# Why TiVo?



## rmmccann (Apr 16, 2012)

As someone who has never used a TiVo unit before, I'm kind of curious as to why some people prefer them over the standard DVRs? I am guessing it's something to do with features and software maturity, but I was hoping someone could lend some insight as to why they like their TiVo unit more than the other DVR DirecTV offers.

Kind of wondering if it would be something I would like myself.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I like them both. Tivo is simpler, LOTS faster, offers suggestions which record programs you might like when the tuners are not busy, based on previous viewing, and "thumbs up" ratings you enter. 

Basically its like Ford vs Chevy. They both get you where you are going, some just prefer one or the other for various reasons.


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## rmmccann (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for the info. I also see it's not currently compatible with WH-DVR, so that's an automatic deal-breaker for me.


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

rmmccann said:


> Thanks for the info. I also see it's not currently compatible with WH-DVR, so that's an automatic deal-breaker for me.


I am in a similar boat as you, I would love to try and potentially like Tivo but the whole limitation to WHDVR does stink, I understand why but it does stink.

D* and Tivo could maybe figure it out in the future and get even more money out of me! :grin:


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Some people do not care about WHDVR, HD, TVApps, etc. 

I introduced a HDVR2 to my mom & dad 5 years ago (in their mid-70's now) to graduate them from their VHS recorder. They learned it quick and still are amazed at the technology after all this time. No more VCR tapes spread across the floor missing labels to show the recordings on them. Now they have three DirecTiVo's in their home and take two when they go RV'ing cross country, set to the 101 bird on the rooftop and completely happy. 

I threw some big hard drives in them to increase recording time which impressed them more. Menu's are sooooo easy to get thru.

To switch them over to DirecTV models will burn up the minutes on my cell phone plan with them wondering how to navigate thru the new software compared to the DirecTiVo's. Plus, in case of signal loss over periods of days, they can watch their old TiVo programs for life versus the DirecTV DVR.

There are pros and cons on both ends of the spectrum.


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

"codespy" said:


> Plus, in case of signal loss over periods of days, they can watch their old TiVo programs for life versus the DirecTV DVR.


Periods of days? I suppose in an RV case sure, but a home set up, umm that one would have me scratching my head.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

codespy said:


> I introduced a HDVR2 to my mom & dad 5 years ago (in their mid-70's now) to graduate them from their VHS recorder. They learned it quick and still are amazed at the technology after all this time. No more VCR tapes spread across the floor missing labels to show the recordings on them. Now they have three DirecTiVo's in their home and take two when they go RV'ing cross country, set to the 101 bird on the rooftop and completely happy.


Well, if you ever need replacements, I have at least 1 brand new R10 sitting on a shelf.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

rmmccann said:


> Thanks for the info. I also see it's not currently compatible with WH-DVR, so that's an automatic deal-breaker for me.


 And me.
I looked into the Tivo's and I liked them but I would need 3 of them if they don't do MRV.

I'm happy with my setup.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

codespy said:


> Some people do not care about WHDVR, HD, TVApps, etc.
> 
> I introduced a HDVR2 to my mom & dad .


Those were the biggest POC receivers on the market.

Software was good, the Hardware had nothing but Hardrive failures, powersupply failures. They were know as the 1-2 year life span receiver.

I had 3 of them and all had power supply issues and 2 of them went to weaknees to get their failed hardrives replaced.

I have 5 tivo receivers sitting in my closet right now with Hardware issues.
3 Hughes HDVR2's 
1 samsung sir 4040
2 HR10-250 tivos

None are in working order.
This was only from 2004-2007
3 years 6 faulty receivers back when 1 DVR was only in the house.:lol:

The Directv/ Tivo's were not reliable receivers

The Directv Hr20's may have been buggy with their software issues, but many people still have them today with no issue with the Hardware.

I can see why it took over 5 years for Directv want anything to do with Tivo again.


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## Bobsacto (Feb 13, 2008)

Never had a problem with my original TiVo but updated to a HD receiver when they became available. Guess peoples experiences are different. The DTV software has never equaled the TiVo version in my opinion. If my current receiver fails probably try to go back to a TiVo. Little curious why anyone would hold on to five non-working receivers guess they have got more storage space than me. Been with DTV since 1997 and only one receiver has failed. Lucky?


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## billux (Mar 2, 2012)

Bobsacto said:


> Little curious why anyone would hold on to five non-working receivers guess they have got more storage space than me.


Spare parts!


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## Jeddem (Jan 6, 2012)

Obviously, different people care about different things. For my wife and me, the key things we prefer about TiVo are:

1) Trickplay - TiVo is just very responsive to the basic commands of Stop, Play, FF, Rew, etc. When you push a remote button, the unit responds immediately. It's very easy to cue up exactly the position you want (e.g., when skipping commercials). This is something I do ten times an hour every time I watch a TV show, so it is important to me. Although the newer DirecTV DVRs are better than they used to be, I believe they still lag on this key dimension.

