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HDTV TiVo Now Shipping

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the never-looked-better dept.

davco9200 writes "After over a year of waiting, the HDTV TiVo from Hughes (HR10-2350) is finally shipping. People have been receiving their first unit and you can read their first impressions. Suffice to say: they love it."

144 comments

  1. For DIY'ers by Space+cowboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Nano-ITX cpu/chipset from VIA also does HD mpeg decoding in hardware. Getting technical docs out of VIA is a blood/stone issue, but the existing community peeps have managed to get the SD HW mpeg decoder working, and you'd expect it to be substantially similar.... You'll need an HD MPEG capture card though because the chip's nowhere near fast enough to do it in software

    (The Hoojum [see above link] box also looks very very nice, at least IMHO :-)

    Simon

    --
    Physicists get Hadrons!
    1. Re:For DIY'ers by Tribbin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What about other codecs?

      Is it like a 'co-processor' that does certain calculations used for MPEG faster? That might make it useful for other codecs too.

      Or am I totally wrong?

      --
      If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
    2. Re:For DIY'ers by suyashs · · Score: 1

      Then how can Final Cut Pro HD have real-time HD processing? Does it convert it to uncompressed MPEG or something?

      --
      http://chrono.posterous.com/
    3. Re:For DIY'ers by Spoing · · Score: 1
      1. The Nano-ITX cpu/chipset from VIA also does HD mpeg decoding in hardware.

      I don't see any HD connectors, just RCA and S-Video. Would the data come over the ethernet jack from another machine?

      --
      A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
    4. Re:For DIY'ers by JDevers · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, for starters he is referring to a VERY underpowered Via based CPU on a mini-ITX platform, NOT a dual-PPC970 workstation. Saying one can't do something is different than saying the other can't.

    5. Re:For DIY'ers by illumin8 · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Nano-ITX cpu/chipset from VIA also does HD mpeg decoding in hardware. Getting technical docs out of VIA is a blood/stone issue, but the existing community peeps have managed to get the SD HW mpeg decoder working, and you'd expect it to be substantially similar.... You'll need an HD MPEG capture card though because the chip's nowhere near fast enough to do it in software

      Actually, if you combined that with a cable HD set top box with Firewire output, you could capture the MPEG transport stream with very little horsepower to disk, and use the HW decoder to playback. Voila, DIY HDTivo. As of April 1st, all cable companies are required to provide a Firewire port on their set top boxes to any customer that requests it. You get the raw transport stream fed directly from the Firewire, so there is no quality loss like you might have with an MPEG capture card.

      --
      "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
    6. Re:For DIY'ers by suyashs · · Score: 1

      Yes, it is a underpowered system, but if you went for raw value, you could get a PC that would do HD well for the same price as the Tivo. Now configuration and UI are another matter.

      --
      http://chrono.posterous.com/
  2. Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by TrevorB · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm waiting for this Slashdot headline:

    TiVo available in Canada

    It's about time we had this by now, dammit...

    1. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 2, Informative

      it is your damn laws. tell your government to get rid of the regulations that keep TIVO out.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    2. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Quasar1999 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Tivo is available in Canada. It's just not allowed to be used. I purchased a Tivo, paid the duty, and then was told a month later that subscribing to DirecTv as a Canadian citizen was illegal. When I asked for my Duty to be refunded, they made it expressly clear that owning the tivo was legal... using it was not.

      So, go ahead and buy a tivo, you won't be allowed to use it, but it is technically available in canada...

      --

      ---
      Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
    3. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Not that the US is much better, but what kind of country tells you what you can and cannot use or subscribe to? Thats fascist.

    4. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did the Canadian Prime Minister mod down this comment? Or do you really believe its a good thing when you are told that you cannot subscribe to DirectTv?

    5. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by LostCluster · · Score: 2, Informative

      Tivo is available in Canada. It's just not allowed to be used. I purchased a Tivo, paid the duty, and then was told a month later that subscribing to DirecTv as a Canadian citizen was illegal. When I asked for my Duty to be refunded, they made it expressly clear that owning the tivo was legal... using it was not.

      That's the status on DirecTV units in Canada.

      Standalone TiVo's are perfectly legal to use, however TiVo's data service doesn't dial-in numbers in Canada nor do they bother to cover Canadian TV schedules and lineups. TiVo could offer that in Canada just fine, but they haven't bothered to.

    6. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by October_30th · · Score: 1

      Why would it be illegal to use it?

      --
      The owls are not what they seem
    7. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by TrevorB · · Score: 4, Informative

      I did a bit of research into this. As far as I can tell, the DirecTV/Canada issue has to do with the reception with sattelite signals, not with PVR's. I just want to hook this thing up to my local cable (preferably my digital cable, if at all possible, which many of us have up here)

      On the contrary, Tivo seems quite hostile to the idea of selling Tivos in Canada. Once a national canadian radio station called up Tivo to ask about Tivo in canada, and their PR rep got angry about setting up an interview with Tivo under false pretences.

      Does anyone know what Tivo's beef is with Canada?

    8. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Does anyone know what Tivo's beef is with Canada?

      Simply it's a market that they haven't chosen to enter.

      The PR rep had a right to get angry, he was being ambushed with a question he didn't have a good answer to. There's really no technical or legal barrier standing in the way, but it's just a matter that TiVo hasn't seen fit to contract with Canadian dial-up network, program the IR software to work with Canadian cable and DBS companies, and create the channel lineups for Canadian cable systems.

      For that matter, there's no TiVo in Mexico either. TiVo's only non-USA market is the UK.

    9. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by topham · · Score: 2, Informative



      Just buy a regular Tivo and check out tivocanada.com.

      I have a Series 2 working quite well (98%). HMO option is the only issue outstanding.

      I did pay for the lifetime subscription, I had no intentions of ripping Tivo off, I just wanted a working PVR. They get their money, and I get my PVR. I looks like I may, down the road, have to pay Zap2It for tv listings, but right now atleast they are free.
      (And they now support a direct data option, no more webpage scraping).

      [note fatal issues: HMO option (which I bought) is nice, but has a timeout if the unit doesn't call home, so far the methods to get the guide, etc, don't deal with that, so I have to have the unit actually call home, or that function stops working.).
      Currently there are no 'movies'. The category doesn't work, known bug and will get fixed.]

    10. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by topham · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whatever the over-all reason, the ones you've described aren't them.

      A tivo in Canada can generally call a local number to contact Tivo. No hacking of any required for it. There are local numbers in all major cities. I believe they contracted with UUNet, but whatever.

