# Blue Ridge Communications Tivo Deal



## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Just figured our PA members here that Have Blue Ridge services for something other then TV looks like you'll be happy to hear that a Whole Home DVR option (from Tivo) will be an option in starting in 2014.

Currently anyone whom had Cable TV with Blue ridge had Limited Function using Tivo's instead of the Cisco boxes that are supplied.
And Whole Home has been out of the loop all together.

Seems those days may be over.

http://www.twice.com/articletype/news/blue-ridge-cable-adds-tivo-systems/109155

http://www.cedmagazine.com/news/2013/11/tivo-lines-up-blue-ridge-for-whole-home-dvr

*Blue Ridge will use TiVo's T6 DVR, a model with six tuners. It will also rely on TiVo's cloud-based service, HD set-top boxes for non-DVR households (TiVo Preview), as well as the TiVo Mini, the TiVo Stream, a TiVo web portal, and TiVo mobile applications for iOS and Android mobile devices*

If I find out anymore info on Pricing and Specs, they will surely get posted.

Its nice to see we may have other options. Can't wait to see what this will cost.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Just figured our PA members here that Have Blue Ridge services for something other then TV looks like you'll be happy to hear that a Whole Home DVR option (from Tivo) will be an option in starting in 2014.
> 
> Currently anyone whom had Cable TV with Blue ridge had Limited Function using Tivo's instead of the Cisco boxes that are supplied.
> And Whole Home has been out of the loop all together.
> ...


As it is now, BRC cost more than DTV, so I would guess their new Tivo stuff will be even more expensive.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Never know, their biggest expense is them equipment fees. 

Sent from my PantechP8010 using DBSTalk mobile app


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Never know, their biggest expense is them equipment fees. Sent from my PantechP8010 using DBSTalk mobile app


Normally they raise cost without upgrading, and you expect them to keep the cost when upgrading. Okay, we shall see...


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Update, Tivo installs Starting in June of 2014

And also a possible Comcast deal that would buy Blue ridge communications.
Not sure when , or if it will happen. But if it does I'm not sure if that's good or bad.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

http://investorplace.com/2014/04/nflx-netflix-makes-deal-come-cable-boxes/#.U10umFfWh00

Netflix will be available on Blue ridge cable Tivo boxes


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Still no pricing, or exact date the Tivo will be offered. 

Sent from my Galaxy S5


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay the prices are in For Tivo T6 ( Roamio plus)
$19.95 for the first, including dvr service.
Every one after that is $19.95 +5.95 outlet charge.
Minis are $5.95 each no matter what.

The regular HD Dvrs, are $9.95 for the first, and $15.90 for every DVR after that.

4 rooms of Tivo (1 T6 and 3 Minis) $37.80 in fees, Thats whole home and 6 tuners. 150 HD recording hours and support of Netflix and Hulu.

4 rooms of Tivo with (2 T6s and 2 minis)First T6 $19.95,2nd T6 $25.90 and 2 Minis at $5.95 each $11.90 )Total $57.75 and includes 12 tuners and 300 HD recording hours. 

4 rooms of CISCO 2 tuner HD DVRS ( First $9.95, and 3 at $15.90 each )$57.65 8 tuners No whole home and a total of 100 hd recording hours @ 20 Hours each.

So Blue ridge has just gotten way more affordable.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Are you including the $4.00 primary set-top charge and $5.95 for each additional set-top? What do you know about their Tivo units?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

The $4 HD service is not included. 
But the rest of the fees includes Digital outlet fees.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I know alot about them. The are the exact same model as a Roamio Plus. 

I have 2 T6s, 2 minis, 1 regular HD box, and 2 anolog outlets. 

They do support Netflix service, as well as full VOD


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Here is my comparison from my other thread.

"Okay since my install is now less than a week away, I figured I would show you the 3 price comparisons for Owning your own Tivo with Free liftime service, Vs leasing from Provider and Directvs cost.

Leased Tivos From Blue Ridge Communications

* Tivo T6 ( Roamio Plus) $19.95
* 2nd T6 $19.95 +5.95 digital outlet charge
* Tivo Mini $5.95
* Tivo Mini $5.95
* Standard HD box $5.95
* 3 standard outlet charges $1.50
* $65.20 for Equipment
* Digital HD Plus(top package)$95.06
* HBO ,Starz $26.50
* 6% sales tax $11.21 (other tax fees, another $4)$15.21
* Subtotal $197.97
* 15 Mbps Internet(non taxed) $52.95
* Grand total* $250.91*
* $65 per month credits, Not including free premiums for 6 months :grin:
* Year one _*$185.91*_

Includes Netflix, VOD access ,free protection and service calls, upgrades and free digital equipment swaps, No commitment best of all 13 tuners, more HD channels that don't consist of RSNs
about 10 more locals channels 3 more in HD.
If I need a receiver swap , it 20 minutes away 6 days a week.

Owning my 2 Tivo Roamio Pluses and 3 Minis with Lifetime services with 3 year warranty
$2436.88 
It will take me 40 months just to break even on equipment fees, programming discounts and or any rates are the same.
but no Netflix ready boxes, no VOD supported ,and no service calls and if I want a New upgraded box I have to pay for it.
And still have to pay $5.95 for Each Cable Card per month.
And in 40 months from now, am I going to want a 3 year old receiver? is it even going to work after 3 year warranty is up?
No thanks!

Now Directv
My recently deactivated setup

* HR34 $25
* C31 $6
* HR24 $6
* HR23 $6
* H25 $6
* RSN fee $3.63
* Protection Plan $7.99
* Subtotal $60.62 on Equipment and Fees
* Choice Ultimate $81.99
* HBO and Starz $30
* HD extra pack $4.99
* 6% sales tax $10.66
* Total $188.26
* Blue Ridge 15 Mbps internet, non cable tv subscriber price. $67.95
* Grand total *$256.21*

Thats 10 tuners, Swim 16, CCKs, PI, 2 Splitters Wont do multiple Genies
VOD is poor, HR34 has been called for service 3 times and never swapped out. Customer service refuses to swap out current HR34 customers to HR44,
Upgrades only when they feel like it, all require 24 month commitments, and you don't really have a say on what you get.
But Directv has been reliable overall."


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

How do the Tivo units sound, meaning how quiet are they? I have the HR44 Genie and I don't hear it at all. I also have 2 minis. I don't need all the premium stations, just HBO is fine for me. I did see a very nice BRC package with HDTV Basic+ including Showtime for a few dollars more.

The most important thing outside of price for me is how quiet the units are. Whole Home is nice but with just my wife and I here now, it's just not that big of a deal. So how quiet are the Tivos?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

They are quiet, but I didn't think my HR34 or 24 was loud, but others seem to think so.

I think the Tivos are whisper quiet, but you may want to ask someone else that question. 
I have A T6 in my Living room and my bedroom, and I've never noticed any noises.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

I am interested but will have to wait. The Dish buy-back thing doesn't apply to Tivo units at this time, perhaps in 6 months. Anyway, I have too much time left with DTV to do anything now, maybe around April.

I know BRC's DVR doesn't have a fan, Tivo unit? If it does, do you hear it in a quiet room?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I didn't do the dish buy back either, I'm just going to pay my ETF November 1st.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Looking at the remote, I really prefer DTV's approach better. Actually, I like the appearance of DTV's remote and DVR better. I can well understand cost versus appearance, especially in my case having BRC for phone and internet. However, I'm not sure Tivo T6 is as quiet as my HR44. Of course, I could put the T6 in another area and use mini in my den. How do the minis connect to T6? Is it via BRC going to each and then internet or another way?

I did read of someone complaining of fan noise with the Roamio Basic. He eventually disconnected the fan and left the top off to solve issue.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

The Minis have no moving parts so they are dead silent. The Roamios are very quiet (I have to put my ear within an inch or two to hear the ticking of the drive heads moving). I don't hear the fan, ever.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> The Minis have no moving parts so they are dead silent. The Roamios are very quiet (I have to put my ear within an inch or two to hear the ticking of the drive heads moving). I don't hear the fan, ever.


Thanks for the information. Are the Minis as functional as Roamio when using channel guide? I have noticed Genies do not operate as fast, noticeable difference, compared to HR44.

When you say an inch or two, I assume there is no TV sound and room is very quiet.

FIOS is not available in my area, so it's either a dish on roof or Cable.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

I perceive no difference whatsoever between the Mini and being in front of the Roamio (except for the ability to watch downloaded Amazon content, but that's a copyright enforcement issue - and there is a workaround). Even trickplay is identical (which it never was on the Genie Mini).

Yes, that's in a quiet room. Both of our Roamios are in cabinets with doors - I have to open the doors and stick my head inside the cabinet above the Raomio to hear anything, and then it is a very soft sound. I'm an old lady, so younger ears may be able to hear the drive motor or fan, but you'd have to both very close to the unit and be trying to hear the faintest sounds. If you have central air conditioning the air coming through the register makes WAY more noise than a Roamio.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Diana C, on 24 Oct 2014 - 4:41 PM, said:
> 
> I perceive no difference whatsoever between the Mini and being in front of the Roamio (except for the ability to watch downloaded Amazon content, but that's a copyright enforcement issue - and there is a workaround). Even trickplay is identical (which it never was on the Genie Mini).
> 
> Yes, that's in a quiet room. Both of our Roamios are in cabinets with doors - I have to open the doors and stick my head inside the cabinet above the Raomio to hear anything, and then it is a very soft sound. I'm an old lady, so younger ears may be able to hear the drive motor or fan, but you'd have to both very close to the unit and be trying to hear the faintest sounds. If you have central air conditioning the air coming through the register makes WAY more noise than a Roamio.


Sounds good. I imagine you open the doors when using Roamio, because ventilation is necessary. Are you able to access internet on your Minis? I am interested only for On Demand material, such as movies and sporting events.

Yes, I have central air conditioning, just as important as watching television


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Minis with blueridge have full VOD , And Netflix.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Actually, we never open the doors...one cabinet is open in back and the other has mesh inserts in the doors. Never had any heat problems, going all the way back to the first DirecTV HD DVR. We are on FiOS so no VOD, but the Minis have access to all the same OTT services as the Roamio (except Amazon, temporarily).


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Actually, we never open the doors...one cabinet is open in back and the other has mesh inserts in the doors. Never had any heat problems, going all the way back to the first DirecTV HD DVR. We are on FiOS so no VOD, but the Minis have access to all the same OTT services as the Roamio (except Amazon, temporarily).


Are you leasing Roamio or purchased it?

I have too much time left with DTV to make a switch now, perhaps in the future. I must say from what you and diamondlt have said, Roamio with Minis look like a very viable alternative.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

We purchased our Roamios. By doing so, in combination with Verizon's triple play discounts for service, we save about $120 per month versus what we were paying for DirecTV's Premier tier and fees plus FIOS for broadband and phone (almost half of the savings is through not having to pay "outlet fees" for each TV). That get us to break even on the purchase price of the TiVos in about 14 months so our two year savings is $1200 and we save $1440 per year after that, at least until we decide to replace the Roamios with something else.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> We purchased our Roamios. By doing so, in combination with Verizon's triple play discounts for service, we save about $120 per month versus what we were paying for DirecTV's Premier tier and fees plus FIOS for broadband and phone (almost half of the savings is through not having to pay "outlet fees" for each TV). That get us to break even on the purchase price of the TiVos in about 14 months so our two year savings is $1200 and we save $1440 per year after that, at least until we decide to replace the Roamios with something else.


I've been waiting a long time for FIOS, but it never comes. We are in a small town and not likely to see FIOS for many years, if ever!

Anyway, Roamios have worked out well for you and damondlt, maybe next year it will do the same for me


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yep not one hiccup yet.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 28 Oct 2014 - 12:38 PM, said:
> 
> Yep not one hiccup yet.


I particularly like what she said about the Roamio Minis performing like T6 in regards to channel surfing, including the Guide. Now that is one area HR44 Minis need improvement. I must say I am surprised Roamio Minis outperform HR44 Minis in that area.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Tivo Minis out perform any HR I've ever used.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 28 Oct 2014 - 5:08 PM, said:
> 
> Tivo Minis out perform any HR I've ever used.


Have you used the HR44?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yep, my sister currently has one, and she is on her 2nd one in less than 6 months due to failed Hard drive. 
By no means am I impressed over its performance. 
She also suffered the deleted recordings bug, along with the constant mini disconnect issues that, I've even seen here by a few posters.

So while HR44 might be Directv's best receiver, it certainly is not nearly as stable as The Roamios or its minis.

Once I had a good chance to play with that HR44, it wasn't up to the hype brought on here. 
Which is what sealed the deal with Blue Ridge.

