Registered: Apr 2003
Location: la habra, ca
Posts: 13

Can you give me feedback on using this unit? Worthwhile?/Easy recording??

__________________
stockmd

POST #1 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 2150

I love mine. You should do a search because there are MANY MANY MANY (I have not seen this many posts on one thing ever on this forum) posts regarding this machine.

Chris

POST #2 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Nov 2003
Location: Burlington, MA
Posts: 437

Another pair of very happy customers here, for the Pioneer 810H.

POST #3 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Posts: 9266

I linked a long list of 810H threads here.

__________________
Please do not PM me asking for TiVo backups. I don't have any.

POST #4 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2003
Location: la habra, ca
Posts: 13

This unit does not have a Directv receiver attached . The installer who came in also said I cannot watch a channel and record one at the same time . Is that true. I almost want to return this Pioneer 810..............................

__________________
stockmd

POST #5 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 1902

That depends on what kind of setup you have. In general the answer is "yes" but some configurations require a second receiver.

I see this is not your first TiVo. If your other TiVo is a stand-alone, then the hookup should be the same as that one. If the other TiVo is a DirecTiVo then with an appropriate multi switch, they should all play happily together.

__________________
Dave Hicks
(Now only 31 years until I'm allowed to be opinionated!)

POST #6 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2003
Location: la habra, ca
Posts: 13

So ...I will have 2 Tivo's (Pioneer 810 and Hughes Directiv) on 1 TV....seems like a terrible waste. I was thinking of moving my Hughes Tivo to another room when I realised that the Pioneer does not have Directv receiver...Damn .
In any case I do not want box after box stacked up to get 1 Tivo.....

__________________
stockmd

POST #7 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Midwest
Posts: 25

I am a new Pioneer 810 owner here and I am glad I found this place!!! I think the new Pioneer has potential, but has some major drawbacks just like any other Tivo units.

For one they should let you choose the recording type(This is on Tivo basic) and, even on manual. Also the basic Tivo puts allot of limitations on this player that Pioneer and the sales people that sell it leave out. With the basic Tivo feature you can only record in fine setting(The best) and then that only allows you 14 hours on 80gig..... I mean come on lets be realistic, even a 80gig hardrive in these units are lame. The base unit should start at 160gig and go up from there, I am just glad I found a few places where I can tweek this thing, because it is in need of it. Also this unit isn't cheap, and Pioneer should have given the user more editing features, so you can actually fit a 2 hour movie onto a DVD-R or DVD-RW without a huge loss in video quality.

Now here are some good points:
Fantastic ease of use, for a Tivo unit.
A top notch DVD Player, I mean this unit really shines in this area, using the Faroudja video chipset.
Buit like a tank
Tweekable, you can actually drop a much larger hardrive in these units.
Cool display
DVD Burning with limitations, but hopefully some decent software upgrades can fix this!

POST #8 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 208

aragorn - I think that pioneer only provides the burner. And it is a standalone burner at that. It has nothing to do with the Tivo. The information is passed to it by Tivo codec. I am sure someone can step in and explain it better, but it is in other posts as well. Tivo would be the one that would need to upgrade the ability to cut it up. Or to make better compression. I am unsatisfied with only 14 hrs on extreme as well. There arent many shows I tape that are 1 hr or less. So I am SOL when it comes to the burner.

The tivo part is great tho. I just punched in Ritter, John. Can't beleive all the stuff that came up.

POST #9 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2003
Location: la habra, ca
Posts: 13

Can you record 2 programs at the same time??

__________________
stockmd

POST #10 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 1882

quote:

---

Originally posted by stockmd
Can you record 2 programs at the same time??

---

__________________
Peter :D

listen
get

POST #11 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 1882

quote:

---

Originally posted by Aragorn
I am just glad I found a few places where I can tweek this thing, because it is in need of it.

---

__________________
Peter :D

listen
get

POST #12 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Lakewood, IL, USA
Posts: 2638

quote:

---

Originally posted by PHANTOM
aragorn - I think that pioneer only provides the burner. And it is a standalone burner at that. It has nothing to do with the Tivo.

---

__________________
Bob Edelman

1 Pioneer DVR-810H
2 TiVo Series 2 80 hour (one living with son in college)
1 TiVo Series 2 140 hour
1 Humax DRT-800 DVD Recorder with TiVo
1 Sony SVR-2000 (living with other son in Michigan)

POST #13 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Midwest
Posts: 25

Bob: that being said, I understand what your saying. But in simple terms, this unit does not do that part very well. It is a top notch Tivo unit and DVD Player it does those parts very well, and as Phantom pointed out, it is below par as far as a DVD Burner goes and I agree with him on that point. For instance I recorded BattleStar Galactica and in High mode and tried to get it on a DVD-RW well the first episode is 2hrs and 9 min and the second is 2hrs and 4 mins, which really sucks then I have to put it on 2 DVDs. So since most of us are shelling out over $700 bucks for this unit, Pioneer should allow you to do some minor editing so you can fit stuff on just one DVD.