      The IR Software works just fine with my Digital cable box. Canada uses pretty much the same electronics as the United States. There may be the odd difference, but it is the exception, not the rule.

      I believe Tivo gets their guide data from Tribune, which, in my case is the source for Zap2It.com which is my source for tv listings.

      The only technical issue with a Tivo in Canada that I can see is that we do not have zip-codes, instead we have Postal Codes, and this does complicate things a little on configuraing a Tivo, but the changes were made to support Tivo in the UK, so even those software changes are not a big deal.

      The only real issue that could be holding Tivo out of the Canadian market is French language issues. Anything else has to be political issues.

    11. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Babbster · · Score: 1

      Probably because they're afraid the Canadian government will require Tivo's auto-recording to always grab a specific percentage of programming that's made-in-Canada.

    12. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by mcj · · Score: 1

      And in French.

    13. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by infinite9 · · Score: 1

      The only real issue that could be holding Tivo out of the Canadian market is French language issues.

      I doubt it. I record french programs on my tivo all the time. The title shows up in french and everything works perfectly. The menu has to be a snap to change over to french. I bet it's political.

      --
      Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
    14. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by renehollan · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      it is your damn laws. tell your government to get rid of the regulations that keep TIVO out.

      Canada is too far down the fascist slippery slope for that to work. In Ontario, for example, you don't get title to a house, or a car: your "ownership" is registered in a government database. Guess what could happen if someone became a serious thorn in the government's side?

      There are two big reasons for keeping American satellite television out of Canada:

      1. Economically, the local satellite and cable providers don't want the competition. They lobby the government.

      2. Politically, it's bad to have television showing an American freedom-loving lifestyle and prosperity in fascist Canada: some might get the idea that they should be able to enjoy a similar lifestyle if they work hard.

      But, in Canada, the idea has been driven into the population that we are a "caring society that looks out for the weak and downtrodden". Woe to those that reveal the truth: anyone who manages to be better off via the sweat of their brow (i.e. hard work) is being unfair to those less well off, in particular those that don't care to work at all. These people make up a frighteningly large fraction of the voting population.

      So, the mantra is, "anyone better off than me is unfair, and un-Canadian... they have to do their share to support me" This attitude is indoctrinated in the schools: the vast majority of people are not generally gifted intellectually, and so are encouraged to join the fascist status quo to make the minority that are work for them. As a result, taxes are extremely high (while federal marginal rates are comparable to those in the U.S., provincial rates are higher than state rates, there are almost no deductions, the equivalent of exemptions are turned into tax credits at the lowest marginal rates and not straight deductions from income, and, there is the dreaded GST (federal goods and services tax) of 7% on almost everything you buy (including resale cars and new homes), and provincial sales taxes that add another 8%, typically). A married couple with a single income earner can't file jointly, and mortgage interest is not deductable.

      Health care is a joke: get sick and see how long you have to wait for mediocre care -- in Ontario you have to agree to live there permanently to be eligible at all. It is illegal to purchase private health care (except as an adjunct to provincial care, so you can't get treated faster or better, but can, perhaps, get a semi-private hospital room, instead of staying on the ward).

      In practice this means that the extra taxes you pay for nationalized health care go to those welfare lardasses supported by the remainder of your taxes who have ballooned to 440 lbs. (200 kg.) eating McDonalds burgers and poutine (french fries with cheese curd, and gravy) and now need heart bypass surgery instead of paying for the ostheoarthritic surgery or aortic aneurysm repair that you require. You're so poor that you couldn't afford to purchase the surgery on the free market after all the taxes you paid (supposedly, in part, for this very care!).

      It's a fascist hell.

      But, the clock is ticking on the "tax slaves' revolution". Increasingly, the retired and elderly who worked all their lives and supported the system see that it is not available to them when they need it the most. As the population ages, they are becomming an increasingly signficicant political force and see that some 35 years of socialism has been a great fraud perpetuated on them. I hope to see the day when they, and mostly the tax slaves that have escaped to work elsewhere, return, a million strong, to Parliment Hill with rocket launchers, and fully-automaticaly modified AR-15s, to take back their country, from the corrupt government in power and anyone else standing in their way who robbed them.

      It's not easy to work elsewhere, bidding one's time and saving one's money: when in the U.S., and losing my job in the telecom bust, I had to return, of course, l

      --
      You could've hired me.
    15. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Fezmid · · Score: 1

      > Does anyone know what Tivo's beef is with Canada? I don't know why standalone TiVos aren't available. However, I know that DirecTV isn't available in Canada due to Canadian laws. I don't have the specifics, but it has to do with the fact that a certain percentage of programming needs to originate from Canadians. It's a stupid law that's supposed to help protect Canadians somehow. Learned this from someone I know who used to live there.

    16. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by DJStealth · · Score: 1

      That's not fascist, that's communist. In any case, thank G-d, I don't think the government is really at that stage.

    17. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For those interested in getting a TiVo working in Canada, check out www.tivocanada.com, their forums are at forums.tivocanada.com but you need to be canadian to access it.

    18. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by Dust31 · · Score: 1

      A PR rep NEVER has a right to get angry, especially when they are REPRESENTING the company to the PUBLIC.

    19. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline... by armb · · Score: 1

      > TiVo's only non-USA market is the UK.

      For small values of market - the service is supported, but they aren't on sale any more.

      --
      rant
  3. HD Porn by scifience · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now all we need are the HD porn channels to go with it! Buy it once, watch it again (and again) later!

    1. Re:HD Porn by sleepychameleon · · Score: 1, Flamebait
      Now all we need are the HD porn channels to go with it! Buy it once, watch it again (and again) later!
      Actually, I read an article somewhere recently that suggested that HD porn isn't going to be the way to go. The basic gist of the article was that we like are porn stars smooth and unblemished; we're willing to accept some imperfections in Hollywood actors, but the author noted that Cameron Diaz's acne scars threw him/her off a little. So HD sex isn't such a good thing--what about HD violence? Is it more vivid, then? Causes more violence than video games? Hmm....
    2. Re:HD Porn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It's here, and it's $15 a "pop".

      Spice HD (probably NSFW).

      It's nice, way too expensive though, unless you can record it.

    3. Re:HD Porn by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 1
      Now all we need are the HD porn channels to go with it! Buy it once, watch it again (and again) later!

      Pssst, don't tell anyone, but there's pornography right here on the Internet. You don't even need a TV or DirecTV subscription. Don't let anyone else know or they might shut us down though so keep it on the down-low.