I'm going to have a full review on my take of these Roamios real soon. 
I keep finding more and more things as I go.
I have a few I don't like, but you'll have to wait. Lol.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 28 Oct 2014 - 6:33 PM, said:
> 
> Yep, my sister currently has one, and she is on her 2nd one in less than 6 months due to failed Hard drive.
> By no means am I impressed over its performance.
> ...


Looking forward to your review...be honest! Tell the bad stuff, too


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Oh I will! Lol.
My first complaint , the Minis are ugly. 
C31/41 are way better looking IMO. But that's just being picky lol.

I don't like Blue Ridge cable's messy channel line up. Totally unorganized.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> I particularly like what she said about the Roamio Minis performing like T6 in regards to channel surfing, including the Guide. Now that is one area HR44 Minis need improvement. I must say I am surprised Roamio Minis outperform HR44 Minis in that area.


The TiVo Minis are designed completely differently from the DirecTV Minis. The DirecTV units use RVU, which is a protocol to allow a host device (a Genie in this case) to drive a UI on a remote device. This means that the UI is sent, in real time, across the coax or ethernet connection. So, when a new screen is to be displayed it gets shipped over from the Genie (some menus are driven locally, but most of what you interact with regularly comes from the DVR). As a consequence, there are very few software updates for the DirecTV Minis (there were more when they first came out, but the pace has slowed dramatically).

The Tivo Minis only get the video content from the DVR (live or recorded); all the of the UI is driven from the Mini itself. As a result, the Minis get software updates along with the DVRs (Tivo does software updates 4 times a year). This makes the TiVo Minis much faster since you skip a step (no RVU translation) and a trip across the LAN for every screen.

Once the current update (the last for 2014) is fully deployed the Roamio and Minis will support, in addition to standard set top box and DVR functions, Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Vudu, Hulu Plus, YouTube, MLB TV plus several others all in one unit. The biggest downside to TiVo is the need for cablecards (to decrypt the cable channels). Many cable operators are not good about their cablecard support and it can sometimes be a hassle to get a TiVo set up and working. Verizon FiOS TV and Comcast both are pretty good about cablecards but it took the installer who came to do our install 2 hours to get the cards both authorized (which was easy) AND paired (which was the hard part, but required for copy protected channels).


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

damondlt said:


> Oh I will! Lol.
> My first complaint , the Minis are ugly.
> C31/41 are way better looking IMO. But that's just being picky lol.
> 
> I don't like Blue Ridge cable's messy channel line up. Totally unorganized.


Yes, they are (they are like pyramids with the top half sliced off) but they are all mounted behind the TV (as were the DirecTV minis) so who cares? 










Verizon's channel lineup is screwy too. The biggest things I miss from DirecTV is having HD channels on the same numbers as the SD equivalents. Verizon, like most cable companies) put the HD channels in a different range (500 and up). The result is that the SD only channels are no where near the HD channels. The result is that we never watch any SD content. Of course, DirecTV's SD was so bad we never watched any on DirecTV, but Verizon's SD is quite good, so if we could get them integrated in the guide, we might watch some of them.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Yes, they are (they are like pyramids with the top half sliced off) but they are all mounted behind the TV (as were the DirecTV minis) so who cares?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How do you connect to Roamio and Minis? Is the Ethernet jack for internet?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

The eithernet on the minis I believe is for Internet but only if your Server is Not a Roamio Plus or Pro


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

The Minis can attach to a host DVR either via MOCA (like DirecTV's DECA, this works over the coax) or via Ethernet (handy to put a Mini in a room with no coax cable). TiVo doesn't have wireless Minis, but many people have also reported that using a wireless bridge works (TiVo doesn't support wireless because they don't want to have to troubleshoot peoples' wireless LANs and they haven't built a dedicated bridge like DirecTV did). You would use one or the other, not both for any given Mini.

The Minis also no longer carry a separate service fee...you just buy one (list is $150) and you can hook it up and go.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

It just gets better and better. Hopefully we'll have Amazon Prime and Vudu tonight.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay another spoiler, I don't like that the minis can't create a custom/favorites list.
Directv wins that one.
But the options that are available are way advanced on the Tivo and work Flawlessly and extremely quick.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Yep, and you can customize the CIG, for searches as an example. 

And the App can inherit the favorites list. 

The App is a jewel in the setup, along with the Slider Pro keyboard remote.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes I was able to create a custom list for the main boxes, but the minis only use what's programed to their server.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Okay another spoiler, I don't like that the minis can't create a custom/favorites list.
> Directv wins that one.
> But the options that are available are way advanced on the Tivo and work Flawlessly and extremely quick.





damondlt said:


> Yes I was able to create a custom list for the main boxes, but the minis only use what's programed to their server.


That is bad, very bad. The favorites list is a biggie.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I agree, but I tend to over look things that that when everything is fast smooth. 
Also it's cool that you can see what every tuner is doing at all times. That's neat.
HD PQ hands down better than directv.
Can't tell me Directv's is the same or better than it was. NO WAY!


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Funny, I always want the favorites list for all 7 TV's in the house to be the same and consistent so this actually made it easier for me. Different strokes for ...


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

damondlt said:


> Yes I was able to create a custom list for the main boxes, but the minis only use what's programed to their server.


Do minis allow separate implementation of parental controls? Can you block some additional channels from the guide via parental controls on the minis?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Haven't tried that, but cable channel blocks, usually only do just that, block the channel but don't remove it from the guide.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

So TiVo sucks like directv in that regard..


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> I agree, but I tend to over look things that that when everything is fast smooth.
> Also it's cool that you can see what every tuner is doing at all times. That's neat.
> HD PQ hands down better than directv.
> Can't tell me Directv's is the same or better than it was. NO WAY!


What do you mean by that, seeing what every tuner is doing?



Sixto said:


> Funny, I always want the favorites list for all 7 TV's in the house to be the same and consistent so this actually made it easier for me. Different strokes for ...


Ah, so you setup one favorites list on Roamio and all the Minis pick it up?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

When you hit info, it shows you what your tuners are buffering.
Or what ones are being used by a mini.

There is favorites list, but only on the Roamios. 
And any mini that is hooked to the Roamio will use the same favorites list.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> What do you mean by that, seeing what every tuner is doing?
> 
> Ah, so you setup one favorites list on Roamio and all the Minis pick it up?


All 6 tuners are buffered 24x7, thus any time that you turn on the TV all 6 tuners have a buffer. At any time you can hit the LIVETV button on the remote and toggle through the 6 tuners/ buffers. You can also hit the right arrow or INFO, and hit the down arrow on the INFO screen, and it will display what channel is buffering on the other 5 tuners. You then can scroll down and select the specific tuner. It's awesome. Lots of uses, wake up, either watch a recording or catch a show that's already buffering or bounce between different games all being buffered, or record them and have the full game in every buffer, all easily selectable.

For the favorites, yes, change it once and they all inherit, including the iPhone/iPad App. The App is very sweet.

My signature has lots of other stuff.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Sixto said:


> All 6 tuners are buffered 24x7, thus any time that you turn on the TV all 6 tuners have a buffer. At any time you can hit the LIVETV button on the remote and toggle through the 6 tuners/ buffers. You can also hit the right arrow or INFO, and hit the down arrow on the INFO screen, and it will display what channel is buffering on the other 5 tuners. You then can scroll down and select the specific tuner. It's awesome. Lots of uses, wake up, either watch a recording or catch a show that's already buffering or bounce between different games all being buffered, or record them and have the full game in every buffer, all easily selectable.
> 
> For the favorites, yes, change it once and they all inherit, including the iPhone/iPad App. The App is very sweet.
> 
> My signature has lots of other stuff.


It'd be so nice if directv's genies last five in the info bar was all five tuners and what was on them.... All buffered for the last 90 minutes no matter what Chanel or channels had been used by that tuner over that time. I don't like buffer dumping when a tuner changes channels..


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Okay, guys, got it, and not as bad as I originally thought. Still, would be better if you could setup favorites on each Mini as with DTV. Not a deal breaker for me, I am still interested in TiVo, but I could do without that TiVo logo


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Sixto said:


> Funny, I always want the favorites list for all 7 TV's in the house to be the same and consistent so this actually made it easier for me. Different strokes for ...


It only bothers me because I have 2 younger children that we used to just customize a list that was appropriate for them.
Only reason it's an issues more so here than with directv, is because our cable company channel line up is so unorganized. 
There is Kid channels all over the place, not just in one area like directv.

My biggest gripes so far have been a reflection on my Cable company channel placement. Tivo has no control over that, but a option to customize channels on the minis on there own would be welcome.

I will have to admit after using them for a while now Tivos are fairly advanced.
There are option under and over options.

There is no delay doing anything, Even netflix loads fast. VOD is fast.
These are well built. 
No question about it.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> Okay, guys, got it, and not as bad as I originally thought. Still, would be better if you could setup favorites on each Mini as with DTV. Not a deal breaker for me, I am still interested in TiVo, but I could do without that TiVo logo


TiVo has a very negative reaction from many people, me included over the years at times. Use a Roamio on FiOS and it can change some into huge supporters. There will always be some that are stuck in their ways, or maybe just find some stuff that they hate which is fine, but there's some awesome features on the Roamio platform, especially when you include the App functionality and the Slider Pro keyboard remote. For me, money Is totally secondary, having the best feature set is primary, balanced with all the content that I need, thus why NFL Sunday Ticket is rocking here every Sunday afternoon on the Genie.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Comcast Philadelphia was a welcome site for me, as well as Red zone. 
Since I like my local teams.
NFLST loss isn't of any issue.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Comcast Philadelphia was a welcome site for me, as well as Red zone.
> Since I like my local teams.
> NFLST loss isn't of any issue.


Same here, NFLST is of no major concern. I have DTV and don't have or need NFLST. There are free NFL games on TV that fill my football need.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

damondlt said:


> It only bothers me because I have 2 younger children that we used to just customize a list that was appropriate for them.
> Only reason it's an issues more so here than with directv, is because our cable company channel line up is so unorganized.
> There is Kid channels all over the place, not just in one area like directv.
> 
> ...


Channel placement has never been cable's strong suit.

TiVo software is just fast. It even is snappy on a HR22.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay after spending around a month now with tivo, I've just about used everything but access from my cell phone.
Which ive maybe done twice in 3 years with Directv.

I will also post some pictures in the near future just to show you first hand some features,

Roamio Plus
Speed Speed Speed.
Nothing is faster! Bottom line!!
My Sisters HR44 doesn't even come close, maybe if it was stable, That would be a start!
HR44 still responds with always a slight pause, and sometimes a stumble when requesting too many demands, Ive easily sent it over the edge many times.
While its Directvs best and fastest receiver, past Directv equipment didnt set the bar very High!

Now the Tivo in Native mode, still outperforms the HR 44 with scrolling off and Native off.
The Minis even out perform the HR44 when it comes to funtion and speed.
To me the Minis performance speed is 99% the same as the main Roamios.

In a month I've never lost connection, Never one needed reboot! To me thats Impressive!

Now Features wise ,
6 live Buffers thats can be viewed at all time just by the press of a button. No more guessing what your tuners are doing.
That is awesome.
I also like Tivo Central, Under my shows, its has options for ,All content, Movies,TV shows, and many more, Again I will post pictures.
Also shows the other Devices (Roamios) that have recordings.
At first I thought I liked having all recordings from every device mixed together like Directvs, But I'm realling enjoying having them in a seperate location in the Recording sections without going through Filters like Directvs options.

There are so many options and Apps, all are simple and quick and me talking about them will never bring them Justice.

Sixto has an excellent review, More Technical than I can ever bring you guys.
I'll post his link at the end.

Guides and favorites list are quite good and not over flashy. I would have to say really its a wash when it comes to Directv and Tivo.
They both have their good and bad.
Tivo guide can go backwards in time, which is accually quite nice if you cant remember the name of something you watched or missed.
Also Live guide option is nice, Basically its your channel line up like the grid guide, but it only shows the listings for a certain channel when you highlite it/scroll.

This would be better IMO for Directv customers, more so than Cable customers.
Reason Directv Guide and channels numbers are the same for everyone and far more organized.
Cable makes up their own Numbers and places the channels randomly anywhere. So when your looking at TBS, the next channel down the list could be Fox Soccor Plus. You find yourself Scrolling all over the place with the live Guide.
Better off using the standard guide, because atleast you can see whats on the channel without stopping over it.
Guide is also covers more time and more channels between scrolls than Directv.
But again, No real winner IMO.

Mini Guide hands down Tivo . All you do is press select when on a channel and a 3 channel mini guide pops up.
Directv can keep their Blue button one channel Mini Guide.

Also the Info Banner on the Tivo , Always states what's on next when ever you change the channel. Thats is awesome!

Favorits list, Directv has more custom lists, Tivo Roamios can make 2 as can Directv but, Tivo Minis favorites list only reflect what its Server has in its list. Can not be edited or customized by the minis.
Not a Huge deal, But my Youngest always had a Favorites list that had only Childrens channels in it off My Directv Client.
Now she has to scroll through all the channels The Roamio has in its Favorites list.
Again we can live with it, But it was a surprise.

