# Tivo HD XL - Does THX make a difference over Tivo HD



## archer75 (Apr 13, 2004)

Is there something physically different about the Tivo HD XL to give a THX cert over the Tivo HD or is it just a marketing gimick?

Are there other differences between the two tivo's besides the hard drive? I'm trying to determine which one to purchase based upon my needs and home theater.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

TivoHD XL has the ability to address slightly more HD space then a TivoHD.
Does the THX certification make a difference? not really, the TivoHD is a really close in all respects, and probably performs the same, however it was never put through the certification process, the S3 and the HDXL have. It's not "just marketing" but it it's not a significant change.

Keep in mind that an HD XL with a 1GB expander can be Tivo-blessed plug and play expanded to 2.0GB without opening the case.. if that's important to you..

Diane


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

FWIW:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6648613#post6648613



> The TiVo HD XL is also THX® Certified to ensure it delivers accurate and exceptional sound and video playback in your home theater.





> "TiVo pioneered the DVR category, and they are maintaining that position with the new high performance, high capacity TiVo HD XL," said Dr. Michael Rudd, Chief AV Architect at THX. "As more consumers adopt high definition programming, they will expect their recorded content to reflect the same level of quality and consistency as the original broadcasts. With a Terabyte hard drive, the TiVo HD XL lets users enjoy more HD movies, sports and other programs in high definition than ever before, and THX certification ensures that the quality is always superb."


More on THX A/V Certification:



> THX CERTIFIED VIDEO PRODUCTS
> 
> THX video certification signifies that a product has been designed and tested to meet the rigorous performance standards defined by THX. This helps professional installers, technicians and consumers, like you, identify high-quality DVRs, video processors and other video components.
> 
> The DVDO® iScan™ VP50PRO and the *TiVo® HD XL DVR* have undergone the THX certification process and deliver exceptional image performance.


http://www.thx.com/products/index.html

Will it make a difference to you? YMMV.


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## Follow Who? (Jan 3, 2005)

I have both. I replaced a TiVo HD with a TiVo HD XL in my family room on a Pioneer Elite Pro-151 60 inch plasma. I see no difference between the two on the screen. I just bought it for the extra hard drive space. Otherwise they feel the same to me in daily use.


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## archer75 (Apr 13, 2004)

Follow Who? said:


> I have both. I replaced a TiVo HD with a TiVo HD XL in my family room on a Pioneer Elite Pro-151 60 inch plasma. I see no difference between the two on the screen. I just bought it for the extra hard drive space. Otherwise they feel the same to me in daily use.


No audio difference?


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I would bet the audio is the same between an HD and an HDXL.
It's just that Tivo didn't bother to have the HD THX certified, but they did with the HDXL.

Remember, THX certification is more than just audio. For instance, noise is taken into consideration as well.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

steve614 said:


> Remember, THX certification is more than just audio. For instance, noise is taken into consideration as well.


Correct. Per my note above THX Certification is for both audio and video output. Put simply it means that A/V being delivered by the CE product meets THX's standards (which by most any measure are very high).

I also agree that unless a TiVo HD and a TiVo HDXL were bench tested side-by-side to see the detailed results, there's likely little if any difference to be experienced by a normal person using good quality CE equipment.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

learnguitar31 said:


> What are you doing??


Spam...reported.


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## tivohaydon (Mar 24, 2001)

richsadams said:


> Correct. Per my note aboveI also agree that unless a TiVo HD and a TiVo HDXL were bench tested side-by-side to see the detailed results, there's likely little if any difference to be experienced by a normal person using good quality CE equipment.


That wording seems to imply that there may be "golden ears" or "eyes" out there that can tell a difference and that you really are getting something for your money. I'd put significant money on there being absolutely no difference in output when using the digital outputs on the two units.

The real difference is that THX is emblazoned on the HDXL and TiVo pays THX licensing money.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

tivohaydon said:


> That wording seems to imply that there may be "golden ears" or "eyes" out there that can tell a difference and that you really are getting something for your money. I'd put significant money on there being absolutely no difference in output when using the digital outputs on the two units.
> 
> The real difference is that THX is emblazoned on the HDXL and TiVo pays THX licensing money.


Fortunately or unfortunately I can't take the bet or argue that either unit might or might not have the same output...I don't have the equipment to measure any differences if they exist. For anyone to claim that there is or isn't any difference in such a vacuum is a moot point.

