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Time Warner DVR box vs. TiVo?
pfunk asks: "Time Warner Cable in Cincinnati is now offering an all-in-one Digital Video Recorder/Cable Box. I have a TiVo and basic cable now, but as I ponder an upgrade to digital cable and premium channels, I wonder if an integrated box might be a better choice? I haven't found out anything about pricing yet, but I was wondering if anyone else had any experience with Time Warner's new box? Any direct comparison to TiVo features would be a plus."
anyone hear if and when twc in nyc is rolling this out ?
I don't have Time Warner (I have Com-crap) and their digitial cable is a joke, so I wouldn't be able to buy one no matter what. That said, I've been looking into TiVos (DirecTiVos to be specific). I really like the dual tuner option (I've got PIP on my TV now (it has two tuners) and it's great. I'd love to be able to do the same thing with a TiVo) but one of the things that worries me about buying a DirecTiVo is that it doesn't have an analog tuner. This means that if I bought one and something happened to DirecTV, I'd be out of luck. If the box had an analog tuner (like the TW one) then you'd still be able to use it (TW wouldn't let you use it without their service, I'm sure but you get the idea). I'd love to see standard TiVos contain multiple tuners.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
It most likely is missing alot of the TiVo goodness like season passes. However, it also has 2 things that TiVo is missing ...
... handy to be able to actually see what's going on instead of the overlay method TiVo uses.
... you can do this if your tv supports it with a TiVo, but it's the -tv- that does it, meaning folks who use DirecTV combo units (like me) can't do that. Yes, you can record 2 streams at once on the combo TiVo, but not view 2 at once.
Playing live TV in a smaller window in the guide
Picture-in-Picture
Overall, I think I'm much happier with my TiVo, I live for season passes and wishlists, but I can see where this box might make some people (like sports nuts) happier in some ways.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
The Time Warner box, as I understand it, is a piece of garbage.
It does not offer the advanced scheduling capabilities of a TiVo, nor does it offer the advanced search capabilities.
I would recommend sticking with TiVo and using an IR blaster to get Digital Cable.
Better yet altogether, switch to DirecTV. For $40 per month, I get 140 channels, including my local channels. To get those same channels with Time Warner would likely be $55.
Switch to DirecTV/TiVo. My transition from stand-alone to DirecTV/TiVo was almost as dramatic as the transition from a VCR to a PVR. 2 tuners, more recording time, $5/month fee (instead of $13), unlimited DVRs under a single fee, better quality recording, etc.
Season Pass (record every episode of a show, even if it moves)
TiVo = Yes
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes
TWC Box = No
Suggustions (programs you may like - like it or hate it)
TiVo = Yes (optional)
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes (optional)
TWC Box = No
Advanced conflict managment (prioritize season passes or equiv.)
TiVo = Yes
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes
TWC Box = No
Two tuners (record two programs at once/record a program while watching a 2nd live program)
TiVo = No
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes
TWC Box = No
Picture-In Picture
TiVo = No
DirecTV/Tivo = No
TWC Box = No
Guide Style
TiVo = Two column, translucent
DirecTV/TiVo = Two column or grid, translucent
TWC Box = Grid, picture in corner
Delete Date/Time (tells you when programs will be deleted to make space)
TiVo = Yes
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes
TWC Box = No
God-Awful Remote
TiVo = No
DirecTV/TiVo = No
TWC Box = Yes
Half-Decent User Interface
TiVo = Yes
DirecTV/TiVo = Yes
TWC Box = No
http://www.ochsenhirt.com/archives/000057.html of particular interest "Obviously, there's no way to skip ads (the article seems to imply there's no way to fast-forward at all), and the system inserts new commercials when pausing or rewinding. "
"I Tivo'd the Soprano's last night."
or...
"I'm going to all-in-one-Digital-Video-Recorder/Cable-Box the Soprano's tonight."
no contest
Best Windows Freeware
Unfortunately, I don't have a Tivo, so I don't know how these things compare directly. I got the DVR because I wanted a Tivo but couldn't justify the initial cost. I'm sure that the Tivo is a better machine than the DVR, but it sure was easier to pay $15/mo. rather than $300 (plus subscription).
--
Mando
TWC has been test marketing these here in Rochester, and I have had one for six months. Disclaimer: I've never had a TiVo or ReplayTV or any other DVR but this one.
