# I'm at a TIVO crossroads



## scrim67 (May 1, 2002)

Hello all,

I have been a faithful TIVO owner for the past decade. I am moving next week and wanted some feedback on my best options:

BACKGROUND:

The home i'm moving out of has four DIRECTV TIVO's each with a dual tuner. I am a big fan of the dual tuner situation which includes the ability to buffer and toggle between tuners (great to watch two things at once "flipping" back and forth) 

I am downsizing and moving from my 4br home to a 2br condo.

I have been reluctant to join the HD revolution as I loved my setup here but since I'm moving now could be the time to enjoy some HIGH DEFINITION programming.

At my new place I have decisions to make which I'm looking for feedback.

1. I love TIVO and have heard other DVR's aren't the same so should I just keep Directv going forward with TIVO.

2. Do I upgrade to HD TIVO/directv and if so, do I need new boxes?

3. If I do upgrade do I lose the buffers between live tv shows?

4. If I decide not to continue DIRECTV does any of the cable companies DVR's include TIVO instead of some poor imitation of TIVO?

5. I got rid of my landlines last year and has not affected my TIVO service even though it hasn't made a call in over a year. I don't plan on having a landline in my new place either. Will this be an issue?

I'm sure I should be asking more questions but this will do for now.

Thanks in advance for any valuable feedback.

scrim67


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

1. Don't believe everything your read. Do some research in the DirecTV DVR forums at http://www.dbstalk.com. I have both Tivo and non-Tivo DirecTV DVRs, and the DirecTV DVRs work just fine.

2. If you upgrade to HiDef you will need new boxes. You can also continue to use your old Tivos with the newer HD DVRs on the same satellite dish with no problem.

3. No. DirecTV DVRs have this feature. It's called "DoublePlay".

4. Don't really know. You can use a new HD Tivo with CableCards, but the monthly fees are higher than DirecTV's.

5. Not a problem. No landline required. With an internet connect, the newer DirecTV HD DVRs provide features that you never had with your DirecTV/Tivo DVRs, such as On Demand video downloads, TV Apps, and the ability to order PPV movies with your remote without requiring a phone line.


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## whitepelican (Feb 15, 2005)

Also, don't expect to get an unbiased opinion of the DirecTV HD DVRs from the DirecTV fanboys at DBStalk.com. For my family, the DirecTV HR2x series were so frustrating to deal with that they pushed us over the edge, so we are now an OTA only family with 3 real Tivos.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

scrim67 said:


> 2. Do I upgrade to HD TIVO/directv and if so, do I need new boxes?


I love HD. It has transformed watching television for me.

Of course YMMV. If you get a small set, the difference isn't that great. If you get something over 45'' or 50'' the differences become more pronounced. And in this case bigger is really better.

Yes, you will need new boxes to watch in HD. An HDTV should still work with your SD boxes, but you will only get an SD picture.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

whitepelican said:


> Also, don't expect to get an unbiased opinion of the DirecTV HD DVRs from the DirecTV fanboys at DBStalk.com. For my family, the DirecTV HR2x series were so frustrating to deal with that they pushed us over the edge, so we are now an OTA only family with 3 real Tivos.


But, but, but, but the DirecTV DVRs _mostly_ [-]always[/-] work now _almost_ without locking up or crashing if you have the new, unreleased code!

The best reason to dump DirectTV is to dump the thieving lying SOBs at DirecTV.

I swear if Comcast screws up CableCARD/TiVo I'll go OTA and downloads only. I will never get a dish again.


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## scrim67 (May 1, 2002)

I just hung up with DirectV to schedule my free move.

They asked if I wanted to upgrade my boxes for HD capability for a $50 fee and I said yes just to "test the waters".

So when I move I am going to have a new dish installed, bring over and use 2 of my current DirectTv/tivo DVR's and then have one new directv (nonTivo) DVR to see how I like that technology for now.

Does this make sense?

scrim67


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

scrim67 said:


> I just hung up with DirectV to schedule my free move.
> 
> They asked if I wanted to upgrade my boxes for HD capability for a $50 fee and I said yes just to "test the waters".
> 
> ...


