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Tivo HD Released Into the Wild
B.Gud writes "Tivo has launched the new 'Tivo HD' DVR, validating what was learned from retailer leaks last week. The new unit is available for orders and will ship in early August, but the good news is that Tivo is going to activate serial ATA later this year, and that TivoToGo support is coming as well. From the article: 'Suffice it to say that it's the machine we thought it was, loaded with dual tuners, support for two CableCARDs (or one MCard!), a 160GB drive (180 hours recording SD, 20 hours HD), and HDMI. It really makes the Series 3 look weak. Or put another way, it makes the Series 3 into the boutique device it really is.'"
...or, I can rent an HD DVR from my cable company for the same price Tivo charges per month, with no huge outlay of cash in the beginning. Sure, the experience isn't quite as good, but its more than adequate. And if it dies, I get a replacement, no questions asked.
Virtually all the new services require the cable/phone company's box to get the full range of channels because everyone is using encrypted QAM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner) so a standard QAM or ATSC tuner is useless for hi-def.
_ CableCARDs), and the new MCard spec is only due this month. But they simply aren't available, and who knows if they'll actually work when released?
For example, the Verizon FIOS service has only the local channels unencrypted, so without the box, you can only receive a handful of channels.
It's my understanding the original spec cable card doesn't address the scrambled QAM channels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_card#Physical
So that fancy new 100" Plasma that supports every standard possible? You still need the box.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
SD is roughly 480i. That's 640x480, 60 interlaced frames per second.
640 * 480 * 60 * 0.5 = 9,216,000 pixels/second
720p is 1280x720, 60 full frames per second
1280 * 720 * 60 = 55,296,000 pixels/second
1080i is 1920x1080, 60 interlaced frames per second.
1920 * 1080 * 60 * 0.5 = 62,208,000 pixels/second
720p delivers 6 times as many pixels per second and 1080i delivers almost 7 times as many pixels per second as SD.
720p delivers 3 times as many pixels per [full] frame as SD.
Standard def is 480i = 640x480 pixels but only half every "pass". 640x480/2 = 153,600 pixels. Top of the line HD is 1080p = 1920x1080 pixels with all of them every pass. 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels. 2,073,600/153,600 = 13.5 times as many pixels. Factor in the compression and then add the overhead and 9:1 disk usage isn't all that unreasonable.
I use a high end MCE 2005 machine right now for our household, and it works fairly well. Unencrypted HD, 4 tuners total, household distribution (we have 2 boarders who rent from us and utilize their Xbox 360's as remote hubs). System is very stable, the wife can watch all her HGTV and TLC shows, I can download my aXXo first releases, and we're happy. The downside is no HD, because the CableCARD system just doesn't work well with PCs that aren't designed for it. Tried it, failed repeatedly. And I'm a techie.
This sounds to me like a great idea -- there's a ton of HD content over Comcast that I'd probably watch an hour or two a week of, more if I am sick or after a long stretch of work in the winter. I haven't found much HD content available over bittorrent sites, just a few RIPs. But I don't know if I really feel like paying for cable (and then a TIVO monthly bill) for what we get. From a legal perspective, I'd probably buy downloads (PPV online) if they were available and were high quality. But they're not available, so I resort to my own form of PPV. We generally buy movies we download, yet still keep the downloaded version on the PC to watch. I assume Tivos can't accept an XVid Video, so there is a downside.
This leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a step in the right direction. What I want in addition is:
1. Ability to download my own content, or RIP my own content.
2. Ability to remove commercials "real-time": we use a MCE plug-in that works well.
3. Ability to speed up shows without affecting speech tone (plug-in).
4. Remote access capability to a PC or a video game console (preferably both).
Tivo doesn't offer any of these, AFAIK. That's a big limiting factor. Someone needs to step up and provide these services, and their market will blossom.
I've used TiVo for years. When I got an HD tv I got the comcast/motorola DVR (DCT3416). I've been through 3 boxes so far. The software in the box is horrible. It gets "busy" and doesn't respond to the remote for 30 seconds or more, but it is queuing up all the buttons to replay as soon as it isn't busy. If you fast forward/reverse there is a chance that it will get freeze. Playback sometimes doesn't include sound unless you change the channel and go back. Don't even get me started on how the box handles (crashes is a better word) EAS (emergency signals). I've accumulated a dozen or so software issues with the box that the company says "we know, but there is no scheduled fix date."
And my favorite is that after a couple of months the box will start "slowing down" more and more frequently. The fix is to replace the box -- so says Comcast.
So yes -- I will gladly be purchasing the TiVo HD box just so I can get rid of the piece of junk Comcast/Motorola calls a DVR.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
I had Series 2 TiVo for about a year and a half. It was OK. I've always questioned the value of the "service" though. What are you getting for 12.95 a month? TiVo is basically TV guide on crack. The fact that I could store my shows on my computer was of almost no value to as the TiVo 802.11 "g" adapter can actually only transmit @ 10 Mb/s because that is the maximum speed of the TiVo. It takes almost as much time to transfer as it does to watch the show. The "intelligent" recording is rarely that. Frequently TiVo fills its drive with a bunch of stuff that is largely uninteresting - that then needs to be deleted. Great more work to make room for shows I *do* want to watch. Of course there is the auto delete feature but it doesn't make room if you want to record something. A real blow to any sort of justification for a "service" fee was the introduction of the "promotion" on the TiVo primary page. The little star has "information" that I might want about say taking an RV trip across America. Ah, no? Then TiVo would add buttons from time to time to some of the user screens advertising things such as the virtues of the Sony Bravia HD TV's. Great, TiVo I'm glad that you have a shiny new marketing platform - but now I want my service fee back! Sometime during the time that I acquired my TiVo and the time that I left, they started the "you get the box with the service fee" deal. It is a bit of a better deal but not that much better. Also, TiVo support is absolutely the worst thing in the world. Navigating around on their site just gives the impression that they want their users and people trolling forums to answer all their customer questions for them.
So I get an HD set, and I'm a cable guy so I'm looking around at what my options are. TiVo wants me to spend 800 bucks on their (then current) HD recorder. Riiiight, not so much. I talk to my provider and here is what they will give me:
HD DVR - 1080i(p?) recording. 160 GB drive. Two tuner record and watch capability. Show listings. No advertisements in the UI. And it comes with HDMI Out and Optical audio out of the box. All for the fabulous low price of 5.95/mo with no money down. As an added bonus, it requires only three cables to hookup to a good HD TV - HDMI, Power Cord and Coax feed from the cable company.
I fail to see how TiVo can possibly remain relevant in the face of this overwhelming opposition. In my mind there is no way that that $300 and a monthly service fee can compete with the Cable guys option. As a personal point of irritation, paying for a service (apart from TV, which is a whole separate conversation) and then being advertised to is simply unacceptable.
My thought for TiVo when I made the switch is that TiVo needs to exit the hardware business ASAP and start licensing their technologies to the cable companies. I imagine a model similar to Direct TV would be good. The cable boxes that I've gotten from RCN and Comcast both could use some UI improvements (RCN is def. not as good as Comcast).
Either that or sell me a box and don't ask me for any more cash.