ReplayTV and TiVo Compared

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Posted by michael on Thursday May 29, 2003 @04:50AM from the comparison-shopping dept.

j0atz writes "The New York Times is running a story today that, while it's a bit redundant in the beginning and a bit short on technical details later, gives a rundown the newest features for ReplayTV (numbered 4000 or above) and TiVO (Series2); basically, you can program your favorite DVR to record a show from a remote computer or from another (same-brand) DVR. Along with that, you can stream MP3's and pictures with TiVo now. Still...I'd much rather use something like FreeVo or MythTV and actually burn my shows to cd, stream whatever I want, etc, etc."

13 of 328 comments (clear)

Tivo can burn too by shokk · 2003-05-29 04:53 · Score: 5, Interesting

From what I understand, you can hack your Tivo series 1 to enable video extraction which you can then burn to DVD. That isn't much more of a hack than a FreeVo, and I expect that the schedule handling of the TiVo is much more advanced than what you will get out of the free systems, albeit much pricier.

--
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
imagine that by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-29 04:54 · Score: 5, Funny

The New York Times runs an article that's "a bit redundnat in the beginning and a bit short on technical details"? Well, at least they didn't plagiarize, or declare it a quagmire after 2 weeks, so they're improving.
Question about Tivo / PVR quality by coupland · 2003-05-29 04:55 · Score: 5, Interesting

Was speaking with a friend recently and he had heard through the grapevine that the compression done on Tivo video renders very poor quality output, well below that of standard cable TV. I've been thinking of jumping on the PVR bandwagon for a while now but this worries me a lot. Can anyone who has a PVR comment on video quality? How does it compare to things like DivX, VCD, cable TV, satellite etc? I don't want to plug a DVR into my expensive TV and end up with something that makes live cable look awful. Thanks in advance for your insights.
1. Re:Question about Tivo / PVR quality by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-29 04:58 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  At the high or best settings, you'd be hard pressed to pick out a digital cable signal from a tivo recorded digital cable signal.
  
  At the basic quality setting, you'd have no problem whatsoever.
  
  However, if your input signal is poor, tivo will have a harder time compressing it (as it tries to store all the noise), and compression artifacts might become obvious at High.
2. Re:Question about Tivo / PVR quality by Qube · 2003-05-29 05:02 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You choose the picture quality (a default which you can override for specific shows/SPs) but higher quality uses more disk space.
  
  Basic looks pretty horrible, and it does the usual blocky MPEG artefacts when something moves quickly but it's better than VHS at least.
  
  Medium is quite watchable, and OK for fairly static programmes (gameshows and the like)
  
  High is what I use for day-to-day and is very good - I have (UK) Sky Digital as the source and it's as good to my eyes.
  
  Best uses even more disk space, but will be as good as what you throw at it. It's what the live buffer uses and is recommended for sports and other fast-moving stuff.
  
  It's pretty straightforward to upgrade a TiVo to use a (cheap now) 120Gb disk and you can store a lot at High or Best with that.
Let me Guess... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-29 04:56 · Score: 5, Insightful

Still...I'd much rather use something like FreeVo or MythTV and actually burn my shows to cd, stream whatever I want, etc, etc.

I guess you never actually TRIED to use any of these apps, have you?

Features are one thing, but when talking about an appliance, it's all in the UI. And nothing free out there yet remotely compares to TiVI's UI.
Why keep them? by Malc · 2003-05-29 04:58 · Score: 5, Interesting

Why would you want to burn stuff to CD to keep? I filled dozens of VHS tapes back in the 80's with stuff from the TV. Now I wonder why as I rarely rewatched any of it. I guess I was young and had too much spare time. These days there's rarely anything broadcast that I feel is so important to my life that I want to keep it. Why do people want to keep stuff from TV. What is so compelling that I'm not finding when I flip through the channels? It seems to me there are better things to do than waste ones life re-watching things you've already seen. Anybody watched the Royle Family? I find it painful and a rather uncomfortable reminder about the mindlessness of TV.
1. Re:Why keep them? by Eccles · 2003-05-29 05:45 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Why would you want to burn stuff to CD to keep?
  
  Because then I'll feel no compulsion to watch it when it comes on the air. Those of us who remember the pre-VCR days remember seeing that, say, "The Great Escape" was coming on, and arranging one's schedule to watch it.
  
  Kids watch the same thing numerous times, so they're more likely to want things recorded. A computer PVR is also useful for making CDs/VCDs/DVDs of home videos, which are worth archiving.
  
  I suppose one might also end up trading for shows one hasn't seen.
  
  --
  Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Umm.... by caffeinex36 · 2003-05-29 04:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

Still...I'd much rather use something like FreeVo or MythTV and actually burn my shows to cd, stream whatever I want, etc, etc."

Who says you can't do that with TiVo? Also...Compare the prices of hardware you need to decently do a good job doing it your way. Why bother? At most, hack TiVo, put a few HD's in it and rip right off TiVo...at least then you have a hardware encoder and dont have to worry about everything being all shitty, and spending 1k on hardware

Just my 2cents - Rob
Re:An issue with Replay by BonrHanzon · 2003-05-29 05:00 · Score: 5, Informative

The ReplayTV series was purchased by Denon & Marantz (makers of higher-end A/V receivers), a company with greater resources that SonicBlue ever had. So really they are better off now than they were before. Buy with confidence.
A much better comparison by anaradad · 2003-05-29 05:08 · Score: 5, Informative

There are much better comparisons available, including http://pvrcompare.com/ , a great site for people considering a PVR purchase.
Directv Tivo by asdfasdfasdfasdf · 2003-05-29 05:13 · Score: 5, Informative

The DirecTV Tivos copy the satellite stream including Dolby digital as they come off the Sat-- so they are as "perfect" as the source-- which means for hi-bitrate channels like HBO, it's not DVD quality, but it's better than any cable I've seen.

The flipside is that the DirecTivos are more difficult to hack, and I don't think there's any easy way to Hack the HDVR2 (latest and 'greatest')

As others have mentioned, the HDVR2 is plagued with audio issues, while not devastating, still annoying-- and there hasn't been a patch since release-- 8 months ago. Also, there's no word on support for Home Networking for this model, even though the hardware supports it. :-P

I've been too lazy-- but if if I give up on DirecTV sanctioned networking, I'm going to actively persue video extraction options.
APEX DVR by bazabba · 2003-05-29 05:14 · Score: 5, Informative

Looks like APEX is joining the bunch. This also includes a DVD player, or rather this DVD player includes a DVR. I don't read anything about a service fee either.

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