TV-Free Monday: Morte de TiVo

I actually braved the black friday crowds to get a new laptop, and interestingly enough this one (HP) has an HDMI output, so I'm extremely curious to see what the quality looks like when I try and play some Hulu from the laptop onto my TV...Has anyone else done this?

I don't have cable, DVR, or TIVO. I watch everything either live, through network websites, through Hulu, over X-Box Live, or through iTunes. I have no frame of reference for DVR/TIVO, but they sound cool.

I have the HD/DVR from DirectTV, and I think it has all of those same features. Works wonderfully - never had a problem with it (except the inevitable running out room).

[...] | Comments (0) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This So what does a TV critic do when his TiVo dies and takes the television with it? Well, as mentioned, I went on an iPhone app shopping spree. The [...]

I also have the HD/DVR from Direct TV and it is awesome. Love my Friday Night Lights, but without DVR I would be quite the sad panda.
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The thing that I cannot get over is the implication that you, a tv critic, have only one tv with cable in your house?

FWIW, I have the "value" HD Tivo with extra recording capacity thanks to Weaknees. I couldn't see paying the extra money for the THX and fancy remote that were the only upgrades of the genuine Series 3--oh, and the display on the front of what it's recording. (Frankly, I don't need that embarrassment if someone's at my apartment--I can humiliate myself handily without my date knowing that I record Dr. Who on Friday nights.) I've had the Value HD for at least a year now, and it's trucking along with no issues.

I love my Tivo. I really hated that they went the cable card route with the HD models, but at least there's slightly more obligation for TWC to actually participate in issue resolution since they actually own something that's in your Tivo. You haven't lived until you've been the "not my problem" tennis ball between Tivo and DirecTV, like when my Series One finally just got stuck on CBS and wouldn't change channels for any incentive--I think it had a crush on Hotch from "Criminal Minds."

I, too, am a big Tivo fan, and would be hard pressed to sacrifice it for one of the feature-free boxes that cable companies supply. The searching and scheduling and suggestion recording features are things I use all the time. That said, I'm pretty miffed at the temperamental Series 3 I bought about two years ago, too. While I haven't had to replace it with another box yet, it does have a tendency to turn itself off and reboot in the middle of recording and playback, and reboots take about 5 minutes, so when it does, I often miss chunks of programs. From what I can gather, such problems are far from uncommon, and many think it's a software issue, which explains why the box may go for weeks without spontaneously rebooting (presumably after a software update in the dead of night).

If the Series 3 worked properly, it would be an awesome machine: tons of space, HD, ability to record two channels at once, no need for the cable box with that extra plug, and the great Tivo search/scheduling software, combined with add-ons that let you transfer recordings to your laptop or download movies and TV shows from Amazon. I want to love it, but it keeps pushing me away.

@sulliclm, I think I tried putting a hulu video on my TV through the HDMI port, it looked okay, kind of grainy due to the lower stream of hulu, but other videos from say iTunes or various other methods looks amazing on my TV.
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@James, in case you didn't know, to speed up the process on an automated phone system, just start hitting '0' a bunch of times that usually takes you to a person right away. And for the cable company, if you want them to respond really quickly, tell them you heard a loud "Popping" sound, that usually scares them into action.

I've got Comcast's HD DVR and I've actually been really happy with it. I can record 2 HD programs at once, and the interface, although not Tivo, is actually pretty easy to use since its integrated with the regular cable onscreen guide. But I can see how others would hate the cable dvr, my parents have Cablevision in southern CT, and the interface is horrendous...

@James btw, i'm curious, what other crazy write-offs do you get as a TV critic? cable bill? maybe a comfy chair from which you perform your work?

I cannot claim to be a savant in the myriad of options you can get with DirectTV. One of its charms is the whole customization thing, but it can also be an overwhelming decision making process.
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As I understand things, you can get DirectTV with Tivo. This costs a little bit more then just DirectTV with HD/DVR, which is what I have. Assumingly the difference involves the number Tivo features lauded here. The DVR I have is a Motorola this here looks like it: http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp
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I got my package a little ways back, there may have been some kind of corporate synergy thing that has happened since then. There is a fairly large Motorola building suite located locally, maybe there are regional differences to spur market penetration? Maybe they just ran out of Tivos? I really don't know.
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Amusing side note, one of the features my Tivo friends talk about enjoying most is the suggested show thing. I always reply, with appropriate smarm, that I read this blog to make sure I am not missing any tv I would like.

@James (as was my previous comments, also, I hate WordPress). No tv in the bedrooms I can understand, and while I have no particular knowledge of architecture, and so maybe it is unneccessary, I feel compelled to sing the praises of a television in the kitchen. You have intimated a love of cooking shows in the past, and I have to confess my culinary skills (which I consider to be rather considerably) are due entirely to cooking along with cooking shows, in sort of real time. Yes, there is always a mad scrable for ingrediants and yes it is frustrating that you have to try and chop things really fast and so, but it is also insanely fun.
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TV in kitchen, with cable, is awesome. Sadly, no DVD or Blu-Ray player yet, but I'm hoping to wear down the misses to let me put one in for the holiday season.