Good: Recording selection is integrated into the box's program guide. I can schedule recordings as far in the future as the cable guide will let me scroll. Records up to two programs simultaneously, while playing back a third. Can record any of the analog or digital cable channels. Can FF through commercials during playback. S-Video, stereo out has decent signal quality (also puts out composite and modulated signals).
Bad: No SkipAhead button for commercial skips (you have to FF through them). Response to remote can be slow -- sometimes up to 4-5 seconds delay while it churns. Occasionally drops frames or loses frame integrity on recordings. Box is rented rather than purchased, so I pay extra $$$ every month on the cable bill for the service.
So-so: Unit is somewhat noisy -- I can hear it whirring and humming even when "off" -- non-DVR digital cable box is silent. No way to schedule recordings over the network from a remote location. No component video out.
In general, I like it a lot and use the DVR features all the time now. I wish it was quieter and had better response time, but I can live with it.
In the Star Trek evil Mirror Universe, virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma is gangsta hiphop star DJ Yo Ma-Ma.
What PVR is TW using?
It's most certainly not a "Time Warner" box. Usually, TW uses SciAtl stuff in markets it has owned for awhile, which means you're using the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 series (8600?).
If anyone wants to share some data, please check out my cablebox site. In particular, check out the compatibility database, and add whatever entries you can personally confirm.
Thanks.
Here is the best review of the SA 8000 on the web...
.35 cent per month fee for the remote control). Time Warner
Sci Atlanta Explorer 8000: Not Ready for Primetime
Cable companies have been concerned for sometime about the growing level of
competition they face from small satellite dish providers DirecTV and DISH.
These national competitors have begun incorporating personal digital video
recording technology into some of their receivers, allowing customers to
digitally record, pause, and review programming. Some cable subscribers
have clamored for this type of feature as well and have invested in Tivo and
Replay units to accomplish this.
Now, cable operators are primed to respond to customer requests with the
introduction of digital video recorder cable boxes like the newly released
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000. Equipped with a hard drive and all the
technology necessary to receive digital and on demand programming, the
Explorer 8000 attempts to deliver a one-box solution to existing cable
subscribers contemplating a switch to satellite or investing in a standalone
Tivo or Replay unit.
Larger than most cable boxes, the Explorer barely squeezes into equipment
stacks, and like some of its predecessors, it's best placed atop other
equipment, because it generates considerable heat.
The 8000 series can be custom configured by cable operators with different
size hard drives. Time Warner of Rochester, NY (one of Time Warner's test
markets) deployed Explorer 8000's with the Maxtor 4D080H4, a value line 80
gig 5400rpm hard drive, capable of storing from 30-40 hours of programming,
depending on whether the recorded channel was on an analog or digital tier.
The unit makes almost no noise.
The 8000 integrates the digital video recorder with the critically-panned
Scientific Atlanta standard interactive program guide (the one that starts
with programming lists two hours in the future) and assigns a pseudo-channel
on the digital tier for viewers to view and access their recorded
programming. Users can also manually configure recording times for the
unit.
The box is targeted to customers who want the convenience of digital video
recording without upfront equipment costs. The box is provided on a
month-by-month rental basis. In the Rochester test market, the rate is
$9.95 per month in addition to the standard monthly $5.60 digital equipment
fee (and a
points out that competitors like Tivo make you purchase the equipment and
still pay a fee of up to $9.95 per month for the program guide (which is
also a way for these companies to recoup added costs).
Among the major benefits of the Explorer 8000 is its graceful integration
with digital cable service. Recording most cable programming that requires
a cable box with external equipment (a VCR or DVR) requires consumers to
jump through hoops in setting up the equipment to interact properly and keep
their fingers crossed. Since the Explorer 8000 is a one box solution, no
extra steps are required to configure the box.
Also, the Explorer 8000 contains two tuners capable of recording two cable
channels at the same time, which is unique in the field of current
generation recorders. It incorporates a software-based picture-in-picture
feature so that users can review programming on two channels even if their
television did not come with this feature (or P-in-P became irrelevent with
the addition of a cable box that outputted all programming on a single
channel).