    4. Re:HD Porn by evilviper · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's the last thing you want. With such a high res, you're going to see that the "barely legal teens" are in their 40s, and not all that good looking when you can see every imperfection in high-res, on a 60" display...

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    5. Re:HD Porn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      imperfection is sexy. that's part of why I like amateur, and get bored quickly with acted stuff. we're human beings for crying out loud. when you actually have sex you'll find that women aren't perfect locking, but goddamn does it feel good to have your dick inside of them.

  4. Re:TiVo's not in Canada?.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's odd...i have a few standalone models, running on local Cable television (Rogers) listings, with full linux interfaces (shell, ftp, web, etc). :)

    With a little research this can all be setup rather easily, and give you an inexpensive linux box by your tv.

  5. 4 Tuners! by unfortunateson · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ok, there are PC-based units, but will you find one with two DirecTV tuners and two terrestrial HD tuners? I saw this demo'd at CES in January, and it looks very nice.

    Of course there's barely 4 channels worth of HD I'd want to record at once, but it's certainly a nice package. Like the other DirecTiVos, though, it does not have an MPEG encoder, so no cable or analog antenna inputs -- you're stuck with DirecTV and broadcast digital.

    --
    Design for Use, not Construction!
    1. Re:4 Tuners! by LostCluster · · Score: 3, Informative

      Even though the unit has four tuners on board, only two can be active at any given moment. Anything more and they'd end up having too much data headed to the standard hard drive at once. Optimized-for-DVRs HDs are in the pipeline, so eventually this limitation will go away in future models.

      There's really no content loss in not having an MPEG encoder on board. Nearly every analog channel is now being repeated digitally on their sister digital channel, or in most major markets DirecTV has an MPEG-translated version you can get access to.

      This is the early adopter's model. There's going to be better ones in a few years.

    2. Re:4 Tuners! by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 1

      Of course there's barely 4 channels worth of HD I'd want to record at once

      The system only supports recording two streams at once. That's two OTA digital TV streams, two satellite streams, or one of each. Any combination of HD and SD.

      --

      I write in my journal
  6. MPEG compression by horatio · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why doesn't the MPEG video compression negate the HD advantages? Because of the MPEG compression, there is a noticable quality difference between my (non-HD) TV on the TiVo and bypassing the TiVo to watch TV directly.

    --
    There is very little future in being right when your boss is wrong.
    1. Re:MPEG compression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      This is actually one of the nice features of the DirecTivo units. Since they don't do any local MPEG encoding, the picture quality is great. Actually when compared to my other Directv receiver it was much better (but this could be due to my other receiver being of poor quality).

      I have also used standalone tivo's though, and although I have noticed the pictures slightly modified, they seemed to be slightly different (the tivo had smoothing turned on), but again, neither was bad.

      But for cost and ease of use, any tivo is better than a modified linux box. Unless, of course, you want to have your main linux machine near your tv (which I don't really want at all).

    2. Re:MPEG compression by Gilesx · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Here's how to access a "hidden" Tivo mode, which gives you a much improved picture. Perhaps this is enabled for HDTV (although the resolution would *still* be too low)

      http://www.ljay.org.uk/tivoweb/tivo_fpga.html

      --
      Sunday you're Thinking Different, Monday you're a huge tool, paying too much and waiting to think like everyone else.
    3. Re:MPEG compression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because HD (even over-the-air) is *already* MPEG compressed. The TiVo just captures/buffers that stream. Quality is the same either way...

    4. Re:MPEG compression by LostCluster · · Score: 3, Informative

      HDTV broadcast signals are by definition MPEG compressed at the TV station. Therefore, all the TiVo unit has to do is just record the already digital bitstream without having to decompress/recompess.

      MPEG is designed as a processes that's computationally cheap to decode, which means that it's computationally expensive to encode. Basically, TV stations, networks, and signal providers have more expensive MPEG encoders than can ever be included in a consumer device, so they come up with more-bang-for-the-bandwidth. It'll always be better to just save that bitstream to an HD than to decompress and re-encode.

    5. Re:MPEG compression by LostCluster · · Score: 1

      Note that this information applies only to the PAL-based TiVo units sold in the UK.

      The HDTV units have no MPEG settings, because they don't encode to MPEG at all, they just record the bits as they're given to it from either DirecTV or the broadcast digital TV station.

    6. Re:MPEG compression by updog · · Score: 1
      When you receive an HD program - whether that's via an off-air ATSC reciever, a cable set-top box, or via satellite - that HD program is actually transmitted as an MPEG compressed transport stream. It's then decoded by your receiver/stb and sent to your TV.

      The quality difference you see on your TiVo is due to the MPEG encoding done by the TiVo. Because it's got to to real-time encoding and encode at a relatively low bit-rate to save disk space, the encoding isn't going to be that wonderful, and you see the poor results when it's decoded and sent to your TV.

    7. Re:MPEG compression by tgibbs · · Score: 1

      The quality difference you see on your TiVo is due to the MPEG encoding done by the TiVo. Because it's got to to real-time encoding and encode at a relatively low bit-rate to save disk space, the encoding isn't going to be that wonderful, and you see the poor results when it's decoded and sent to your TV.

      However, this doesn't apply to HDTiVo, which doesn't do any encoding at all. It just saves the already-encoded HD signal to disk.

    8. Re:MPEG compression by evilviper · · Score: 3, Informative
      Because of the MPEG compression, there is a noticable quality difference between my (non-HD) TV on the TiVo and bypassing the TiVo to watch TV directly.

      Yes, but your non-HD TV signal is analog. For Tivo to store it, it has to convert it to digital, then encode it in real-time (which is never good for quality).

      Besides that, Tivos encode to low-bitrate MPEG in order to save space. If you select the highest quality, it should be high enough that you won't notice any difference in quality.

      HDTV is broadcast in MPEG2, so the Tivo just has to store it, losslessly, perfectly. So with HDTV, the signal from the TV will be just as good as one that is direct.

      Interestingly enough, if you wanted a slightly lower-quality HDTV stream in order to save space, the Tivo should be able to do some MPEG2 tricks, like Requant, which will require practically no CPU power. If the company is smart, a Tivo is going to be a lot more like a TV studio, and less like a VCR.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  7. Re:OH MY GOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    he said reverse, not increase the effect!

  8. Broadcast flag? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tell me again why I'm supposed to be excited about a device that can, and probably will, be disabled from recording by the TV studios?

    1. Re:Broadcast flag? by tgibbs · · Score: 1

      Tell me again why I'm supposed to be excited about a device that can, and probably will, be disabled from recording by the TV studios?

