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The Buying Frenzy
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Posted by: rsmith

My HD Tivo is great! As a long time subscriber and user of Tivo I couldn't be happier with the hardware.

My main complaint is that there is very little usable HD content available. I'm not going to get rid of my HDTivo but if I had realized how little programming was available prior to my purchase, I think I would have waited 6 months.

So if you are being sucked into the buying frenzy, take a deep breath, and think a little before you spend $1000+. JMHO...

Posted by: Gomer Pyle

That's exactly my current reasoning. I will only buy one for $1000 if I can get:

New shows in HD (starting August)
NFL in HD (August/September)
Olympics in HD (later this summer)

Obviously the Olympics will be first. Hope costs come down some by then...

Posted by: Runch Machine

I couldn't disagree more. At least half of the major networks primetime broadcasts are in HD. Most of the sitcoms and dramas are in HD. If you are talking about Directv channels, you are right, but most of what I watch comes from the 3 major networks. In fact, if Tivo had an over the digital DVR that recorded from the local digital channels, I'd have bought that instead.

It all depends on what you watch. What do you watch?

Posted by: DLiquid

It seems to me there's not much HD or SD to watch right now. Late June isn't exactly a booming time for TV.

My HD TiVo probably won't start recording important stuff until the Olympics, then the NFL season and fall network season will start up and it will see some serious usage.

Do you get HBO HD and SHO HD?

Posted by: MNTivoGuy

quote:
Originally posted by Gomer Pyle
That's exactly my current reasoning. I will only buy one for $1000 if I can get:

New shows in HD (starting August)
NFL in HD (August/September)
Olympics in HD (later this summer)

Obviously the Olympics will be first. Hope costs come down some by then...

D* has already announced that no less than half of NFL ST will be in HD. Fox has announced up to 6 games a week.

The Olympics will be in HD only on NBC digital stations.

Posted by: bkdtv

Most of the primetime content on ABC and CBS is in HD. Much of NBC's primetime content is in HD. FOX's primetime lineup is in widescreen 480p, and they move to full HD on September 12. That often translates into six hours of HD per night, just on the networks.

Then you've got HBO HDTV, Showtime HDTV, Hdnet, Hdnet Movies, ESPN-HD (several sporting events per week in HD), and Discovery Theater HD. Hopefully, DirecTV will add Cinemax HD, TMC-HD, Starz HD, Encore HD, and TNT-HD in the near future, as those are already on cable and VOOM.

Posted by: robnalex

The notion that there is "very little usable HD content available" seems absurd to me. While I certainly wish there were more and better movies on HBO channel 88/509 and more recent release movies on HDPPV, I still find that there is plenty to watch. All of my favorite network and HBO programs are available in HD, and because of the superb PQ I'm taking the time to find new programs to watch that I never paid much attention to when they were 'first run'. Anyone who thinks there is "very little usable HD content available" is either interested in a very limited genre of programming or isn't taking the time to look.

Oh...and the idea of waiting 6 months is hilarious. I've been waiting 2 years for an HD TiVo and am delighted to finally have one!

Posted by: Dean Martin

I disagree as well. So far I have Tivo'd 3 movies and a few TV shows since last week. The convenience of not having to flip between two receivers and being able to record ALL shows and get OTA channels and record them is working out great.

Posted by: Warp

Re: the amount of HD content available and whether the amount of content justifies an HDTiVo.

Basically, the amount of HDTV availabe today depends very much on where you live. Some people are able to receive all the major networks in HDTV OTA. People like me, on the other hand, cannot receive a single network OTA in HDTV. For me, there is no doubt that the amount of HDTV available is *very* limited.

I will not be dropping $1000 on an HDTiVo until I can use it to watch some of my favorite shows in HD. This means I'm basically at the mercy of the local networks, which means I might not see any local HD until well into 2005.

It's a sad state of affairs.

Posted by: gilevans

good point, rsmith. i live in LA and there's lots of HD stuff between OTA and Direct, but what are we talking about? HBO, Showtime (which I don't subscribe to) and prime time TV? big freaking whoop. $1K plus tax vs. 200.00...so i don't have switch tuners to see, basically, HBO HD? i'm with you, let the guys and gals with cash to burn burn their cash very very merrily. me...i'll wait a year for the prices to drop, and programming to increase.

Posted by: GoodSpike

A few weekends ago there were three sporting events on in HD on the same day. If I recall correctly, it was horse racing, golf and the NBA. Some weekends it seems like no sporting events are on. I think that's going to become very infrequent starting in the Fall.

Almost all the network evening programming is HD, the major exception being reality shows which I don't watch.