2) Smooth fast-forward - The first and second FF speeds on TiVo seem continuous fast-motion, rather than just skipping from frame to frame. This has two important consequences. First, it combines with the command-responsiveness I mentioned in #1 to make it easy to cue up a particular point in the recording. Second, it allows one to use the slowest FF speed to watch (typically sports) at 3x speed while still seeing what's going on. I find this very useful when I need to get through a sporting event in much less time.

(FWIW, I suspect that the TiVo advantage on #1 and #2 must be caused by some fundamental (possibly patented) technology choice TiVo made, e.g., about how the data is stored. Otherwise, I would have thought the DirecTV DVR and other competitors would have caught up by now. Also, with the THR22, TiVo gets better performance out of the same hardware.)

3) Season Pass reliability - I have less confidence that this is still a TiVo advantage, but I believe that TiVo's are better at recording what you want without either a) missing episodes or b) recording too many episodes. All it takes is a few misses to make this an important feature.

4) Simplicity - The truth is that my wife (and many other spouses, I expect) likes the simplicity of the TiVo, and doesn't want to change. I don't really blame her.

Of these factors, #1 is really the most important to us.

There is no doubt that the THR22 has several severe feature/function limitations relative to the latest DirecTV DVRs. It's just that we don't care about them, and we do very much care about the things I've listed above.


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## frankygamer (Jul 1, 2006)

It not really fair to compare the THR22 to the HR2x. The THR22 basically has SW of 2-5 years ago. Many of us moved to cable when DirecTV dropped Tivo several years ago. TiVo kept progressing with the cable DVR's.

So while the THR22 lacks features of the HR2x, the TiVo Premiere which is TiVo's cable DVR has as much and more features then a HR2x.

So coming in with a clean slate, most would take the HR2x over the THR22. Some of us have stuck with TiVo with a faint hope DirecTV/Tivo will bring the THR22 up to the Premiere's feature set. Yeah I know it won't happen but I can hope.

TiVo was the first to do many of these "new" DirecTV features. I cringe when HR2x owners hail these great features like Pandora and YouTube that Tivo did years ago. Same for dual buffers, show sharing, apps, etc.

If there was a DirecTV Tivo with the Premiere feature set, the comparison would be more understandable.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Bobsacto said:


> Little curious why anyone would hold on to five non-working receivers guess they have got more storage space than me. Been with DTV since 1997 and only one receiver has failed. Lucky?


 Not really the kind of thing you drop off at the local garbage dump.

And yes you are lucky!


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## Bobsacto (Feb 13, 2008)

No I live in California and electronic recycling is easy. Every weekend someone has a drop off place or you can call and a company will pickup for free. Of course this being California we pay extra for certain electronic devices to pay for all this. I have been to a local company that does the recycling and it is interesting to see all that is involved. Big difference than videos I have seen of what goes on in other countries to tear up equipment.


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## brycerowdy (May 19, 2012)

I have a TiVo and I love it! WAY better than a standard DVR! :icon_hroc


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## BJP (Jun 3, 2012)

rmmccann said:


> As someone who has never used a TiVo unit before, I'm kind of curious as to why some people prefer them over the standard DVRs? I am guessing it's something to do with features and software maturity, but I was hoping someone could lend some insight as to why they like their TiVo unit more than the other DVR DirecTV offers.
> 
> Kind of wondering if it would be something I would like myself.


I can't compare it to the DirecTV DVRs since I've never used one, but I'm in the middle of a DirecTV switchover from DISH now and here's why I've chosen the TiVo unit:

1) Interface familiarity is a huge bonus -- I've been using the same TiVo Series 1 unit for more than ten years, several upgrades, across two different cable providers and two different satellite providers

2) I've wanted an HD TiVo a long time

3) I have only one TV so whole-home/multi-room viewing is completely irrelevant to me

4) I don't purchase PPV

5) I don't use any online streaming sites other than an occasional YouTube

All in all I'm 100% satisfied with the TiVo I bought 10 years ago, but for the missing HD.

The LNB on the old dish went out again and my Series 1 has been having a lot of trouble downloading programming updates, so it was time to just take the plunge and go DirecTV now that the THR22 is available. Without the THR22 I would have had Dish repair the LNB and kept paying non-contract, non-discounted prices.


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## HiDefGator (Nov 20, 2005)

damondlt said:


> Not really the kind of thing you drop off at the local garbage dump.


Huh? I've dropped off numerous old replay, tivo, and directv dvr's at my local dump.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

HiDefGator said:


> Huh? I've dropped off numerous old replay, tivo, and directv dvr's at my local dump.


