# Just moved and have Optimum DVR+, is it worth getting TIVO?



## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

Hey, any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated.

We are in the process of moving and will be at our new address on Tuesday of next week. We had cable come out (Cablevision/Optimum) and install our cable before so that we would be set to go on the day we moved in. Now, they installed a DVR+, which I guess is their new and standard DVR that everyone has now. I am in Brooklyn (NY) by the way.

Anyways, I have been browsing the net and have read some real HORROR stories about the Optimum DVR+. Things like... some recordings delete themselves, other things do not record, only recording portions of programs, audio/video synch issues, the box freezing a whole lot. I am really nervous about this since it doesn't seem like a small amount of people experiencing this. It sounds like MANY, although it could just be that the only people writing reviews and such are those experiencing issues.

So, I have to ask. Should I give it a go and see if the same problems happen to me or should I just go ahead buy a TIVO premiere and set that up right from the get go?

Again...any thoughts/opinions would be much appreciated.


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## LifeIsABeach (Feb 28, 2001)

If you read through this forum you would think the same thing about TiVo. Truth is people only post when they are having problems so it ends up seeming like everyone is having problems. I would give the DVR a chance and see if it suits your needs. There is a large upfront cost when going with TiVo especially if you get a lifetime subscription (which I would suggest - it pays for itself in the long run).


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

LifeIsABeach said:


> If you read through this forum you would think the same thing about TiVo. Truth is people only post when they are having problems so it ends up seeming like everyone is having problems. I would give the DVR a chance and see if it suits your needs. There is a large upfront cost when going with TiVo especially if you get a lifetime subscription (which I would suggest - it pays for itself in the long run).


I see your point. People do complain when they have problems (which is justified), so I can see where complaining would happen in either case. But the real thing that is getting me and this isn't in my original post because I just learned about it is that the Optimum DVR+ is a "cloud system" where your recordings are NOT actually stored on the machine but instead, stored at Optimum's main offices. That might be why some of those customers experience issues with their recordings. This alone is making me feel as though TIVO is the much better option.


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## tneison (Jul 15, 2012)

I haven't heard of cloud storage for a DVR yet - that is interesting. I'm not sure why a cable co would do that instead of just offering VOD. It seems they are taking on some serious complications. Maybe your cable co doesn't offer VOD though.

The concept of cloud storage (for anything) is great, of course you just have to have a fast and stable internet connection for it to work or it will drive you nuts.


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

tneison said:


> I haven't heard of cloud storage for a DVR yet - that is interesting. I'm not sure why a cable co would do that instead of just offering VOD. It seems they are taking on some serious complications. Maybe your cable co doesn't offer VOD though.
> 
> The concept of cloud storage (for anything) is great, of course you just have to have a fast and stable internet connection for it to work or it will drive you nuts.


No, they do offer VOD. I guess with these new DVR's, they just figured the cloud storage is easier. But I think it is causing people a whole list of problems. When your recordings are being saved outside of your home, there is a bigger chance of things messing up I guess.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

I googled "Optimum DVR Plus" and it's not really a DVR in the traditional sense, It simply adds DVR like capabilities to their set top boxes, using their servers for storage. Sort of a personalized VOD. You are limited to 24 hours of HD or 100 hours of SD, so I would guess @80-100GB of space per account, with the HD content fairly highly compressed. It's possible they are doing some kind of recording sharing where any specific program is only recorded once. Looks like it has a single, 15-minute live buffer. I doubt there are any padding options.

Other factors to consider. see if you can find out if they copy protect most of the content if it is recorded on a TiVo and how good their CableCARD support is.


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

lpwcomp said:


> I googled "Optimum DVR Plus" and it's not really a DVR in the traditional sense, It simply adds DVR like capabilities to their set top boxes, using their servers for storage. Sort of a personalized VOD. You are limited to 24 hours of HD or 100 hours of SD, so I would guess @80-100GB of space per account, with the HD content fairly highly compressed. It's possible they are doing some kind of recording sharing where any specific program is only recorded once. Looks like it has a single, 15-minute live buffer. I doubt there are any padding options.
> 
> Other factors to consider. see if you can find out if they copy protect most of the content if it is recorded on a TiVo and how good their CableCARD support is.


TY for that. Can you explain a bit what you mean by... if they copy protect most of the content if it is recorded on a TIVO? Do you mean, the TIVO wouldn't work?


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

samsgood said:


> TY for that. Can you explain a bit what you mean by... if they copy protect most of the content if it is recorded on a TIVO? Do you mean, the TIVO wouldn't work?


The TiVo would still work fine, you just wouldn't be able transfer recordings to another TiVo or your computer. You could stream content between Premieres. If you have only 1 TV and hadn't planned on transferring anything, it is not an issue.


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

lpwcomp said:


> The TiVo would still work fine, you just wouldn't be able transfer recordings to another TiVo or your computer. You could stream content between Premieres. If you have only 1 TV and hadn't planned on transferring anything, it is not an issue.


Well, I was going to connect my DVD player/recorder to the TIVO box but I doubt I would be able to record anything to a blank DVD-R due to copyright protection issues. I am expecting that to be something I can't do. I was able to do it with FIOS and their DVR but I doubt Cablevision/Optimum will allow it.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

samsgood said:


> Well, I was going to connect my DVD player/recorder to the TIVO box but I doubt I would be able to record anything to a blank DVD-R due to copyright protection issues. I am expecting that to be something I can't do. I was able to do it with FIOS and their DVR but I doubt Cablevision/Optimum will allow it.