That's seems fine, I've used both the HD Tivo and DirecTV HD DVR and that are both equal to me.

Good luck.


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

whitepelican said:


> Also, don't expect to get an unbiased opinion of the DirecTV HD DVRs from the DirecTV fanboys at DBStalk.com. For my family, the DirecTV HR2x series were so frustrating to deal with that they pushed us over the edge, so we are now an OTA only family with 3 real Tivos.


 Wow, that's seem way out there. I've been to DBStalk and they seem like very nice people. You using the term "fanboys" says more about you then them.

(OP)I've been with DirecTV for 6 years and with Tivo for 3 years, I've used both on an exclusive basis(and even owned an UltimateTV and Moxi). For me they all fit the bill for what I wanted, If you just keep an open mind when using a DirecTV DVR you'll be more then happy(Not because it's bad, but because it's new to you).


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## llurgy (Nov 5, 2003)

Just moved from DirecTivo to DirecTV DVR on Friday for the HD gain.
Other than getting used to using a Directv remote versus a Tivo peanut remote for the past 6 years I am not disappointed YET.
It obviously will take a while to learn a different way of navigation but I expected that.

The only thing I dont like is the lag when changing channel, searching, in fact anything.
The direcTivo seemed much snappier. I will get used to it though, its a case of having to.

Mandy


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

scrim67 said:


> I just hung up with DirectV to schedule my free move.
> 
> They asked if I wanted to upgrade my boxes for HD capability for a $50 fee and I said yes just to "test the waters".





llurgy said:


> Just moved from DirecTivo to DirecTV DVR on Friday for the HD gain.


You both just committed to two years with DirecTV no matter what they told you.

Enjoy your punishment. You can't get away now.


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## llurgy (Nov 5, 2003)

netringer said:


> You both just committed to two years with DirecTV no matter what they told you.
> 
> Enjoy your punishment. You can't get away now.


You sound very condescending 
I am sure if there was a smiley after your comment it wouldn't look quite so bad. Did you forget to put a smiley?

I know I am committed to another 2 years, I weighed up my options and bit the bullet. I made an educated decision the if I wanted HD I would have to have a 24 month commitment whether it be DirecTV or Dish.
I was already with DirecTV and figured, better the Devil I know.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

netringer said:


> But, but, but, but the DirecTV DVRs _mostly_ [-]always[/-] work now _almost_ without locking up or crashing if you have the new, unreleased code!




I don't have any unreleased code. My dvr had never crashed or locked up.

It's not a TiVo, and I miss a few features, but it works great, stores WAY more shows than a comparably sized TiVo, and has all of DirecTV's HD goodness...

Oh and it's cheaper.



scrim67 said:


> I just hung up with DirectV to schedule my free move.
> 
> They asked if I wanted to upgrade my boxes for HD capability for a $50 fee and I said yes just to "test the waters".
> 
> ...


Seem reasonable! I don't think you'll mind the DirecTV HD-DVR, it works really well.


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## sven_kirk (Sep 11, 2005)

netringer said:


> You both just committed to two years with DirecTV no matter what they told you.
> 
> Enjoy your punishment. You can't get away now.


I was just about to say that, minus the 'enjoy your punishment'.
There is really no 'testing the waters' period.

But I did just learn from this thread bout the no landline, That is great news to hear.


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

netringer said:


> You both just committed to two years with DirecTV no matter what they told you.


I think they mean with the HD DVR, if they don't like it they can go back to the DirecTV Tivo at anytime(Or wait for the new DirecTV HD Tivo).


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## whitepelican (Feb 15, 2005)

Enrique said:


> Wow, that's seem way out there. I've been to DBStalk and they seem like very nice people. You using the term "fanboys" says more about you then them.
> 
> (OP)I've been with DirecTV for 6 years and with Tivo for 3 years, I've used both on an exclusive basis(and even owned an UltimateTV and Moxi). For me they all fit the bill for what I wanted, If you just keep an open mind when using a DirecTV DVR you'll be more then happy(Not because it's bad, but because it's new to you).


