Not good enough for the general market - not by a long shot. Even MythTV, which has a nice UI, is still not as user friendly as the TiVo UI. And people complain that the TiVo UI isn't easy enough! Yes, the average consumer is a very low common denominator indeed.
It records using the DVD-V (DVD Video) standard - which is basically the system used by commercial DVDs. The only compatibility factor is laser reflectivity of the media - and that's usually only an issue on older players. (Some recorders use the DVD-VR, aka DVD Video Recording, standard - which only works on decks with DVD-VR support.)
Obviously someone who doesn't know DVRs. My TiVo's are paid for - no subscription fees. It is easier to program to record than any VCR I have ever used, which is a large number. And I can program it to record a series and NOT have to worry about schedule changes, etc. I can skip anything I want - FF faster than any VCR *and* 30 second skip. You can't edit on one VCR, and using one VCR to transfer to another is lossy. I can easily record to another medium - I have saved programs to VHS many times (about the only use my VCRs get these days). The source is also at a higher quality (I always use 'Best'). No hacking needed at all. If TiVo is the bicycle, the VCR is that stone unicycle from the B.C. comic.
I currently own 2 S2 TiVos with HMO - I'm already thinking of selling one and replacing it with one of these. As for HMO, TiVo has said that HMO will NOT be available on units running TiVo Basic. You have to play to upgrade to TiVo Plus *then* you can get HMO.
"The newly created DVD-R disc can be played back on most other automobile, home, portable DVD players and DVD-ROM computer drives."
That's where it said it - and TiVo has confirmed it in the forums.
As long as the DVD drive allows you to say when to stop and start recording, it's exactly like allowing editting.
I doubt it will do that though, DVD-R/RW doesn't really let you start/stop a recording readily. At first a DVD-R/RW burn had to be one continuous burn, period. No multi-session. I've seen things lately that indicate some recorders can do multi-session DVD-RW now.
Also, on the TiVoCommunity boards, in a thread about this, a TiVo rep indicated the format the unit records to the HD in has been changed for this product - they're recording things directly into DVD-V format, which, IIRC, specifies 4 different possible quality levels - in bitrate and resolution. So it sounds like it may do a file-copy from the HD to the DVD of the recording as is.
Of course, one of the press releases mentions basic editing - but in the context of editing things you transfer to the unit manually from the A/V in ports - sounds like they won't be letting you edit the standard 'off air' recordings.
Panasonic released a TV with a built in ShowStopper (licensed RTV) a while back - it wasn't a bit seller.
Personally I want LESS in my display - I want a display, period. I haven't used a tuner on a television in years - it has always just been displaying the signal from a cable box, VCR, LD, DVD, game system, TiVo, etc. Just sell me a display with video inputs (I don't even want sound - my main TV has been on mute for I don't know how long).
I upgrade my A/V components a LOT more often than my TV. My current main TV is a 32" 'near flat' model I picked up in 1994. I told myself when I got it that I'd keep it for 10 years, then get an HDTV - which I figured would be reasonable by then. I may end up switching to HDTV a bit early, but I'm close.:-)
I like that it is easier to find HDTV displays with no tuner and no sound.
The right answer is the ReplayTV strategy,
Keep in mind that is NOT the ReplayTV strategy - they have never endorsed programs like DVArchive. In fact, they've repeatedly tweaked the sharing format which breaks DVArchive until it is reverse engineered again. This is also why, currently, you cannot share shows between a 4k series and a 5k series RTV - they change the format and have never released an upgrade for the 4k.
D&M is removing the Send Show and Commercial Advance featues from the 5500 boxes. They're leaving them on the 4000, 4500, and 5000 - for now. Wait and see how the studios react - if they are passified by the removal of the features going forward, fine, if not - expect to see them removed in an 'update'.
I think that if the studios made any kind of fuss about it D&M would change the in-home streaming system to block 3rd party software. It can certainly be done, TiVo does so with their TiVo Guard system for sharing shows between units.
Which significantly increases the cost of the unit, and increases the loss when your Tivo becomes obsolete
Lifetime is $299, monthly is $12.95 - I know it is oversimplifying, but keep it for a couple of years and you're ahead. I've purchased lifetime on all three TiVos I've owned (I have 2 Series2 now, I sold my old Series1). And when I sold my Series1, which I'd also upgraded to 240GB and TurboNet, I got over $600 for it - which is almost the amount of money I sank into it *and* I had it for a year. (I bought it used myself).
That's not true. You can get a USB NIC and stream your Tivo videos to your computer using special software designed for it.
Bzzt. Incorrect. There is no extraction software for the Series2 at this time. The Series1 can be hacked with additional software and a TurboNet card to pull the streams into a PC. You can grab streams from an RTV using software like DVArchive and QVision - because RTV does jackshit to protect the stream when sharing. Sharing between TiVo's is encrypted and authenticated by digital certificates - they call it TiVo Guard.
As for the cost. Yes, they've already said RW is supported. And 'a few' is a LARGE number with decent RW discs.
I'm more than technically savvy enough to build a more capable solution - but I'll probably buy one of these, even if you can only dump the show as-is to DVD. I've been doing that with VHS since I got the TiVo, I never bother to edit out commercials - too tedious to bother with, I just don't care.
I wish the pricing was better, but I'm sure street will be lower than MSRP - and I'll wait a little bit for pricing to come down.
According to TiVo Reps the Toshiba TiVo unit is only a player - they do sell recorders but they do NOT use TiVo software. They're just digital time based recording.