Pioneer 810H fine points:
Great Tivo Player
Great DVD Player
Good CD Playback
Built like a Tank and looks Cool

Draw backs:
Sucks as a DVD Burner
Should have firewire only if there were more editing features.

Well from that standpoint I am keeping mine because there is more to like about this player than there is to dislike and I plan on dropping a bigger hardrive in mine soon.

Bottom line if you really want to do good editing and professional looking stuff, use a PC or Mac with good software. Some stand alone units are good but nowhere as good as Mac or PC running the right software.

POST #14 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 1882

quote:

---

Originally posted by Aragorn Bottom line if you really want to do good editing and professional looking stuff, use a PC or Mac with good software. Some stand alone units are good but nowhere as good as Mac or PC running the right software. [/B]

---

I agree that you'll get better results on a Mac or PC, but I just would like acceptable 2 hour results on a DVD. It's close now, but not close enough. It just takes too long for me to do all the stuff on a PC; I just want the convenience of automated menu creation, etc. Editing out commercials would be fantastic, but just being able to record a few minutes over 2 hours would be fantastic. A little more padding.

__________________
Peter :D

listen
get

POST #15 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location:
Posts: 4

I purchased the Pioneer DVD burner with TIVO last month...love it!

I had a DirecTV combo unit and wouldn't want to part with the ability to record two shows at once. In order to burn from my DirecTV unit I run a video/audio cable from the DTV out to the Pioneer inputs....after you've recorded the prgm to the Pioneer hard drive it's a simple matter to dump it to DVD.

Did I mention that I LOVE this unit?

Bob

POST #16 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 208

Bedelman - What I was saying by "Standalone" (and maybe I used the wrong term) is that the Pioneer drive does not encode the data. All it does is burns it. The TIVO software encodes the data and uses the burner to copy it to DVD-r. The Pioneer unit is in fact Standalone because it may as well be a separate unit - IE: the signal is converted to analog before pushing to the dvd to record. (Or so explained someone in another post). I am not sure of the logistics of it, but it sounds about right to me in keeping with Tivo's policies and all.

Yes it is a Tivo with a DVD or a DVD with Tivo or whatever you want to call it. Bottom line is the DVD part sucks. And We all know you are very happy with yours. I just don't understand how come you always defend the tivo as it is - as if it is god in its current form. Seems like you dislike any opinions that are other than positive about it. Is there some reason for this??? Do you have vested interest in said company?

POST #17 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Midwest
Posts: 25

Peter000 I totally agree. I mean they should let you go over 2 hours on High setting. Hell with a VCR if a show as over 2 hours you could still use the SP setting Peter iMovie on the Mac is a breeze to use and even Sony has the GigaPocket which is a recorder with some simple editing features which allows you to get a 2 hour + movie on a DVD-R or RW.

POST #18 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Lakewood, IL, USA
Posts: 2638

quote:

---

Originally posted by PHANTOM
And We all know you are very happy with yours. I just don't understand how come you always defend the tivo as it is - as if it is god in its current form. Seems like you dislike any opinions that are other than positive about it. Is there some reason for this??? Do you have vested interest in said company?

---

__________________
Bob Edelman

1 Pioneer DVR-810H
2 TiVo Series 2 80 hour (one living with son in college)
1 TiVo Series 2 140 hour
1 Humax DRT-800 DVD Recorder with TiVo
1 Sony SVR-2000 (living with other son in Michigan)

POST #19 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Midwest
Posts: 25

PHANTOM: to say the Pioneer DVD Part sucks is a tad off base. As a DVD player alone, the player holds its own. Example a $2000 Denon 5900 which is a top notch all around player especially on video, the Pioneer looked just as good. The Video proccessing is top notch, the transport is excellent, as a Tivo unit it is superb. Now for the grim part, as a DVD Burner it has way too many limitations. But if I compare my PC using Gigapocket and my Mac G5 using Final Cut Pro 4 and DVD Studio Pro 2 any standlone DVD-Burner sucks. Also when talked to Pioneer last night they said this unit is a Tivo Player first and then a DVD Player second with a DVD burner thrown in too boot. Now all they need is to throw in some good editing features and this unit will be fantastic on all ends of the spectrum!!!! I ask you this, what other Tivo Players/DVD Players/Burner combo units are out there to compare too? I mean if this unit was just only a burner I could see you making a fair comparison.

Did I mention I love mine also!! I am a tweeker also and I am installing a new 200gig hardrive, will let you know how that goes. My gripe in general is that all Tivo or DVD Burners "should"come with a standard 160gig hardrive, because lets face it video takes up space so why put space limitations on these units and editiing limitations also.

PHANTOM: Don't get me wrong, I do agree this unit as a DVD Burner needs swift kick in the ass and more editing features to really have it work well.

Last edited by Aragorn on 12-11-2003 at 08:55 PM

POST #20 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged