Replacement for TIVO ?

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sarahfoxnz

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#140881 23-Feb-2014 15:12

Hello.

Is there a good replacement for TIVO ? My one is currently workimg, & i'm not expecting it to crash any time soon. but i'm looking for replacements - for WHEN the time comes.

Some things i like are :-

- EPG guide
- automatic recording (season pass)
- LONG TERM / RELIABLE support & on-going sales

I don't plan on buying anything soon, but i want to be prepared.

EDIT: i mean, non-TIVO

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#992835 23-Feb-2014 15:40

I'm in the same situation & I would buy another TiVo on trade me!

Klipspringer

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#992851 23-Feb-2014 16:13

The most likely thing to break is probably the hard drive. When it does eventually break I plan to just install a new bigger one. I don't think that will be too hard but maybe someone who has done it before can comment.

qwertee

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#992894 23-Feb-2014 17:23

I have both a TIVO and also a Panasonic PWT530 blue ray recorder.

I would recommend the Panasonic which has a 500Gb HDD , dual tuner and prefer the interface to the TIVO
Last I saw it on specials at Noel Leeming for $439.
But this Panny doesnt allow you to burn to a DVD but content can be copied to an external HDD.
I had the DVD multizoned from ProVideo CHCH for free.

cheers

mattwnz

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#992897 23-Feb-2014 17:29

How long would you expect the tivo to last? I have 2 and they still work well, and I think the secret is to keep them always powered. I had a lot that were DOA when i first got them, which may have been because they were unpowered for a long time. If replacing the drive in the future, the problem maybe finding a compatible drive for them

old3eyes

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#992995 23-Feb-2014 19:33

I seem to remember hearing back in January that TiVo in the US is getting out of the hardware side of things and going to license their software to other manufactures so we may see the like of Panasonic bringing out a DVR with TiVo software. Would be way better than the crap interface of the current Freeview DVRs.

Regards,

Old3eyes

Kiwi1971

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#993123 24-Feb-2014 08:42

The thing I would miss most about the TiVo is the TiVo Suggestions / Thumb rating feature, I think as a point of difference it is pretty unique. The amount of times I have missed a show or a film, only to find it in the TiVo suggestions folder, I couldn't tell you.

I wonder what it would cost a company to license that from TiVo or replicate it with enough difference to avoid a legal battle. Star ratings or such.

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Jaxson

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#993144 24-Feb-2014 09:34

old3eyes: Would be way better than the crap interface of the current Freeview DVRs.

That's interesting as I find the Tivo interface damn annoying. It's all SD and buries things in weird places / levels down the menus.
It prompts me to confirm what I wish it would just do, like hitting record on a show brings up the do I really want to record this (or book a season pass) prompt.
And I just don't get that 'now showing' is not live TV etc.

I like the fact that despite being years old by the time we got it, and made in Mexico, it's still working if you got a good one.
I've had a few hiccups lately recording shows on TV3 that either had no picture or would freeze when playing back, but that seems to have passed.
It was easily the cheapest option at the time but I think I'd go for a name brand like Sony/Samsung/Panasonic personally now if my Tivo ever dies.

Klipspringer

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#993149 24-Feb-2014 09:49

Here is a link with lots of info about upgrading the internal hard drive.

http://forums.oztivo.net/showthread.php?2555-Tivo-320-NZ-upgrade-to-1-TB

My only concern currently is that it seems you need a disk image of your current hard drive before attempting the upgrade. Obviously if my disk crashes I'm not going to be able to make a disk image. Anybody got some suggestions?

Maybe I should just upgrade the disk now while the current disk is OK.

Groucho

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#993217 24-Feb-2014 11:57

If that day comes I might look at replacing the HDD however if that's not viable I would look at Magic TV! http://magictv.co.nz/MTV3700TD-features.html On paper it's a very feature rich box that can be networked and appears to have its own variant of the Home Network Package. If you have two or more devices you can access and stream content over your LAN and some other snazzy features - with no additional license fee!

jonathan18

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#993263 24-Feb-2014 12:38

Groucho: If that day comes I might look at replacing the HDD however if that's not viable I would look at Magic TV! http://magictv.co.nz/MTV3700TD-features.html On paper it's a very feature rich box that can be networked and appears to have its own variant of the Home Network Package. If you have two or more devices you can access and stream content over your LAN and some other snazzy features - with no additional license fee!

