Tivo Box as tuner?

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

You are comparing apples to oranges though....

Yes the Tivo's can record 2 shows at once per unit, but they are only available on that unit right?

Actually, no. Tivo has what they call "Room to Room" viewing or some name like that. If the Tivo HD units are on the same LAN you can move shows around and watch them wherever you like (HD shows require an HD Tivo though, it won't transcode).

I looked into going the HD Tivo route, and it would have been a ton less expensive than what I ended up doing. It also would have had a lot less HD content available, been less customizable, would have DRM, wouldn't have DVD playback, worse interface, and would have had a higher monthly fee.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Slipshod

I looked into going the HD Tivo route, and it would have been a ton less expensive than what I ended up doing. It also would have had a lot less HD content available, been less customizable, would have DRM, wouldn't have DVD playback, worse interface, and would have had a higher monthly fee.

To me this is really what it all comes down to. If the HD Tivo does everything you want, then it is probably the best solution (as long as your cable co. doesn't change over to SDV). However, if you want or need the additional capability/flexibility that can only be had with an HTPC, then SageTV is the way to go.

One more small comment on cost: SageTV becomes more cost effective as your system scales. Additional Rooms/TV's can be easily added for just the cost of the HD-100 and no additional monthly fees.

Aloha,
Mike

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by Slipshod

Actually, no. Tivo has what they call "Room to Room" viewing or some name like that. If the Tivo HD units are on the same LAN you can move shows around and watch them wherever you like (HD shows require an HD Tivo though, it won't transcode).

Let's be clear with this for people that aren't familiar with Tivo. It's not like Sage where you can watch a recording from the Sage server. Move (I bolded it in the above quote) is actually that. It will move the recording from one machine to the other. So it will move the recording from the living room Tivo to the bedroom Tivo. You can start watching it before the move is completed but if the tranfer is slow it is possible to catch up to the transfer and have to wait. And the shows move one at a time. If you're moving HD program it might take a while.

It also comes with some caveats:

Non-transferrrable Content

The prohibition icon (red circle with slash) appears next to recordings that cannot be transferred. Examples of non-transferable content include:
• Digital download content from Amazon or TiVoCast
• High definition recording from a TiVo HD or Series3 to a Series2
• Copy-protected material

While your provider controls what programs are copy-protected, recordings from local channels should never be copy-protected. Please contact your cable provider if you are unable to transfer a recording from a local channel due to copy protection. Tell them they have the copy-protection set to CCI:0x02

Also:

Programs are transferred one at a time in the order requested. The speed of the transfer depends on a variety of factors. For example, a program recorded at a higher quality takes longer than one recorded at a lower quality, and wireless networks are generally slower than wired networks.

and

You can only watch the portion of the recording that has been transferred to the second DVR. Because transfer speeds can vary, you may experience pauses during playback if the transfer is not complete

Gerry

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by gplasky

It also comes with some caveats

Which is why I ended up here, with a badass SageTV server...

I think at the 1-2 TV level HD Tivo is very cost effective (if you can live with the limitations), and beyond that it starts to get debatable if you already have a PC to use as the server for Sage. If you have to buy a new server you'll need to run the numbers to see how long it takes Tivo's higher monthly cost to eat up the difference. I tend to weight it in favor of one-time capital expenses - monthly fees can add up way too quickly.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by mazakmaster

I live in a remote area and get no reception with an antenna. From what I am hearing the cable companys are going to be removing the analog channels and only using digital, which means I will need a cablebox at every tv in the house. About 6 months ago all the analog channels(2-99) showed up in digital form on one of my LCD tv's with qam tuner(902-999. I still will need 4 cableboxes for sage as i have 4 people in the house. Like I said before, it is the lack of pc cablecard tuners that is making it too expensive with Sage. If I could only use The Tivo just as a tuner without the subscription.............

So you can get your 2-99 on clear QAM? So why don't you buy a clearqam tuner like the HDHomerun? Jeezz...that's free too and you don't need a converter box at all....

[mazakmaster]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

So you can get your 2-99 on clear QAM? So why don't you buy a clearqam tuner like the HDHomerun? Jeezz...that's free too and you don't need a converter box at all....

Because, My cable company could turn off those clear Qam channels next week. Then the HDHomerun's become doorstops.......

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by mazakmaster

Because, My cable company could turn off those clear Qam channels next week. Then the HDHomerun's become doorstops.......

Or they could add 2 more to it next week.

Odds are the local HD channels that broadcast in clear QAM will stay that way. And there is no guarantee that any of this is going to work the way we want it to forever. But so far I've enjoyed my HDHR since the day they started selling them...what...over a year, year and a half ago?

Gerry

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Or they could add 2 more to it next week.

Odds are the local HD channels that broadcast in clear QAM will stay that way. And there is no guarantee that any of this is going to work the way we want it to forever. But so far I've enjoyed my HDHR since the day they started selling them...what...over a year, year and a half ago?

Gerry

I agree! I have an HDHomerun that I have been using for over a year and I record my major networks off of it and its great! The only reason I am excited for the HD PVR is so that I can add the other HD channels my cable company offers. I won't even have the lineup for my HD PVR set to record the Major networks so that it can be free to only record ESPN/Discovery/Etc. This way I can maximize the amount of HD Content.

As Gerry Said, to buy something hoping for a guarentee is crazy talk. I accept the fact that at any moment my Cable company COULD encrypt my Locals (whether that is legal or not is another story). It is also possible that if I buy an HD PVR, they could no longer allow true HD over component which would make it defunct..

Let's also not forget that your cable company could decide they no longer want to offer Cable Cards.....then your Tivo's will be pointless too.

Edit: One other thing to consider.....If your Cable company does end up stop using cable cards, your Tivo's will be useless, however, if a cable company takes away an option for me to record, there are always devices coming out that I could purchase to fill that gap for much less than spending 1000 on new Tivo's.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I agree! I have an HDHomerun that I have been using for over a year and I record my major networks off of it and its great! The only reason I am excited for the HD PVR is so that I can add the other HD channels my cable company offers. I won't even have the lineup for my HD PVR set to record the Major networks so that it can be free to only record ESPN/Discovery/Etc. This way I can maximize the amount of HD Content.

Same here. Very excited to be able to record the rest of the HD channels.


Gerry

[AVeNVy]

Originally Posted by gplasky

But what are you going to connect the components cable to? You need to attach those to a tuner card in the Sage box. Right now there is no such animal as a tuner card with component inputs.

Gerry

Not that I think it makes sense to use a Tivo as a tuner in Sage but there IS a way to record HD via component today if you're willing to put in a little effort.

--Nino

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by AVeNVy

Not that I think it makes sense to use a Tivo as a tuner in Sage but there IS a way to record HD via component today if you're willing to put in a little effort.

--Nino

True but at a higher cost and much more difficulty than what the HD PVR. I can wait a month or two. I know I am in no hurry.