TiVo Anyone?

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by GoDasher

If you are looking at the box for $69, then you will be getting the "dual tuner" box.  This will allow Mom to record two channels at once (2 basic, or 1 basic/1 digital).  If you don't want this feature you can get the standard 80 hour box for free.  

I was looking at this offer yesterday - I am considering upgrading my 40 hour series 2 box to the 80 hour series 2 dual tuner.  I currently pay monthly, but am also considering the 3 year deal.  

I purchased mine from tivo.com and it was very easy to set up. I doubt there is any difference in the setup procedures.  

But I have a question for the group:  If I do make the upgrade, can I use the old machine in another room, but with out paying for the addtional "service"?  In other words, could I just say "record channel 8 at 8:00 on Tuesday".  Or could I use it to pause live TV and whatnot?

Yep, that's the one.  I don't have a clue if Mom will ever record two programs at once, but I figured it was a nice option to have.  It also shows I put a little more thought into the gift instead of getting just the most basic capabilities.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

 I figured that was pretty much $720 for three years.

in 3 years you'll still have the same box and cox dvr customers will have the latest and greatest from Cox.

and about the wireless question...all of my content is taken from the Cox box via the firewire port and streams across my network.  tivo2go is buggy at best.

I'm a total dolt when it comes to technology, and my mother is even moreso.  As long as it records what she wants it to, she's not concerned about bells and whistles.

Flip side is, I imagine TiVo is always going to have a "free box" set up since it is a subscription service.

I don't recall Cox or it's predecesors ever automatically upgrading equipment for me.  Whenever a new converter package came out, I had to call them to get it.

well no they dont automatically upgrade, all you do is take your old box in and get the new one.  Or, if your old box dies they will give you the new one when they come out to fix it.

[YoungTulsan]

quote:Originally posted by patric

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Tivo just started offering HD-DVR and Dual-tuner DVR's.

My Dual-tuner TiVo is going on six years now.
I saw my first HD TiVo in early 2003.

You can blame Time-Warner and Comcast for delaying  HDTV well beyond the FCC's original 2006 deadline.  They sat on their fat butts and whined for extensions (complaining they werent ready) while the satellite providers were providing service.

I thought the FCC's deadline was for "digital", not neccesarily HDTV.  They could broadcast in 480i if they wanted to, digitally.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by YoungTulsan
I thought the FCC's deadline was for "digital", not neccesarily HDTV.  They could broadcast in 480i if they wanted to, digitally.

You are correct.
The original "Grand Alliance" plan called for broadcasters to each transition to one digital channel of High Definition, but was since modified.

In 1987 the FCC began the process of rulemaking to replace existing NTSC analog television with Advanced Television (ATV). By 1992 the plan was to implement HDTV and to phase out terrestrial analog broadcasting (i.e., channels 2,6,8,23 etc) by July 1, 2006.

But by July 1995 the FCC partially revised that rule to "revisit decisions made in an earlier 1992 order when it was not apparent that digital technology would permit, among other things, multiple program streams to be delivered using a single 6 MHz channel,"  which gave broadcasters the choice of using their spectrum to deliver High Definition (HDTV) or divide it up into smaller chunks by transmitting a mix of HDTV, standard definition (SDTV), and perhaps other services.  

Ironically, the 2006 date for recovery of the existing analog channels (following the cessation of NTSC broadcasting) was statutory under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.  Seems we came up a little short.

[swake]

Um,

Comcast and Time-Warner are cable companies, not really broadcasters.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by swake

Um,

Comcast and Time-Warner are cable companies, not really broadcasters.

Cable and satellite companies provide signal transport, which often involves re-formating the signal or standards conversion (analog-to-digital, etc).  The spectrum they use (and how they use it) is regulated by the FCC regardless of whether or not it is over-the-air or in a "closed" system.