Although I never said that there was a difference I'm also not cynical or jaded enough to believe TiVo and hundreds of other companies are simply paying THX a licensing fee for a logo on their equipment. Naive? Maybe.

FWIW I can in fact tell the difference in PQ between our TiVo Series3 (THX Certified) and that of our TiVo HD. Our Series3 is the center of our HT. It could just as easily be the newer TiVo HD, but the difference is enough to make a difference...to me.


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## drey (Jul 21, 2008)

Just because a product has THX certification, does not mean it is a better product. If you only purchase a TiVo so it is THX certified then all you have are bragging rights about the unit. THX certification stems far beyond that of just the unit. THX certification includes the following aspects plus others that are not listed:

Seating arrangment, construction, etc.
Size of room, in comparison to the screen size, viewing angles, etc.
Ambient lighting of the room.
Ambient background noise.
Recirculation rate of the ventilation.
Wall construction, thickness, materials used, sound absorbtion, etc.
Color, contrast, brightness, color range, Dark levels, of the screen.

And then you have the equipment:
Cabling used
amps used
speakers
condition of power
receiver used

The lists go on forever...this is a short version.

In my opinion you get no benefit unless you go all the way with THX certification.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

tivohaydon said:


> That wording seems to imply that there may be "golden ears" or "eyes" out there that can tell a difference and that you really are getting something for your money. I'd put significant money on there being absolutely no difference in output when using the digital outputs on the two units.
> 
> The real difference is that THX is emblazoned on the HDXL and TiVo pays THX licensing money.


There is a difference between the original S3 and the TiVo HD. Audio has always come back in a split second from my S3 units while the TiVoHD takes slightly longer than a split second.

Although I have no idea if the TiVoHD XL is like the S3.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

drey said:


> Just because a product has THX certification, does not mean it is a better product. <snip>


Correct. What you initially describe is creating the "THX experience". When it comes to an actual piece of equipment such as an amplifier, TiVo, DVD player, etc., there are specific, measurable A/V standards that it must meet or exceed to be certified which are separate from the use and performance of what might be connected to them.


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## jjcool (Sep 24, 2009)

That si probably why the XL is so much more money than it shoudl be. Tivo has to pay for that THX certification somehow.

Seriously though, I ahve yet to see something that was THX certified perform better than a comparable product that was properly setup but wasnt certified by THX. Whether it was a receiver, or speakers, or whatever. Isn't the THX cert kind of like a movie rating? A company can choose to submit their product for testing to THX. If it meets their standard it gets the stamp, if not, it doesnt. But that doesnt mean that a product without that THX logo, wouldnt meet the standards they set forth. just that it didnt undergo the testing.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

THX certification is more of a marketing ploy than an advantage. Chances are you won't hear any difference between a Tivo HD and an XL. The fact that the XL is THX certified just jacks up the price tag. Personally, I'd recommend that you get a Tivo HD and upgrade the hard drive yourself. The only difference between what you'll have and the XL is a Tivo HD with larger capacity for a fraction of the cost. You also won't get the THX splash screen and sound effects during bootup.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

THX certification shouldn't cost that much.

But has TiVo ever said if there is an actual hardware difference, like some better components?

I just know my S3 is better than my TiVoHD, although they do sound the same. Just that the audio comes up slightly slower than the split second the S3 takes.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> I just know my S3 is better than my TiVoHD, although they do sound the same. Just that the audio comes up slightly slower than the split second the S3 takes.


Agreed, I have the same experience. Also as mentioned, the PQ from our THX Certified Series3 is slightly better than that of our TiVo HD. Some of the components are in fact different for each model and that is almost certainly the explanation. Does that have anything to do with THX Certification? Is the PQ and/or audio from a TiVo HDXL as good or better than a TiVo HD or a Series3? I've no idea. I never tried them side-by-side and probably won't since I'm happy with what I have.

A side-by-side comparison is the only way for a layman to judge if one or the other is worse, about the same or better. It would be nice if someone that has both (or all three) models could chime in with something more than guesses and conjecture.

However only a full bench test of each piece of equipment can confirm any true differences. Since no one here seems to have access to such equipment all of the back and forth about THX Certification being worthwhile or not is still a moot point. If it gives someone a little solace and comfort to think things are one way or the other...whatever floats your boat!


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

drey said:


> Just because a product has THX certification, does not mean it is a better product. If you only purchase a TiVo so it is THX certified then all you have are bragging rights about the unit. THX certification stems far beyond that of just the unit. THX certification includes the following aspects plus others that are not listed:
> 
> Seating arrangment, construction, etc.
> Size of room, in comparison to the screen size, viewing angles, etc.
> ...


