TiVo Community Forums Archives - Starting from scratch!

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Starting from scratch!
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: atcole

Newbie here! - I'm going to be purchasing a new A/V system with TiVo (most likely) and wanted to ask if anyone had to do it over, whether they would choose differently (satellite vs. cable), (cable vs. digital cable), (HDTV vs. Regular). What would be the optimum setup for you?

I'm paying about $60 a month for dig. cable and I'm thinking of switching back to satellite and getting the DirecTV/TiVo combo. Is HDTV really ready? How well does TiVo work with Dig. Cable? Should I go for HDTV or wait?

I'm tired of commercials and looking forward to what TiVo offers, I just want to get the most out of it! I've got Sony everything (TV, A/V Receiver, VCR) Should I buy from another manufacturer (Sony, Hughes) or just go with TiVo direct?

Thanks in advance for any and all thoughts!

Posted by: Francesco

If you can get DirecTV and what they offer suits your needs, it's a "no-brainer" as they say 'round these parts.

Get a DirecTV DVR and join in all the fun! :)

Posted by: feldon23

quote:
Newbie here! - I'm going to be purchasing a new A/V system with TiVo (most likely) and wanted to ask if anyone had to do it over, whether they would choose differently (satellite vs. cable), (cable vs. digital cable), (HDTV vs. Regular). What would be the optimum setup for you?

Absolutely DirecTV.

quote:
I'm paying about $60 a month for dig. cable and I'm thinking of switching back to satellite and getting the DirecTV/TiVo combo.

You'll be paying $44.99 a month for DirecTV, locals, and TiVo. If you want HBO, Showtime, etc. those are extra.

quote:
Is HDTV really ready?

If you want to watch HDTV, that is a whole different ballgame. There is no TiVo or any other "box" that will record HDTV. You can build a computer to record HDTV, but it won't record DirecTV. You can buy a $1,500 DirecTV recording solution. You can get a DVHS VCR but it will only record some HDTV channels.

quote:
How well does TiVo work with Dig. Cable?

Well, the DirecTV-TiVo combo unit is $200 and records Dolby Digital audio and can record 2 different channels simultaneously at the raw DirecTV signal quality (no recompression). If you watch Pay Per View, this is fully integrated into the DirecTV-TiVo combo unit.

A cable TiVo unit is $300 and records Stereo audio and can only record 1 channel. It recompresses the video and occasionally you can have trouble with the TiVo not changing the channel on the cable box (this could be 2-3 times a year or 2-3 times a month depending on your setup). To record Pay Per View movies on a cable TiVo, you have to juggle remotes and be there at the time the program starts.

quote:
Should I go for HDTV or wait?

Again, HDTV is an entirely different deal. You should check to see what digital TV channels are available in your area (can you post your ZIP code?). If you want to watch ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS is High Def, then you may have to go digital cable if your local cable co carries HD and you are too far to pick them up with an HD antenna.

Another thing to consider with HD is your cable company may provide the HD receiver box free of charge. If you buy an HDTV and go DirecTV, then you will need a $500 DirecTV/HD/OTA box to pickup either over-the-air digital HD channels or DirecTV. And yes, I know this sounds strange but while rabbit ears is the retro way to pick up analog channels, when picking up digital channels, you can often get good results with just a Radio Shack antenna like the "double bowtie with grill". But as I said, recording options are slim at this point and there is no integrated box nor anything from TiVo.

So you may end up getting a DirecTV-TiVo for $200, plus a $500 DirecTV/HD/OTA receiver box and then when you sit down in front of the tube, you choose between watching an HD show live (with commercials), or seeing what has been recorded on your TiVo. Quite a few people are living with this "duality" in the hopes that a painless recording/timeshifting solution will present itself in the near future for HDTV.

DirecTV does not and probably never will have a solution for carrying HDTV local channels on their satellites. There is simply no room for 40 copies (one for each city) of CBS, ABC and NBC in High Def on their 4 satellites. DirecTV only has 3 HDTV channels on their satellites at this time, HBO HD, Showtime HD, and a 16 hour a day HDTV sports, news, and entertainment channel "HDNet". In the future, they may carry ESPN HD (going online in March) and/or HDNet Movies.

quote:
I'm tired of commercials and looking forward to what TiVo offers, I just want to get the most out of it!

Well that's the thing about HDTV right now. Unless you build a computer with an HD tuner card in it and record/timeshift your HD shows onto a big hard drive inside this PC, there's no way to skip commercials on HDTV shows.

quote:
I've got Sony everything (TV, A/V Receiver, VCR) Should I buy from another manufacturer (Sony, Hughes) or just go with TiVo direct?

Well there is only one brand of DirecTV-TiVo unit at this time, the Hughes HDVR2. You may be able to find a Sony T-60 first generation DirecTV-TiVo combo unit on eBay. There is very little hardware difference between the first and second generation DirecTV-TiVo units. The 2nd gen units will support mp3s and pictures and things like that using the included (but presently inactive) USB ports.

What kind of TV and A/V Receiver do you have?

Posted by: atcole

You guys are great! - thanks for the responses! It looks like DirecTV/TiVo is the way to go (I haven't been that impressed with Dig. Cable). HDTV doesn't really seem like it's affordable enough to make sense right now. I'll post the specs on my current equipment tomorrow.

The HDTV question was because I'll be buying a new TV (large) in the near future and I want to choose carefully. Is anyone currently receiving HDTV signals? How big a deal is this?

Posted by: feldon23

A lot of people are receiving HDTV signals. The picture quality is stunning. But it's not on every show and certainly not on every channel.

For a list of all the programs available in HD, please go here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=166071

For a broader glance at what's available in HD, check here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=164671

As for the TV, I think plasma is totally overrated. I'd look at Pioneer, Mitsubishi, and yes, Sony.

It really is stunning to see these shows in HD, but being unable to timeshift/record them is a major pain. Even the digital "upconverts" of the analog channels will be a lot sharper than the local channels you can get off DirecTV. Hopefully in a year or two, there will be a DirecTV/TiVo/HD/OTA unit.