1) It's worth the $300, you may be able to find a place giving out $100 off discounts..

2) I have the 1 year subscription for $100, I don't know how long I will actualy have the current TiVo revision.. so i figgure I should go year by year

3) as someone else said.. it comes with a _huge_ 50' phone line cable.. but as far as I can tell (havn't checked since I got 2.0 upgrade) it dials out every night. (but for a very short period of time)

12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

I'd hate to argue with rob, but I _love_ my TiVo. and from what I've seen in stores, replay didn't seem all that cool. but I look at it this way..

Cisco systems had no wireless gear, so they bought Aironet.. now Aironet itself was not that great a wireless company, (they were on the bottom of the list for 802.11 gear) but cisco added a lot of good stuff to their gear, and now have a decent product. I still don't think the cisco stuff is as good as the lucent gear.. but time will tell.

SonicBlue could do the same for replay.. take an existing tech, and improve it to the point of being worth something.

I hope they do well, I want to see a software feature fight between them and TiVo :) yay for compeitition!

12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

actualy.. the TiVo "1.1" equivalent.. TiVo 2.0 software was rolled out recently.. and it added all of the missing features that I wanted.. the bigest one to date was the ability to have 2 "season passes" that conflicted sometimes, and prioritze which one would get recorded. :) :)

as far as inputs go, I use my yamaha reciver as my central A/V switcher, and I use a radio shack composit -> RF converter to get the ol Philco attached to the system (yea.. i know, the thing is old, and sucks.. but it still works, and I can't afford a new TV yet :)

12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

actualy.. the TiVo "1.1" equivalent.. TiVo 2.0 software was rolled out recently.. and it added all of the missing features that I wanted.. the bigest one to date was the ability to have 2 "season passes" that conflicted sometimes, and prioritze which one would get recorded. :) :)



Oh, I'm not going to deny that is was rolled out... After a HELL of a wait, and promises. It still shipped with bugs, like any software product out there. There has already been one meta patch developed and in the process of rolling out (the resolution bug), and there is still the VERY big issue of the stammering/stuttering on many units, hacked and unhacked.

But overall, it's a hell of an improvement.

The alpha testers are the only ones seeing 1.1 now... Which is not a bitch in and of itself, just an observation on the state of things. To the general public, 1.1 is a mythical promise. I have no doubts it will come true, it's just the waiting for it that's the problem... esp. when every other post surrounding wishlists and bugs seems to be "It's in 1.1"

(RANT) Even Kit's wonderful hack of the clock into 1.02 was met immediately with a "This is in 1.1" post. That's wonderful, I'm glad to hear it, but "It's in 1.1" doesn't address the fact that the public doesn't HAVE 1.1. Kit came up with a hack that helped people NOW. Repeating the 1.1 mantra just wears sometimes. (/RANT)

Gee... I'm glad there isn't a zealous moderator around this place...

I just can't understand the concept of having a TiVo and an empeg AND a crappy TV... One of these things doesn't match the others....... One of these things isn't the same.... You know the song, JOIN IN!



Wow... too much Caffeine. MUCH too much...

3) It comes with 50' of telephone line, and only calls out once or twice a week. You can even make it call out on demand, so you can plug in the line, make the call, then coil the line back up.



By default, it will try to dial every night. HOWEVER.....


MAJOR OFF TOPIC, but really cool...

Since it is running Linux, you can hack about a change for this. All at a very much voiding your warranty cost, but HEY... On the front edge of the tivo motherboard is a diagnostic connector. It's in effect a reversed pci/isa connector. Tridge of Samba fame reverse engineered this connector, and published the plans that allow you to hook up a network card to the box.

Now..... You don't need a phone line, just a Cat-5 jack (which seem to be in much greater abundance around my place than the phone lines). Hack the software for the dialout a very little bit (basically killing the modem script) and then the TiVo will connect to the main servers via your existing network connection (ala Cable/ DSL/ ISDN)

Make the downloads much quicker, don't have to worry about tying up the phone line... HAVING a phone line. (I'm Cellular only now.. aside from my broadband connections) Plus, it allows you to Telnet to a Bash prompt on your VCR.

How cool is that?

haha.. yea.. I know.. the crappy TV is still there because it works, and I blew most of my budjet on the audio systems empeg, speakers, amp for the car.. reciver, speakers, sub, DVD player, etc for the house..
I'm currently waiting for HDTV to mature a bit before I retire the philco.. well.. it's not really my TV either.. and when I move out in august, i will no longer have a TV.. maybe then I'll get my 46" HD Mitsubish rear projector :)


12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

I'd hate to argue with rob, but I _love_ my TiVo. and from what I've seen in stores, replay didn't seem all that cool. but I look at it this way..



