Comcast DVR or TiVo DVR?

[Umbran]

Dual-tuner (single-tuner is useless... what use is that nowadays?)

Well, so far, I've found the TiVo quite useful with only a single tuner. You cannot record two shows at the same time, true. And you cannot watch one currently running program while recording another. But you can watch something you've recorded previously while a new one is recording.

I find the big benefit to a DVR is not watching two programs at once, but more simple time-shifting programs to when I have a chance to watch them. For this, you don't need dual tuners.

 

[John Crichton]

That, of course, is a great idea. You could try the cable company DVR and if you don't like it, buy a TiVo. You'd only be out a month's rental or so on the cable company DVR if you didn't like it.

Yeah, the same goes for a TiVo. Just use it for 29 days and return it if you don't like it. Go to like a Circuit City or a Best Buy.

While we're on the topic of dual tuners: I just got my second tuner hooked up to my DirecTV Tivo and I'm in hog heaven. I finally got to record Lost and Smallville all at once. No need for Bit Torrent anymore.

Now, if only the HD TiVo unit wasn't $1000... heheh

I did find out some more good news on that front - It seems that the dish we have is all set up for HD signals, which I did not know. I assumed I'd have to replace the dish. Sa-weet. Depending on how much I blow on things like car repairs and dental bills in the next month or 2 I may actually splurge and get that unit.

 

[Drengy]

Go with the Comcast DVR

I am a longtime fan of DVRs. When TiVO and ReplayTV both first came out, I bought one of each. I used both for 30 days, and decided I liked ReplayTV better, so I sold the TiVO to a friend. Since then I've been an avid ReplayTV user and have convinced several friends to go the DVR route.

Until I got digital cable. No longer could I use the built-in tuner on the Replay, I had to use the extremely kludge-y IR blaster to change the channel on the cable box so that the Replay could then record the output. Every so often, the IR blaster wouldn't work and I'd record an hour of C-SPAN or something instead of my show. Also, my TV shows were now going from digital to analog to digital again - resulting in more of a quality loss than before. And finally, more and more of the shows I'm interested in are being scheduled opposite one another (damn network programmers!), so I had to resort to recording one show, and downloading the other.

When Comcast in Boston announced availability of the DVR, I wasn't interested until I saw that it had dual tuners. That alone sold it for me. Then when I got it, and realized that the Comcast DVR simply saves the already-digital broadcast directly to the hard drive (no re-encoding = no quality loss!!!!) I disconnected my ReplayTV entirely. Plus it records HDTV, which the ReplayTV can't do either.

Without a doubt, both TiVO and Replay have more user-features and are friendlier to use than the Comcast DVR. But IMO, all those extra features are trumped by dual tuners, and lossless recording.

A tip: Search on the net and you can find codes to enable 30-second skip in the Comcast DVR 6412 (the most commonly used model). 30-second skip is a godsend. Watch your hourlong drama in 43-44 minutes…

 

[Aries_Omega]

One Thing

One thing you also have to understand about DVR's. There are many models out there. Here in northern Virginia we at Cox Communications use Scientific Atlanta products along with Comcast in other counties and in MD and DC. In other systems I hear they use a DVR made by Motorola. I know our DVR's are the bomb! Right now we can't share like ReplayTV yet but that is coming in a few months. Bottom line. Anything satellite or telephone does we can do better.

...Since then I've been an avid ReplayTV user and have convinced several friends to go the DVR route. Until I got digital cable.

Sorry bro...same tale all around.

When Comcast in Boston announced availability of the DVR, I wasn't interested until I saw that it had dual tuners. That alone sold it for me. Then when I got it, and realized that the Comcast DVR simply saves the already-digital broadcast directly to the hard drive (no re-encoding = no quality loss!!!!) I disconnected my ReplayTV entirely. Plus it records HDTV, which the ReplayTV can't do either.