Also once in the guide, and you see a channel you forgot to edit or decide you want to cut it from your custom list.
All you do, is Highlite the channel in the guide, press select and choose remove channel.
Directv you Have to hit Info, scroll across the top, go into your favorites, scroll down again and remove channel. It was a Pain with unresposive receivers with delayed commands. You always find yourself making serveral attemps.
Or their was the yellow button route, which again not that practical.

Recording Options, Basically the same, Tivo has Many options, and thats fine, But Directv one touch record is hands down the winner.
I just want to record a show, I dont want to have to fill out a Questionaire first LOL! well not that bad But you get my point.!

Tuners, well its nice to have 6 per Each Roamio.
12 tuners with only 2 Boxes, Thats something that can't be had with Directv. Period!
Now, Blue ridge said they will only allow 4 Roamios (T6 per account) but if you need more than 24 tuners, Than you are sick LOL!
Minis I believe they will allow me 8. But I believe one Raomio T6 can use 4 Mini per server, That maybe Just a Blue Ridge rule, Im not 100% sure on that.

Channel Options, Well IMO, Blue Ridge has more HD network channels than Directv Hands Down.
But the Locals is the Big selling factor to me.
Directv offers no Neighboring or SV channels in my area , regardless what the FCC says.
We get everthing Directv has , Plus about 10 more and 3 more in HD
Directv Channel Placement is a clear winner, they may have some stragglers, But Blue ridge is a Mess!

Sports, we dont get Out of Market RSNs,Except, SEC Network,Fox College Sports, Alantic, Cental and Pacific
But I have enough Infomercials.
But you can get MLB EI, NBA, ESPN game plan, NHL, and Soccer seasonal Sports packs, and the are about the same prices across the board.
As far as In market goes, Again Basically a wash
Directv has ,Big10, SNY,MSG,MSG+,YES
Blue Ridge has , MSG, SNY, YES, Comcast Philly, and for some reason we have SEC ???? But no Big Ten???

But we also Get
NFL Red Zone, Fox Soccer Plus ,MLB Strike Zone, World Fishing Network,Outside TV In HD included in our Base package.
And of course, NFL,MLB,NBA,NHL,Tennis, Golf,Sportsman,Outdoor,CBS, NBC sports,Fox 1 and 2, all the Espns all in HD

Vod and Netflix, built right into the Guide.
Channel 594 is Netflix, access from every box , and Very quick loading
Channel 600 VOD is real, no downloading , no bugs no fuss
And of course you can access all of this through the menu if you wish.

I upped my Netflix to 4 streaming at $11.99 per month, does include UHD. But you need 25 MBPS Minimum internet to use it.
So all you UHD fans whom want to stream 4k on your cell phone, have fun with them Data charges :nono2: If 4G LTE is even that fast.I did a speed test on mine and its only 5+ Mbps.

Hardware and equipment.
I have 3 Splitters, One 4 way ,and 2 way In my outside box, and one 2 way in the attic. Thats it!
I have one eithernet cable Plugged into my Bedroom T6.
They both have Built in Moca Bridge, Kind of like Directvs Unsupported Deca that for some reason Directv Techs can't do Eithernet, so they would rather put in CCK's. :nono2:

So No Swim 16, PI29,CCK, PI, No Slimline, No 5 LNB. No Mess! :righton:

Im very happy, and I will post some Pictures within the week, Maybe today.

Here is Sixtos Review.
http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/5920-My-TiVo-Roamio-amp-Mini-Thoughts-amp-Observations

Just to Clairify , Caller ID is supprted on Blue Ridge cable.
But I guess not Fios.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Hitting record







What's up next.







Live Buffer list







Info option







Live Guide







Guide options







Channel options in guide list







Standard grid guide







past guide option







Mini Guide


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

Sounds like if Blue Ridge cable is available in your area its probably your #1 option.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Resolution options








Tivo Central Apps







Music and photo options tivo Central








Tivo Searches everything in this list.







Like a Genie recommends.







Again Tivo search and Viewing options.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Recordings list, notice the option on bottom.







Netflix and VOD in the guide.














Our channels.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Personally, I love the UI, but the other huge items are the simple infrastructure (no rain fade in Northeast), the awesome iOS App, and the Slider Pro remote control. They are major contributing factors to the experience, including the recently added Amazon Prime and Vudu and they already had Netflix. The App and the keyboard remote are perfect.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

When accessing HBO On Demand for say Boxing, is it still shown in SD? I had BRC a year ago and Boxing on HBO that was originally in HD was in SD for viewing.

The biggest difference I see between DTV and this TiVo comparison is not being able to have favorites on the Minis, and that of course includes editing favorites on Minis. So, those who use Minis just don't get equal rights, kind of a snub if you ask me. Hey Mini watchers, you use my Favorite list, like it or not. Boo!


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Not sure about the boxing or VOD.
I do know they have HD and 1080p HD, but I haven't spent a ton of time on VOD
But yes Mini uses the Favorites list of the Roamio it's connected too.

I might add switching a mini to another server a snap. All you do is go into the mini ' s menu and you can switch it to any Roamio on the network.


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## cpalmer2k (May 24, 2010)

I recently bought a TiVo Roamio w/ Lifetime myself.. I chose the 4 tuner model because I wanted to have the capability to do OTA programming for the time being with it. We're in a Charter market, and most of their cable cards here have outdated firmware that only allow 4 tuners anyway.. so no reason to spend the extra money. 

Let me second almost everything diamondlt has said about the TiVo Roamios. I'm a longtime DirecTV subscriber with a Genie and HR24, but these TiVo's run circles around them. The interface and app are eons above DirecTV's. 

Another HUGE plus in my opinion is the ability to download and ARCHIVE recordings with TiVo. I'm a huge classic TV fan and several of the shows I love have never been completely released on DVD. So I started recording them with the TiVo as their air on MeTV and AntennaTV. Every evening when I finish supper I sit down and transfer the episodes to my hard drive, open the files in VideoReDo and take out the commercials. I save them as .mkv files that are playable via my Smart TV in my bedroom. You can do the same with cable channels, as long as the content isn't marked "copy never". With most providers all channels except for HBO and other Premiums are "copy freely". 

The app features are the best part of TiVo in my opinion. In addition to the usual setting recordings you can also delete recordings from the app, download them to your mobile device, or even stream live TV (with the 6 tuner version this is built in, mine requires a TiVo Stream). Another great feature for me is the ability to STOP or change a recording from the app. Say you are recording a football game and you "pad" it by half an hour. If you are out somewhere and need to add more padding time you can. Or if you see the game ended early you can even "stop" the recording from your app. 

I plan on adding a cable card to mine in the next few months. I need to finish archiving a few TV series off my OTA antenna first. IMO that is the only mistake they made with the TiVo Roamios- you can't do OTA and Cable simultaneously.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Not sure about the boxing or VOD.
> I do know they have HD and 1080p HD, but I haven't spent a ton of time on VOD
> But yes Mini uses the Favorites list of the Roamio it's connected too.
> 
> I might add switching a mini to another server a snap. All you do is go into the mini ' s menu and you can switch it to any Roamio on the network.


You can check under HBO Sports/Boxing, if I recall correctly. I was very disappointed they had what was originally HD as SD. I think Showtime Boxing had same issue. These are free for viewing.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> You can check under HBO Sports/Boxing, if I recall correctly. I was very disappointed they had what was originally HD as SD. I think Showtime Boxing had same issue. These are free for viewing.


I did check, if you want HD sports you have to go into the HD sports section.
Otherwise it is SD.
And I might Add it's the best looking SD I've ever seen.
Quite frankly I'm not so sure it is SD.
It states HD.


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

damondlt said:


> I did check, if you want HD sports you have to go into the HD sports section.
> Otherwise it is SD.
> And I might Add it's the best looking SD I've ever seen.
> Quite frankly I'm not so sure it is SD.
> Must be upconverted.


I remember when directv SD looked that good.... back when dvd's came out in the 90's I was very unimpressed as directv SD was just as clear digital picture.... now when I watch a DVD its sooo much more clear than directv SD.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

mexican-bum said:


> I remember when directv SD looked that good.... back when dvd's came out in the 90's I was very unimpressed as directv SD was just as clear digital picture.... now when I watch a DVD its sooo much more clear than directv SD.


I'm quite impressed with Cable SD.

But to clarify, HBO boxing on VOD is in HD. 
So what ever issue there was is no longer.
You go into HD premiums /HBO/sports.

Again Directv's VOD is okay, but nothing beats cable. Library is endless and it's instant without delays and you can ff all the way to the end if you like. 
Directv can't do that until it downloads it.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

mexican-bum said:


> Sounds like if Blue Ridge cable is available in your area its probably your #1 option.


If it's available. 
If Not Directv is a good alternative. 
Dish not so much.


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

damondlt said:


> If it's available.
> If Not Directv is a good alternative.
> Dish not so much.


Ya only alternative I have in my area is Cox, but I have heard mixed reviews on their contour dvr's. I am very happy with their internet though....

I am one of the lucky directv customers that never really has a problem with anything really, all my dvr's seem to work really good and my HR44-700 has been flawless, but I do find it interesting to see it could be "better" UI wise. I used to love the old Tivo directv receivers in the late 90's, early 00's. My dad probably still has that old sony tivo in the attic somewhere......awe nostalgia


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 09 Nov 2014 - 6:21 PM, said:
> 
> I'm quite impressed with Cable SD.
> 
> ...


They must have changed it. I called BRC last year and complained about it being in SD and was told that's how it was--when Free.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> I'm quite impressed with Cable SD.
> 
> But to clarify, HBO boxing on VOD is in HD.
> So what ever issue there was is no longer.
> ...


But with DTV those with minis can have their own favorites list.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

That has nothing to do with VOD. 
Those minis are buggy, they disconnect, they freeze. 
You like them so much, I'll give you the one I own.

PM if you want it. It's a C31.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> That has nothing to do with VOD.
> Those minis are buggy, they disconnect, they freeze.
> You like them so much, I'll give you the one I own.
> 
> PM if you want it. It's a C31.


I have the HR44 with 2 Minis that have been very reliable. I really can't complain about DTV, but for a better price, or at least same price with better service, I would consider switching. However, the Favorites list issue remains for those using Minis.

Since I have BRC for internet and phone, switching my TV service to BRC would seem like a good move. Still, the TiVo Favorites list is an issue for Mini users


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

One of my favorite TiVo guide features is that almost every episode of a series lists the season/episode information. This is great when you come to a series in mid-stream and you want to catch up on past seasons from reruns (so you can watch them all in order). The information is usually shown in the Banner, or on the Info screen, under the show's poster image.

BTW, these screen captures are from a Mini.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

mexican-bum said:


> Sounds like if Blue Ridge cable is available in your area its probably your #1 option.


Or FiOS if it is available.

Of the cable companies that don't provide TiVos themselves, Verizon FiOS and Comcast are generally considered the two that are most TiVo friendly. Comcast even supports VOD via a TiVo app. Verizon could do the same, but they don't.

Brighthouse and RCN are the two I hear most about that will provide TiVos themselves. I don't know if RCN is offering Roamios (T6 is the cable company name) but they definitely offer the Premiere (the previous model that had 4 tuners).


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Diana C said:


> Or FiOS if it is available.
> 
> Of the cable companies that don't provide TiVos themselves, Verizon FiOS and Comcast are generally considered the two that are most TiVo friendly. Comcast even supports VOD via a TiVo app. Verizon could do the same, but they don't.
> 
> Brighthouse and RCN and two I hear most about that will provide TiVos themselves. I don't know if RCN is offering Roamios (T6 is the cable company name) but they definitely offer the Premiere (the previous model that had 4 tuners).


RCN is running T6s.


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

Diana C said:


> One of my favorite TiVo guide features is that almost every episode of a series lists the season/episode information. This is great when you come to a series in mid-stream and you want to catch up on past seasons from reruns (so you can watch them all in order). The information is usually shown in the Banner, or on the Info screen, under the show's poster image.
> 
> BTW, these screen captures are from a Mini.
> 
> ...


Ya that is nice, the genie is just now getting this, hopefully the HR2x's will soon also


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

mexican-bum said:


> mexican-bum, on 10 Nov 2014 - 6:59 PM, said:
> 
> Ya that is nice, the genie is just now getting this, hopefully the HR2x's will soon also


And our (DTV) Minis have their own favorites list


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

mexican-bum said:


> Ya that is nice, the genie is just now getting this, hopefully the HR2x's will soon also


It's a genie only thing. Don't expect it to ever hit hr2x.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Diana C said:


> One of my favorite TiVo guide features is that almost every episode of a series lists the season/episode information. This is great when you come to a series in mid-stream and you want to catch up on past seasons from reruns (so you can watch them all in order). The information is usually shown in the Banner, or on the Info screen, under the show's poster image.