I didn't say they weren't nice people. I just said not to expect to get an unbiased opinion on DirecTV products from the majority of folks that post at dbstalk. There are definitely a lot of helpful and very knowledgeable people there, too. But the truth about either the DirecTV DVRs or Tivos probably lies somewhere in between what you will read about them at either of these two forums.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

Gee, is it possible to be both a TIVO and a DIRECTV "fanboy"?


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

Sure - I like 'em both.

One thing is indisputable, though. In the near term, if you want an HD DVR for DirecTV, the DirecTV Plus series is your only choice. 

Perhaps by this time next year there will be a TiVo-powered option, but as a TiVo owner for nine years and a DirecTV DVR owner for two (or is it three?), I would be quite content to use the DirecTV DVR. It has a lot of nice features and there isn't anything TiVo has that I miss.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

stevel said:


> It has a lot of nice features and there isn't anything TiVo has that I miss.


You must have never had MRV. No MRV is a deal breaker for me.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

bengalfreak said:


> You must have never had MRV. No MRV is a deal breaker for me.


Been using MRV for almost a year already on the DirecTV DVRs. MRV works to even non DVRs.


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

I never used MRV, true, not that it was ever available (except as a hack) on DirecTV TiVos. What shibby191 says is also true. I think DirecTV's implementation is better than TiVo's.


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## cbessant (Jun 9, 2004)

I have no idea if this is fact, fiction or wishful thinking. Maybe DirecTv/Tivo are holding out for an announcement at CES?

http://www.svsf.com/blog/blog/2009/tivo-coming-back-to-directv-in-2010/

I really hope this is true.


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

TiVo is coming back to DirecTV - this was announced more than a year ago. The initial timeframe was given as the second half of 2009, and then "early 2010". If we don't see a box at CES, then it's probably much further out.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

Yea, Engadget's normal bad reporting. In the last Tivo quarterly call they said "spring 2010" which is actually another delay. And then in a more recent call just a couple weeks ago Tivo went even more general then that and wouldn't commit to spring. How Engadget get's excited about yet another delay is beyond me.

And totally agree, if Tivo yet again doesn't show anything at CES (in a couple weeks) I would think any date in 2010 would be a longshot. I'd be looking late 2010 or early 2011 if we see nothing yet again.


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## cbessant (Jun 9, 2004)

This has got to be over revenue/money/business. Technically, this has got to be a cake walk for both. I bet DirecTv is trying to squeeze TiVo given TiVo subscriptions are shrinking from what I've read this year.


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

cbessant said:


> Technically, this has got to be a cake walk for both.


That depends on how they're doing it. It's own DVR or porting to existing hardware.

We see how well Tivo is doing with porting.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

cbessant said:


> This has got to be over revenue/money/business. Technically, this has got to be a cake walk for both. I bet DirecTv is trying to squeeze TiVo given TiVo subscriptions are shrinking from what I've read this year.


And why would DirecTV want to "squeeze Tivo"? It only benefits DirecTV to have Tivo back in their DVR camp. These delays are simply typical for Tivo.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

shibby191 said:


> Been using MRV for almost a year already on the DirecTV DVRs. MRV works to even non DVRs.


That's funny, it was removed on the cutting edge forum months ago. You must have stopped downloading updates.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

bengalfreak said:


> That's funny, it was removed on the cutting edge forum months ago. You must have stopped downloading updates.


What are you talking about? It was removed on the last CE of the last cycle just before national release (as it has for all the CE cycles this year). First CE after the national release it was back in. It's been in the CE ever since. So no, I haven't stopping downloading CE's and MRV has been in there for months. Heck, you don't even have to put in any special codes for it anymore, it's just built in. I'd guess it may actually go out in the next national release.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

cbessant said:


> This has got to be over revenue/money/business. Technically, this has got to be a cake walk for both. I bet DirecTv is trying to squeeze TiVo given TiVo subscriptions are shrinking from what I've read this year.