And if you did have all of the above what cable or OTA station has THX programing ? non that i know of. As for video the THX setup start at the camera and ends at your TV, I have never seen a TV that has a THX certification and all TVs have many picture adjustments you could make, the TiVo in digital video output could not make any video difference. As for audio, that is digital also, I only have seen the THX audio come up on my sound systems display when playing most DVD movies, never with the THX TiVo, even when watching a HBO film in 5.1 sound on my cable system. I don't think there is any THX source for the TiVo to receive. This is like purchasing a HDMI cable for $10/ foot vs $1/ foot , you can't get a better picture with the $10 HDMI than the $1 HDMI unless you got no picture. Digital is 100% or 0 % (or a lot of breaking up of the video).


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I would think there would be THX certified displays/projectors sold through home theater suppliers.

And THX isn't for cable or OTA. It's strictly for when you watch movies from DVDs or Blu-rays.
If everything in your home theater is THX certified, then (supposedly) you know you'll have the best viewing experience that you can get. From the quality of the output from the devices right all the way down to the noise they (don't) make.

So even though there is no THX programming for the Tivo to record, it still has to be certified to meet other home theater ''standards''.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lessd said:


> And if you did have all of the above what cable or OTA station has THX programing ? non that i know of. As for video the THX setup start at the camera and ends at your TV, I have never seen a TV that has a THX certification and all TVs have many picture adjustments you could make, the TiVo in digital video output could not make any video difference. As for audio, that is digital also, I only have seen the THX audio come up on my sound systems display when playing most DVD movies, never with the THX TiVo, even when watching a HBO film in 5.1 sound on my cable system. I don't think there is any THX source for the TiVo to receive. This is like purchasing a HDMI cable for $10/ foot vs $1/ foot , you can't get a better picture with the $10 HDMI than the $1 HDMI unless you got no picture. Digital is 100% or 0 % (or a lot of breaking up of the video).


You're correct, there is no such thing as THX encoding sent with any movie or TV show OTA or via cable. Just so we're clear here, THX is NOT a recording technology. With respect to TiVo THX is a an evaluation standard and quality guarantee system, no more no less.

THX Certification of CE products is about testing and verifying that it meets minimum audio and video standards as devised by Lucas and the folks at THX and will faithfully reproduce audio and video to those standards on a reliable basis. So if a product, be it TiVo, a speaker, a receiver, or other A/V component meets or exceeds those standards it is certified, end of story.

THX standards for movie and home theaters is something else totally. That involves front/rear/side acoustic requirements, crossover circuitry, sound delivery and latency, seat configuration, floating floors, wall positioning, speaker requirements and placements, etc., etc. (as mentioned previously).

There's really nothing to be for or against, love or hate with respect to THX when it comes to TiVo or other A/V CE product. Again, it's simply an assessment of high-quality, predictable audio and video reproduction. The argument that THX Certification isn't worth anything assumes that an identical product could be purchased for less because it isn't certified. It's a strawman argument. Could a similar non-certified product still meet THX standards? Of course it could.

So is the supposed additional cost of a THX Certified product worth it or not? "YMMV" probably never had a better example.

Okay, so everyone calm down, we're all friends here. As someone said, for God's sake, it's just a DVR! 

BTW, I still get a kick out hearing THX's trademark "Deep Note" up full blast. Drives the wife nuts though.


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## yukit (Jul 23, 2005)

aaronwt said:


> THX certification shouldn't cost that much.
> 
> But has TiVo ever said if there is an actual hardware difference, like some better components?
> 
> I just know my S3 is better than my TiVoHD, although they do sound the same. Just that the audio comes up slightly slower than the split second the S3 takes.


One of these days I will crack open my XL to have a look inside & compare the components to a regular TivoHD.

I may even try to hook up both units side-by-side to a HDTV & receiver for an a-b comparison, but I would probably have to wait till holidays to do stuff like that. I don't expect to hear/see any difference though.
Maybe a 2TB drive would be a lot cheaper to upgrade the XL by then


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> Although I never said that there was a difference I'm also not cynical or jaded enough to believe TiVo and hundreds of other companies are simply paying THX a licensing fee for a logo on their equipment. Naive? Maybe.