      I'm not sure how the TV studios will "disable" it. And for them to do so would probably not improve their chances of having their programming carried by DirectTV, the satellite TV provider that is offering the device.

  9. I'd be happy just with HDTV by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

    But A TiVo would be cool too. To hell with those scandinavian cable providers, they all suck.

  10. DirecTivo, HD-TiVo, and problems by PenguinOpus · · Score: 5, Informative

    All DirecTiVo (including HD), record the digital bit stream directly from the satellite onto the hard drive, so there is no degradation at all. The HD-TiVo added OTA (over-the-air) tuners for the local digital TV broadcasts and those bits are also sent directly to the hard drive. 19Mbits/sec is the maximum HD rate for OTA, while satellite/cable encodings of HD tend to be 13Mbits/sec or less.

    In reading the initial comments about the HD-TiVo, there is one complaint that could be a problem for those who are currently using a DirecTV HD receiver like the DTC-100 and a non-HD DirecTiVo.

    Apparently, when the HD-TiVo gets a non-HD signal, it doesn't automatically switch its output to 480i/480p. It also doesn't stretch/zoom the image to fill a 16x9 screen. This means you need to manually switch the output if you want your TV's de-interlacer/scaler to adjust the image. Depending on who you ask, this is a no-op, annoying, or fatal. (I'm probably in the annoying camp)

    1. Re:DirecTivo, HD-TiVo, and problems by -tji · · Score: 1

      It also doesn't stretch/zoom the image to fill a 16x9 screen.

      The HD-Tivo *will* stretch, fill, or letterbox 4:3 SDTV content - depending on how you've configured it (you choose how to display it.. I prefer leaving it 4:3 with sidebar letterboxing, but others prefer to stretch it). Check on tivocommunity.com, there is a link to a PDF of the HD-Tivo manual, it describes the options for displaying 4:3 material.

      The only issue is the other one you mentioned - when people want to use their TV's scaler, and output 480i from their HD STB. Personally, I consider this a non-issue. SDTV looks like crap no matter how you process it. As long as the HD material looks good, I'm happy.

  11. 100 channels of HD by poptones · · Score: 2, Insightful
    for the last years I've had just a few channels - I cancelled my tivo subscription long ao because I didn't find $70 a month worth of stuff to watch in exchange for the $70 or so a month I was paying. But lately I've been wondering what I might be missing.

    The other day I was laying in a hospital bed waiting to go into surgery to get my deviated septum fixed. Decided to flip on the TV and see what I've been missing... flip... flip.. flip...

    I turned it off and went to sleep until the nurse came in and gave me a shot of demerol.

    It would be great if there were something on to watch. As it is, though, all I ever watch anymore is Survivor and Star Trek and West Wing. If I want to see west wing in HD or Star Trek I just download it from usenet - and it ain't locked down, as I would imagine these gadgets are.

    If Hollywood wants me to subscribe to one of these services, they better start showing something worth paying for.

    No, scratch that... they better start showing a lot of stuff worth paying for. And without the DRM nonsense.

    1. Re:100 channels of HD by October_30th · · Score: 1
      I just download it from usenet

      How can you download entire movies from usenet?

      Are there actually ISPs that would keep newsgroups that post gigabytes worth of media every day?

      --
      The owls are not what they seem
    2. Re:100 channels of HD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      erm, in a word, yes

    3. Re:100 channels of HD by Prune · · Score: 1

      Yep. Check out the *.multimedia.* newsgroups for example. My ISP will hold about the last two or three days, which can be a few GB of movies.

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    4. Re:100 channels of HD by October_30th · · Score: 1
      As I thought.

      Newsgroups are not carried by the ISP because of "illegal content".

      Oh well.

      --
      The owls are not what they seem
    5. Re:100 channels of HD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would be great if there were something on to watch. As it is, though, all I ever watch anymore is Survivor and Star Trek and West Wing. If I want to see west wing in HD or Star Trek I just download it from usenet - and it ain't locked down, as I would imagine these gadgets are.

      And this is why they are trying to "lock down" these devices..

      In any case, I'll pass on downloading a 9GB file from usenet. There is an exercise in frustration I will gladly avoid. My PC does a fine job of recording The West Wing, Fear Factor, and Malcolm in the Middle, with a MyHD HDTV PCI card.. quite a bit simpler than usenet, and the content is not "locked down" at all, so I can copy it to my laptop and watch the shows while I'm on the road.

    6. Re:100 channels of HD by br0ck · · Score: 1

      Got $10/month? Giganews has 40 day retention of 99% of all newsgroups and they're extremely fast. (not affiliated, just have the 1Gb free through my ISP deal)

  12. An ode to my TiVo, by JRHelgeson · · Score: 4, Funny

    By: Joel Helgeson

    My TiVo box, a loyal pal,
    a friend I truly care for.
    Because it guarantees I'll see,
    the shows I wasn't there for.
    Two-thousand shows I've 'taped' so far,
    each night I 'tape' a new one.
    Who knows, perhaps there'll come a day,
    I'll find the time to view one...

    --
    Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
  13. Huh? by -tji · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dude, that's not even close to a Tivo.

    The VIA chipset supports MPEG2 acceleration (offload of iDCT and Motion Compensation) *not* full HD decoding. So, you still need a lot of CPU horsepower to display HD - more than the 1GHz VIA C3 has to offer.

    Beyond that, there is no way to hook an HDTV tuner to that board, not to mention the 2 Off The Air tuners the Tivo supports.

    Then, you've got the DirecTV input.. The Tivo has 2 DirecTV tuners, while it's impossible to use DirecTV with a PC board.

    Then, you've got the software. There are some decent PC PVR packages available. But, nothing up to the Tivo's level.

    1. Re:Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder why nobody has mentioned new NVidia Geforce 6 series. It has MPEG decoding AND encoding support. During the decoding, 95% of computations can be offloaded to the GPU.

      Of course, you need wait a few months before NVidia releases mid-range and low-end cards using new architecture.

    2. Re:Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, that is what their marketing claims say.. But, what that means in actual practice is still unknown. The only review I have found that even addressed video processing capabilities was Tom's Hardware. Their tests showed that it used _more_ cpu than previous versions. NVidia explained this by saying the drivers didn't use the hardware.. they had concentrated on 3D capabiltiies for the release. So we don't know how real Nvidia's claims are yet.

      I'm waiting to see some results before believing the claims. Their cards for the last several yeard have claimed HDTV support via their HDVP functions. All this really meant was that you could change the output resolution to match HDTV standards ( Oh boy, I can set it to 1280x720 @ 60fps.. wow!). Even that was not fully true.. they had no specific setting in their drivers to enable HD output, and interlaced output (1080i) was very problematic.