I'm certainly with you on this one. Widely considered to be better? BY WHOM?

Tivo ROCKS... Even with the problems they have had. It STILL Rocks. Maybe SB can bring RePlay to the front of Tivo, but it's going to have to be a HELL of a lot better than it is now before you'll get me to change my remote.

maybe then I'll get my 46" HD Mitsubish rear projector :)



Take a gander at the Pioneer Elites. That is certainly going to be my next purchase after I get a new house.

I haven't seen visual quality on a consumer projection system like that... EVER.

It's really worth the look... until you see the price tag and realize that you aren't going to be happy without one.

Gee... I'm glad there isn't a zealous moderator around this place....

There's one in v1.1 .



Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

In reply to:

---

Gee... I'm glad there isn't a zealous moderator around this place....

There's one in v1.1 .



Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

---

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.....

Both I think.

Make the downloads much quicker, don't have to worry about tying up the phone line... HAVING a phone line. (I'm Cellular only now.. aside from my broadband connections) Plus, it allows you to Telnet to a Bash prompt on your VCR.

Good to know this is possible, as I have been GSM cellular only for a while now. Is this also true on the DirecTV TiVo? After owning a DishPlayer, I can't see myself going to a normal TiVo or other box. I much prefer the integration for things like this when the quality wins because of it.

Now, I just need a new PVR from Dish, since I still can't justify switching to DirecTV, since so many of the shows I record aren't on that provider. I did hear rumors from a Dish tech that the results of the ReplayTV thing Dish announced a while back are going to be out later this year. I'm really hoping it was true, because he talked about 3 different levels of units, one with external storage to easially add more storage.

Good to know this is possible, as I have been GSM cellular only for a while now. Is this also true on the DirecTV TiVo? After owning a DishPlayer, I can't see myself going to a normal TiVo or other box. I much prefer the integration for things like this when the quality wins because of it.


I'm NOT sure about the directivo. I THINK it has the connector, but I don't know for sure. The problem with the Directv box is it is of significant enough difference from the standalone's that many things don't work the same.

I've got one of the Dishplayers... Personally, I'm of the opinion it's a piece of [censored]. I've canceled the PTV features on the thing, and pass it through to a TiVo. Twice a week I've got to go in and clear the damn TiVo because the dishplayer has decided to reboot and stay at that opening screen for 7+ programs. Great idea for a device, but the implementation... Well, It's MS, so what should I have expected? I'm SOOO ready to toss the damn think in front of a shotgun.

I sure hope Dish gets their act together about the integrations... I don't want to go back to Directv either, but those integrated Tivos look so good.

I'm using the electrical-socket phone jack. It works just fine for the TiVo. I've been using it without issues for 6 months. The wiring in my house is less than a year old though.

-Jeremy

Mk2/40GB/Blue

yes, i have looked at pioneer elite's.. they are really nice.. and _really_ out of my price range.. I personaly can't justify spending $5000 or so on a TV.. I have a personal spending limit of about $2500, which is right where the mitsubishi fits in. the elite also doesn't come any smaller than a 53" box.. I currently have a decent size living room, but having anything larger than a 46" (i'd love a 35-40" wide box) takes up too much room, and would reduce the airspace around my definative speakers.. (they need it to really sound good)

12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

I'm happy with my Mitsubishi 46" HDTV.

If you're interested in finding out all about the Mits TVs, go to the Mitsubishi forum at http://www.hometheaterspot.com. The folks there have the best information about the sets.

___________
Tony Fabris

oh.. excelent.. thanks.. I wish I had the money to spend on a new TV right now, but I'm moving to detroit in august. I need all the money I can spare to support myself untill I find a job out there. besides the fact that the place I'm moving to isn't all that large, and has bitchy old ladies living on the floor below that complain to the association management if you turn up your PC speakers too loud.
hehe.. :)

12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

I've got one of the Dishplayers... Personally, I'm of the opinion it's a piece of [censored].

I've had no major problems, just once it wiped all my programming, but I have herd it's due to the larger disk I put in and the software glitching when it got too full. I've owned mine since they came out, so who knows what happened.

Thanks for the advice about the hack, synergy! That would work perfectly for me!

my problem was that when they were wiring my place, they put a CAT5 jack behind the TV like we asked, but they put another one nearby where we had asked for a phone line. That guy was an idiot. sorry.

Anyway, do you think this is doable for a non-techie like me?

Why the hell didn't they build this into the Tivo box in the first place, anyway?