Programming the Explorer 8000 is generally done by accessing the standard
Scientific Atlanta-provided program guide. Users can scan for programming
for up to seven days in advance by channel, program theme, date, time or
title. Simply highlight the desired program, hit a key and the 8000 will
bring up a menu asking if you want to record this program once or each time
it airs and how long you
... is that Tivo is an independent company, while AOL/TimeWarner/CNN/etc is a conglomerate. Some of the companies in that conglomerate produce content, so I worry about an onerous Digital Rights Management regime (either now or in the future) put in the TimeWarner box at the behest of the movie companies (HBO, New Line Cinema, Turner, etc.)
Do you really want their idea of "fair use" enforced upon you?
It's Linux, damnit! Pay no attention to renaming attempts by self-aggrandizing blowhards.
i have the twc box. it sucks. the only real advantage is not having to buy it in the first place--its monthly service charge is cheaper than tivo's IF you already have digital cable. if not, you have to upgrade and the effective price difference ups to 20 bucks or so.
there are all kinds of technical problems with the twc box--it crashes on me regularly, usually in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter of a close football game. it takes at least three or four minutes to come back up once it does that. For some reason it won't record iterations of shows right now--only one-shot recordings work. in general its just screwed up.
In Cinci, it looks like pricing will be a one-time fee of $19.95 for training (?) and $9.95 if you already have digital cable.
Envy my 5 digit Slashdot User ID!
Okay, when TW first came out with the DVR in Austin, I was itching to get one. So I did. I felt it was the only thing that would really make Digital Cable worth getting. I've had it a few months now, and I've got my own opinions. Lets start with good points first.
Its easy. Instead of having multiple devices, its my cable box, and my DVR all in one. I had digital cable before (or at least my old roomie did) so the remote is very similar, as is the interface. I already knew how to use it for the most part. When you go through the guide, you can either tune in, or record. And you can tell it to record all episodes of a show, despite time / day.
Dual digital tuners is nice. But then again, if it didn't have it, it would probably be fairly useless. The guys on the radio say it can record 40 hours, and I dunno about that. It complained about being full for the first time the other day, but I didn't actually check how much I had recorded. The list of recorded proggys was pretty long, though. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets somewhere near there. I think it's got an 80 gig drive.
Its got a lot of ports on the back. I can use the Svideo out, or RCA, or coax. There's more ports, but that goes in the complaints section.
One little thing... it gets all its info from the cable line. No external connection to a phone line, etc.
Overall, I've been fairly happy... its not spectacular though. Its just kinda okay. I do certainly have gripes though.
Back to the ports. There's a set of RCA's in, but they don't really seem to do anything. The remote seems to be able to change the video source, but nothing happened when I plugged my DVD player to the inputs. Then there's 2 sets of RCA outs, but only one works. One RCA out also has an svideo, and that does work. There's also a pair of Firewire ports, also dead. Then there's some port labeled IR. I don't really know what it does, and I can't plug anything into it. I assume its also dead.
The response can be slow. It can be real slow on occasion. Hit the remote, nothing happens. Hit it again, nothing happens. Hit it a lot more times, and then all of a sudden everything you pushed happens.
Then there's the recording. Sometimes it just refuses to record a show. Then it erases all future recordings of that show, too. Or sometimes it decides that you want to watch something else on the same channel instead, and changes your 'record all episodes' to something you really, really' don't want. This can usually be solved by unplugging the damn thing, and waiting for it to boot back up.
And there's a big crack in the front of it, on the display. Oh wait, that's just mine. Sometimes it can be very aggrevating.
Final rating... good enough for the price. Like $7 per month. Is it as good as a Tivo? No. Does it require a phone line? Well, I don't have one... so if I did I wouldn't be able to use it. All I can do is hope that it starts to behave better with upgrades. It hasn't gone squirly I don't think since its last update.
We have a TW box and two TiVos. In our experience, the TW box is vastly inferior. The TW box we have (our second, after the first one blew up) has all of the following useful feaures:
Unbelievably, I could go on about the TW's defects. TiVo is so much better, it's not even funny. The only down side is the phone jack, but the Series II TiVos seem to have that pretty much solved.
The only thing the TW box has going for it is price, and the two tuners, which is pretty handy. The Picture in Picture function is fundamentally useless, in my experience.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
I've got one, too, and I think you meant to say that you can watch a TAPED program while recording two others. Obviously, without three tuners, you can't watch three live feeds at once.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
i won't buy one unless it's got a 30 second digital skip. Automatic skip would be nice also
>One time I caught it trying to record The View for no good reason.
Come on, admit it, you're a sensitive liberal type of guy.