I don't know about the reliability of the current model, but a number of people I know have problems with the previous model Magic TV; one of these, my sister, gave up on her Magic and went for a s/h TiVo from TM. I'm just hoping neither of our TiVos give up; I guess if the programming on these is really important I'd get around to transferring them onto the NAS (something I typically avoid as the file sizes are huge!). The networking feature of the TiVo is important to us, so interested to hear the Magic now offers something similar. Do any other PVRs have this?

mattwnz

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#993269 24-Feb-2014 12:49

Jaxson:
old3eyes: Would be way better than the crap interface of the current Freeview DVRs.

That's interesting as I find the Tivo interface damn annoying. It's all SD and buries things in weird places / levels down the menus.
It prompts me to confirm what I wish it would just do, like hitting record on a show brings up the do I really want to record this (or book a season pass) prompt.
And I just don't get that 'now showing' is not live TV etc.

I like the fact that despite being years old by the time we got it, and made in Mexico, it's still working if you got a good one.
I've had a few hiccups lately recording shows on TV3 that either had no picture or would freeze when playing back, but that seems to have passed.
It was easily the cheapest option at the time but I think I'd go for a name brand like Sony/Samsung/Panasonic personally now if my Tivo ever dies.

At least the interface isn't laggy. I got a igloo box recently, and it is the most laggy device I have used, including changing channels and viewing the guide.

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trig42

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#993275 24-Feb-2014 13:05

On that, what are the chances of Igloo releasing a box with a PVR?

That would be my ideal, as we pretty much only watch FTA, but the option of getting the other channels for a month would be nice, but I do not want a box that isn't a PVR.

I know it will not happen fast (if at all) with Sky involved wanting to keep people on the MySky platform. I will probably just cancel Sky shortly and be done with it (but will really miss the Rugby Internationals).

Maxcat

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#993581 24-Feb-2014 19:31

I have upgraded my Tivo to 1Tb using a 1TB drive I had lying around.

It has been stable since the day I did it 6 months ago and if doing it again I would simply get one of the HDD build for video/audio to minimise drive noise.

My advice; do NOT do the upgrade until you have emailed the Tivo Doctor - Darren who can supply a Tivo image and helpful advice to get you started.

Tivodr@gmail.com

http://kingey1971.wix.com/tivorepairs#!contact/c2q4

In my view there is device that matches Tivo given the home networking capability and other user convenient tools.

I want to try to maintain my Tivos as long as I can - watch for fan noise!

JimmyH

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#993623 24-Feb-2014 20:50

Jaxson:

That's interesting as I find the Tivo interface damn annoying. It's all SD and buries things in weird places / levels down the menus.
It prompts me to confirm what I wish it would just do, like hitting record on a show brings up the do I really want to record this (or book a season pass) prompt.
And I just don't get that 'now showing' is not live TV etc.

Snap. That, the fact that it does not have AV inputs to connect my Sky box, the absence of DLNA connectivity to non-TiVo media players, and the annoying eternally recording/buffering on the last two channels "feature" all irritated me. Mine is on a shelf in the garage and hasn't been powered on for circa 12 months. Replaced with a Panasonic XW390 which, in my opinion, beats it hands down.

Apart from a god-awful menu system, and a manual that reads like it was written by a drunken dyslexic Lemur, it's a good bit of kit. In contrast to the Tivo it has:
- a bigger hard drive
- ability to burn material to discs
- DLNA connectivity to non-TiVo networked media players etc
- AV Inputs for sources like Sky, and
- No damn constant 24/7 recording ahead of the last two channels watched.

Much happier that I was with the TiVo, must get round to putting the barely-used TiVo on TradeMe at some point.........

mattwnz

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#993660 24-Feb-2014 21:45

Maxcat:

I want to try to maintain my Tivos as long as I can - watch for fan noise!

What do you mean by fan noise? I switched mine off once and turned it back on and it had a high pitched noise for a while then stopped. The fan though is still going. Was about 6 months ago. Guessing the fans are one of the first things that do go on them. I am guessing they aren't too difficult to get hold of replacement fans.

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