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

Are the Cat-5's wired to a patch bay? If so, you can plug the other end of the Cat-5 outlet you want into the telephone wiring. Cat-5 is perfectly capable of carying at least 2 telephone lines. If all your outlets meet in a patch bay, usually in the basement or somewhere out-of-the-way, you can fix the connection to phone there. How are your Cat-5 outlets wired?
Jason

_~= Dearing =~_
"WAY too happy about having #99."

There's definitely no phone jack in my bathroom

That's where all my wiring runs to. It's just a closet. They do come into a patch block, then go to a hub, but there's no phone jack there.

Thanks for the idea, though.

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

...VCR is always on, sending RF to TV chan. 3.

Can't do that, because the VCR has to be Off in order for the VCR timer to record programs at the same time as the TiVo is recording when there are conflicts. This is why I wanted the dual-tuner TiVo I had heard about. Incidentally, the VCR does NOT put out a signal through the RF output unless I specifically tell it to do so; whereas there is no way to stop the TiVo's RF out.

Incidentally, has your TV got a SCART connector?

Nope. It has the RF (co-axial) input, and it has a place to connect spade terminals for rabbit-ear antenna, and that's it. Maybe it's time to get a new TV set, one that doesn't always show a green splotch right in the middle of the screen?

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Widely considered to be better? BY WHOM?

Ditto!

I haven't seen the RePlay TV software, but I have a hard time imagining it could be better than TiVo.

Anybody trying to design a user interface for the general public would be well advised to study the TiVo. They have taken some very complex tasks and made them so intuitive that most people can operate the system without any instruction at all. Even (dare I say it? Do I need asbestos underwear now) empeg could learn a trick or two from TiVo.

tanstaafl.



"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

I haven't seen the RePlay TV software

Not much point continuing with this thread then, eh?

Even [...] empeg could learn a trick or two from TiVo.

We do have Tivos here, but I'm not entirely sure that the UI translates to a 128x32 VFD and credit card sized remote control..

Rob

There's definitely no phone jack in my bathroom
OK, I see. Just in case you're really serious about wanting a phone line, those patch bays work both ways-- You could wire any Cat-5 jack that IS close to a phone jack into any jack that's not, just match up the colors.

_~= Dearing =~_
"WAY too happy about having #99."

In reply to:

---

I haven't seen the RePlay TV software

Not much point continuing with this thread then, eh?

---

I HAVE seen the replay software, as well as the hardware implementations... The panasonic POS for one. I still don't think it's a match for 2.0.1 of the TiVo service. Of course, it's pretty off topic here anyways, and I really don't want to get into a war over who is better. I also realize that as a SB employee, if you openly indicate a competitor as better it might cause some ripples...

My whole point on this was the statement "Widely considered to be better". In the circles I've read/listened and viewed, it's exactly the opposite. My own experiences with both also reflect this.

I do agree with you in the UI being an apple and orange situation, in relation to the empeg.


Unless 1.1 is going to be including that functionality as well? (couldn't resist.)

Unless 1.1 is going to be including that functionality as well?

hehe, that would be neat. Have the empeg use RDS to record radio songs and programs it thinks you would be interested in based on the contents of your music collection

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

I can't seem to find it ANYWHERE for less than about $300.

Take a look here you might find some pricing you can live with.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

I got a UK Tivo using Sky Digital. I read an article a while ago that reckoned I could boost the basic 40GB drive up to 80GB by adding another 40 but I haven't delved into the box yet. This thread has aroused my curiosity so it looks like I might be doing this quite soon. One thing that did catch my eye on these posts was a comment about it going 'slow' when the drive starts to fill. I do occassionally get some sort of jitter on programmes. Is this the same thing do you think?

_______________________

Steve - 18GB Mk II Amber

Help! This stinks, I just got into the postition to be able to buy a Tivo, but now the refurb at AVOutfitters is out of stock

I suppose that's okay, becaue I was thinking of getting the 60 hr model instead. Can anyone tell me if there's a difference beyond storage capacity and more chrome on the face?

Also, where's the lowest price people have found for one of these. It's listed almost everywhere at $600. The lowest I've found is here

Thanks for the help!


ps-an even tougher question, where's the cheapest place to buy Monster cable? I'm sick of my Radio Shack s***

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

Regarding monster cable, you might consider partsexpress.com for your various cable needs. I've been really happy with them so far.

High quality Phoenix Gold banana plugs are 1/4 the Monster Cable price. I also like the Phoenix Gold Balanced RCA patch cables and Acoustic Research SVIDEO cables. The prices are usually 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Monster Cable.

-Hoagy.