Within the past fortnight DIRECTV® has added Season and Episode numbers to the Genie and its clients' Guides.


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> It's a genie only thing. Don't expect it to ever hit hr2x.


i sure hope your wrong...


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

The big trade off for us wasn't VOD or PPV (we only ever did movie rentals from DirecTV PPV which we can get from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and/or Vudu), it was the unified 'Now Playing' list. In some ways it is good to have a separate list per DVR (and most people will only need one Roamio) but mostly we miss the unified list. However, the trade off is the ability to remotely access all the recording management screens (SP manager, ToDo List, History, etc.). You can even get to the these functions from the iOS and Android apps.

DirecTV also has overlapping recordings and auto-padding working better than TiVo. When you have two sequential recordings on the same channel, DirecTV automatically overlaps them by about a minute (IOW the last minute of the first recording is also the first minute of the second recording). This has become increasingly important as shows often run over their scheduled time more frequently. On TiVo you have to tell the DVR to extend the recording by a minute. However, that will make the following program use a different tuner, meaning TiVos need 2 tuners to record two sequential programs on the same channel for the overlapping minute, while DirecTV DVRs would use only one. Granted, with six tuners this is less of an issue, but every time TiVo tries to implement the DirecTV-style solution, they have had to back it out again because of problems.


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

Diana C said:


> The big trade off for us wasn't VOD or PPV (we only ever did movie rentals from DirecTV PPV which we can get from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and/or Vudu), it was the unified 'Now Playing' list. In some ways it is good to have a separate list per DVR (and most people will only need one Roamio) but mostly we miss the unified list. However, the trade off is the ability to remotely access all the recording management screens (SP manager, ToDo List, History, etc.). You can even get to the these functions from the iOS and Android apps.
> 
> DirecTV also has overlapping recordings and auto-padding working better than TiVo. When you have two sequential recordings on the same channel, DirecTV automatically overlaps them by about a minute (IOW the last minute of the first recording is also the first minute of the second recording). This has become increasingly important as shows often run over their scheduled time more frequently. On TiVo you have to tell the DVR to extend the recording by a minute. However, that will make the following program use a different tuner, meaning TiVos need 2 tuners to record two sequential programs on the same channel for the overlapping minute, while DirecTV DVRs would use only one. Granted, with six tuners this is less of an issue, but every time TiVo tries to implement the DirecTV-style solution, they have had to back it out again because of problems.


Ya no DVR is perfect but I will say Tivo overall seems to be the best of the bunch. Its lead isn't what it used to be though.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

mexican-bum said:


> Ya no DVR is perfect but I will say Tivo overall seems to be the best of the bunch. Its lead isn't what it used to be though.


These are the most perfect DVR'S I've ever used.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Yep.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Sixto, on 11 Nov 2014 - 6:24 PM, said:
> 
> Yep.


How would you know since you don't have it? Oh, you have both DTV and Roamio T6. Have you compared HR44 with T6?


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> How would you know since you don't have it? Oh, you have both DTV and Roamio T6. Have you compared HR44 with T6?


Thorough review in my signature. Both Genie and Roamio sit side by side, over 12 months.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Cavicchi said:


> Cavicchi, on 12 Nov 2014 - 08:50 AM, said:
> 
> How would you know since you don't have it? Oh, you have both DTV and Roamio T6. Have you compared HR44 with T6?


So you have both DTV and T6. Oh wait, you have both DTV and FIOS for TV, or am I mistaken?

When making comparisons, are you comparing T6 against HR44-C41 Genie?


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> So you have both DTV and T6. Oh wait, you have both DTV and FIOS for TV, or am I mistaken?
> 
> When making comparisons, are you comparing T6 against HR44-C41 Genie?


Genie (HR44) with DirecTV, Roamio Pro & Plus with FiOS, as the first line states.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Genie (HR44) with DirecTV, Roamio Pro & Plus with FiOS, as the first line states.


Your first line does not state HR44, and the Genie is not HR44. Your first line states H25 and GenieGo. I think you may be confused.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> Your first line does not state HR44, and the Genie is not HR44. Your first line states H25 and GenieGo. I think you may be confused.


Both the HR44 and the HR34 are Genie's. Wasn't specific in the comparison thread because have both, but did just add (HR44) for those that want clarity.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Both the HR44 and the HR34 are Genie's. Wasn't specific in the comparison thread because have both, but did just add (HR44) for those that want clarity.


Keep adding, looks like fun


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

You would be surprised how many former big time directv Dbstalk members now have Tivos.
Or X1 from Comcast. 
I know of quite a few whom I've bought their directv equipment in the past year. 

And 90% of the directv equipment will be going back up for sale very soon.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Just a Side note, The T6 is a cable version of Roamio Plus.
The vast difference is Blue ridge model doesn't require Tuning adapter, Blue ridge has its name on it, and VOD is supported. 
I was told the Amazon app will not be supported at this time.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Here is some info about tuning adapter..
http://www.multichan...deo-tech/376007

TiVo originally developed its embedded SDV solution for partner BlueRidge Communications, - See more at: http://www.multichan...h.gA85DpR0.dpuf

I can assure you, I have no in-line, adapters, PI or switches of any kind.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> You would be surprised how many former big time directv Dbstalk members now have Tivos.
> Or X1 from Comcast.
> I know of quite a few whom I've bought their directv equipment in the past year.
> 
> And 90% of the directv equipment will be going back up for sale very soon.


I'm surprised he has both DTV and FIOS for television!


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Need Sunday Ticket.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I needed Comcast Philadelphia.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

One reason many have switched (including us) is that the fees charged by Cable and Satellite operators for their own equipment, particularly if you have more than 3 or 4 TVs to drive, get to be excessive. We were paying DirecTV over $60/month in outlet, HD, DVR and whole home fees. Add in that the Verizon Triple Play price for their top tier is $40/month less than DirecTV charges for very nearly identical content. Plus, as a new customer we got $40 in discounts, so the switch to FiOS/TiVo ends up saving us over $120/month. It doesn't take very long to make back the purchase price of a couple of TiVo DVRs and a bunch of Minis at that rate (about 16 months). Had we gone with Verizon's 6 tuner DVR instead, that would have increased our Verizon by almost $90/month, eroding a lot of the cost savings and also giving us 4TB less storage. This way, even when the discounts expire in 2016, we will still be saving over $80/month over renting equipment from either supplier.

We are very fortunate in that we have 4 options for multi-channel TV: DirecTV, Dish Network, Cablevision and Verizon FiOS.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

For me, the primary motivator has always been having the best TV experience, no matter the cost.

That was DirecTV with the HR2x, HR3x, and HR4x DVR's for a long while, now it's FiOS/Roamio, for my personal needs.

Any $ savings is an added benefit, not the primary, and the comparison, at least right now, for me, it's not even close, and I very rarely switch providers.

Times have changed, DirecTV was the leader, for my needs, but FiOS/Roamio is now clearly the leader, for my needs, especially with the simplified and more reliable infrastructure, official support for multiple high-end DVRs, better tuner management, MRV by DVR, more modern graphical UI, unlimited series, CIG customization, recycle bin, full mobile access/management, transfer/backup, capacity, performance, 3rd party applications, and remote control ... just to name a few.

And when HD linear content is now almost identical between many providers, technology superiority becomes very important, especially when the desire is for the "best" TV experience with cost being secondary.

While there will always be some features that people will debate because that's life and we're all different, some FiOS/Roamio features are just clear differentiators. My Thoughts write-up lists dozens of items, hopefully many that DirecTV will add over time for those items that are technically possible.

And despite all that, I also continue to enjoy DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket every weekend, it's awesome, thus the DirecTV/Genie and the FiOS/Roamio setups sit side-by-side in perfect harmony.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Sixto said:


> ...especially with the simplified and more reliable infrastructure..


Yes, a key differentiation. I have a whole box of DirecTV "bits" that I don't need any longer (CCK, B-band adapters, DECA adpaters, "green label" splitters, etc.)..not to mention 2 SWM-16s and a SWM-8.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Diana C said:


> Yes, a key differentiation. I have a whole box of DirecTV "bits" that I don't need any longer (CCK, B-band adapters, DECA adpaters, "green label" splitters, etc.)..not to mention 2 SWM-16s and a SWM-8.


Yeah Diana, and I used to twitch when a storm came through! 

(FTTH is awesome, and future proof)


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Yeah Diana, and I used to twitch when a storm came through!
> 
> (FTTH is awesome, and future proof)


You *use* to twitch when a storm came through? Well, are you not still twitching since you still have DTV? Not even for your precious NFL Sunday Ticket?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I got 2 boxes full of bits. 

I have
CCK, with PI
2 swm 16 with PIs
4 four way swm plitters
2- 3 lnbs
C31
H21
HR20
and the slimline.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay, I figured out the Mini favorites issue.

All you have to do is set up your MY Channels, and Favorites in your Roamio unit, and the Mini can use any of the 3 lists no matter what the Roamio is using.

So problem solved.
So all I did is use MY channel list for the Roamio And the Favorites for the Mini.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Okay, I figured out the Mini favorites issue.
> 
> All you have to do is set up your MY Channels, and Favorites in your Roamio unit, and the Mini can use any of the 3 lists no matter what the Roamio is using.
> 
> ...


Well, sounds decent but cumbersome. Let's say I'm watching on the Mini and want to add or delete a channel, do I have to do it on the Roamio?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes, the channel edits can only be done on the Roamios.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Yes, the channel edits can only be done on the Roamios.


That's what I thought. I'd say you have half the problem solved


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Needing to control channel lists on the Roamio is a manifestation of Cablecard use. Since the actual channel map and authorizations are stored in the Cablecard, and Cable Labs prohibits propagation of authorization data outside the box where the card is installed, there is no way for the Mini to know what channels are, or are not, available or what numbers they are on. The Roamio just sends the channel lists which the mini combines with the guide data to display the guide and to ask the Roamio for a particular live channel.

In general, TiVo is constrained in several areas by Cable Labs and their limitations on what can be done with recordings.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

It's okay, it works just fine with the little loophole. 
We don't change favorites list very often anyway. Maybe but once a year or so.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Everything here still working flawless. 
No heavy wet snow on the dish issues, no outages.
Still no lag, still no interrupted reboots. 

These Machines are awesome.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving guys!


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

damondlt said:


> Everything here still working flawless.
> No heavy wet snow on the dish issues, no outages.
> Still no lag, still no interrupted reboots.
> 
> ...


Everything working flawlessly with my DirecTV equipment. Dish and LNB are covered with snow but no loss of signal. No lags or need to reboot my HR44-200 and HR24-500. DirecTV equipment is awesome too. Looks like we're both going to have a Happy Thanksgiving.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

You didn't need to come into a cable TV thread to tell me about how "Flawless " LMAO your Directv equipment is.
I know better! 
"Flawless" is not a word I would use to describe directv equipment.
But my guess you don't know any different. 
But I'm glad Directv is working out good for you. And Happy Thanksgiving.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I'd never call TiVo flawless either..


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

damondlt said:


> You didn't need to come into a cable TV thread to tell me about how "Flawless " LMAO your Directv equipment is.


Kinda begs the question: What is a cable TV thread doing on a DBS forum?


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Yeah, it was great to see these sections added when DBSTalk was re-branded to no longer be satellite only, to Digital Bit Stream. I volunteered to moderate the FiOS forum, while it lasted, but there just wasn't enough traffic to warrant a separate forum, thus all Cable TV together now.

Yep, agree with Inky, it's very tough to be flawless these days, but I must admit that the FiOS / Roamio combination is the closet thing to perfection at the moment, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) combined with what's arguably the best DVR & mobile App TV experience available right now, though I still have high hopes for DirecTV.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Well, I didn't have TV service for two days, snow on the roof. Sooo, you cable and FIOS guys have a valid point. FIOS isn't available in my area, but BRC is and may be in my home next year. My wife was real mad and wanted the DTV Dish removed from the roof.

I called DTV and the gentleman was very polite, even talked to me for over an hour. Fortunately the sun came out and TV service was restored.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Sixto said:


> Yeah, it was great to see these sections added when DBSTalk was re-branded to no longer be satellite only, to Digital Bit Stream. I volunteered to moderate the FiOS forum, while it lasted, but there just wasn't enough traffic to warrant a separate forum, thus all Cable TV together now.Yep, agree with Inky, it's very tough to be flawless these days, but I must admit that the FiOS / Roamio combination is the closet thing to perfection at the moment, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) combined with what's arguably the best DVR & mobile App TV experience available right now, though I still have high hopes for DirecTV.


If TiVo had a unified playlist, and longer buffers, then I'd say it would be pretty close to perfect. With the addition of Amazon Prime and Vudu to the list of OTT providers, along with Netflix, Hulu, and MLB-TV, I can retire the Roku 3 to my bedroom, making the Roamio and the BD Player the only devices attached to the TV.

The total elimination of weather related outages is just a bonus.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Total elimination? No infrastructure is immune. With fiber or cable, outages are less frequent, but generally longer.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> Well, I didn't have TV service for two days, snow on the roof. Sooo, you cable and FIOS guys have a valid point. FIOS isn't available in my area, but BRC is and may be in my home next year. My wife was real mad and wanted the DTV Dish removed from the roof.
> 
> I called DTV and the gentleman was very polite, even talked to me for over an hour. Fortunately the sun came out and TV service was restored.


My mom is watching my sisters house while they are away, and same thing no Directv ,
Snow was on the dish. So I got the phone call. 
So I had to bring a ladder over and climb up and clean the dish off. 
That sucked since it wasn't even my dish lol.
That last snowfall was the heavy wet snow, and if I had Directv still, I would bet you anything I would have been outside every hour on the hour cleaning that dish off.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

As far as Flawless operating goes, yeah
So far, I've no reboots, nor have I had to force one on any of my Tivo equipment in over a month now.
Channel changes, menu functions all work fast and spot on every command.
Not one missed recording, not one unauthorized deleted recording.
Not one audio dropout.
Not one lockup.
Not one internet connection issue.
All 3 years with Directv I was convinced our Internet equipment was the issue for random "internet not connected"
Issue. 
Not one modem or router reboot since Tivos have been installed. 

So yes compared to any receiver I've ever used, these Tivos are by far the more Flawless machine.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Total elimination? No infrastructure is immune. With fiber or cable, outages are less frequent, but generally longer.


Hurricane Sandy our cable was out for a week. 
And what year was that?
We just got 10 inches of heavy wet snow, and the only outages I saw was Directv and dish network snow covered dishes.

Why do you think I pole mounted mine.
Because it's not uncommon for winter weather outages. 
But not everyone can have easy access dish installs.

Ask all the millions of customers that live in , Northern Pa why that is.
Development regulations prevent tree cutting, 
dense wooded areas cause many customers to roof mount dishes.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Diana C said:


> If TiVo had a unified playlist, and longer buffers, then I'd say it would be pretty close to perfect. With the addition of Amazon Prime and Vudu to the list of OTT providers, along with Netflix, Hulu, and MLB-TV, I can retire the Roku 3 to my bedroom, making the Roamio and the BD Player the only devices attached to the TV.
> 
> The total elimination of weather related outages is just a bonus.


I have no need for a unified playlist.
I actually like the way the playlist is setup.
Longer buffer?
Something I've yet to even think about. 
Never ran into an issue where I needed that.
I would just go back into "past "guide and do a search and record what I missed.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> Total elimination? No infrastructure is immune. With fiber or cable, outages are less frequent, but generally longer.


Well, all I can say is that we have had FiOS Internet and phone for 7 years and it has never gone out yet due to weather. It worked through Hurricane Sandy (DirecTV was out for hours at the height of the storm). When, in the aftermath, power was out in the region for days at a time, cable was out but FiOS was up. When a tree on the block was knocked down by high winds and fell across the FiOS cable, which was actually supporting the tree's weight, our service was unaffected. DirecTV would go out whenever we had a moderately severe thunderstorm (about a dozen times a year and usually lasting between 15 and 30 minutes) and at least once or twice a winter due to wet snow or ice (all with 99 & 103 signal readings in the 90s). And those are just the ones we were aware of.

Sure, it is possible for something weather related to take FiOS out, but in over 7 years it hasn't happened yet. Over the same period every other service that comes into the house has been effected by weather except for natural gas (which is why we now have a natural gas powered generator).


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Diana C said:


> Well, all I can say is that we have had FiOS Internet and phone for 7 years and it has never gone out yet due to weather. It worked through Hurricane Sandy (DirecTV was out for hours at the height of the storm). When, in the aftermath, power was out in the region for days at a time, cable was out but FiOS was up. When a tree on the block was knocked down by high winds and fell across the FiOS cable, which was actually supporting the tree's weight, our service was unaffected. DirecTV would go out whenever we had a moderately severe thunderstorm (about a dozen times a year and usually lasting between 15 and 30 minutes) and at least once or twice a winter due to wet snow or ice (all with 99 & 103 signal readings in the 90s). And those are just the ones we were aware of.
> 
> Sure, it is possible for something weather related to take FiOS out, but in over 7 years it hasn't happened yet. Over the same period every other service that comes into the house has been effected by weather except for natural gas (which is why we now have a natural gas powered generator).


Almost identical situation here ... I can not remember any outage with FiOS ever, other then when the tree fell on the line in front of my house during Sandy, and even with that it continued with a few glitches.

It was wild, the electric line and the FiOS line were supporting the tree from hitting the ground, they were all stretched out, but everything continued to perform mostly until the service crews got here.

I'd say I lose the DirecTV service 5-10 times a year, from a few minutes to an hour or so, due to weather.


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## mrknowitall526 (Nov 19, 2014)

Wow! Good for Blue Ridge. Blue Ridge serves my township, but my current house is 1/2 mile from where the cable stops. BRC wanted $22,000 to extend it that 1/2 mile for 10 houses. Our previous house, we had everything Blue Ridge and I really liked their HD lineup - more than Service Electric and RCN offer. I really wish they would rethink their $22,000 price tag and extend to us that extra 1/2 mile! We have been here 2 years and have Directv ... but just got Verizon DSL a moth ago - wasn't available until then.

You kept saying BRC didn't have whole-home DVR. I remember when we first got digital cable, before we had HD or a DVR, we had a channel on our box for Mutli-Room DVR. I think it was 997 or something. When we upgraded to an HD DVR, we didn't have that channel, but I just assumed it was because we had the DVR and not another box. Did they remove that functionality before switching to the TiVo?

And, while everyone claims Directv is cheaper, their equipment fees are ridiculous - $25 just for whole-home DVR service plus $6 for each client. So, Blue Ridge is cheaper than that. I really do miss them!


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Blueridge had whole home from I believe it was before 2010 and only briefly. 
The demand was low, as most new technologies so it was dropped. 
I believe it was a Scientific Atlanta Home media box.

Blue Ridge claims ever since the Blue Ridge Dream "Tivo" launched, they have doubled their work load. And call centers have been swamped. 

But with Online chat, it's very easy to get stuff done.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Directv is a wash Price wise. 
And is very limited when it comes to equipment. 
I have 12 tuners out of 2 boxes, with only 2 coax feeds.
That can't be done with directv period.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I'm currently seeing a lot of reports of Directv locals suffering outages in my area. 
Anyone know what the issue is? 
Cable is fine.

Is it a Directv spotbeam issue?


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Laxguy said:


> Total elimination? No infrastructure is immune. With fiber or cable, outages are less frequent, but generally longer.


Agree.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

damondlt said:


> As far as Flawless operating goes, yeah
> So far, I've no reboots, nor have I had to force one on any of my Tivo equipment in over a month now.
> Channel changes, menu functions all work fast and spot on every command.
> Not one missed recording, not one unauthorized deleted recording.
> ...


The problem is that for everything you say there's a ton of people, including my folks (me to but I ce, my folks don't so they are a better example) who haven't had any of your issues and just use their DIRECTV without needing reboots or anything else. And I also known their are people who have all kinds of issues with TiVo if you look at TiVo forums. Sometimes people just have bad combinations of stuff and a change is needed to get rid of issues I don't care what you have. There are several people on here that have that issue imho. They need to replace everything and start over or go to a different provider.

I don't think sixto or Dana really changed for any of the reasons you did. I think they ended up changing because they felt the gui and setup better meets their needs. That's completely different than its always broken...

And frankly, I hate TiVo for how it treats you, always have. They are good machines and work as they are supposed to but I don't like their design at all. Anything without simple two touch to set a series recording and nothing else's is a failure to me. I've said it a ton of times, but there really was one great DVR that was better than all the rest... Replay tv. It's gui and operation is still designed better than anyone else's today, other than not having the functionality of today's like multi tuners and sat or cable card. But it was just a smarter system... No tuners a wile, ok, how about recording it on a different dvr? Skip however far in advance you want... Organize your playlist as you want... Settings online.. And that was ages ago... They had all the cool stuff before TiVo ever did... It's just sad thinking about how good it was and how DIRECTV never leveraged that...


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> The problem is that for everything you say there's a ton of people, including my folks (me to but I ce, my folks don't so they are a better example) who haven't had any of your issues and just use their DIRECTV without needing reboots or anything else. And I also known their are people who have all kinds of issues with TiVo if you look at TiVo forums. Sometimes people just have bad combinations of stuff and a change is needed to get rid of issues I don't care what you have. There are several people on here that have that issue imho. They need to replace everything and start over or go to a different provider.
> 
> I don't think sixto or Dana really changed for any of the reasons you did. I think they ended up changing because they felt the gui and setup better meets their needs. That's completely different than its always broken...
> 
> And frankly, I hate TiVo for how it treats you, always have. They are good machines and work as they are supposed to but I don't like their design at all. Anything without simple two touch to set a series recording and nothing else's is a failure to me. I've said it a ton of times, but there really was one great DVR that was better than all the rest... Replay tv. It's gui and operation is still designed better than anyone else's today, other than not having the functionality of today's like multi tuners and sat or cable card. But it was just a smarter system... No tuners a wile, ok, how about recording it on a different dvr? Skip however far in advance you want... Organize your playlist as you want... Settings online.. And that was ages ago... They had all the cool stuff before TiVo ever did... It's just sad thinking about how good it was and how DIRECTV never leveraged that...


Congratulations.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

To you as well. I'm glad you finally have a system you are happy with!


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## mrknowitall526 (Nov 19, 2014)

damondlt said:


> Blueridge had whole home from I believe it was before 2010 and only briefly.
> The demand was low, as most new technologies so it was dropped.
> I believe it was a Scientific Atlanta Home media box.
> 
> ...


Yes, I saw the MRV on an SA 4250 HD, and when we upgraded to the Explorer 8300HDC, that option went away.

Looks like they redesigned some of the bundles, too. Surprised to see that 5 Mbps comes with all bundles - the HD Everything used to come with 15 Mbps.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Everything triple play bundle comes with 15 mbps.
But you can bundle any speed you want and still receive a discount.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 29 Nov 2014 - 07:07 AM, said:
> 
> Everything triple play bundle comes with 15 mbps.
> But you can bundle any speed you want and still receive a discount.


Yes, that is a great deal for new customers, the Triple Play with 15 mbps.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes it was nice, I had it before the Tivos with 4 HD dvrs and 2 anolog outlets and my bill was only $225 back in 2010. 
I see it's still offered for the same price. 


My bill now is around $215,but discounted to $180 for one year
My last Directv bill was $191 and that's still without showtime and sports pack.
that's crazy .

I have everything but showtime.
And G 15 is the internet I picked.
And it serves more than I'll ever demand.
We had G 10 and it was enough.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay had my first real glitch last night.

I go a message in my message box stating that my guide data will run out in 2 days, that I should connect to Tivo now.

Well did all the tests and everything passed internet was fine even did a manual connect to tivo, and still guide wouldn't go past Tuesday. 

So read went to tivo.com support, and ran the steps to rerun channel guide setup.
TIVO claims it may be necessary if Blue ridge Changed its channel line up.
Apparently G4 channel ceased programming on November 29th.

So anyway re ran setup and now everything is fine.
So my question is this going to happen when ever Blueridge adds or deletes channels?


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Okay had my first real glitch last night.
> 
> I go a message in my message box stating that my guide data will run out in 2 days, that I should connect to Tivo now.
> 
> ...


Probably, but how often does BRC change channels?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Once a year, maybe! Lol


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 30 Nov 2014 - 12:52 PM, said:
> 
> Once a year, maybe! Lol


At least once a year I don't have DTV service because of snow, and that's a whole lot worse!


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I wasn't without service, it just said it was going to run out of Guide data in 2 days.

I think it may have been caused from the 2 second power outage we had on Wednesday night from the snow. 
It messed up my computer and it needed a manual restart. 
I wonder if this might have caused a router or Romio glitch.

According to Tivo, the glitch I speak of is rare but not uncommon.

It also said, that it may have already been worked out before I received the massage, and that I should wait 24 hours before taking action.
So not sure what the outcome would have been.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

damondlt said:


> ...So my question is this going to happen when ever Blueridge adds or deletes channels?


It should not...Verizon adds or removes their own channels quite regularly, and in the last couple of months they have added a number of new channels. In no case have we had to rerun Guided Setup.

