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Sony or Phillips?
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Posted by: Jenstad

I am looking to buy a TiVo unit. Not a DirecTV unit, but one of the standalone 30 hour units.

Any suggestions on whether to get the Sony or Phillips unit? I have read a lot of negative things on the Phillips units with their modems and hard drives. Is this problem siginificant enough to not buy a TiVo?

Also, do these standalone units work with DirecTv if I get a dish in the future? Or will I need to buy one of the combo units.

Finally....Is there a way to tape two things at the same time or tape one thing while you watch another?

Thanks for any and all help.

Posted by: linh

Buy the AT&T 40 hour tivo from attbroadband.tivo.com . It's the same price as the Philips 30 hour tivo. Both are $299.

I've heard that Sony Tivo's have less reliability than comparable Philips units.

The DirecTV tivo units are only compatible with DirecTV. The standalone tivos are compatible with antenna, cable, satellite.

Only the DirecTV tivo units can record two programs at the same time. The standalone tivos can only record one program at a time.

[This message has been edited by linhpham2 (edited 12-19-2001).]

Posted by: OLdDog

There is absolutely NO significant difference between Sony and Philips. Modems, hard disks, and virtually ALL other parts are exactly the same and even seem to come from the same factory.

I have a Sony and two Philips and they look and behave exactly the same. The only difference is the case and the remote and I do not like either remote. I use a Sony VL-900 for both. (and for my DTiVo as well)

The biggest difference is the money that some pay for the Sony name, but sometimes you get deals that make that difference moot.

At the rate I am going I will, soon, have a rack of TiVos completely surrounding my TV. Is this an addiction or a compulsion or do TiVos emit waves that COMPEL users to buy more and more and more?

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Money can't buy happiness, but it CAN buy the right kind of misery.

Posted by: kemcards

I only have or want one, wonderful as it is. No mind control waves here.

The AT&T box (40-hr) is the way to go right now, unless maybe you are cost-conscious and find a great deal on a 30-hr. My Phillips works great but I believe the folks who say Sony is just as good. The failure rates definitely are NOT high enough to keep you from buying one.

If you split your cable line using a cheap accessory from Radio Shack, you can then have one line going into your TiVo and one going into your TV or VCR. When the TiVo is busy recording one thing, you can switch your TV's input to the other cable line, and watch the other channel. This is much less convenient than having a dual-tuner device like the DirecTV combo units, but it does allow you to watch or tape a show on a different channel.

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--KEM

Posted by: AndyK

quote:
Originally posted by OLdDog:
There is absolutely NO significant difference between Sony and Philips. Modems, hard disks, and virtually ALL other parts are exactly the same and even seem to come from the same factory.

They seem to come from the same factory because they do come from the same factory! Viva la Mexico http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/wink.gif

I always chuckle when these threads pop up from time to time and someone makes the claim that brand X Tivo is more reliable than brand Y. Sort of like claiming that a Ford is better made than Mercury.

If I were buying a SA today, I would strongly consider the AT&T model. It is a next gen design, the USB port might come in handy in the future and there might even be some other hardware refinements and there isn't much of a price penalty. It's still built alongside the Philips and Sony units so build quality will be the same

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Tivo, please-please-please add "view upcoming" to Showcase and Tivolution Magazine! Please pretty please with a cherry on top?

[This message has been edited by AndyK (edited 12-20-2001).]

Posted by: foo monkey

quote:
Originally posted by AndyK:

I always chuckle when these threads pop up from time to time and someone makes the claim that brand X Tivo is more reliable than brand Y. Sort of like claiming that a Ford is better made than Mercury.

Time to time? Between this and the combo box forum, there's at least five a week!

Posted by: pauly666

Philips. :)

Who wants a silver box in their equipment stack? What were Sony thinking with that one... :confused:

Posted by: VinnieD

The At&t box may be a good deal but I can't stand giving them any more money!!!!!!!!!!!
Go with Philips

Posted by: Wcarlton

When I bought my izusu rodeo Honda had just introduced the passport. I looked at both. The honda saleman had no passports in stock so sent me to his buddy at the Izusu dealership. Same car, same factory, less money and included air.

I have bought 3 Tivos, 2 philips and 1 sony. All have failed. The 1 sony and the first Philips were both open box and were DOA. Returned both the place of purchase. Second Philips worked well for 7 months and has been at Philips for a month to be replaced for 100 bucks. Tivo says it's on the way.

One note, with a philips you deal with Tivo CS who deals with philips. With a Sony you deal directly with Sony CS. The tivo-philips cs relationship sucks for both Tivo and us. They have trouble getting info from philips and so have trouble helping you. for example, my new unit has been shipped but I can't get a tracking number.

So, my point, these units need to be made better! Sony or philips does not seems to matter. I have had frustrations with CS but not sure it's worth the extra 100 for the sony. Even with the replacement cost my philips is the same cost as the sony. I'm not sure if ATT units are available in all areas

will

Posted by: foo monkey

quote:
Originally posted by pauly666
Philips. :)

Who wants a silver box in their equipment stack? What were Sony thinking with that one... :confused:

I have a Sony television, Sony receiver, Sony DVD player, Sony VCR, and a Philips combo box. Silver Sony box didn't match the rest of my hardware.

Posted by: stevel

Silver has been Sony's color for the past couple of years, so a silver box matches their TVs and other products. Doesn't matter to me as all my equipment is in a closet.

Posted by: HTH

quote:
Originally posted by OLdDog
There is absolutely NO significant difference between Sony and Philips. Modems, hard disks, and virtually ALL other parts are exactly the same and even seem to come from the same factory.

Sonys can control some Sony VCRs, but Philips can control none. Sonys have a Standby button, whereas Philips is blocking the direct sale of any remotes that have such a button. You can have as many as 9 Philips TiVos operating in the same room responding to different remotes; you can only have 3 Sonys do the same.

The hardware may be the same, but there is a difference in enabled software features.