I don't know about THX certification or the physical differences between THD and TXL but I can say definitely electronics companies do some pretty unusual things to cut cost of production. For example, Way back when electronic calculators were first coming out and a cheap calculator that only did +-*/ would cost $80 and a good scientific calculator cost $200+, Texas instruments had the best calculators that cost as stated above. The difference in the two was cover face plate that had all the key functions printed on it that was glued onto the front cover. If you opened up the box they were identical down to the chicklet keypad. If you knew where the keys were, you could pry off the face plate and press the buttons with an eraser. Its cheaper to run 1 line and disable some functions than it is to run 2 production lines. I would almost be willing to bet that that the boards are identical and the difference is a couple of chips and additional testing.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

The difference (if any) could be as simple as quieter fan being used in the THX certified unit. It could also be quieter hard drives, or the same hard drive with the acoustic settings set, in the HDXL. Tivo may be "committed" to using quieter (DVR) drives in the HDXL unit but be willing to use nosier drives in the TivoHD unit (depending on what vendor gives them a good price on a particular model).

Is it a reach to think tivo wants to make a better profit margin with the HD XL model? A product which is marketed to customers who are willing to pay $$ for a product that comes with more "in the box" Not every customer wants to void the warranty by upgrading the internal drive. Not every customer orders HDMI cables from monoprice. 

Assume a customer is going to buy their HDMI cable from BB and will be purchasing a "plug n play" hard drive from the forum sponsor. The HD XL model suddenly looks like a good deal.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

I don't think its necessarily a profit margin thing as much as it is replacing the S3 which also had THX certification. But some people will pay more for the cert just because its a cert, so profit margin could have at least some bearing on getting the cert or not.


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## windsurfdog (May 1, 2009)

richsadams said:


> trademark "Deep Note" up full blast. Drives the wife nuts though.


And that's a bad thing?....


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## rocko (Oct 29, 2002)

windsurfdog said:


> And that's a bad thing?....


It is if it's been played about 50 times in the last 3 days (S3 problem - it's a long story).


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

Just remember if your wifes not happy, your not happy. And if she isn't happy long enough, you won't be happy with half your stuff.


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## drey (Jul 21, 2008)

JWThiers said:


> I don't know about THX certification or the physical differences between THD and TXL but I can say definitely electronics companies do some pretty unusual things to cut cost of production. For example, Way back when electronic calculators were first coming out and a cheap calculator that only did +-*/ would cost $80 and a good scientific calculator cost $200+, Texas instruments had the best calculators that cost as stated above. The difference in the two was cover face plate that had all the key functions printed on it that was glued onto the front cover. If you opened up the box they were identical down to the chicklet keypad. If you knew where the keys were, you could pry off the face plate and press the buttons with an eraser. Its cheaper to run 1 line and disable some functions than it is to run 2 production lines. I would almost be willing to bet that that the boards are identical and the difference is a couple of chips and additional testing.


I looked at both TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL side by side with the cover off, they're identical. You can even load XL software on HD unit and it will run. It won't update though, but it will run just fine.

THX certification costs a lot, and that cost is of course transfered to customers who are willing to pay for the right to say "I have THX certified DVR". I have seen many speakers who are not THX certified, but certainly sound better than the ones certified.

THX certification is similar to other certifications in other industries (ISO, AS, etc..). Products with those certifications cost more because of the time and QA it takes to bring those products to market. And as in any business, customer pays for those costs.

I believe it is a common agreement here that THX when it comes to TiVo is just a logo, it does not make TiVo any better since nothing that is output by TiVo has THX to begin with.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

drey said:


> ...it does not make TiVo any better since nothing that is output by TiVo has THX to begin with.


We were in agreement up until that point...and it's apparently _still_ a point of confusion. THX, when it comes to TiVo or other CE products, is *NOT* a recording technology...there is nothing to "output". It is a measurement standard.

Phew! Okay...all better now.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

rocko said:


> It is if it's been played about 50 times in the last 3 days (S3 problem - it's a long story).


16.6666 times per day?!!  Okay, agreed, it could get old _real_ fast in that case.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> We were in agreement up until that point...and it's apparently _still_ a point of confusion. THX, when it comes to TiVo or other CE products, is *NOT* a recording technology...there is nothing to "output". It is a measurement standard.
> 
> Phew! Okay...all better now.