The guide data come from the same source as DirecTV's guide data: Tribune. The only reason I can think of that would require a rerun of setup is a change to the local provider code. That would change VERY rarely.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> The problem is that for everything you say there's a ton of people, including my folks (me to but I ce, my folks don't so they are a better example) who haven't had any of your issues and just use their DIRECTV without needing reboots or anything else. And I also known their are people who have all kinds of issues with TiVo if you look at TiVo forums. Sometimes people just have bad combinations of stuff and a change is needed to get rid of issues I don't care what you have. There are several people on here that have that issue imho. They need to replace everything and start over or go to a different provider.
> I don't think sixto or Dana really changed for any of the reasons you did. I think they ended up changing because they felt the gui and setup better meets their needs. That's completely different than its always broken...
> And frankly, I hate TiVo for how it treats you, always have. They are good machines and work as they are supposed to but I don't like their design at all. Anything without simple two touch to set a series recording and nothing else's is a failure to me. I've said it a ton of times, but there really was one great DVR that was better than all the rest... Replay tv. It's gui and operation is still designed better than anyone else's today, other than not having the functionality of today's like multi tuners and sat or cable card. But it was just a smarter system... No tuners a wile, ok, how about recording it on a different dvr? Skip however far in advance you want... Organize your playlist as you want... Settings online.. And that was ages ago... They had all the cool stuff before TiVo ever did... It's just sad thinking about how good it was and how DIRECTV never leveraged that...


Yes, we were quite happy with DirecTV - we stuck with them for 6 years while we had FiOS available. We changed mainly over cost (as I have mentioned before, for our setup FiOS and TiVo will save us over $700 the first 2 years and at least $500 per year thereafter). The DirecTV DVRs are good units...a little slow, but pretty solid these days (let's all forget the early HR20 days).

I'm not sure what you mean by the way TiVo "treats you." TiVo seems to me to go out of their way to be accommodating. They are current given long term customers (10+ years) the opportunity to buy new hardware at deep discounts for both the box and service. I believe that they are, at least in part, trying to get non-MPEG4 equipment replaced since Comcast is planning to move to MPEG4 next year, and Verizon seems to be re-starting their conversion (as was expected after the VMS1100 shipped). But there are also tons of stories about them bending the rules for customers. My impression of them is that they are at least as accommodating as DirecTV.

You can schedule a Season Pass from the guide with 3 clicks. TiVo lets you set the default options too, so you always get your KUiD, new/repeat and padding options on all new SPs. Of course, you have online management of the DVRs now too, including moving recordings, moving season passes, managing the SP list and the ToDo list, etc.. You can switch a mini from one DVR to another with just 3 button presses, so you can also manage any aspect of any DVR from any TV.

End of TiVo advertisement.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Diana C said:


> Yes, we were quite happy with DirecTV - we stuck with them for 6 years while we had FiOS available. We changed mainly over cost (as I have mentioned before, for our setup FiOS and TiVo will save us over $700 the first 2 years and at least $500 per year thereafter). The DirecTV DVRs are good units...a little slow, but pretty solid these days (let's all forget the early HR20 days).
> 
> I'm not sure what you mean by the way TiVo "treats you." TiVo seems to me to go out of their way to be accommodating. They are current given long term customers (10+ years) the opportunity to buy new hardware at deep discounts for both the box and service. I believe that they are, at least in part, trying to get non-MPEG4 equipment replaced since Comcast is planning to move to MPEG4 next year, and Verizon seems to be re-starting their conversion (as was expected after the VMS1100 shipped). But there are also tons of stories about them bending the rules for customers. My impression of them is that they are at least as accommodating as DirecTV.
> 
> ...


they treat customers well from a sales standpoint. I'm saying I don't like their gui system philosophy in general.

Just a few months ago someone told me you still can't set a series recording with double hitting the record button which you just confirmed. That is unacceptable to me and just tells of their philosophy. If I ever went FIOS Id deal with it like I do the things I don't like on DIRECTV but it's dumb just like DIRECTV not having more lines in the guide is dumb.

It's the way they push you through everything I have never liked. It's a personal preference. Like I said replay tv and to a certain extent ultimate tv (so weird to have like a Microsoft product as much as I did that one) were far superior to all the others I have ever seen or read about even.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Definitely a different philosophy...the TiVo approach is that users very rarely watch live TV, so they would be unlikely to start a season pass from the guide. Honestly, I can't recall using the "double click record" method of setting a season pass more than a handful of times over the 8 years we used DirecTV's own DVRs.

Things I think DirecTV does better:

- Unified playlist
- 1 hour buffer (30 minutes on TiVo)
- Padding back to back recordings on the same channel with one tuner
- Streaming/download to mobile devices (DirecTV's version is more robust)

Things I think TiVo does better:

- Support for more than one Roamio per installation
- Transfer recordings between DVRs
- Remote DVR management including ToDo list and transfer of SPs
- Speed of UI performance
- All tuners buffered all the time

YMMV


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

Diana C said:


> Definitely a different philosophy...the TiVo approach is that users very rarely watch live TV, so they would be unlikely to start a season pass from the guide. Honestly, I can't recall using the "double click record" method of setting a season pass more than a handful of times over the 8 years we used DirecTV's own DVRs.
> 
> Things I think DirecTV does better:
> 
> ...


I really like your comparison, Tivo definitely has got some huge pluses. To me the only thing I miss about Tivo is the UI, it just looked nicer to me. i can't complain about directv though, living in oklahoma snow is never an issue, just the occasional storm interruption. I always have had great luck with their equipment and with my tailgating and RV I just can't see giving that fun up for cable. But if it wasn't for that I would definitely think about it.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Diana C said:


> Definitely a different philosophy...the TiVo approach is that users very rarely watch live TV, so they would be unlikely to start a season pass from the guide. Honestly, I can't recall using the "double click record" method of setting a season pass more than a handful of times over the 8 years we used DirecTV's own DVRs.
> 
> Things I think DirecTV does better:
> 
> ...


How on earth did you set recordings? Select each and go into it individually?

DIRECTV is 90 minutes on the buffer. 

And I haven't played with it but I think other than sports TiVo may be easier to use in terms of Boolean searches for the general user.

Otherwise that list is pretty spot on it seems.

And I don't have an issue with the watch recorded content centric system. But that doesn't explain how the menus work inside the system. I was just was spoiled with replaytvs and how much better they where all around.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> How on earth did you set recordings? Select each and go into it individually...


Mostly we setup season passes on DirecTV through searching for a specific title and then recording it or setting up a SP. On the TiVo, the vast majority of our (115 at the moment) Season Passes were also set up from Search.



inkahauts said:


> ...DIRECTV is 90 minutes on the buffer...


How quickly we forget...


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Okay the prices are in For Tivo T6 ( Roamio plus)
> $19.95 for the first, including dvr service.
> Every one after that is $19.95 +5.95 outlet charge.
> Minis are $5.95 each no matter what.
> ...


BRC doesn't provide a breakdown of prices for equipment, so I called and found out the minis have an additional $5.95 set-top box charge for each, so it's like 12 dollars for each.

For some reason I thought the BRC Dish Buy Back compensated you for penalty incurred by early termination. I guess they changed it, or my memory is failing me :-(


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Not at all accurite

Tivo Minis are Free, with a 5.95 Digital outlet charge only.
I dont just make this stuff up as I go

Price breakdown is here.









Again
$19.95 for first T6
$25.90 for each addtional T6
All Minis are $5.95 Each* not $12*


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

And dish buy back requires you to turn over your satellite equipment over to BRC with a ZERO balance. Then they deactive your service and pay your ETFs, they also require a 24 month commitment for their services.

I didnt bother because I'd rather pay my $60 ETF and move on.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)




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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Interesting. So they charge for a Mini? Is it provided by them and somewhat rented, thus the charge?

In the FiOS case, I buy the Mini directly, and they don't know that it exists, and with the recent change, Lifetime is included.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes they charge a Digital outlet charge, just like directv charges per room.
My 4 outlet fees consists of my addtional T6 and 2 minis, plus my one standard HD box.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Not at all accurite
> 
> Tivo Minis are Free, with a 5.95 Digital outlet charge only.
> I dont just make this stuff up as I go
> ...


The current BRC website for my area states what was told to me by BRC CSR and what I posted above, $5.95 for each mini and a $5.95 set-top charge for each mini, totaling $11.90 plus tax.


damondlt said:


> And dish buy back requires you to turn over your satellite equipment over to BRC with a ZERO balance. Then they deactive your service and pay your ETFs, they also require a 24 month commitment for their services.
> 
> I didnt bother because I'd rather pay my $60 ETF and move on.


According to BRC CSR via email and phone, the Dish Buy Back is just for a package deal--nothing to do with ETF.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Scroll down and you can verify what I said above:

http://www.brctv.com/bundles
http://www.brctv.com/tivo


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Minis are not $11.90 I don't care where you live.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Wrong.
Minis do NOT have a set top charge you misunderstood.
They have ONLY a digital outlet fee.
I suggest you call back and this time listen.
Or just stick with Directv and stop putting false information in my thread.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Pricing
*Get the Blue Ridge Dream powered by Tivo
for only $19.95 a month*.*
Access to in home streaming on your device, remote scheduling, and the Blue Ridge Go app are all included at no additional charge.
For a whole home solution, add Tivo Minis for only $5.95 a month for each Mini.* *Additional $5.95 per month set top box charge applies.*

Notice the *
Minis are NOT setop BOXES!
And the * represents addtional T6S
Blue ridge Equipment charges are the same everywhere.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Well, what did you say about BRC Dish Buy Back? Were you wrong?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

The dish Buy back programs were exactly as I stated.
If anything with it has changed, it was with in the last 30 days.
Blue Ridge dish buy back always required you to turn over your satellite equipment Blue ridge with a ZERO balance!
One year commitment paid your satellite Provider $200 for ETF fees
2 year commitment paid your Satellite provider $400 for ETF fees.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 09 Dec 2014 - 11:04 AM, said:
> 
> The dish Buy back programs were exactly as I stated.
> If anything with it has changed, it was with in the last 30 days.
> ...


Wrong, it was not changed in the last 30 days, hasn't been that way for a very long time, if ever! All that matters is how it is now, after all, we want accurate information and not false information.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> Wrong, it was not changed in the last 30 days, hasn't been that way for a very long time, if ever! All that matters is how it is now, after all, we want accurate information and not false information.


Um no you are far from correct, and if you want to go on a Directv loving rampage do it in the directv threads.
I've previously done the dish buy back. I KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS.
Why the hell do you think it called a dish buyback?
Again stop trolling you are bringing nothing but false information all over this Cable TV thread.
No one says you have to sign up with Blue ridge.

I have the service, you don't.
I've had Blue ridge , Dish and Directv off and on the past 19 years.

Now I'm going to have a mod do some clean up.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 09 Dec 2014 - 6:12 PM, said:
> 
> Um no you are far from correct, and if you want to go on a Directv loving rampage do it in the directv threads.
> I've previously done the dish buy back. I KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS.
> ...


Have the Mod call BRC and ask them how Dish Buy Back Works, and how long ago that was. Currently the BRC Dish Buy Back has nothing to do with early termination fees. Information should be current, as what took place in the past is not useful for the present.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yep you are correct, Dish buy Back with the $200 and $400 credits is no longer offered since November 1st of 2014 with the official Launch of the Tivo Dream.

So I apologize!

The New version only Gives you digital Basic Plus for $49.95 per month for 12 months.
Quite dumb!


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 09 Dec 2014 - 6:57 PM, said:
> 
> Yep you are correct, Dish buy Back with the $200 and $400 credits is no longer offered since November 1st of 2014 with the official Launch of the Tivo Dream.
> 
> ...


They were losing out with people terminating after just a few months, so BRC changed it. Apology accepted and time to move on.

I'll check on things in a few months and see how it goes. Like I said, if I can save and get good service, yes, I probably would make the switch. I am quite happy with my HR44 and minis, but a nice savings would likely motivate me to the other side. I guess you can say I'm more about money then loyalty ;-)


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> They were losing out with people terminating after just a few months, so BRC changed it. Apology accepted and time to move on.
> 
> I'll check on things in a few months and see how it goes. Like I said, if I can save and get good service, yes, I probably would make the switch. I am quite happy with my HR44 and minis, but a nice savings would likely motivate me to the other side. I guess you can say I'm more about money then loyalty ;-)


Directv is a Good Provider.
I just wasn't happy with the Function.

