I've talked about TiVo for months, and I think we're finally close to getting it. I do have a few questions for any TiVo folks out there. There's a current offer for a free 80-hour TiVo Series2 DVR. For $70, I can get the same thing except with the ability to record two shows at once. There's also a 180-hour series for $170. We can probably get by with the 80-hour model, but is it worth $70 for record two shows at once?
I'm also weighing the costs/benefits of the monthly versus prepaid plans. The prices for the monthly plans are: $19.95 per month with 1-year plan; $14.95 per month with 2-year plan; $12.95 per month with 3-year plan. The prepaid plans are: 1-year for $199; 2-years for $299 or for a limited time offer, 3-years for $299. If you use TiVo, what plan do you have? Any recommendations?
Feel free to post a comment or email me at seanramblings [at] yahoo [dot] com or my personal e-mail if you have it. Thank you!
Is it worth the extra dough to tape two shows at once? I say yes, yes it is.
ReplyDeleteBased on my experience I think that once you take the plunge and get it, after all the debating and research (I did the same) you will grow to love it and soon be wondering how you made do without it. Might be hard to believe now, but you'll see. Of all my gadgetry, it's my favorite by far. Enjoy!
Do you have the option to get DVR with your cable? We don't have that option here, but did with Adelphia. I think it works similar to Tivo, but is only a couple of dollars added to your cable bill.
ReplyDelete~teala
I already spend way too much on Comcast per month, but I should look into it.
ReplyDeleteJust to add to the confusion (OK, my confusion), there's an ad in the Best Buy circular that says that I can get the 80-hour single-tuner DVR for free with a mail-in rebate. However, the cost is $220. Is taht right?
Comcast has a dual-tuner box for $10/month, but it's not as good a system as Tivo. If you already get HD through Comcast, the DVR adds only $5/month to your bill.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I'm already a TiVo person. But I just bought the $69 dual tuner one to replace my old 40 hour single-tuner.
ReplyDeleteIt's *definitely* worth it.
As for the Comcast DVR: It'll save you a few bucks, true. But TiVo's interface is way better. Sooner or later Comcast will HAVE Tivo software, but it's been slow in coming and may not be exactly the same.
And on the subscription issue: I signed up before they had contracts, so I had been month-to-month. But now that I got the new one, I chose the 3-year contract ($12.95), because that's the rate I've been paying all along and didn't want to pay more.
Also, Sean...it's not just recording two shows at once, it's *watching* one show while you tape another. With the single-tuner, if you want to do that you have to find a way to use an alternate input on your TV and switch over to that to watch something live while a program is taping.
ReplyDeleteAnd when you do that, you're back to regular TV -- so you won't have digital channels, and can't pause. And believe me, once you get used to it, it'll annoy the heck out of you when you can't pause live TV!
The consensus seems to be to get the dual tuner and the 3-year contract. With that said, I will check out Comcast's option first.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a dumb question, but let's say I get TiVo and in 9 months I decide to switch from Comcast to DirecTV for Sunday ticket. Will that be a problem?