TiVo vs 'other DTRs'

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RockResearch

152 posts

Master Geek

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#43574 21-Oct-2009 09:19

I have been delaying my purchase of a DTR as on face value the TiVo offering seems quite compelling.

While it seems the 'other' DTR's might be more flexible when it comes to recording capacity, the functionality (i.e. season pass etc.) of the TiVo box along with the fact that it is supported by TVNZ and Telecom seem to make it a no brainer compared to the 'others'. Plus it seems they all cost about the same apart from the Panasonic machine which is more than twice the price. Am I missing something here? Is TiVo the obvious choice?

P.S I have completely disregarded MySky as an option as I am not interested in a subscription model.

Rock Research - NZ's online marketing research experts. We like to blog too.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#265624 21-Oct-2009 12:29

With regards to recording capacity, TiVo does allow you to stick on an external Hard Drive I believe (not sure if it has to be TiVo branded though or if any one will do), plus if you get the home netowrking kit you can move and transfer any non-DRM stuff on your computer (I think anything your record from FTA TV is non-DRM, and anything downloaded via the On Demand platform is DRMd) which is pretty sweet.

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jonathan18

6998 posts

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#265654 21-Oct-2009 13:53

NonprayingMantis: With regards to recording capacity, TiVo does allow you to stick on an external Hard Drive I believe (not sure if it has to be TiVo branded though or if any one will do)

I understand that, ostensibly, it needs to be the TiVo-branded model (apparently a 500GB model made by WD), which comes at quite some cost (check Aus site for the price there). I did get some impression that there are hacks available to allow one to use any external drive, but never found specific detail of these.

RockResearch

152 posts

Master Geek

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#265658 21-Oct-2009 14:01

jonathan18:
NonprayingMantis: With regards to recording capacity, TiVo does allow you to stick on an external Hard Drive I believe (not sure if it has to be TiVo branded though or if any one will do)

I understand that, ostensibly, it needs to be the TiVo-branded model (apparently a 500GB model made by WD), which comes at quite some cost (check Aus site for the price there). I did get some impression that there are hacks available to allow one to use any external drive, but never found specific detail of these.

I think I saw somewhere that any 'hacks' would void the warranty.

Rock Research - NZ's online marketing research experts. We like to blog too.