Just like some other long timers.
It happends.
Which is why I started a thread in the Cable section.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

New Blue ridge Internet speeds http://www.brctv.com/internet#anchor-speed---pricing

Basic+ or above Broadcast Basic Stand Alone Internet

Web Surfer 1.5 Mbps Download / 384 K Upload $27.95  $33.95 $42.95
G5 (5 Mbps Download / 384 K Upload) $37.95  $43.95 $52.95
G10 (10 Mbps Download / 800 K Upload) $42.95  $48.95  $57.95
G15 (15 Mbps Download / 2 Mbps Upload)  $52.95 $58.95  $67.95
Dream 60 New Speed Same Price as old G30 ( 60 Mbps Download / 3 Mbps Upload ) $69.95  $75.95  $84.95
Dream 100 New Speed Same Price as old G50 (100 Mbps Download / 5 Mbps Upload ) $109.95  $115.95  $124.95
G5-G100
Unlimited Off peak GB
250 GB max on peak times from 5 PM - 1AM
Web surfer
Unlimited off peak GB
100 GB max on peak


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## mexican-bum (Feb 26, 2006)

damondlt said:


> New Blue ridge Internet speeds http://www.brctv.com/internet#anchor-speed---pricing
> 
> Basic+ or above Broadcast Basic Stand Alone Internet
> 
> ...


OUCH! that seems high to me... I pay $39.99 for 50/30 with cox... non promo(maybe sam's member discount), I signed up for 25/15 2 years ago at Sam's but cox doubled all packages about a year ago for free. That is stand alone... no TV or Phone... Windstream DSL around here is even cheaper, or it was as I had it before but it was terrible, cox internet is excellent, constant 1 ms ping!!!!

Oklahoma is a lower cost state I guess... gas is $1.99 around here


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Blue ridge has always been high,
Your only options are Verizon DSL at a max of 3 mbps for $44.99 as a stand alone.
Or satellite internet.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Hmmm....DTV increase of $39 dollars has me rethinking it all. I'm in my second year of "savings" and it isn't looking all that good. I could switch to BRC and pay DTV its ETF and still save!


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> Hmmm....DTV increase of $39 dollars has me rethinking it all. I'm in my second year of "savings" and it isn't looking all that good. I could switch to BRC and pay DTV its ETF and still save!


Or call and see what you can get through retention to keep your bill down some.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

inkahauts said:


> Or call and see what you can get through retention to keep your bill down some.


I called and retention didn't have anything to offer, and I explained everything to her. My guess is it's because I'm under contract for another 11 months, and I've had lots of credits for the first year. She mentioned the early termination fee as if it would make a difference, but I told her it doesn't, and that is the truth. I will still save paying the early termination fee.

In my position, BRC has the price advantage because I need them for internet. I've had BRC before, so I know them well. I can say without a doubt, I could be happy with either DTV or BRC. The main differences are cost and with BRC no snow or rain issues.

I love my HR44 and minis, but total costs have lots of influence. Funny thing is, before I got the HR44, I thought the remote would be a problem, and now I love that remote.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 08 Dec 2014 - 3:07 PM, said:


How did you get G15 for 37.94? Regular cost is 52.95.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

I have BRC installation set for this Friday. What I would like to know is how the installation goes, for example, Ethernet to T6? and then Minis are connected wirelessly with cable from wall? BRC said Minis are connected wirelessly, so I assume that means Ethernet from router to T6 or to a MOCA bridge? If MOCA bridge, how is that accomplished? Does it affect your internet speed?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

First, My internet price is how they breakdown the bundle pricing.
It's part of my 12 month promo.

Now as far as Whole home connection, 
Both T6s have built in moca bridge.
I have One T6 connected Eithernet and that feeds both minis and other T6 by Moca.
But if you don't have Eithernet available close to a T6, they will just install a Moca Adapter by your router worst case.

MINIs are not connected wireless.
It's either Moca or Eithernet. 
As far as I know I don't think they make a wireless Tivo.

It's just like connecting HR44 and C41s the unsupported way. The HR44 has built in Deca,sort of like moca.
difference is , no Swm or cck.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> First, My internet price is how they breakdown the bundle pricing.
> It's part of my 12 month promo.
> 
> Now as far as Whole home connection,
> ...


I have a router in same room as T6 if I put it in my den, which is where I have the HR44. I thought the Roamio minis connect wirelessly because they can access the internet. Anyway, all sounds good for connectivity and thanks for the information.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> I have a router in same room as T6 if I put it in my den, which is where I have the HR44. I thought the Roamio minis connect wirelessly because they can access the internet. Anyway, all sounds good for connectivity and thanks for the information.


They access Internet through Moca or Ethernet. 
And I've never had a speed issue. And I've had 4 Netflix streams going at once without issues.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> They access Internet through Moca or Ethernet.
> And I've never had a speed issue. And I've had 4 Netflix streams going at once without issues.


They also access via Wi-Fi which I am pretty sure is wireless.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Minis are not wireless.
http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2709/related/1


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Well from what I understand it's not recommended but an option.
> http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2709/related/1


I only mentioned it because you seemed to suggest earlier that wireless was not an option.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> I only mentioned it because you seemed to suggest earlier that wireless was not an option.


IMPORTANT: TiVo Mini does not support wireless connections and cannot interact with DVRs in your home that are on a wireless connection.
http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2474/related/1

TiVo Mini, the host DVR, and all other DVRs you want to use with TiVo Mini must connect to the home router using a high-bandwidth Ethernet or MoCA connection. For ease of setup and maintenance, TiVo recommends that you use the same type of connection across all devices on your network.

I knew I wasn't crazy. Lol

You really should research the Tivo site , not BRC.

So as I said before, Minis are NOT wireless. 
If you have only T6s you can go the wireless route.
But not Minis.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> IMPORTANT: TiVo Mini does not support wireless connections and cannot interact with DVRs in your home that are on a wireless connection.
> http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2474/related/1
> 
> TiVo Mini, the host DVR, and all other DVRs you want to use with TiVo Mini must connect to the home router using a high-bandwidth Ethernet or MoCA connection. For ease of setup and maintenance, TiVo recommends that you use the same type of connection across all devices on your network.
> ...


I would go by what BRC says because it is their version of TiVo Roamio Plus called T6. TiVo does not have a T6 model listed on their website.

My previous reply was to point out wireless is an option--and it is an option with BRC, the cable company of discussion in this thread.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

From TiVo's website:

Can I wirelessly access my other DVRs, TiVo Stream, and TiVo Mini?

The TiVo Whole Home Solution works best with a wired Ethernet or MoCA connection. However, if you have a Roamio Plus or Roamio Pro DVR, you can wirelessly stream content between it and other TiVo devices in your home.
Roamio Plus and Pro models have a transcoder that enables streaming without a standalone TiVo Stream.
http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2709/related/1


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

They're referring to "TiVo devices", and it appears that a smartphone and/or tablet with the TiVo App is included in their "TiVo devices" reference. The current Mini hardware itself does not support wireless, the Roamio does. They further reference the Stream which streams to the App.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Sixto, on 19 Dec 2014 - 08:40 AM, said:Sixto, on 19 Dec 2014 - 08:40 AM, said:
> 
> They're referring to "TiVo devices", and it appears that a smartphone and/or tablet with the TiVo App is included in their "TiVo devices" reference. The current Mini hardware itself does not support wireless, the Roamio does. They further reference the Stream which streams to the App.


Didn't know this was in same quote. Point is Wireless is possible whether or not supported. TiVo does not say it can't be done, they say not supported. They are, in that quote, referring to Whole Home.


damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 16 Dec 2014 - 8:30 PM, said:
> 
> First, My internet price is how they breakdown the bundle pricing.
> It's part of my 12 month promo.
> ...


I don't know what you mean by worst case. I had an Ethernet cable right where the T6 was going and they used MoCA. Now before you come up with Ethernet is better than MoCA, Blue Ridge Cable and my conversation with TiVo chat say no difference though TiVo went further with MoCA being better but he thought that was just preference.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Now for some of my observances, and this is based on extremely limited use. Thus, I will confine myself to absolutes, at least absolutes to me.

1. TiVo does not let you add or delete a channel from station you are on, as you can do with DTV.

2. The setup for Display is somewhat confusing I guess because they set my 1080P TV in Settings to only display 720P. I have since changed that.

3. BRC's channel HD lineup, specifically HBO and Showtime, shows with regard to signal strength, a better signal on main Premium stations; for example, HBO HD 610 has better signal strength that HBO HD in the 500's. HBO HD 610 is main HBO. 

4. Instead of a dedicated List button, you have to press TiVo button and then click on My Shows to get list.

5. Little man on TiVo looks childish 

Anyway, that's it for now.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

From experience ... no matter what the words say ...

The Roamio supports wireless to connect the DVR to your home network. This can be to enable the DVR to access the internet, or for the DVR to communicate with any other device on the home network. That could be other TiVo DVRs, Minis, PCs, mobile devices, anything that can talk to a TiVo.

The Mini's do not natively support wireless. They can be setup wirelessly if you have an external box that does wireless to Ethernet, or even MoCA I guess.

In general, Ethernet has it's advantages, but MoCA is usually fine. I have found that Ethernet can exceed 200Mbps for Roamio-to-Roamio transfers, thus why I went that route, but it really depends on your home network environment. I'm all Gigabit with the wiring and the high-end Ethernet Switch.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Few quick items:
TiVo+TiVo for Playlist (press twice quick)
TiVo+1 for Season Pass Manager
TiVo+2 for ToDo List
There's also other TiVo+# items but those are the ones I use
LIVE TV to get to full screen "live" TV from any recording or menu
LIVE TV press when watching "live" TV is a toggle thru all of the 24x7 30-minute buffers, 6 tuners for the Plus/Pro, 4 tuners for the Base
For the tuner/buffer management, you can setup the buffers to usually have your favorite channels with a buffer when you power on the TV, but it depends on recordings and # of tuners
ZOOM to get to full screen (back to the recording) when watching a recording but within a menu with the recording playing in the corner (PIG)
RIGHT ARROW or Info brings up Info, including the display of each individual tuner/buffer, which allows specific tuner selection, just awesome
LEFT ARROW to return to the previous menu when watching "live" TV, or Back elsewhere
UP ARROW for Video setting
CLEAR to delete items in a list (Playlist, ToDo)
ADVANCE (->) to toggle to the top or bottom of any list, and within FF it skips to tick, or jump 24 hours in the guide
TV Power can turn on/off both the TV & A/V receiver. WooHoo!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Play, Play to reset the HDGUI
GUIDE for selected guide
I rarely use the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
In Settings/Channel List you can customize your own personal CIG to totally remove a channel, it's also where you can edit the favorites list
In Account & System Info/DVR Diagnostics, scroll to bottom, and the OOB Tune Start is the seconds since the last restart / boot
SPS30S to set 30 skip to tick (rather then slip) - easy to do while watching a recording, S=Select, P=Play
I find the new 3-column Playlist to be awesome, and it's customizable to move categories up/down on the left, my top-4 are All, TV Series, Devices, Movies
You may want to check out the kmttg java program, it gives you access to lots of internal info, and allows the backup up of recordings and lists
From TiVo menu, Slo-Motion toggles the PIG on/off


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> From experience ... no matter what the words say ...
> 
> The Roamio supports wireless to connect the DVR to your home network. This can be to enable the DVR to access the internet, or for the DVR to communicate with any other device on the home network. That could be other TiVo DVRs, Minis, PCs, mobile devices, anything that can talk to a TiVo.
> 
> ...


I don't know what you mean by Ethernet has advantages. but MoCA.... I spoke with TiVo representative and you know more than him? He said MoCA was better but thought it was a preference.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Cavicchi said:


> I don't know what you mean by Ethernet has advantages. but MoCA.... I spoke with TiVo representative and you know more than him? He said MoCA was better but thought it was a preference.


Personally, I like Ethernet because I already have a point-to-point Gigabit home network, and with the Roamio having Gigabit adapters, you can do very high speed transfers between Roamio's and other devices, but that's me.

MoCA is fine, and since it's easiest for the general consumer, it's the preferred method for DirecTV (with DECA) and TiVo. I've found it to be a little more complicated because it's harder to understand and tune, while Ethernet is point to point Gigabit networking, with the proper setup.

The net ... MoCA is fine.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Sixto, on 19 Dec 2014 - 2:18 PM, said:
> 
> Personally, I like Ethernet because I already have a point-to-point Gigabit home network, and with the Roamio having Gigabit adapters, you can do very high speed transfers between Roamio's and other devices, but that's me.
> 
> ...


Perhaps, but like I said, TiVo representative said what he said and you don't work for TiVo.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Man, you guys are rough, just casual conversation here.

For the general public, it's very appropriate for both DirecTV and TiVo to standardize on a MoCA implementation. It makes great sense, and doesn't require any additional wiring, such as Ethernet, thus a very nice technology. For me, with FiOS, it's especially easy because the standard FiOS router includes MoCA by default with no external MoCA bridge required.

Is MoCA better? It sure is if the intent is to keep things simple and deal with the general public. It's what I would use if I was helping a friend or family member.

If you already have a Gigabit network, is Ethernet better? Sure, it can do greater speeds then MoCA, and I've found it simpler to monitor.