 That doesn't suprise me! Whats funny is I bet all of Floridas Garbage is Shipped up north to another state. Thanks for your garbage and your care for the environment.


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## F1Turbo (Mar 16, 2008)

I've still got the old DirecTV TiVos, SD only, but with larger hard drives installed. I'm looking into the HR-34 and HR-24 to upgrade my system. 

From what I've been able to tell talking with people on the 34 and the 24, these DVRs do not have two of the features I use most on my old (and I mean OLD) TiVos--Season Passes and Wish Lists. Season passes allow you to record all shows of a certain name on a specific channel, and allow you to specify if you want first run only, or reruns too, etc, and how many total shows to keep at most. Then if the show changes times, or they broadcast an extra show on a different day, the TiVo still records it. You control priority if there are conflicts through the Season Pass Manager.

Wish Lists allow you to search on Actor, Director, Category, Keyword or Title. It will search across ALL channels. You can have it auto-record these, or use it to find specific shows to watch. For instance, if you follow Boston College hockey, you could put in a wish list with a key word of Boston College and category of hockey, and it would show you all the upcoming shows (and again, you could have it auto record these). These searches are saved once you build them. 

So those are 2 things I like a lot about TiVo. I always have plenty of shows to choose from, without doing any sorting through schedules manually to find what I want to record. From what I've been able to tell, these features are not available on standard DVRs (or at least the DirecTV units). I think it has to do with the patents TiVo has, and that have been upheld in court. 

I HOPE I'm wrong about this, especially the season pass part, because I really would like to get one of the DirecTV HR-34s. I'd love the 5 tuners and HD capability, but would not like to have to manually look through the guide to find what I want to record.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

F1Turbo said:


> I've still got the old DirecTV TiVos, SD only, but with larger hard drives installed. I'm looking into the HR-34 and HR-24 to upgrade my system.
> 
> From what I've been able to tell talking with people on the 34 and the 24, these DVRs do not have two of the features I use most on my old (and I mean OLD) TiVos--Season Passes and Wish Lists. Season passes allow you to record all shows of a certain name on a specific channel, and allow you to specify if you want first run only, or reruns too, etc, and how many total shows to keep at most. Then if the show changes times, or they broadcast an extra show on a different day, the TiVo still records it. You control priority if there are conflicts through the Season Pass Manager.
> 
> ...


DIRECTV's DVRs have had series (season passes) since day one. They also have the ability to use boolean searches to do the same thing that a wishlist can do, it does take more effort, and they have had that for years as well. So I'm not sure what or where you're reading your information but it appears to be incorrect.


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## F1Turbo (Mar 16, 2008)

Shades228 said:


> DIRECTV's DVRs have had series (season passes) since day one. They also have the ability to use boolean searches to do the same thing that a wishlist can do, it does take more effort, and they have had that for years as well. So I'm not sure what or where you're reading your information but it appears to be incorrect.


That's good to hear that. I talked to a guy at Costco today (their salesman for DirecTV) who called his DirecTV rep, who said that their DVRs do NOT have any season pass or wish list capability. My father also has one, and said that the DVR used to give him a chance when recording a show to add it as a season pass, but no longer does this. I'm going to a friends house tonight, and he has a DirecTV DVR, so I'll get to check it out first hand.

Are you using an HR-24 or HR-34 now, and if so, can you do "season passes"?

Thanks for your help!


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

F1Turbo said:


> That's good to hear that. I talked to a guy at Costco today (their salesman for DirecTV) who called his DirecTV rep, who said that their DVRs do NOT have any season pass or wish list capability. My father also has one, and said that the DVR used to give him a chance when recording a show to add it as a season pass, but no longer does this. I'm going to a friends house tonight, and he has a DirecTV DVR, so I'll get to check it out first hand.
> 
> Are you using an HR-24 or HR-34 now, and if so, can you do "season passes"?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


They're getting hung up on specific terminology and not the functions of the receiver. Having to setup manual timers for every show now days would be insane.


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## F1Turbo (Mar 16, 2008)

Shades228 said:


> They're getting hung up on specific terminology and not the functions of the receiver. Having to setup manual timers for every show now days would be insane.


Thanks!! That's exactly what I thought too (having to manually set timers).


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## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

I will agree, though, that the DirecTV version of wishlists, while more powerful, is a bit of a pain to use - especially when it comes to reviewing previously entered searches. Nevertheless, they can do most everything TiVo wishlists can do, and more.


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## htroberts (Aug 28, 2009)

Davenlr said:


> Basically its like Ford vs Chevy. They both get you where you are going, some just prefer one or the other for various reasons.


I'd say it's more Windows versus Mac...


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## drumdude (Oct 25, 2011)

And TiVo is like a Mac!


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

drumdude said:


> And TiVo is like a Mac!


Maybe an OS 9 Mac.