IIRC THX cert began at the movie theaters and in order to get it the THX folks literally would test the theater and the cert was for that specific room (in the case of Multi-cinemas). With CE devices since they don't come in and check the calibration in your house on your equipment the only thing the THX cert is saying is that this device is CAPABLE of delivering accurate output when set up properly. Or as you put it a measurement standard.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

JWThiers said:


> IIRC THX cert began at the movie theaters and in order to get it the THX folks literally would test the theater and the cert was for that specific room (in the case of Multi-cinemas). With CE devices since they don't come in and check the calibration in your house on your equipment the only thing the THX cert is saying is that this device is CAPABLE of delivering accurate output when set up properly. Or as you put it a measurement standard.


Your point is what i have been trying to say all along, the quality of what is delivered to you room has so many variables that the TiVo plays almost no roll in that system performance now that the TiVo is all digital when in HD mode. It has as much meaning as saying your HDMI cable is THX cirt, or your cable splitters are THX cirt.
I know that some people are saying the THX is like a quality standard like ISO9000 etc but THX is for the delivered video and sound, not for the equipment itself. Movies (some) are shot THX cirt format and some movies theaters are cirt as THX and i am sure some people (very few) have private video viewing rooms that they have had THX cirt, but only a DVD movie has the ability to deliver a THX cirt audio, and a Blue-Ray movie may have the ability to deliver a THX cirt video to those type of viewing room. TiVo has no source (at this time) for a THX cirt. signal.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lessd said:


> It has as much meaning as saying your HDMI cable is THX cirt, or your cable splitters are THX cirt.


A cable is a cable is a cable is just not accurate. Same for cable splitters, receivers, DVR's, etc. Just because something is handling a digital signal doesn't mean it will reliably deliver a high-qualtiy consistent output. We've all had crap cables (and DVR's for that matter...uh'hem...Comcast). The manufacturing and quality of parts has everything to do with the product. I can guarantee you that there are cables, cable splitters, receivers, etc. on the market that in no way shape or form could pass THX Certification. So there is in fact a difference. In an (almost) like for like bench test of a TiVo HD and HDXL, it's quite possible both could meet the same THX standard. Only someone with the equipment can know.



lessd said:


> I know that some people are saying the THX is like a quality standard like ISO9000 etc but THX is for the delivered video and sound, not for the equipment itself.


 Okay, I'm afraid you are _still_ confused. There are three totally separate subjects here: THX CE Certification, THX theater standards and THX audio delivery.

1. THX Certification of CE products is about testing and verifying that the specific product meets minimum audio and video standards as devised by Lucas and the audio and video engineers at THX and will faithfully reproduce audio and video to those standards on a reliable basis. So if a product, be it TiVo, a speaker, a receiver, or other A/V component meets or exceeds those standards it is certified, end of story. That and _only_ that applies to the TiVo Series 3 and HDXL.

2. In reference to DVD or BR THX employs audio position and latency. A really basic example would be a sound and it's echo. In a 8.1 speaker configuration (DTS, DD, SDDS, doesn't matter) if the original sound is dead center the echo that follows would travel outward. For this example to the left and right then left side, left rear and eventually dead center rear. This depends on what the sound is being reflected off of (buildings, trees, etc.) and dissipate at a particular rate. _When_ those sounds arrive at a particular speaker, what the mix continues to be with other speakers and at what decibel level in each can be controlled to give the audience a more realistic, life like experience. That is what THX audio can do; control sound position, strength and latency. The effect may be a live recording or (more often than not) created post production. Setting our own receiver to "THX Cinema" allows that type of audio to play out on a 5.1 speaker configuration for us. We don't have side or center rear speakers (yet  ) so the effect isn't as noticeable as it might be.

3. THX Theater Certification involves acoustic treatments (walls, floors, ceilings), perforated movie screens to allow front center sound, no parallel walls, crossover circuitry, seat configuration, floating floors, speaker requirements and placements, etc., etc. (as mentioned previously). There's a whole science to it.

I don't know how to outline it more clearly. You can believe me or do your own research on THX's web site or elsewhere or continue to believe it's meaningless, up to you. But you're a bright guy, I've read plenty of your posts but in this case I just don't think you've done your homework before trying to convince yourself that it's simply one thing or another or about slapping a logo on a box a disc or a theater. It isn't.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

richsadams said:


> A cable is a cable is a cable is just not accurate. Same for cable splitters, receivers, DVR's, etc. Just because something is handling a digital signal doesn't mean it will reliably deliver a high-qualtiy consistent output. We've all had crap cables (and DVR's for that matter...uh'hem...Comcast). The manufacturing and quality of parts has everything to do with the product. I can guarantee you that there are cables, cable splitters, receivers, etc. on the market that in no way shape or form could pass THX Certification. So there is in fact a difference. In an (almost) like for like bench test of a TiVo HD and HDXL, it's quite possible both could meet the same THX standard. Only someone with the equipment can know.
> 
> Okay, I'm afraid you are _still_ confused. There are three totally separate subjects here: THX CE Certification, THX theater standards and THX audio delivery.
> 
> ...


ok I will believe you and not make comments about THX again.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lessd said:


> ok I will believe you and not make comments about THX again.