As with most things, it's all relative ... but for sure, for the standard install, MoCA is perfect.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Man, you guys are rough, just casual conversation here.
> 
> For the general public, it's very appropriate for both DirecTV and TiVo to standardize on a MoCA implementation. It makes great sense, and doesn't require any additional wiring, such as Ethernet, thus a very nice technology. For me, with FiOS, it's especially easy because the standard FiOS router includes MoCA by default with no external MoCA bridge required.
> 
> ...


This is what happens when someone jumps into the conversation. I replied to diamonlt about what he said and you reply to me about what I said. According to TiVo, Ethernet into Roamio is preferred if you can get Ethernet to minis. Otherwise, and I am quoting from the conversation word for word, "They are relatively the same. They both are hardwired connections. Some people do report that MoCA works faster for them." "They seem to read very similarly in TiVo boxes. The biggest factor is the network itself, some run one type faster while others find the opposite true." "The performance is going to be network specific. Some routers and Roamios connect better than MoCA, while others see a boost from changing to MoCA. For the most part they work very similarly."


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

For the benefit of anyone else thinking of BRC and TiVo, BRC says they prefer MoCA all around if customer has their own type router--just to clarify, own type being BRC router. Reason for that is they can see more and offer better diagnostic through router if something goes wrong. If customer has a different type of router, then no benefit using MoCA all around. BRC further says in their testing before release to the public, they found no difference in performance between MoCA and Ethernet in to Roamio. This is from BRC technical support.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

One more thing, BRC has said they do not do installations of Ethernet to Roamio--just MoCA all around. Thus, in my case, they left the Ethernet cable laying on the carpet and hooked up a MoCA adapter to router, and POE on modem. Now of course they could and should be able to do it both ways, but apparently they, probably due to simplicity, only want to do it MoCA all the way.

Anyway, I am not certain I'll be staying with BRC. DTV will do a reinstall free, and I'm tempted to go back to them. HBO HD and Showtime HD signal strength in the 550 range compared to HBO HD and Showtime HD (single channel each) in 600 range is poor. I get around 88 in 550 and 94-95 in 600 range. Why should there be such a difference among the same premium? Anyway, I reported this to BRC and tomorrow a tech is coming. I specifically asked for BRC tech as opposed to what came today, a sub contractor. I am somewhat peeved the sub contractor left my 1080P TV set to receive 720P. Fortunately I checked around and saw that and changed it.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

If you want help ask the questions and you'll get answers.
If you don't like the answer, well that can't be helped.

By all means Go back to directv, no one said Blue ridge was perfect. 
But in the years I've had them for services I've had far less issues than directv.

No as far as channel edits in the guide, all you do is highlight the channel, and press select and choose,"Remove from Favorites"
Doesn't get much simpler than that.

I'm fairly sure myself and Sixto stated such in this thread and reviews.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 20 Dec 2014 - 05:00 AM, said:damondlt, on 20 Dec 2014 - 05:00 AM, said:
> 
> If you want help ask the questions and you'll get answers.
> If you don't like the answer, well that can't be helped.
> ...


Who is making a big deal about channel edits?

BRC does not have any 1080P content.

BRC does not want to connect Ethernet to Roamio. BRC left my 1080P TV set to receive in only 720P.

BRC has expanded with TiVo, and in the process it seems has hired more sub contractors. When I called BRC last night and talked with the lady, she said only BRC technicians install TiVo Dream service. She was at a loss for words after I told her it was done by Martech sub contractors in my house and she looked up who did the work.

I've always thought highly of BRC, but with TiVo, I am not so sure they are at that same standard of service. They seem to be more interested in ease of installation above all else. I had the Ethernet cable right there for hookup to Roamio, but they said no and used MoCA for Roamio. When I called, they insisted MoCA to Roamio is all they do. They even said that's what TiVo recommends.

I will see what happens today when BRC tech comes over, and I specifically asked for BRC tech, not sub contractors. She said it would be BRC tech and if possible, a supervisor will come. The main issue I have with the MoCA setup is it's on top blocking vents on my router. In addition, there should not be any reason why they can't do Ethernet in to Roamio. Heck, I had Ethernet into my HR44.

My premium channels in 550 range, over five, all have less signal strength (6-7 db) then same in 600 range. Actually, rather than comment on my real complaints, you choose to make a big deal over channel edits, and I haven't even mentioned mini watchers must use whatever I have on my Roamio DVR. I knew that going in, so no surprise there.

Getting back to channel edits, if I highlight channel in guide and press select, guess what, there is no choice to remove anything, what that does is take you to the channel for viewing. At least, that is how it is on my Roamio DVR.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)




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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Atleast you can leave blueridge without penalty.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 20 Dec 2014 - 10:50 AM, said:


That's nice, but not on my Roamio DVR. Oh, have to try it again. I was highlighting channel by show. But, that isn't the main issues I speak of, and of which you have not replied.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Atleast you can leave blueridge without penalty.


I don't know what that has to do with the complaints I posted. You consider that among the most important features? Personally, I would place 1080P, channel lists availability to minis, signal strength, and installation above ETF.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Oh, and BRC does have a reconnect fee.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I have no issues with my system, and blue ridge had no issues installing it, any signal levels I've seen in my system are 93-96.
But my house is all RG6 3GH quad shield. .
So any issues you speak of can't be helped by me.

But I wouldn't let the tech leave, and then come here and complain to the people who's systems work flawlessly. 
I have 2 T6s one connected ethernet and it supplies the whole system and never had one connectivity issue, recording issues , or signal issues going on 2 months.

If Directv would have had that track record for me , I wouldn't have paid an ETF just because I couldn't get away from them fast enough.

It's a new system, and I'm sure Blue ridge techs are far from masters of the system.

Just like when the HR34 that Directv installed and had to return 3 times before my system operated somewhat acceptable. 

So again Tivo isn't for everyone.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> Oh, and BRC does have a reconnect fee.


Really, yeah, it's called pay your bill on time and you won't pay a reconnect fee from a service interruption.

Blue Ridge doesn't charge any reconnect fee, stop blowing smoke.

Please go back to directv


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I'm really doubting your credibility. 
I think your just trolling, I've got to be honest.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

I'm going to have mods close my threads, and I'll go over to the Tivo forums.
Thanks


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> ...I've always thought highly of BRC, but with TiVo, I am not so sure they are at that same standard of service. They seem to be more interested in ease of installation above all else. I had the Ethernet cable right there for hookup to Roamio, but they said no and used MoCA for Roamio. When I called, they insisted MoCA to Roamio is all they do. They even said that's what TiVo recommends...


Yes, TiVo strongly recommends MOCA, just like DirecTV doesn't support ethernet for whole home. They don't want to be in the position of having to troubleshoot a customer's LAN (the majority of which are not designed correctly). In the same situation, a DirecTV installer would do the exact same thing.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 20 Dec 2014 - 12:22 PM, said:
> 
> I have no issues with my system, and blue ridge had no issues installing it, any signal levels I've seen in my system are 93-96.
> But my house is all RG6 3GH quad shield. .
> ...


You wouldn't have let the techs leave? Well, I have news for you, since you haven't been reading, BRC was insisting the only way they do it is with MoCa. You could tell the installers not to install, but you would not get them to do it any other way.

The signals levels you see is what you want to see. Actually, it's not a major issue if the picture is good.

If you had an HR44, maybe you would have been happier.

Yes, BRC does have a reconnect fee and it will apply, at least it has applied, to previous customers who have long since disconnected. You and I had BRC service before TiVo install, so we are not previous customers.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> You wouldn't have let the techs leave? Well, I have news for you, since you haven't been reading, BRC was insisting the only way they do it is with MoCa. You could tell the installers not to install, but you would not get them to do it any other way.
> 
> The signals levels you see is what you want to see. Actually, it's not a major issue if the picture is good.
> 
> ...


There is no reconnect fee for previous customer on any Digital install.

Again stop pulling false information out of a hat.

If you have a reconnect fee applied, then you had an unpaid outstanding Balance.

You show me where any previous customer got charged a reconnect fee on a Digital cable install!
I want to see!


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Yes, TiVo strongly recommends MOCA, just like DirecTV doesn't support ethernet for whole home. They don't want to be in the position of having to troubleshoot a customer's LAN (the majority of which are not designed correctly). In the same situation, a DirecTV installer would do the exact same thing.


Not that I've seen. I chatted with TiVo support this afternoon and was told the preferred method is Ethernet to Roamio unless Ethernet is not practical. The website even shows Ethernet as first option for install. What TiVo told today is if the Roamio provided by BRC doesn't have built-in MoCA, then MoCA adapter would be necessary, otherwise, use Ethernet.

BRC came today--real/authentic/BRC tech--and he, without a fuss, installed Ethernet to Roamio and removed MoCA adapter. He said that is how BRC techs will do it. Unfortunately, yesterday was a sub contractor. In addition, everyone I spoke with at BRC, including technical support, said Ethernet to Roamio is not how BRC does it. Kind of confusing to me at this point. Anyway, I am very please he installed with Ethernet cable--and it is working well.

DirecTV does install Ethernet straight in to HR44--and that's how it was done during installation for me, no fuss, no muss, and boom, over and out.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

http://myblueridgecable.com/knowledgemanager/article.php?id=147

Installation & Fees

Analog Cable Installation
$49.95
(up to 2 outlets)

*Reconnect/Collection Fee
$49.50*

*Digital Cable Installation
Free standard installation*


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> DirecTV does install Ethernet straight in to HR44--and that's how it was done during installation for me, no fuss, no muss, and boom, over and out.


No they do not, Directv requires CCK!!
Ethernet is unsupported!

and you can ask all your Directv Buddies!


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

damondlt said:


> http://myblueridgecable.com/knowledgemanager/article.php?id=147


See http://myblueridgecable.com/knowledgemanager/article.php?id=127 for disconnect/reconnect fees not related to delinquent accounts.
Emphasis added:

*I do not live at the address year round, can I turn my services off and back on again when I am at the address?*

Yes. You would need to set up your account as a seasonal account. You must keep the services activated for at least 1 month at a time. *Also there will be a charge to reconnect services and in certain areas reconnect and disconnect fees.* The charge to reconnect services is $22.50. If you have the services disconnected for at least 3 months and give us the reconnection date when you set up disconnection you will get a $10.00 discount. If you live in an area that we can disconnect and reconnect from the office and do not need to send a tech out to your home, the cost will be about $2.00 to disconnect and $2.00 to reconnect. Please be advised that if you set up your account as a seasonal account you might not be eligible for specials that we are currently running.

Perhaps you are in different areas?


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> There is no reconnect fee for previous customer on any Digital install.
> 
> Again stop pulling false information out of a hat.
> 
> ...


Look, I was there, left BRC and was told about a reconnect fee--and it is on their website. You have a mission to defend BRC at all costs--is how it appears to me. The reconnect fee was not this year--you know I have BRC for internet and phone as mentioned in past posts. However, there was a time when I didn't have BRC service and they wanted to charge me a reconnect fee--but I didn't go back to them. I think it has to do with how long since you had service with them.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

James Long said:


> See http://myblueridgecable.com/knowledgemanager/article.php?id=127 for disconnect/reconnect fees not related to delinquent accounts.


He only finds what he wants you to see.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

James Long said:


> See http://myblueridgecable.com/knowledgemanager/article.php?id=127 for disconnect/reconnect fees not related to delinquent accounts.


That clearly States that is for a seasonal account.

For a customer whom dropped their cable services 1, 2, 10 years ago, and wanted to resign up , *THERE IS NO RECONNECT FEE ANY DIGITAL INSTALL!!!!*


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

damondlt said:


> That clearly States that is for a seasonal account.
> 
> For a customer whom dropped their cable services 1, 2, 10 years ago, and wanted to resign up , *THERE IS NO RECONNECT FEE ANY DIGITAL INSTALL!!!!*


Thank you for posting what you believe is correct. I, for one, am not going to waste my Saturday finding an exact page to prove you wrong. What I offered was proof that policies change from area to area. If you can find a page that backs up what you say - that there is no reconnect fee on any install - it would be a good use of your Saturday.

Guys, lets cut out the name calling and personal comments - otherwise thread closure will not be the only result.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Cavicchi said:


> He only finds what he wants you to see.


NO you only find what you want, then you read it totally wrong and then ,complain about it.

Here you won!
All I was trying to do was have a Nice thread for Tivo customers whom might want it to go with their Blue ridge services.
I've posted Bills tons of pictures and many links , and all you've done is ***** about it since the very first page!
Not to mention Siixto even took some time with you , and all you did to him was rip him a new ass.

Well congrats!!!

Good Luck with your System.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

damondlt said:


> damondlt, on 20 Dec 2014 - 2:04 PM, said:
> 
> NO you only find what you want, then you read it totally wrong and then ,complain about it.
> 
> ...


Absolutely false, and easy to go back and look at what I said, though not you.

I think I've provided pertinent information for people considering BRC TiVo dream service.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

We're done here. Please do not open a similar thread.


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