two units I turned in was freezing whenever the program guide was scrolled to Encore West.
Our new provider Charter Cable has only just now gotten into the HDTV business, and we're on a waiting list for our second box--we're only allowed one right now. I was disappointed not only by this, but by the fact their "Moxi" HDTV DVR had no HDMI connector! It's designed for HDTV, and yet it relies on component cable connectors.
But, it hasn't crashed once. So, even if it's yesterday's HDTV, it works right, and I'll happily sacrifice bleeding edge for reliability in my daily life.
I've had a TiVo DVR for 4 years and it is what the author here needs. The whole beauty of TiVo is that it takes the complex and makes it simple. And - compared to other DVR technologies - it doesn't break.
I am on my fourth Time Warner Scientific Atlanta DVR this year! They had a technical glitch recently and when I went to turn on my DVR it froze. The end result - all my recorded programs were wiped out. It is just unbelievable how such a large corporation can keep alienating its customers with such junk! (not to mention the cost of sending their techicians out constantly to swop DVR's which they pass on to the customer with higher fees). When I requested a month credit for all the hassels, what did they give me - a $4.95 movie coupon! The first DVR they released many years ago actually had the capability of allowing you to set up a recording weeks in advance on any channel at anytime of your choosing. The new software means that you are limited to recording either a series, or whatever shows up on their short one week guide. So you are out of luck if you go on vacation for two or three weeks and want to just record a specific program. This piece of junk that calls itself a DVR does not even do what the humble VCR used to do! Amazing! Please please, can someone give me the name of a brand and model number that works with Time Warner's system, that is reliable, easy to use, and allows you to record two shows at the same time while watching another? Then I can dump this piece of garbage.
Manage updates with the Download App
If you are going to go that route, you can build
up a Windows or Linux system with any of the
free or commercial PVR packages available and
have something far easier to use, more reliable,
with a boat-load more features (and -- for you
theming nuts -- far more personalizable too).
Media Center PC is very much like what the cable
companies give you save that it doesn't hide
that it's Windows.
Also, I don't think that TiVO users care what
the underlying OS is. It's only important in
that it makes it cheap and reliable. The UI and
service have no relationship to the OS.
TiVo is bringing their software to the Motorola DVR platform for Comcast, and it is available for other cable MSOs. We've had TiVo on DirecTV systems, though they're stupidly moving to an inferior home-grown system. (Yes, the new software is from NDS - NDS is owned by News Corp, which owns DirecTV.) Moxi is also available on some Motorola systems.
All of these other companies are spending money to develop software which doesn't even perform at the same levels TiVo was at 4 years ago. Some competition is good, but it doesn't make sense for everyone to try to put out their own home-brew solution. Any more than we needed 10+ flavors of UNIX fragmenting the market. That same money could be invested in adding more features and improving the product. Let the hardware vendors do what they do best - design and build hardware. Offer a choice of software like TiVo or Moxi. Standardize on some interfaces, like the PC industry, and the STB industry would be transformed.
I replaced the 40 GB drive in both of my Replay's with 160 GB drives and can store complete seasons of several shows.
There is much more support out there for Replay and *ack* *ack* Tivo than the Cable DVR's and if you want a good system for about the same price that is more reliable and scalable I suggest going with a ReplayTV. It is Networkable, so you can record a show in the bedroom and watch in the family room. So if you want to record conflicting shows and watch them both from your easy chair in the family room you can.
I LOVE REPLAY TV. I hate watching regular TV any more. I find myself reaching for the remote to rewind or pause it even at friends house that don't have it.
<<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://provokethought.blogspot.com/2004/09/this-aint-no-" target="_newWindow">http://provokethought.blogspot.com/2004/09/this-aint-no-</a>
tivo.html>
So apparently things have not gotten better. The reality is that
cable DVRs are crap because the cable company is looking for
the cheapest option out there without regard to the quality of
service. The only think that might drive them to fix the problems
is if their support centers are constantly tied up with the same
issue. Even then, I think they rely on the unholy wait times
(average wait time with Time Warner Austin was 30 minutes).
For the record, I've also used Comcast's DVR which likes to lock
up at least 2-3 times a week. Just freezes.
While not perfect, Tivo remains the best option. I keep praying
for their OpenCable version so I can tell the cable company to
stick their crappy excuse for a DVR.'