Oh c'mon Les...don't be that way and I didn't mean to imply that there isn't a valid reason for healthy discussion. I'm just hoping that folks will understand what it's all about and that there are different elements to it. It can be really confusing but there is something to it. All the way back to the question of is it worth it or not? YMMV.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

richsadams said:


> Oh c'mon Les...don't be that way and I didn't mean to imply that there isn't a valid reason for healthy discussion. I'm just hoping that folks will understand what it's all about and that there are different elements to it. It can be really confusing but there is something to it. All the way back to the question of is it worth it or not? YMMV.


Rich

I didn't mean to be sarcastic to you, I admit I did not do any homework on this THX subject as I thought it was just a spec from camera to viewing room and it shows up in high end movie theaters and I suppose some expensive private home theater rooms. It did not occur to me that some people just want to go part way with THX.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lessd said:


> Rich
> 
> I didn't mean to be sarcastic to you, I admit I did not do any homework on this THX subject as I thought it was just a spec from camera to viewing room and it shows up in high end movie theaters and I suppose some expensive private home theater rooms. It did not occur to me that some people just want to go part way with THX.


No worries at all.  When it comes to buying a CE product like TiVo or a receiver, etc. I don't think it's really going part way with THX, just that some folks think that if it passed their benchmarks it can be relied on to deliver solid, high-quality A/V performance/output. (And again, something similar could do just as well or better w/o the certification.)

Now if someone here has the means to create a full home theater setup to THX specs...I'd be more than happy to drop by and enjoy it! 

'Nuff said.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

lessd said:


> TiVo has no source (at this time) for a THX cirt. signal.


That's a good point. Can a cable company broadcast and meet some kind of minimum quality standard and get a THX cert? You can have the best equipment in the world certified from to the moon and back by George Lucas and THX themselves, but if you pump in garbage the best you can hope for would be faithfully reproduced garbage.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> Now if someone here has the means to create a full home theater setup to THX specs...I'd be more than happy to drop by and enjoy it!
> 
> 'Nuff said.


Can I come too?


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

My belief is that the Tivo HD is no different internally than the Tivo HD XL, other than a larger hard drive. Tivo chose to get the THX certification on the XL instead of the HD, that's all. 

So it seems to me it would more cost effective to just buy a Tivo HD and install a larger hard drive yourself.


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## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

Resist said:


> My belief is that the Tivo HD is no different internally than the Tivo HD XL, other than a larger hard drive. Tivo chose to get the THX certification on the XL instead of the HD, that's all.


You are most likely correct. And this seems to be confirmed by a previous post from a guy who opened up both the HD and HD XL models and found identical circuit boards.

If any hardware mods at all were required to pass the THX certification tests, they most likely would be one or more of the following:

1. A larger, more stable power supply.

2. A better grade of audio and/or video DACs. Many DACs are pin-compatible, so higher-grade DACs can often be substituted without changing the circuit board itself.

3. Better capacitors in the analog audio output stages. Again, no circuit board changes. Initial out-of-the box performance would be about the same, but higher-grade capacitors are less likely to degrade as the unit ages.

Note that the above changes affect analog performance only. That is, they affect the analog audio outputs and the component video outputs. If you use SPDIF or HDMI for audio, and use HDMI for video, none of these possible changes are likely to make any improvement at all in your listening and/or viewing experience.

Most likely, they chose to get THX certification for the HD XL model and not the HD model because they wanted to position the HD XL as the replacement for the now-discontinued THX-certified Series3 model.


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## franticjelly (Mar 26, 2006)

just get whatever you can afford and want to spend, and secondly if you want more recording space, those would be the two deciding factors


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

franticjelly said:


> just get whatever you can afford and want to spend, and secondly if you want more recording space, those would be the two deciding factors


 You realize you're replying to a thread that's been inactive for about six months right? No harm I guess but I'm pretty sure the OP has already made a decision and moved on.


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