If you do go with a TiVo and they don't copy protect everything, they're are better ways to get it to a DVD. If they do copy protect, then your method might still work.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

My cable co copy protects just about everything, but I have no trouble recording all programs on my recorder connected to the TiVo. Works well since it preserves widescreen unlike some DVRs. Pretty hard for the TiVo to know that you are recording its signal when it's going out over composite.



samsgood said:


> Well, I was going to connect my DVD player/recorder to the TIVO box but I doubt I would be able to record anything to a blank DVD-R due to copyright protection issues. I am expecting that to be something I can't do. I was able to do it with FIOS and their DVR but I doubt Cablevision/Optimum will allow it.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

Real time dubbing to a DVD is a PITA.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Teeps said:


> Real time dubbing to a DVD is a PTA.


Yes, but one of the cheaper available options if everything is copy protected. Or it is a non-TiVo DVR.


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

lpwcomp said:


> Yes, but one of the cheaper available options if everything is copy protected. Or it is a non-TiVo DVR.


What is PTA? I am sorry for my ignorance.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

samsgood said:


> What is PTA? I am sorry for my ignorance.


I could be mistaken but just assumed it was a typo and that there should have been an "I" between the "P" and the "T".


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

lpwcomp said:


> I could be mistaken but just assumed it was a typo and that there should have been an "I" between the "P" and the "T".


Oh. LOL. A pain in the ... yeah. HAHA.
Well, I have always done real time dubbing to my DVD recorder with blank DVD-R discs and even though it could be annoying, it has always worked for me. But I went ahead and just thought that I would not be able to anymore with Optimum. If I can, awesome. If not, oh well. I'll live.

But back to the original thread topic (I apologize if I made the thread go in a few different directions), I went ahead and ordered a premiere. I also went to my local Optimum store and returned their DVR+ for a cable card and I am doing the installation now. 

I am really excited.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

samsgood said:


> Oh. LOL. A pain in the ... yeah. HAHA.
> Well, I have always done real time dubbing to my DVD recorder with blank DVD-R discs and even though it could be annoying, it has always worked for me. But I went ahead and just thought that I would not be able to anymore with Optimum. If I can, awesome. If not, oh well. I'll live.
> 
> But back to the original thread topic (I apologize if I made the thread go in a few different directions), I went ahead and ordered a premiere. I also went to my local Optimum store and returned their DVR+ for a cable card and I am doing the installation now.
> ...


Sorry 'bout that; I fixed the original post.

Real time dubbing is a work around for sure; but ties the TiVo up for the recording duration. 
So are you dubbing to DVD with component (yPrPb), composite, or S-Video?


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Teeps said:


> Sorry 'bout that; I fixed the original post.
> 
> Real time dubbing is a work around for sure; but ties the TiVo up for the recording duration.


Seeing as how Cablevision is notorious for copy protecting almost everything, this is probably his best option.


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## samsgood (Jul 25, 2012)

Teeps said:


> Sorry 'bout that; I fixed the original post.
> 
> Real time dubbing is a work around for sure; but ties the TiVo up for the recording duration.
> So are you dubbing to DVD with component (yPrPb), composite, or S-Video?


Composite.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

samsgood said:


> Composite.


Composite is the absolute lowest quality of video output; but if you're ok with it.
Then a Premier box is going to meet or exceed your DVR expectations. As the TiVo user interface, IMO, is second to none in the world of DVR.

Some will argue that some Home Theater PC options are better, but that has not been my experience.

There is also the WAF (wife approval factor) to consider.


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## Brighton Line (Mar 15, 2006)

I'm in Brooklyn with Cablevision I actually upgraded to two Premier boxes just so I can watch between Bedroom and Living room because of CV copy protection. I sold my HD that had lifetime and recouped what I spent on my 2nd premier (had one already).
I haven't tried the latest 8300 cablebox from CV in a long time so can not comment on service now. But you can not beat the conflict resolution Tivo does with their clipping and ordering of season passes. I still do not think Cablevision can do that yet.
FWIW


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## coolbeans0730 (Aug 2, 2012)

I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner. I have been a cablevision customer for years I have the Tivo series 2 dvrs and when I got the 3d HDTV last October I decided to get the Tivo Premiere. Unfortunately, Optimum/Cablevision has awful Cable Card services. You cannot access the On Demand content, I cannot get the 3D content. My wife and I are extremely frustrated.


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## Brighton Line (Mar 15, 2006)

coolbeans0730 said:


> I'm You cannot access the On Demand content, I cannot get the 3D content. My wife and I are extremely frustrated.


It does not matter what Cable company you are with, that is how cablecards work, one way communication so you can not get on demand. If you want on demand you have to have a box. PPV you could call and order then tune to the channel.
I will gladly give up on demand for the benefits of Tivo and I have done that.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

Brighton Line said:


> It does not matter what Cable company you are with, that is how cablecards work, one way communication so you can not get on demand. If you want on demand you have to have a box. PPV you could call and order then tune to the channel.
> I will gladly give up on demand for the benefits of Tivo and I have done that.


Not entirely true. Comcast and Tivo have teamed up in several markets to have On Demand Working on Tivo Premiere


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