  14. They love it? by ltwally · · Score: 4, Interesting
    " read their first impressions. Suffice to say: they love it."

    So I'm reading the first 3 (out of 4) pages from that link of early-impressions... seems like there are various problems -- including: cleaning out the menu signals (which are currently bleeding into the actual video feed), slow(er) menu response time, difficulties properly identifying and/or configuring which resolution to output to, and low quality when using the tivo unit to scale the video (instead of letting the TV do it).

    Now some of these problems can be fixed easily (more or less) with a firmware update... others might be a sign that the hardware isn't up to snuff. Either way, I don't seem to be reading in rave reviews of the new TiVo... certainly nothing wild enough to dare claim anyone "loves it."

    Personally, I think I'll hold on to my money for a while yet until a few of these kinks are worked out.

    --



    /dev/random
    1. Re:They love it? by updog · · Score: 1

      That, and there are a lot of compliants about quality issues when scaling SD -> HD. No, I don't think the poster RTFA...

    2. Re:They love it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I noticed the same thing. How the hell can you read those posts and deem that "they love it"? They all complain about various problems.

    3. Re:They love it? by Bryan+Ischo · · Score: 1
      There is now a poll up on the TiVo community forum addressing your very point. So far: 4 "love it", 2 "really like it", no negative votes. This is of course a *very* small sample. But as votes come in we'll have a better idea of the general sentiment ... see:

      href="http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/poll.ph p?s=&action=showresults&pollid=2255

    4. Re:They love it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not an accurate description of the issue. First, it's not a problem (bug), it's a usage model that some people want...

      The HD TiVo will convert everything to a single, selectable (from the remote, even!) output format: 480i/480p/720p/1080i.

      The reason some people want to have it pass through the 'native' resolution of the content is so their TV can do the upconversion if necessary, and/or allow them to perform zooms and non-linear stretches on 4:3 content. The TiVo only does a linear stretch, which some people don't like. And some folks believe their TV will do a better job of scaling 480i content to 720/1080 than the TiVo will.

      But what a lot of these people are forgetting is that the reason they're having to stretch/zoom their content is that they've been unable (generally) to record HDTV content! With the majority of the high-ratings shows being shown in HDTV these days, and with the availability of HBO-HD and other premium movie channels, I think these folks should take a look at how much they'd actually be using these "non-linear stretch" modes any more... I mean, do I really care if CNN News is a linear vs. non-linear stretch???

    5. Re:They love it? by tgibbs · · Score: 1

      The big problem they are having is it doesn't switch native resolutions. Every time you change the channel or watch a new show that has been recorded, you have to change the output resolution. How many wives want to hit 10 buttons just to change the channel? Others are saying it isn't recording all of their season pass shows correctly.

      Well, you don't have to. The TiVo will convert to any resolution. It's mainly a concern of video purists who want to get the absolute best picture that they can. They'd like an option for the TiVo to keep track of the original resolution and output in that resolution, and are annoyed that they may have to hit a button on their remote 2 or 3 times to get the absolute best picture possible.

      The Season Pass issue concerns people who want to record the same show in both HD and SD, who have discovered that once the TiVo has recorded a show in whatever definition, it won't record it again unless you tell it to record duplicates, which will also pick up other rebroadcasts of the same show. This sounds like an oversight on TiVo's part--it probably never occurred to them that anybody would need a separate option to record the same show in multiple definitions. On the other hand, most people probably are not going to want to do this.

  15. For those of us in the UK.. by Stopmotioncleaverman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...unfortunately, HDTV seems to still be a pipe dream. We receive a massive amount of digital content, but mostly due to technical inadequacy, the stations don't transmit in high definition.

    I, for one, would love to be able to get HDTV here in the UK. I suppose the good side to this is that by the time we finally DO get HDTV, I might be able to afford a Tivo to record it with. Although, having said that, based on our past success at getting new technologies rolled out, we'll be in the year 2030 with holographic tv, or intra-brain chips that just beam the information straight to our visual cortex.

    Wait a minute. That'd be pretty cool. Although, for those of us in the UK, HoloTV will be implemented by the time we're actually partaking in television. And by the time.... [iterate].

    1. Re:For those of us in the UK.. by FireFury03 · · Score: 1

      HDTV isn't quite as important in the UK - in the US they are all jumping on the HDTV bandwagon because their NTSC TV system is (frankly) crap. In comparison to NTSC, PAL is already quite high quality.

      --
      http://blog.nexusuk.org
    2. Re:For those of us in the UK.. by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

      Well...

      PAL may be higher resolution (~580 lines vs. 480 lines, after overscan) but it's crap in other ways. Particularly the fact that the vertical refresh is 50Hz.

      ATSC 720P delivers 720 noninterlaced (progressive) lines, 60 frames a second. 1080i delivers 1080 interlaced lines, 60 fields a second.

      PAL is OK, but it still doesn't look great on a 42" Plasma. Even an EDTV can reveal the flaws of PAL.

      Yes, PAL is far better than NTSC, particularly in the color department. Remember, however, that many in the US haven't used NTSC for years. Digital recievers (Cable, DBS) have been available with S-Video and Component outputs for years now. This neutralizes the color problems with NTSC. PAL still has better resolution, but it's not a huge difference.

      NTSC is crap because it came first, and because it had backwards compatibility. NTSC hacked color onto the existing black-and-white signal in a way that allowed black-and-white TV's to still recieve the old signal - without requirng two channels. Moreover, NTSC came out in 1954. PAL came out in 1963. During the 9 years between NTSC and PAL, technology improved and much was learned from the problems with NTSC.

      HDTV is a whole different ballgame. I'm in Fort Collins, CO, and I can get signals from 70 miles away with a pair of rabbit ears. Signals that come in perfectly clear with high-resolution and 5.1 sound.

      The European Digital TV system (which, like GSM, will likely become the worldwide standard), DVB-T, is a fine system. But to reach my location the signal would have to be twice as strong. If the US had used DVB-T, I wouldn't have broadcast digital TV (fortunately, I can still get Dish Network, DirecTV, or Comcast Digital Cable). And DVB-T doesn't offer enough bandwidth for high-quality HD.

      ATSC rocks. Anyone who tells you otherwise is dealing with the frustration of stations who refuse to broadcast at full power (in Denver, CBS, PBS, ABC, and NBC are at very low power; FOX is at 1/2 power; and WB is at 3/4 power; WB and FOX come in fine). When the stations crank the wattage up (as required by 2006), ATSC will reach nearly everyone in the US.