To make it clear for anyone who is curious: Tivo released two HD versions of its DVR. The first was the "Series 3 Tivo", was relatively expensive, and later they replaced it with what they call the "Tivo HD". As far as I can tell they no longer sell new Series 3 Tivos, although you can buy a factory refurbished one.

The HD Tivo is less expensive than the Series 3 was, but has less recording capacity. It is better in one respect though, it supports dual tuner cable cards. This means you only have to lease 1 cable card from your cable company instead of 2 (assuming they have dual tuner cards available). My cable company charges per cable card, so it's the difference between $4 and $8 a month.

I had a generic TiVo until I bought an HDTV in February. Since I couldn't afford a new box at the time, I went with Comcast's DVR in order to get the HD reception, thinking, "Hey, hundreds of thousands of people use these, so maybe they're pretty good." God, it was awful. Died on me several times, taking all my programs with it, and the overall user interface was a clunky pain in the butt. I finally scraped together enough cash for the HD TiVo in June, and I've been blissfully happy since. A TiVo-loving friend with the same experience told me, "Using the generic DVR made me finally understand how Mac users feel about PCs." Amen.

At the risk of sounding snotty, I think that for many (though not all!) DVR users, it comes down to experience. If I'd never owned a TiVo, I'd probably be quite happy with the Comcast DVR. But after having used both, I'm realizing how much I value tiny little things about the TiVo interface. For example, fast-forwarding through commercials. With the DVR, it was always a crapshoot, and I'd often overshoot the start of the program after commercials. With TiVo, I know to hit the play button the moment I see the show begin again, and it'll automatically rewind a few seconds so that I don't miss anything. Managing season passes and current recordings is so much easier as well. But, again, I'm definitely a TiVo evangelist, and that colors my judgment here.

DIVX torrents streamed from my pc through my xbox360 to my HDTV.

Due to the impending birth of Dave Jr., Mrs. Dave and I took a look at finances and realized that, for how much we use our cable, is it really worth whatever it was a month for the standard cable package from Time Warner? Compared to only spending $30/month for 2 World of Warcraft subscriptions, we were watching much less TV than that. Now we're on the "Channels 2-25, can't-get-more-basic" package that's free for 12 months. While we miss ESPN, TLC, Discovery, and the handful of things we enjoyed surfing around, we still get TBS (for Family Guy and Friends) and all the local stuff (for Chuck and Lost). Oddly enough, now that we're not playing WoW, we're doing things like watching local news and playing other games. Weird.
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I have been tempted to turn a PC of mine into a DVR, though I'm not totally sure how much I'd use it. /shrug

I've recently been forced to switch from my TiVO to a non-TiVO DVR in order to upgrade to HD programming (my TV content provider doesn't support HD on TiVO). There's nothing like not using TiVO to make you realize just how good TiVO is - the DVR I've got now is amateurish by comparison and features both bad software UI design and software bugs. I might end up rigging up my own DVR using an old PC, a new HD/video card and MythTV for a better product than this generic DVR, but right now no one provides a better DVR experience than TiVO. For those of you able to use TiVO, count your blessings - like Apple, TiVO is a company that gets user-interface design.

excellent information! i am a tivo fan, but i have the basic with a lifetime subscription so i don't pay monthly fees and can't bring myself to buy a new box and start paying them again, so sadly i don't record two channels at once and have to rely on a vcr for additional support... I am looking at buying a new flat screen television with hd so was looking into upping my cable to hd and getting an hd tivo, it's all too expensive for a basic, basic cable user.

@alannab99/James: I agree, although I seem to be an unabashed Comcast DVR apologizer, the fast forwarding thing does bug me sometimes. Sometimes it takes a few pushes to get it to be in line with what I want it to be, and I often overshoot the end of the break. But for right now its not bad enough to make me want to drop a few hundred on a box plus more per month...

I once worshiped TIVO as much as you. However, I was persuaded to try ATT U-verse. I can now record 4 shows at once (including 2 HD channels) and can remote program my DVR online from any computer I choose. Also, only one DVR is needed, as whatever you record can be played on any television in the house. If available in your area, I encourage everyone to give it a chance!

Ditto --what annlynnmarie said.
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Recently switched to ATT U-verse and so far it's working great for us. One unit and the peeps gets to DVR their favorite shows like Fringe, Countdown w/K.O, House and Rachel Maddow Show and watch later from any room with a TV. There is now less 'Fringe-averseness' in my household though they still think I'm under a 'kool-aid' spell (umm...tin-foil hats anyone?). Then again, last week's episode was kinda...

[...] (0) | Email This What is this "television" you speak of? Having gone four days now with my TiVo / HD cable box on the fritz, I feel like a new man! I have entered the post-television age! I've streamed my news online. I've [...]

[...] TIME magazine, I have an essay inspired by the magical week after Thanksgiving when my TiVo box crapped out on me and I found myself watching most of my TV on my laptop and my iPhone. Now that TV has dispersed [...]