Comcast HD DVR or TIVO HD?

[spyboy]

I have been using a dual tuner HD DVR/Cable Box from Comcast for about 2 years. My sister and my neice love TIVO. I was getting the DVR pretty cheap from Comcast. Now Comcast is charging me about $12/month for the cable box/DVR.

There is a promotion from TIVO. New subscribers cannot get the lifetime TIVO service. I would let my sister or neice buy the package for me as a gift. The HD TIVO and lifetime service package is $700.

I am not sure that it is worth it for me to switch to TIVO. If I have a problem with my cable box/DVR, I just take it to the Comcast office and they give me a new box.

Is it worth it to spend $700 to get the HD TIVO and lifetime service? Comcast will charge me $30 to get 2 cable cards installed. Comcast does not charge for the cable cards, just $30 to send someone out to install the cable cards.

How long should I expect the TIVO box to last?

Thanks In Advance

 

[Hi Ho]

Tivo, in my opinion, is much better than the Comcast DVR. The interface is better and it is much more stable and responsive. I've used a Tivo for over a year and a half and it never froze or missed a recording, not once. In my experience Tivo is very reliable and should last a long time.

If you don't want to pay to have the CableCards installed then it's really not difficult to do it yourself. You should simply be able to pck them up from your local Comcast office.

 

[aberkowitz]

Is it worth it to spend $700 to get the HD TIVO and lifetime service? Comcast will charge me $30 to get 2 cable cards installed. Comcast does not charge for the cable cards, just $30 to send someone out to install the cable cards.

How long should I expect the TIVO box to last?

Thanks In Advance

I LOVED my Tivo when I had it. I mean absolutely loved. Of all the equipment that I've bought over the years and have yet to buy, my first Tivo will always be my favorite. I switched to cable provided DVR for two reasons- 1) The ability to record HD as well as 2 channels at once, and 2) Major IR connectivity problems with the ancient non-HD boxes my Chicago cable carrier was providing (for the room without HD).

The only thing that I would watch out for is whether the "lifetime service" is good for future upgrades or for new boxes. I remember back when Tivo first started that anytime a new box was bought you had to start a new service plan, even if you had originally bought lifetime service. If you ever want to buy another box with more recording time or upgrade to the next set of HD technology, then you may have to repay the lifetime service fee (or in your case may not even have the access to do so and have to switch to monthly).

That's where cable has the advantage- if new technology comes out, it automatically filters down to you and they just bring you a new box. My Tivo box became out of date within 2 years with the popularity of HDTV.

 

[spyboy]

I LOVED my Tivo when I had it. I mean absolutely loved. Of all the equipment that I've bought over the years and have yet to buy, my first Tivo will always be my favorite. I switched to cable provided DVR for two reasons- 1) The ability to record HD as well as 2 channels at once, and 2) Major IR connectivity problems with the ancient non-HD boxes my Chicago cable carrier was providing (for the room without HD).

The only thing that I would watch out for is whether the "lifetime service" is good for future upgrades or for new boxes. I remember back when Tivo first started that anytime a new box was bought you had to start a new service plan, even if you had originally bought lifetime service. If you ever want to buy another box with more recording time or upgrade to the next set of HD technology, then you may have to repay the lifetime service fee (or in your case may not even have the access to do so and have to switch to monthly).

That's where cable has the advantage- if new technology comes out, it automatically filters down to you and they just bring you a new box. My Tivo box became out of date within 2 years with the popularity of HDTV.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I had not thought about those consdierations. I wonder what new HD technology may come out in the next 5-6 years?

 

[Hi Ho]

Current HD technology won't be outdated within the next 5-6 years.

I would like to add that although I loved my Tivo I like the Dish Network DVR even more. With my OTA antenna connected for local HD channels I can record three programs at once. The Dish DVR is more responsive to remote commands than the Tivo. I also like the fact that the program keeps playing in the corner when viewing the guid or any other menu. The Dish DVR is also the only one I've seen the has picture-in-picture functions built in.

That's all on top of the fact that Dish Network offers a great deal more HD channels than cable.

 

[solomr2]

I'm kinda at the same crossroads. The challenge for me is in trying to decide if I should make the investment in Tivo (both the DVR box and the service), try out Satellite service, or stick with Comcast (the basic service is included in my community fees),

I could be mistaken, but if you go Tivo, don't you still have to pay for a cable card from your cable company?

When you add it all up, Tivo seems to come up a little short in my books. Not because they have a poor product, but because the cable companies have such a damn monopoly, and they will find a way to get their hooks into you one way or another.

 

[spyboy]

I'm kinda at the same crossroads. The challenge for me is in trying to decide if I should make the investment in Tivo (both the DVR box and the service), try out Satellite service, or stick with Comcast (the basic service is included in my community fees),

I could be mistaken, but if you go Tivo, don't you still have to pay for a cable card from your cable company?

When you add it all up, Tivo seems to come up a little short in my books. Not because they have a poor product, but because the cable companies have such a damn monopoly, and they will find a way to get their hooks into you one way or another.

When I called Comcast they said that I had to pay $30 to have a technician come out to install two cable cards. There is no charge for the cable cards themselves.

I would miss seeing the program in the corner when I am looking at the guide or any other menu.

 

[aberkowitz]

I would miss seeing the program in the corner when I am looking at the guide or any other menu.

That's not much to miss!

Look- it really comes down to how much you're going to use Tivo for its advanced features. When Tivo first started all of its features had never been seen before, but now every DVR now has season passes and the ability to record stuff that you manually set. Tivo has 3 advanced features that won me over:

1) The Up/Down buttons and the ability to self-record programs based on your preference. Keep in mind, these are screwy at first and you need to be careful what you record and mark as thumbs up (e.g. I once recorded the Princess Bride- an alltime classic in my opinion- and for a month the Tivo recorded EVERY romantic comedy on the tube), but once working right it will find you cool new stuff to watch. This is especially true when it comes to the History/Discovery/National Geographic channels... I used to learn so much more while watching TV than I do now.

2) The ability to record anything that includes your favorite actors/directors/sports teams. Specify an actor, it will record everything they're in. This is great for those movies that might only play once or twice a year (e.g. White Christmas, Anything with Jimmy Stewart) but you might not want to miss. I also used to use it to record SNL reruns from the "good" periods on E!. Also great for baseball- I would just set it to record every Mets game but have it only save 1 episode at a time. Then I could watch the game in fast forward later.

3) Online scheduling. Not sure if Tivo still offers this, but I remember often being at a friends house or even at work and hearing about a new show and not wanting to forget to record it. Instead of having to remember until I got home, it was easy just to go online and set it up.

If these aren't for you, then I say stick with DVR and put the onus on your cable company to provide service. But if you're really going to use your tivo to its maximum potential, then it will blow non-Tivo DVRs out of the water every time.