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## drumdude (Oct 25, 2011)

True! I'm still holding out for a newer TiVo OS before I replace all 3 of my Directv DVRs. Still holding out some hope.


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## speedy4022 (Jan 26, 2004)

I don't hold out hope for a new tivo os I have 2 directv dvrs and one thr22. If the tivo did whole home I would have 3 tivos they are way more responsive than the directv dvr and I think this is the reason tivos don't do whole home. I know some on this forum do not believe directv is holding the tivos back but I think if they didn't their dvr would become a thing of the past.


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## speedy4022 (Jan 26, 2004)

I have one more thing to add if the had the same software as the tivo premiere minus things like netflix which directv would never allow. The tivos would outsell the directv dvr by a large margin.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

speedy4022 said:


> I have one more thing to add if the had the same software as the tivo premiere minus things like netflix which directv would never allow. The tivos would outsell the directv dvr by a large margin.


No they wouldn't. Look at cable...Tivo doesn't replace even close to 50% of cable DVRs.


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## drumdude (Oct 25, 2011)

"sigma1914" said:


> No they wouldn't. Look at cable...Tivo doesn't replace even close to 50% of cable DVRs.


But this is due to cable companies strapping TiVo with cablecard technology which doesn't work. I was one of the unfortunate buyers of that fiasco.


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## speedy4022 (Jan 26, 2004)

Drumdude pretty much summed it up cable companies stick tivo with cable cards if they did not things would be different.


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## celticpride (Sep 6, 2006)

cablecards work fine on verizon fios except no indemand,although comcast has added in demand to tivos in boston and the san francisco bay area.


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

sbl said:


> I will agree, though, that the DirecTV version of wishlists, while more powerful, is a bit of a pain to use - especially when it comes to reviewing previously entered searches. Nevertheless, they can do most everything TiVo wishlists can do, and more.


What I still miss from Tivo is the ability to run all wishlists at once; with the HRs, you need to run each saved search one at a time.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

drumdude said:


> But this is due to cable companies strapping TiVo with cablecard technology which doesn't work. I was one of the unfortunate buyers of that fiasco.


It worked for me with Charter. The only difference between what my TiVo couldnt do that theirs could was on demand and I honestly didn't miss that for the past 4 years.


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## cyborlink (Dec 14, 2011)

I have a Tivo HD with Lifetime Service that I used on Fios and then Cox. A year ago I went with DirecTV and their HR-24. In February, I added the THR-22 Tivo, and way back, I had a DirecTV Tivo Series II. 

DirecTV Tivo (THR-22) Advantages:

#1 - Smooth playback in Fast Forward. This is very important if you want to move through a sporting event more quickly, but still see all the detail as with auto sports or football.

#2 - Immediate Slow Motion. Yes, the HR-24 can do slow motion by holding down a few seconds, but Tivo gives instant slow motion, step-by-step, and return to regular speed immediately.

#3 - Two constant ON 30 minute buffers. Yes HR-24 allows the manual start of a second buffer, but it goes OFF after 90 minutes of inactivity.

#4 - Unlimited Season Passes. The HR-24 limits to 50 and the HR-34 to 100. While 50 sounds like a lot, it really isn't. 

#5 - Faster response to operator inputs. The Tivo typically responds within a second or two. This delay is due to DirecTV SWM rather than the 'box'. (on cable Tivos, all responses are virtually instantaneous) However, the HR-24 can hang-up on a channel change or play a recording for 5-10 seconds. 

DirecTV Tivo Disadvantages:

#1 - Because the Tivo Peanut remote has buttons and features not supported with the DirecTV remote, the Tivo remote is required (unless you program a remote such as the Harmony). Unfortunately the DirecTV Peanut Tivo does NOT have full code sets programmed into it, especially newer products such as Sound Bars. Therefore, you can't use the Tivo remote to control the sound or mute on some newer A/V equipment. 

#2 - Not compatible with any whole house system.

#3 - Does not allow access to outside programming such as Netflix and other sources that the previous Tivo HD cable units did support.

#4 - HDD problems. In 7 months I've gone through two THR-22 units and now on my third. The bad units start recording then pause in the middle of the recording for 20 to 90 seconds, then continue recording. What you see during playback are these 20 to 90 second 'jumps' and the recording is, for example, only 22 minutes long, not 30 minutes. The green bar at the bottom shows only the 22 minutes. When this starts happening, it gets worse very quickly.

The way I 'prove' this happens to the service tech is that I have an HR-24 sitting right beside the THR-22 in my home theater. So I record the same program on both units simultaneously from the same feed line. The HR-24 program looks perfect and the THR-22 stops and starts, along with other strange artifacts. 


I know there are a lot advantages and disadvantage, but the ones above are based on my years of experience using various Tivos and DirecTVs and they are the ones that have made a difference for me personally, based on what I watch and features I like.


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