      HDTV and ATSC are awesome technologies which are here today. Imagine great picture quality and sound, 4x as much programming, an interactive programming guide, and more - all from a pair of rabbit ears. It's coming.

    3. Re:For those of us in the UK.. by FireFury03 · · Score: 1

      NTSC is crap because it came first, and because it had backwards compatibility. NTSC hacked color onto the existing black-and-white signal in a way that allowed black-and-white TV's to still recieve the old signal - without requirng two channels.

      The same applies to PAL - the colour subcarrier is stuffed into a backward compatible B&W signal so the old B&W TVs can still see it.

      The European Digital TV system (which, like GSM, will likely become the worldwide standard), DVB-T, is a fine system.

      For the record, DVB-T really sucks in the UK ATM because it doesn't have (nor has ever had, even on the old OnDigital) (m)any good channels.

      In the UK we have no good digital TV systems - DVB-T has sod all channels, digital cable is all propriatory and Sky refuse to release a CAM to decode the signal so my MythTV system has to encode the analogue signal from my sky decoder instead of being able to just grab the MPEG2 stream off the dish. Also, the only way to get 5.1 surround on Sky is to spend a lot of money on Sky Plus (Sky's version of TiVo) - none of the plain decoder boxes will provide a 5.1 output.

      --
      http://blog.nexusuk.org
  16. HDTV TiVo? It must have gigantic HD and CPU! by Pan+T.+Hose · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Is it easily hackable? It sounds like a great platform for a distributed high traffic relational database, does it not?

    --
    Sincerely,
    Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
    "Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
    1. Re:HDTV TiVo? It must have gigantic HD and CPU! by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      HD, yes, cpu, no, not really. After all, it's not encoding anything, it's just saving the pre-encoded HDTV stream to the hard drive.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    2. Re:HDTV TiVo? It must have gigantic HD and CPU! by ZxCv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It sounds like a great platform for a distributed high traffic relational database, does it not?

      No.

      --

      Perl - $Just @when->$you ${thought} s/yn/tax/ &couldn\'t %get $worse;
  17. I got one... by burnsy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I received my unit 2 days ago and I must say that I don't love it. It is acceptable, but not anything to fall in love with.

    TiVo really dropped the ball by not adding any new features or functionality, not even the HMO features. This is a stright port from the old version of TiVo software to support HDTV.

    TiVo had the opportunity (and more than plenty of time) to make this product a huge leap the PVR game, but they seemed to have choose the safe route.

    So for your $900 you get a TiVo that supports HDTV, but not much else.

    1. Re:I got one... by The+Only+Druid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm curious, what features would you have them add? HMO is already not going to happen for the simple reason that their networks have demanded it, so what would you add?

      --
      "Stumble before you crawl"
    2. Re:I got one... by r0b0t+b0y · · Score: 1

      from the links, i'd have to agree with you.

      but part of the beauty of the tivo is that the software can be easily and automatically upgraded through self-initiated downloads. you could wake up one morning and BAM! HMO

      personally i'm glad that they decided to release to market as soon as the hardware was ready. now they can devote the bulk of their resources to upgrading the software while ppl are already enjoying the features present in this product.

      --


      ----
      i do not use drugs, i AM drugs -- Dali
    3. Re:I got one... by MBCook · · Score: 3, Informative
      TiVo did NOT drop the ball.

      DirecTV won't allow HMO for some reason (there is a petition out there somewhere). NO DirecTiVo has HMO. It's not TiVo's fault, DirecTV is the one you've got a beef with. DirecTV is in total controll about what version of software it runs (verison 3.1.x probably) and many other things.

      As for "adding any new features or functionality", like what? I've got a second generation DirecTiVo (Phillips DSR-7000) and other than HMO, I can't think of anything that I'd like it to have. The only thing that I wish it had was more memory and a faster processor, which I assume that the new box has.

      They added HDTV and you can still record two programs at once (even two HDTV programs at once). What big stuff could you want other than that?

      As for the $900, for that you get a TiVo that can hold 200 hours of SD ($99 dollar TiVo plus about $250 for upgrade from 9thTee), a HDTV reciever DirecTV reciever ($300 for a Samsung from BestBuy). That's $650. But you can record TWO things at once, so throw in a second HDTV reciever to make things fair (another $300) and now we're up to $1050. Of course all this stuff is in one nice little box so you don't need nearly as many cables. The box could be considered a $150 SAVINGS over the equivelent other equiptment only it's all in one and does things that the above stuff can't (like TiVo HDTV content).

      --
      Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    4. Re:I got one... by burnsy · · Score: 1

      Great point about the cost. $900 is a fair price, but like I said, not in love.

      Suprisingly, this new one is not faster at all.

      Hmmmm...Somethings TiVo could have added...

      - Folders grouping programs together
      - Free space indicator
      - A wider program guide to take advantage of widescreen TVs
      - The ability to add external storage
      - Network connectivity
      - Internet integration (for example, a movie listing in the guide could link to IMDB).
      - More advanced Wishlists and Seasons Passes (let me add my own criteria and filters)
      - Caller ID

      The list is endless...See the TiVo Suggestions at TC for more ideas.

    5. Re:I got one... by burnsy · · Score: 1

      See below. As near as I can tell TiVo has added any significant functionality to the DirecTv models in 3 years.

    6. Re:I got one... by The+Only+Druid · · Score: 1

      Okay, you're missing some serious factors that have already been brought up:

      1) folders: these are present in the 4.x versions of Tivo software. However, as mentioned above, DirecTV chooses what version of software to run on DirecTivos, not Tivo, and they have chosen to keep 3.x
      2) The ability to add external storage: what would that be enclosed in? Are you suggesting they support external firewire drive enclosures for example?
      3) Network connectivity: the only purpose in this is to enable hacks such as web access or file extraction. If you're going to install these hacks (which do exist) then you are already going to do the network hacks.
      4) Internet integration: this is mildly interesting, but would require Tivo to do some serious data alteration of IMDB's info (not to mention probably require some sort of contract with them). 5) caller id: what? why would you want this on your Tivo? There's a hack for this anyways...

      --
      "Stumble before you crawl"
    7. Re:I got one... by larryj · · Score: 1

      I agree with some of your desired features (folders, freee space and caller id).

      For the most part though, this is exactly what I was looking for: an HD version of the DirecTiVo box. For the first generation, I think they did a great job. Nothing too amibtious, just make a high def version of the DirecTiVo.