Not really. Come on, when has Tivo actually delivered anything on time? The HR10-250 was pretty late. Comcast Tivo was at least 2 years late. Cox Tivo still hasn't rolled out, going on 3+ yrs late now.

For DirecTV, while there really isn't a downside for them, even if it never ships, they do leave quite a bit of potential revenue on the table if Tivo fails. Why would they toss that down the drain? At this point a new DirecTivo HD in no way poses a threat to their own DVR, far from it. But it would certainly give them a bit more revenue if Tivo can deliver.


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## rayik (Feb 4, 2006)

scrim67 said:


> I just hung up with DirectV to schedule my free move.
> 
> They asked if I wanted to upgrade my boxes for HD capability for a $50 fee and I said yes just to "test the waters".
> 
> ...


Like, you I had used the DTivo for many years. Last year changed to the Directv HD dvr (HR-23). I actually like it. It now buffers two tuners. (You have to push "down" to enable "Doubleplay" which is DT speak for dual buffered tuners.) DT is also working on MRV between DT boxes (only). It's in beta and works reasonably well for networked boxes.

The only feature I miss from DTivo is suggestions. Other than that, it's a good DVR.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

shibby191 said:


> What are you talking about? It was removed on the last CE of the last cycle just before national release (as it has for all the CE cycles this year). First CE after the national release it was back in. It's been in the CE ever since. So no, I haven't stopping downloading CE's and MRV has been in there for months. Heck, you don't even have to put in any special codes for it anymore, it's just built in. I'd guess it may actually go out in the next national release.


Ah, I stopped following the CE forum when it was removed. There were many, many complaints about it being removed so I decided I would just wait until it was made a permanent feature, if it ever is. I have been waiting for over a year for MRV on the direcTV line of DVR's.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

bengalfreak said:


> Ah, I stopped following the CE forum when it was removed. There were many, many complaints about it being removed




Nothing was removed from what I know. You simply just have to have a valid account there and add yourself to the CE member group (which anyone is free to do) to see the CE forum. Basically a couple clicks and you see it again. Other then that, nothing has changed. That just keeps posts in the CE forum from showing up on Google which DirecTV doesn't want. Heck, the CE forum at Satguys is set up very similar.

As for MRV, the only official announcement that DirecTV ever made was earlier this year that they expected to have MRV out by the end of the year. I personally never expected it until 1st quarter 2010 (always build in a quarter delay in expectations) so they will probably make that easily.

Anyway...


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

bengalfreak said:


> Ah, I stopped following the CE forum when it was removed. There were many, many complaints about it being removed so I decided I would just wait until it was made a permanent feature, if it ever is. I have been waiting for over a year for MRV on the direcTV line of DVR's.


The CE Forum is more alive than ever at http://www.dbstalk.com.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

shibby191 said:


> Nothing was removed from what I know. You simply just have to have a valid account there and add yourself to the CE member group (which anyone is free to do) to see the CE forum. Basically a couple clicks and you see it again. Other then that, nothing has changed.
> 
> As for MRV, the only official announcement that DirecTV ever made was earlier this year that they expected to have MRV out by the end of the year. I personally never expected it until 1st quarter 2010 (always build in a quarter delay in expectations) so they will probably make that easily.
> 
> Anyway...


Evidently I must have worded my post poorly. What I meant, is that I stopped following the CE forum when MRV was removed from the software being tested by the CE'ers. There was weeping and gnashing of teeth when that happened, and I just said screw it, I'll wait for it to be finalized.

False on the MRV announcement. DTV has been promising MRV in one form or another since CES 2001.


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

bengalfreak said:


> Evidently I must have worded my post poorly. What I meant, is that I stopped following the CE forum when MRV was removed from the software being tested by the CE'ers. There was weeping and gnashing of teeth when that happened, and I just said screw it, I'll wait for it to be finalized.


Ah yes. It was removed for a whole 2 weeks so the national release could be tested. Was right back in there after the NR went out. Same happened in the past with many other features.


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