|
|
#11
09-01-2006, 12:40 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] The few non-tivos I've seen, and the many I've read about, all lack some feature that tivo has. [/ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] The problem with improving their dvr's is tivo has patents on a lot of their features. [/ QUOTE ] Which features are you speaking of? Obviously I haven't seen these. [/ QUOTE ] Wishlists, I think. I can search for programs by title, keyword, subject, etc and save a wishlist and at any point in the future if tivo finds a program matching that criteria on any channel, it will record it. Or I can go to those saved wishlists at anytime and search for upcoming episodes across all channels. A coworker who has comcast or something says he can't even search for programs by title. He has to know when a show is on and what channel, and go through the grid to find and set it to record. I know there was something with my bro-in-law's directv-branded dvr, but I can't remember what. Probably similar to above example. 
|
|
#12
09-01-2006, 12:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Which features are you speaking of? Obviously I haven't seen these. [/ QUOTE ] Wishlists, I think. I can search for programs by title, keyword, subject, etc and save a wishlist and at any point in the future if tivo finds a program matching that criteria on any channel, it will record it. Or I can go to those saved wishlists at anytime and search for upcoming episodes across all channels. A coworker who has comcast or something says he can't even search for programs by title. He has to know when a show is on and what channel, and go through the grid to find and set it to record. [/ QUOTE ] I have a DVR from Time Warner that can do this. You can search by Name or Keyword, which is exactly what the Wishlist is on Tivo. I've had both (Tivo and Time Warner DVR) and the Tivo is definitely a better product. We use the Time Warner one because it has HD. The biggest difference for me is that the Time Warner unit will switch to the next that is "suppsed to be" recorded when you cancel a recording in the middle. Example: -Jeopardy and Seinfeld are recording -Laguna Beach is also supposed to record at this time, but is lower priority so it doesn't -I decided I want to watch Friends -I enter the channel and it asks me which program I want to stop recording -I select Jeopardy -The channel changes to Friends for a moment and the instantly changes to Laguna Beach and I have to go through the process over This can be very annoying sometimes when you have lots of shows on your recording list.
|
|
#13
09-01-2006, 12:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] The few non-tivos I've seen, and the many I've read about, all lack some feature that tivo has. [/ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] The problem with improving their dvr's is tivo has patents on a lot of their features. [/ QUOTE ] Which features are you speaking of? Obviously I haven't seen these. [/ QUOTE ] Wishlists, I think. I can search for programs by title, keyword, subject, etc and save a wishlist and at any point in the future if tivo finds a program matching that criteria on any channel, it will record it. Or I can go to those saved wishlists at anytime and search for upcoming episodes across all channels. [/ QUOTE ] I have a DirecTV brand DVR. You can search for programs. If you search for "Law & Order," it'll find all 937 airings this week and record them for you. DirecTV is definitely moving away from Tivo. I agree with the premise that the biggest worry Tivo has isn't that TV is going away, it's that other companies will have their own DVRs. Dish does it, DirecTV does it, Comcast does it. I'd guess that all cable companies will offer it eventually. And being able to buy it from them will be a convenience that Tivo can't match.
|
|
#14
09-01-2006, 01:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
IMO TiVo's one of the best ideas/products out there. I have two TiVo's and a cable-company-supplied DVR, and there's no comparison. The TiVo is SOOOOOO much more user friendly. My 11 year old and 8 year old can work it.
Also (as someone else mentioned) the Wishlist function (ability to search for shows based on keywords, topics, actors, directors, themes, etc) is (I believe) only available on TiVo. The other feature is the SEASON PASS. If I want to record 24, I can choose to record one episode, or the whole season. If I choose the season, it records 24. If one week it is moved to Wednesday night, TiVo knows that. If one week it is 2 hours, TiVo knows that as well. My other DVR records the channel/time slot, and does not follow the show (or at least I haven't been able to figure it out if it does do that). As for TiVo as a company/work environment/future? That I have no idea. I do know that there is a lot of patent litigation that they are going through which will probably dictate their future. I do know that when they started, they sold a "lifetime" subscription to their service as an option as opposed to the monthly or annual service plans they now offer. They no longer offer lifetime subscriptions, so they must have realized that the other service plan option is much more profitable. --Headhunter
|
|
#16
09-01-2006, 01:08 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
The other feature is the SEASON PASS. If I want to record 24, I can choose to record one episode, or the whole season. If I choose the season, it records 24. If one week it is moved to Wednesday night, TiVo knows that. If one week it is 2 hours, TiVo knows that as well. [/ QUOTE ] My Time Warner one does this.
|
|
#17
09-01-2006, 01:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
Cox Digital Cable's DVR out east in Rhode Island had all the functions you've listed about tivo.
I could search shows by topic/actor/title/etc. etc. I could record one eposide, or the entire season. I could also record every instance of a show, or just first runs. ...so the DVR I had so far seems to match the tivo features I'm seeing listed. Is this not the case with the DirecTV DVR that I'm about to get?
|
|
#18
09-01-2006, 01:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] The other feature is the SEASON PASS. If I want to record 24, I can choose to record one episode, or the whole season. If I choose the season, it records 24. If one week it is moved to Wednesday night, TiVo knows that. If one week it is 2 hours, TiVo knows that as well. [/ QUOTE ] My Time Warner one does this. [/ QUOTE ] as I said above, if Comcast/whoever wants, they can build a DVR as good as Tivo. How many "advanced" features are there? 5? 10? These are billion dollars companies we're talking about, and it's not that hard of a task (patents being more of an obstacle than a roadblock). I KNOW that Tivo is currently better than my Comcast DVR, but I like having 1 piece of equipment to everything. once Comcast is 80 - 90% as good as Tivo, Tivo won't have a chance. but WRT to your buddy working there, this isn't really an issue. it's not like he has to invest in the company or anything (I assume). if it's a good job and fits his short term/long term goals, then he should take it.
|
|
#19
09-01-2006, 01:29 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
Cox Digital Cable's DVR out east in Rhode Island had all the functions you've listed about tivo. I could search shows by topic/actor/title/etc. etc. I could record one eposide, or the entire season. I could also record every instance of a show, or just first runs. ...so the DVR I had so far seems to match the tivo features I'm seeing listed. Is this not the case with the DirecTV DVR that I'm about to get? [/ QUOTE ] As I posted above, DirecTV DVRs do all of those things also.
|
|
#20
09-01-2006, 01:31 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: TiVo
[ QUOTE ]
...so the DVR I had so far seems to match the tivo features I'm seeing listed. Is this not the case with the DirecTV DVR that I'm about to get? [/ QUOTE ] I wish I could remember what my bro-in-law was complaining that he couldn't do with his directv one... Does anyone know what exactly Dish Network's DVR did that was ruled to infringe on Tivo's patent? I know they were ordered to terminate their current dvr service as a result of a tivo suit.
|
 |
|
|
Linear Mode
