Tivo - experiences?

[PBMAX]

Yeah the monthly fees are drag even though it's flat fee for the whole house. ($4.95) So I can have as many tivos as I want at that price plus the price of the receiver card of course. You also don't have to use the schedule you can just set it to record manualy to some degree.

But I think the biggest factor for us is the convinience factor. If Im gamming, I'm not about to stop midstream to let the wife set up programs to record and so on...

Then again the Gamming system I would like to build would have the
ATI 9800xt ($499)/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Hence the reason I still game on the one I have.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I can build whole PC for the price of the one video card...../forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RanchMan]

<font color="blue">but the cost of just an additional drive to hold the data would be more than a Tivo unit. </font>

You don't have to get an additional hard drive to store the various programs. If you wanted extra capacity, you can get a respectable 90GB hard drive for $55 at Fry's. (they run pretty good sales on stuff regularly)

The real hardware costs come in with the tuner card and graphics card. *IF* one already has the PC with enough blank HD space and a compatible video card, the hardware cost is about the same between Tivo and a Sage type product.

<font color="blue"> Some things I want to be simple, even if it does cost a little more. </font>

I understand and agree. Sounds like Tivo is the route for you. I think the biggest point to make is that there is no single "right" answer for everyone (kindof like tractors). Some folks may like a PC based PVR, some folks may like Tivo/Replay, while others like the standard Hi-Fi VCR. All have their place based on an individual's priorities.

The only point of my initial post was to bring up a viable alternative to those considering the purchase of a Tivo, nothing more.

 

[RanchMan]

Yea - pretty crazy when the top line video card costs as much as an entire PC setup. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

The Sage setup definitely has some -'s to it, (i.e. the "convenience" one you bring up). 'Course for me, I tend to look at the "extras" you can do with it, hence my interest.

I can appreciate the desire for simplicity (fishman) and convenience. I find myself wanting stuff to "just work" a lot of the time too, but I've also wanted some additional features on the Sage stuff that you can't do (or easily do) with the Tivo/Replay stuff, hence my willingness to put up with some of the extra "hassles" associated with it.

Again, not a single right answer to be found. Regardless, they are all pretty neat products when you get down to it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PBMAX]

Yeay RanchMan you could do for good price and get plenty of enjoyment out both watching and building it.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I will most likely build one down the road. I have a hard enough time getting game time since I now have an ISP at home with only one PC running, but if I do I will use the ATI $79 TVcard.Hey I Like ATI.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

They use the same airborn programming that my 35"Sony picks up via standard ARIAL...(Rabbit Ears)... Its fairly accurate. Not sure though if it gets cable listing I have not looked at it in years.

While they charge $4.95 fro programming you think I could get away with $29.95 for the use of my phone jack and my personel info the are recording?
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[fishman]

Ranchman,

Thanks for the update on drive prices, they sure have come down in price! I have a 120 gb in my new system and it is barely adequate for transfering home movies to dvd. I have about 80% of the space remaining and that is good for only about 6 hours of video. Hard to mix and match with that handicap. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

However, once you drop that dvd in the carousel and watch the little ones running around, it's worth all the work. Grandma and grandpa agree too. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Now to see if I have any more space in this super computer I bought. . . /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[PBMAX]

Fisman I don't know if you buy PC parts online but try this one.Pricewatch
You can get some realy good pricing here. I used it often over the yrs and had good success. I just try to buy parts made by companies like Westen D or YAmaha and asus... Well known for quality.

For instance I found A Western Digital - ONLINE ORDER ONLY - - WD 160gb EIDE 160.0GB 7200RPM Western Digital for $92 and it seem to include shipping... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm considering an additional drive for my TIVO once the warranty is up and Ill probable by here...