My local news is HD and there are two local TV magazine shows in HD. I was watching one the day before yesterday, and part of it was about butterfly enthusiasts--my cat started batting at the TV when one of the butterflys was on!

Posted by: Ed Campbell

With the exception of the odd NFL game, I'm hard pressed to find much of anything interesting or entertaining from the networks. Yes, I'm a movie nut. I watch a great deal of sport and that's why I signed up with DirecTV in the summer of '94. But, over recent years, I dropped the NFL Sunday Ticket in favor of the EPL package -- and that's not likely in HD.

The biggest shock for me has been dropping back in from 10 years of not watching network TV -- and checking out the "major" stations in the region now that my Silver Sensor allows me to watch their digital broadcasts. 1st, the metro majors out of Albuquerque do damned little HD. It's digital; but, not HD. 2nd, I'm just plain astounded at how much things have declined. If I wander home for lunch and check the schedule, 30-50% of what is on is infomercials. They just about match the soaps. Evenings after the news, there are several half-hour syndicated or network shows and, then, more "news" -- with one of the network channels re-running their 6 o'clock news broadcast 2 more times! Weekends, the infomercials increase.

It's dismal. I hold out hope for many more movie channels. I certainly hope Fox Sportsworld and Speed Channel get all their content up to modern snuff. But, more HD from the networks doesn't look tempting at all. Discovery HD, the 2 HDNet channels -- and 1 of the "local" PBS channels are most of my traffic, so far.

Edit: I decided to run a count. I checked on the 10 digital channels from Albuquerque, tonight, between 6-9 PM. They offered a total of 48 programs of varying length. 8 were in HD. All but 2 were re-runs -- not just from the preceding season; but, also some from earlier this week.

Posted by: rsmith

My intention was to encourage anyone caught up in the buying frenzy, to think before spending $1000.

I appreciate everyone's input. It may help someone make a decision.

Posted by: maxview

It seems like a waste to get this $1000 box when it looks that the most useful HD content is still from the local stations (primetime dramas and sitcoms).

What's coming first? A lower cost stand-alone HDTivo that records high definition from OTA, broadcast, DirecTV broadcasting locals in HD so you don't need to also install an OTA antenna or a HDTivo that gets HD via cable?

Posted by: skanter

Think I'll wait until:

1. There's a LOT more HD programming.

2. Prices on HD DVR hardware come WAY down.

3. Prices on HD plasma monitors come WAY down.

I know it might be a bit of a wait, but SD Tivo looks pretty good to me now
and I'm enjoying it. Also, the dream is usually more attractive than the reality...

;)

Posted by: aaronwt

It's alot better than August 2001 when i started recording OTA HD with my HiPix cards. Just about every show I watch is in HD now and the HD-TiVo makes it much easier to watch and record.

Posted by: dswallow

Those who've spent $10K in their display and audio system probably won't even blink at the idea of spending $1,000 for the HR10-250. It's a minor incremental cost, possibly defrayed by the resale of the regular HD receiver which they probbaly paid $500-$700 for. Even someone spending just $2,000 on their system probably isn't going to quibble too much over the possibility they could save a few hundred dollars waiting a couple months.

There's certainly a lot of HD content available right now, it's just that a good chunk of that comes from the networks, who mostly are showing reruns at this time of year, and thus the shows of interest to many have already been seen.

So someone contemplating an HD upgrade of their entire system might have some reason to pause for a few months and see what new things might come to market in the fall, I really don't see that a few months time is going to make all that much difference. If anything, getting all the upgrading out of the way now such that you can begin watching the fall season of television shows without worry is more valuable. After all, for those with no HD now, it's not going to be an overnight process, since they'll generally be running wires, installing an antenna, rearranging video and audio equipment, et. al.

Posted by: AbMagFab

Plus, a DVR is almost a necessity with limited content of any type. When there's not enough content to have a "steady stream", what do you do?

You timeshift.

The HD Tivo is coming out at exactly the right time. There is enough HD content to keep me watching 60-80% HD on my HD Tivo - today (of course, I like the summer season of reality and Fox).

If I flip on the TV, is there always a ton of *live* HD content? Hardly. If I do the Tivo thing, and set up season passes, one-off movie and Discovery recordings, etc., is there always a lot of HD content on my "Now Playing" list? Definitely.

It's a Tivo. Use it that way, and you'll have more HD content than you can watch.

Posted by: TomB

I would suggest that those of you that are concerned about the amount of HD programming to actually check out the availability in your area. I live in Fort Worth, and pretty much all the prime time shows we watch (and now record) are HD, and with the HD Tivo, I now can actually see all the superb specials from Discovery HD that I previously only wished I could catch... You may be surprised at what is actually being broadcast in HD.