The last thing I want is any "intelligence" built into the network. A "dumb" network is a neutral network! I can just see Verizon controling a smart network and saying, sorry, but we don't allow that!
I've used Replay TV...it was a joke.
Just get a TiVo.
Yes sir, I just wish that there was some kind of device that could have recorded television back then, even if it was on magnetic tape, I would've taken it.
(Mandated by law)
..."Analog outputs" are gone...
(soon to be mandated by law, and manufacterers)
...ALL "devices capable of receiving television" are strictly controlled by legal, and technological, means...
(soon to be mandated by law, and manufacterers)
...you simply can no longer buy "VCR" equipment or supplies.
(soon to be implemented by manufacterers and retailers)
In short...
"Betamax" overturned...
"Consumer control" gone...
"Fair use", just a memory...
Depressed by reality, ...yet..?
1. Power outtages - These would wipe the clock out. Even putting a UPS on it didn't solve the problem if the outtage was longer than the battery could handle.
2. Tape Management - I found that I wanted all of one show on a single tape, so I had to constantly shuffle tapes around to maintain an archive. Shuffling files around is much easier, as is burning them to DVD without commercials.
3. Commercial skip - My VCR had a 30 second commerical skip feature but if you overshot the mark getting back was a PITA. Also overall performance with magnetic tape is much slower than hard drive access.
4. Lineup/showTime changes - With a VCR I had to be on top of any show time or channel line up changes, and often I only had a days notice of the change. TiVo updates automatically when a show changes time or your cable lineup changes.
5. Encores - VCR's were a bear to manage and required quite a bit of research if you wanted to catch an encore at another time. TiVo will grab the show if it wasn't able to record it earlier.
6. Space - My VCR at most would only record 8 hours of programming on one tape. My TiVo does 180 hours. Now I'd never watch 180 hours of TV in a month, but now everyone in the family can have there own set of shows available when they want them. We also save up shows and have a marathon once or twice a year with shows like Survivor and Big Brother where the whole family gets together to watch. We can also archive shows to watch during the summer of during reruns periods and there is always a good movie on.
reset and I lost the entire channel guide. The Scientific Atlanta box
is the worst piece of equipment I have ever used not to mention
how much it digitizes my recorded shows as well the studdering
while watching live tv. I have a Tivo HD DVR with Direct TV (HR
10-250) which is 100 times more reliable. Now if they would be
able to improve the speed of the guide, then it would be 1000
times better.
I just wrote a post below about it actually...
No question, it could be better. But in the end, it's like a super long VCR tape, so I stick with it.
If they finally come out with something DECENT where they're not trying to eek every last cent they can out of you on a monthly basis, I'll probably buy another one.
Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
www.livingroam.com
I got my great setup from www.livingroam.com and i couldn't have a better setup, we can watch tv dvd's or music from any of the pc's and receivers in any room with a hookup, i couldn't be happier.
topmoo
Wall Street and other investors pressure them to be more than a software company. TIVO wants reoccurring revenue from things such as programming guide and ad placements. The problem is that cable companies already have a programming guide, that are superior to TIVO because they know what they are broadcasting -- so they don't need to pay TIVO for the service.
Having said all that, I have a Time Warner DVR, and would gladly pay $10 a month to have TIVO run on the Cisco box. This scenario you get the best of both worlds. You can record two HD programs, not have a separate box, and have a great UI.
With the exception of the on demand capabilities built into Time Warner's box; the Hughes program seems to be a lot easier to use and you dont have all the pixelation problems.
I hope they come out with something new and better soon!
Comcast SAYS they are going to upgrade the interface& BUT THEY NEVER DO. For 3 years, nothing but talk and bullsh_t. Instead of the sound cutting out when youre recording a program, NOW, after 1 year, the sound cuts out while youre simply watching it. I guess I made the mistake of pressing the play button, dam what was I thinking. Its good to know that $100 dollars a month buys such quality. This is the second box.
Our new provider Charter Cable has only just now gotten into the HDTV business, and we're on a waiting list for our second box--we're only allowed one right now. I was disappointed not only by this, but by the fact their "Moxi" HDTV DVR had no HDMI connector! It's designed for HDTV, and yet it relies on component cable connectors.
But, it hasn't crashed once. So, even if it's yesterday's HDTV, it works right, and I'll happily sacrifice bleeding edge for reliability in my daily life.