      I received my HD TiVo on Friday and got everything connected Friday night. My only concern is the huge list of shows on my 120 gig SD DirecTiVo box. I can't fill up the HD box with new stuff until I get through the shows on the old box. How much are 250 gig drives? I think I'll need to upgrade this soon. 200+ plus hours of SD content is incredible until you realize that it's only 25 hours of HD content.

      But other than worrying about filling up the hard drive, I really like my HD TiVo so far. The menus seem to be a bit more sluggish, but it's not that bad. I do wish it offered more stretch modes (in fact, I'd prefer that over folders, a free space indicator and caller ID).

      --
      What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
  18. They love it? by boarder · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm wondering if the poster or the editor even RTFA. I'm reading the forums, and most DO NOT love it. Most people are annoyed by it. They say it looks great, sure, but they say it is annoying to use in practice.

    The big problem they are having is it doesn't switch native resolutions. Every time you change the channel or watch a new show that has been recorded, you have to change the output resolution. How many wives want to hit 10 buttons just to change the channel? Others are saying it isn't recording all of their season pass shows correctly.

    They are optimistic, though, because the chips used in the TiVo should easily be able to fix the native res problem by a software update.

    --
    IANAL, but I play one on /.
  19. I want one! by uncoveror · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dear Hughes: Send me a fre HDTV Tivo, and I promise to write a glowing review of it at uncoveror.com!

    --
    The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
  20. Don't Bother! TiVo Dieing! by Shuh · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    < sarcasm >

    They're going out of business! Then you'll be left with a best-in-class device that does exactly what you want and there won't be any company around to support it! They are "beleaguered," just like Apple (another company that actually delivers the goods, today) and so you had better listen to the F.U.D.!

    < /sarcasm >

  21. Re:Don't Bother! TiVo Dieing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not quite. If Tivo goes out of business you stop getting the data dump that actually makes it useful.

  22. Re:Don't Bother! TiVo Dieing! by topham · · Score: 1

    If Tivo went out of Business a certain collection of software, currently accessable to those outside the United States would become available. The software works quite well today and most, if not all Tivo owners would be satisfied with it. You simply install it on your PC and have your Tivo contact your pc instead of calling home.

  23. Well, you have to assume they're not stupid by Space+cowboy · · Score: 1

    I was thinking more in terms of a Myth TV front-end than the whole shebang to be honest - so you either put a wireless card into it (you can get those in the PCI form factor supported) or you link it up by network to the source. You don't need the HD input to be part of the same box...

    Since VIA have put a lot of effort into upping the boards memory capabilities, and running SD mpeg decode takes (on an 8mbit stream on my mini-itx box) ~12% CPU, I'd be surprised if it couldn't handle HD. My projector can only handle 1080i (1920x540 pixels/field) which is 5x PAL (720x288 pixels/field) assuming similar refresh rates. That ought to be within the capabilities of the current board, even if they haven't added more capability to the (new) chipset.

    DirecTV ? Que ?

    I think Myth is easily up to Tivo's level actually, it's just a bitch to configure properly. OTOH, I've never seen Tivo-2, they stopped at version 1 over here in the UK, so maybe there is a difference.

    Simon.

    --
    Physicists get Hadrons!
    1. Re:Well, you have to assume they're not stupid by -tji · · Score: 2, Informative

      There are some HDTV tuner cards available, which rely on DxVA acceleration for MPEG2 decoding. With a Radeon card, the bare minimum CPU is an 800MHz P3. With an Nvidia GeForce4 MX or FX Series (the other Nvidia cards don't do MPEG2 accel) it takes a 1.6GHz P4. Assuming the VIA chip's capabilities are somewhere between the Radeon & Nvidia chips, let's say it takes a 1GHz P3. From my experience with the Via C3, the preformance is around 1/2 of the performance of a P3 at the same clock speed. So, the C3 is not gonna cut HD decoding.

      I use one of the FusionHDTV cards, with a 1.4GHz Celeron(Tualatin). It mostly works.. it will decode the HD pretty well, but have little hiccups a couple times per minute. Much too annoying for my tastes. I switched to a "MyHD" card, which has a hardware MPEG decoder instead. It could run with a 200MHz Pentium, as almost all of the processing is done on card.

      DirecTV - That's the whole point of the Tivo mentioned in the article. It's sold as a DirecTV receiver, which also supports OTA reception. Without a valid DirecTV subscription, the OTA will not work.

      As for seperating the cards in different boxes. That's fine, it will work. But, the net effect will be even less like a real Tivo. You have a problem of distributed recording/scheduling, and problems playing live tv when the card is in another system, file locking issues, etc.. (Yes, I have tried this with HD cards.) There may be some capability to do this with the various SD cards out there, but the HDTV equipment is not as flexible. At this point, there is only one HDTV card that is even operational in MythTV (pchdtv.com). It has beta level drivers, and alpha level integration into MythTV. Using it today is not just a DIY project, it's a software development project.

      Any way you cut it, you currently can't make an HDTV PVR that compares to the Tivo. I've been trying to for the last 2 years, and while I've got a decent system for recording Off The Air HDTV, it doesn't come close to a Tivo. I will gladly toss my homebrew PVR in the closet and replace it with the Tivo.

    2. Re:Well, you have to assume they're not stupid by Hatta · · Score: 1

      In my experience that's seldom a justified assumption.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:Well, you have to assume they're not stupid by evilviper · · Score: 1
      With an Nvidia GeForce4 MX or FX Series (the other Nvidia cards don't do MPEG2 accel) it takes a 1.6GHz P4.

      I don't know where you got that number, but it's ridiculous.

      I'm using up about 30% of my 1.6GHz CPU while playing 1080p HDTV content, and I'd bet most of that is only because audio decoding isn't hardware accelerated...

      BTW, that is with MPlayer on Linux, using XVMC.

      And I've used the hardware playback capabilities of ATI cards before, and I can assure you they don't perform twice as well as NVidia's offerings.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    4. Re:Well, you have to assume they're not stupid by The+Wicked+Priest · · Score: 1

      As I understand it, OTA reception will work on the HDTV Tivo without a DirecTV subscription, as indeed it does on all DirecTV HD receivers. What won't work, though, is the Tivo functionality, since the Tivo service (for this device) is only available through DirecTV.

      --
      Share and Enjoy: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  24. Boooooo Hisssss by numbski · · Score: 3, Interesting

    DirecTV HD TiVos come with a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). A cable is included for TVs with HDCP-compliant DVI inputs. Regular DVI inputs could potentially get a downrezzed or blank picture depending on content providers.

    Get thee behind me, Satan!

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  25. What ISP by poptones · · Score: 1

    What do you mean "the" ISP? Newsgroups are carried by MY ISP and I'm on dialup. They're carried by AOL, the various Bells, Cox, Roadrunner, Earthlink - I don't know of an ISP that DOESN'T carry newsgroups. I also subscribe to Easynews, an ISP which most definitely carries newsgroups - it's their business.

    1. Re:What ISP by October_30th · · Score: 1
      What do you mean "the" ISP?

      Ah. A mistake by a non-native English speaker. I didn't mean to use a definite article to such an effect.

      I simply meant that all the ISPs I've been a customer to have carried all text newsgroups, some vanilla alt.binaries.* groups but no groups containing massive video/audio files.

      --
      The owls are not what they seem
    2. Re:What ISP by shepd · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you should consider buying Usenet service from a third party then? :-)

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
  26. Re:Waiting for this Slashdot headline...(offtopic) by CdBee · · Score: 1

    Speaking as a Brit I'd happily give up TiVo in favour of iTMS.

    It seems most TiVo services are pretty restricted in what they'll do and likely only to get more so as advert-skipping is widely suppressed already....

    If I won't let me upload files to my PC, what's the point? might as well just use KaZaAlite for free.

    --
    I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
  27. Re:Boooooo Hisssss by numbski · · Score: 2, Insightful

    BTW, I own an HDTV that I specifically made sure had none of this BS on board. Same goes for my HD Direc TV receiver.

    The fact that this is being supported now sickens me.

    Regular DVI inputs could potentially get a downrezzed or blank picture depending on content providers.

    THAT had best be FUD, otherwise I would be seriously PO'D. I don't pay for 'content protection'.

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  28. Somebody want to post where to get it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can't find anyplace that lists this bad boy yet.

    1. Re:Somebody want to post where to get it? by aenea · · Score: 2, Informative

      You're a little late to the party to get one soon. Pre-order lists started a few months ago, and as far as anyone knows fewer than 200 shipped this week for the first time. It will probably be mid to late May before they start showing up on store shelves.

    2. Re:Somebody want to post where to get it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not an answer to the question.

  29. Tivo not in control of DirecTivo units by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Please remember that Tivo has very little control over DirecTivo units. All decisions are made by DirecTv, not Tivo. Tivo Community Forums and Deal Database have rehashed this many times. Tivo is only allowed to add what DirecTv wants. The HMO feature for Series was apparently programmed some time ago but still does not approval. A TCF rumor says it may be release late summer/early fall.

  30. Open Cable TIVO? by badboy_tw2002 · · Score: 1

    I saw further down on the page it was talking about an OpenCable TIVO coming in July for the new common cable standard. Does that mean I can finally have TIVO on my digital cable?

  31. So far, they do love it by Bryan+Ischo · · Score: 3, Informative
    There is now a poll in response to this Slashdot article. See:

    http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/poll.php?s=&a ction=showresults&pollid=2255

  32. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by tgibbs · · Score: 1

    I assume the streams are locked down six ways from Sunday. And you get to pay and pay with monthly fees. No thanks--if I ever start caring about TV, I'll roll my own.

    There is no legal way of "rolling your own" satellite TV to avoid monthly fees.

  33. DirectV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about Voom? As I see it, Direct TV only has 6 HD channels? What good is an HDTivo that only records DirecTV? What about Voom? (39 hd channels)

  34. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where did I mention satellite TV? I'm talking about the mandatory guide subscription, without which a TiVo is a paperweight. Nice to see my prediction about moderation came true--the TiVo cult can't bear criticism. They're almost as bad as the Mac fanatics.

  35. There already is one... by John_McKee · · Score: 1

    Spice Networks has a HDTV porn channel on DirecTV, Spice HD.

    http://www.directv.com/see/landing/spicehd.html

  36. Re:Boooooo Hisssss by evilviper · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is a free-market. If you don't like their DRM, I would strongly encourage you not to buy the product...

    If you need HDTV time-shifting, a HDTV PCI card is under $200, and a Geforce4 (which has on-board MPEG1/2-decoding) is very cheap (~$40).

    Throw them in an old slow PC (with a huge hard drive of course) and you've got all you really need. It will take a beginner a day or two to setup all the software, but it's no big hardship, and you'll get a lot more features than you'd ever have in a Tivo.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  37. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by adavidw · · Score: 1

    I think he's talking about making his own TV shows so he doesn't have to worry about anyone else wanting to protect their content.

    Let's see: He's got a camcorder and a desk. There's a talk show! Take the camcorder outside. An action show! Point the camera at the dog. A nature documentary! Turn on the radio. A music video!

    That's what he means by rolling his own.

    -Aaron

  38. why is this modded interesting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It isn't even applicable!

    DirectTiVos (including the HD model) do not compress the incoming data, they only record what is already there. So you cannot change the mode and you cannot improve the recording quality.

  39. Re:Boooooo Hisssss by illumin8 · · Score: 1

    BTW, I own an HDTV that I specifically made sure had none of this BS on board. Same goes for my HD Direc TV receiver.

    I hate to break the bad news to you, but in a few years you're going to be wishing you had a DVI input with HDCP support on your TV. If you purchased your TV any time in the last two years I'm surprised you didn't research this. Already HBO and Showtime are turning on the DVI-HDCP copy protection flag, which encrypts the DVI stream between the TV and STB. It's only a matter of time before they start downrezzing or turning off the component outputs on all pay channels. Sure it sucks, but what are you going to do? We are at the mercy of the content cartels.

    Buying a new HDTV without any support for DVI-HDCP or HDMI is like buying a car that isn't street legal. Sure you can say "I specifically made sure that my car had none of those BS safety features on board", but if you want to drive it on the same roads that everyone else uses, you're SOL.

    --
    "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
  40. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by L1Trauma · · Score: 1

    $5/month for DirecTivo (different for standalone), which includes *every* DirecTivo you have in the house. BFD. I think these costs are manageable.

  41. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by tgibbs · · Score: 1

    Where did I mention satellite TV?

    It is always a good idea to pay attention to the topic of a discussion before posting. In this case, the topic is the HDTiVo, a high-definition satellite TV receiver with PVR capability.

  42. Re:Tell us about the DRM. by tgibbs · · Score: 1

    Does it only decode satellite TV? No.

    It does not function without a satellite TV subscription and is being marketed as a satellite TV receiver/PVR. So yes, if your only interest is in recording off-the-air broadcasts, then it is excessively expensive. But isn't that a bit like complaining that an automobile is excessively expensive if all you want to do with it is listen to the radio?