Slashdot Mirror
Not good enough for the general market - not by a long shot. Even MythTV, which has a nice UI, is still not as user friendly as the TiVo UI. And people complain that the TiVo UI isn't easy enough! Yes, the average consumer is a very low common denominator indeed.
It records using the DVD-V (DVD Video) standard - which is basically the system used by commercial DVDs. The only compatibility factor is laser reflectivity of the media - and that's usually only an issue on older players. (Some recorders use the DVD-VR, aka DVD Video Recording, standard - which only works on decks with DVD-VR support.)
Obviously someone who doesn't know DVRs. My TiVo's are paid for - no subscription fees. It is easier to program to record than any VCR I have ever used, which is a large number. And I can program it to record a series and NOT have to worry about schedule changes, etc. I can skip anything I want - FF faster than any VCR *and* 30 second skip. You can't edit on one VCR, and using one VCR to transfer to another is lossy. I can easily record to another medium - I have saved programs to VHS many times (about the only use my VCRs get these days). The source is also at a higher quality (I always use 'Best'). No hacking needed at all. If TiVo is the bicycle, the VCR is that stone unicycle from the B.C. comic.
I currently own 2 S2 TiVos with HMO - I'm already thinking of selling one and replacing it with one of these. As for HMO, TiVo has said that HMO will NOT be available on units running TiVo Basic. You have to play to upgrade to TiVo Plus *then* you can get HMO.
"The newly created DVD-R disc can be played back on most other automobile, home, portable DVD players and DVD-ROM computer drives."
That's where it said it - and TiVo has confirmed it in the forums.
As long as the DVD drive allows you to say when to stop and start recording, it's exactly like allowing editting. I doubt it will do that though, DVD-R/RW doesn't really let you start/stop a recording readily. At first a DVD-R/RW burn had to be one continuous burn, period. No multi-session. I've seen things lately that indicate some recorders can do multi-session DVD-RW now. Also, on the TiVoCommunity boards, in a thread about this, a TiVo rep indicated the format the unit records to the HD in has been changed for this product - they're recording things directly into DVD-V format, which, IIRC, specifies 4 different possible quality levels - in bitrate and resolution. So it sounds like it may do a file-copy from the HD to the DVD of the recording as is. Of course, one of the press releases mentions basic editing - but in the context of editing things you transfer to the unit manually from the A/V in ports - sounds like they won't be letting you edit the standard 'off air' recordings.
Where "Some satellite systems" == DirecTV.
Panasonic released a TV with a built in ShowStopper (licensed RTV) a while back - it wasn't a bit seller. Personally I want LESS in my display - I want a display, period. I haven't used a tuner on a television in years - it has always just been displaying the signal from a cable box, VCR, LD, DVD, game system, TiVo, etc. Just sell me a display with video inputs (I don't even want sound - my main TV has been on mute for I don't know how long). I upgrade my A/V components a LOT more often than my TV. My current main TV is a 32" 'near flat' model I picked up in 1994. I told myself when I got it that I'd keep it for 10 years, then get an HDTV - which I figured would be reasonable by then. I may end up switching to HDTV a bit early, but I'm close. :-)
I like that it is easier to find HDTV displays with no tuner and no sound.
The right answer is the ReplayTV strategy, Keep in mind that is NOT the ReplayTV strategy - they have never endorsed programs like DVArchive. In fact, they've repeatedly tweaked the sharing format which breaks DVArchive until it is reverse engineered again. This is also why, currently, you cannot share shows between a 4k series and a 5k series RTV - they change the format and have never released an upgrade for the 4k. D&M is removing the Send Show and Commercial Advance featues from the 5500 boxes. They're leaving them on the 4000, 4500, and 5000 - for now. Wait and see how the studios react - if they are passified by the removal of the features going forward, fine, if not - expect to see them removed in an 'update'. I think that if the studios made any kind of fuss about it D&M would change the in-home streaming system to block 3rd party software. It can certainly be done, TiVo does so with their TiVo Guard system for sharing shows between units.
Which significantly increases the cost of the unit, and increases the loss when your Tivo becomes obsolete Lifetime is $299, monthly is $12.95 - I know it is oversimplifying, but keep it for a couple of years and you're ahead. I've purchased lifetime on all three TiVos I've owned (I have 2 Series2 now, I sold my old Series1). And when I sold my Series1, which I'd also upgraded to 240GB and TurboNet, I got over $600 for it - which is almost the amount of money I sank into it *and* I had it for a year. (I bought it used myself). That's not true. You can get a USB NIC and stream your Tivo videos to your computer using special software designed for it. Bzzt. Incorrect. There is no extraction software for the Series2 at this time. The Series1 can be hacked with additional software and a TurboNet card to pull the streams into a PC. You can grab streams from an RTV using software like DVArchive and QVision - because RTV does jackshit to protect the stream when sharing. Sharing between TiVo's is encrypted and authenticated by digital certificates - they call it TiVo Guard. As for the cost. Yes, they've already said RW is supported. And 'a few' is a LARGE number with decent RW discs. I'm more than technically savvy enough to build a more capable solution - but I'll probably buy one of these, even if you can only dump the show as-is to DVD. I've been doing that with VHS since I got the TiVo, I never bother to edit out commercials - too tedious to bother with, I just don't care. I wish the pricing was better, but I'm sure street will be lower than MSRP - and I'll wait a little bit for pricing to come down.
According to TiVo Reps the Toshiba TiVo unit is only a player - they do sell recorders but they do NOT use TiVo software. They're just digital time based recording.