# Please tell me more about TiVo



## theboss81 (Aug 3, 2008)

I live in the UK and have heard about Tivo in the states as a PVR which i believed to be the same sort of thing as sky+. However, i found this forum from a link on digitalspy.co.uk and have read people praising it, therefore i have a number of questions:
1) How is Tivo different to sky+?
2) Why are people hooking up sky+ boxes to their Tivo if in fact they are the same thing?
3) How do you get Tivo in the UK?

I have regular sky and today my DVD recorder packed up so I am looking for an alternative. I don't want another DVD recorder as i just think they are rubbish. I have thought about sky+ but after reading the problems people have i'm not sure i want one since my trusty sky box has been going for years. I also tend to just record the odd few progs therefore am not fussed about the 'recording one whilst viewing another' feature. 
As a result i am thinking of buying something that i can plug my sky box into to make recordings such as a hard disc recording device (or PVR) as i think they are termed.

Any opinions/answers to this would be appreciated as i am quite new to this technology.


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## britcub (Jan 19, 2004)

Welcome to the world of TiVo 

A good place to start answering your questions would be www.tivoportal.co.uk

The only way to get a TiVo these days is either ebay or somewhere like TiVoHeaven on the internet - they are no longer produced in the UK, though we're all hopeful!


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## theboss81 (Aug 3, 2008)

Thanks Britcup for the link.
So let me get this right. I could buy a Tivo, hook up my sky box and freeview box to the Tivo, the Tivo will then displayall the channels available to me (via its own EPG) from these two sources, and will allow me to record, rewind, series link etc. just like a sky+box? Is that correct or am i just thick and still not getting it?
Thanks


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

It will work with Sky & Freeview together with the following retrictions...

Sky input via scart.
Freeview input via rf aerial so your freeview box must have a rf modulator and work with tivo (no sterero and picture quality not so good).
No sky radio channels will be available in the tivo epg.

These limitations ONLY apply with the dual input setup.

Sky platform radio channels are still an issue with a single input setup.
You can also have issues with pin number entry if you subcribe to the movie channels on Sky.

Automan.


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## theboss81 (Aug 3, 2008)

Thank Automan. I don't have sky movies so that shouldn't be a problem and am not fussed about radio stations either. Also quite happy to input via scart and RF (easily pleased).
Thanks for this info


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## Major dude (Oct 28, 2002)

theboss81 said:


> 1) How is Tivo different to sky+?
> 2) Why are people hooking up sky+ boxes to their Tivo if in fact they are the same thing?


I have two TiVos one fed by an unsubscribed Sky HD box the other by a Virgin (formerly NTL) cable box. TiVos can only record from one source at a time unlike SkyHD or V+. So why do I still use my TiVos rather than subscribing to Sky or getting a V+ box?

Well having paid the lifetime subscriptions on both TiVos there are no on costs except for the virgin NTL basic monthly sub which includes my phone and broadband as well so the TV package is effectively free anyway. These could be avoided if I wished through using a freeview or freesat box instead of virgin.

But the main reason is the vastly superior interface that TiVo offers even without TiVonet over both Sky + or V+. You can jump commercial breaks more easily without overshooting. You can add padding during recording to anticipate programme overuns. You can select your weeks viewing by searching the EPG by time/date or by Channel. You can search the EPG by program title and set up wishlists to record from any channel or set up season passes which are actually reliable (unlike Sky planner). You can limit either of these to record first runs or include repeats as well. You can check that your TiVo will record all the forhcoming episodes you want by scanning through all forthcoming episodes to check they have been ticked to record (very useful for program clashes).
For all these reasons and many more the ability to increase HDD capacity and pq through running in mode 0, I will never willingly abandon my TiVos except if TiVo Hd ever arrives here.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Welcome to the TiVolution! :up::up:



theboss81 said:


> 1) How is Tivo different to sky+?


They are like chalk & cheese. Really, the only similarity is that they both have a hard drive and can make recordings from Sky.



theboss81 said:


> 2) Why are people hooking up sky+ boxes to their Tivo if in fact they are the same thing?


Because the TiVo UI and functionality is so far superior to Sky+ that once you've Tried TiVo you will wonder how you ever put up with Sky+ 

Wishlists, proper season passes, advanced wishlists, conflict resolution, prioritisation of recording prefernces, 'learning' capability via thumbs data, configurable soft padding, remote control & bur to DVD (via network card)....



theboss81 said:


> 3) How do you get Tivo in the UK?


Pretty much eBay really. There are some bargains to be had nowadays too - you can get a TiVo with a lifetime sub for a little over £100 - which is about half what it would cost to buy the sub alone! Any UK TiVo can be upgraded with one or two hard drives - I think the largest anybody has tried is a single 1TB drive. The largest commercially available upgrade is 2x400gb which gives nearly 1000 hours recording time at basic quality.

You can also add a network card and control the TiVo from your PC or via the internet from anywhere in the world if you have broadband (pretty cool really) and you can also batch up and download recordings from your TiVo to your PC and then burn them to DVD with no loss of quality using a freeware program we are (still) not officially allowed to mention on this forum - lol!


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

Don't forget endpad.


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## DeadKenny (Nov 9, 2002)

theboss81 said:


> 1) How is Tivo different to sky+?


The huge difference is in season passes & wishlists, vs Sky's series link.

TiVo is just so powerful by comparison. All you can do with Sky+ is either manually set a recording, or series link a selected number of programmes for which there is series link data. TiVo links just about everything, and you can record by keywords, actors, directors, category and many other features.

And then there are suggestions. TiVo learns what you like to watch (especially with the Thumbs Up/Down feature), and when there is space it will record things it thinks you may be interested in. Very clever. Nearest thing Sky+ has is the Anytime feature which is just an allocated chunk of disc (which you have no option about) where Sky send selected programmes they think everyone is interested in (and likely aren't).

Frankly TiVo wees all over Sky+.

Though Sky+ does have a better picture quality because it records off the digital stream (TiVo involves some digital to analogue and back conversions), and twin tuners, but they're not so much an issue especially with a smaller display when it comes to picture quality.

Sky HD is another matter. There is no TiVo HD in the UK and a Sky HD box also has an HDMI connection for both HD and SD channels, and upscales SD. TiVo picture quality is quite poor by comparison. Shame as Sky HD is the same EPG as Sky+ I believe, and same limitations.


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

DeadKenny said:


> The huge difference is in season passes & wishlists, vs Sky's series link.


Tivo can handle virtually any TV source (analogue, DTT/Freeview, cable, Sky) whereas Sky+ can only do Sky. As mentioned, Tivo can handle Sky and Freeview together.

Tivo is also very hackable so you can up the HDD size, switch on mode 0, add a network card, access Tivo via the internet, archive to DVD, add endpad for soft padding (and other utilities) , add cachecard to speed up the now showing menu, etc.

With Tivo, you don't need an active Skycard to watch recorded shows. So you can record pay to view movies or sports then watch them again and again even after you cancel your Sky card.

As DeadKenny said, apart from single tuner, Tivo is much, much better than Sky+ and you can customise Tivo to make it even better.


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## theboss81 (Aug 3, 2008)

Thanks all for your help. Now looking on e-bay for one. Decided i must get one now.


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