Yeppers. Thats why everyone loves them. In fact with a bit of tinkering. You can record two shows and play a third that your recorded earlier. In my company we can do all that and soon interactive TV and the ability to play what you recorded on other digital boxes. So you can one DVR in the family room and digital boxes in others. With that set up you can watch something you recorded on the DVR but in another room.

Without a doubt, both TiVO and Replay have more user-features and are friendlier to use than the Comcast DVR. But IMO, all those extra features are trumped by dual tuners, and lossless recording.

I dunno about the user friendlieness. I have never had anyone tell me that about the product. Also remember...TiVo sells your info to 3rd party people like Neilson Media Research. I dunno about you all but I don't want Big Brother to know that much about me.

A tip: Search on the net and you can find codes to enable 30-second skip in the Comcast DVR 6412 (the most commonly used model). 30-second skip is a godsend. Watch your hourlong drama in 43-44 minutes…

Also if you have problems with any Scientific Atlanta set top box....dvr or non-dvr....HD or non-HD lemme know and I will see what I can do for you.

AriesOmega

 

[Umbran]

TiVo sells your info to 3rd party people like Neilson Media Research. I dunno about you all but I don't want Big Brother to know that much about me.

Read the TiVo privacy policy. While they collect and use information, TiVo does not collect or sell personal information - it's all anonymous. TiVo can report that they had a viewer within a given zip code watching a given show, but nothing more specifc about the individual viewer is included. They don't know who you are, or exactly where you live, or how to contact you.

 

[John Crichton]

Read the TiVo privacy policy. While they collect and use information, TiVo does not collect or sell personal information - it's all anonymous. TiVo can report that they had a viewer within a given zip code watching a given show, but nothing more specifc about the individual viewer is included. They don't know who you are, or exactly where you live, or how to contact you.

Correct.

And I'll just say that if what I'm watching is being considered by anyone, so be it. Maybe that means less of my favorite shows will be cancelled...

 

[Planesdragon]

Also remember...TiVo sells your info to 3rd party people like Neilson Media Research. I dunno about you all but I don't want Big Brother to know that much about me.

I wish Time Warner would record and report what shows I record and watch. That way, the rest of TV land would stop cancelling them!

 

[d'Anconia]

I had TiVo for about a year until I moved into my new house. We decided to drop our regular phone line and go wireless. Also, we noticed that comcast was offering the DVR. So, we dropped TiVo and went with comcast. HORRIBLE DECISION. TiVo is by far, 100000% better in functionality. The Comcast DVR has no true "season pass" feature as TiVo does. Sure, you can set recordings for a show, but what Comcast really looks at is the time a channel to record. So, if for instance, Survivor has a two hour special one week, you would only get the hour recorded in it's normal spot, and the extra hour wouldn't be there. TiVo - no such problems. That's just one in a series of about 100 small differences that made TiVo seem far superior to Comcast. We were longing for TiVo before the week was out. Long story short, within the month, we were back with TiVo, having conigured it through our cable modem.

 

[Aries_Omega]

Season Pass

The Comcast DVR has no true "season pass" feature as TiVo does. Sure, you can set recordings for a show, but what Comcast really looks at is the time a channel to record. So, if for instance, Survivor has a two hour special one week, you would only get the hour recorded in it's normal spot, and the extra hour wouldn't be there.

(Smiles smugly) And thats the difference between my company and Comcast. We look to the future and are there already. Funny thing is we were doing that a long time ago before other cable systems were trying to figure out how to do it.

As far as the third party info thing. I missinformed you all. Yes...it is anonymous. The third party in question has no idea who you are...but TiVo does get a kick back from the third parties sell the info. I mean they don't know who you are...just you are a user in the 90210 and you like Battlestar Galactica...and you cost "x" amount of $ to get this info. I see the benefit doing this in that media research companies will have data available and all but what ever happened to things like http://www.ratethemusic.com and other sites. I do that...I noticed that my ratings helped sculpt my local radio station's music selections.

Aries

 

[d'Anconia]

Oh yeah, plus with Comcast you didn't get all the neat little sounds when you press buttons