ExpressVu and Tivo

  • Thread starter Thread starter dschell_2000
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I can - I miss my Tivos. I used to have a DirecTV Tivo, and it was the slickest thing I've ever used, mostly because the smarts in the scheduling were fully supported by accurate guide information. If you wanted a whole series, you'd get it, plain and simple, no fuss, no muss, no maintenance. The UI is great.

I had an HD Tivo with DirecTV also. I miss it, it was nice. It displayed flawlessly to my 4x3 HD TV like the 9200 never has, and its S-Video output fed to my DVD recorder let me get some of the best DVDs I've ever made.

On an ExpressVu board, all of this is not very relevant, because you can't record HD from a satellite without the linkage to the sat provider. The Series 3 HD Tivo is probably a great unit, but it can't do a thing for a satellite signal, just OTA and cable. The 9242 is still the best deal for ExVu.
 
Could someone please explain how tivo changes channels on the receiver? Can it talk to the *ev box? Tivo can't decript the signal itself can it? So how would it work?
 
Tivo controls the BEV receiver through an IR Blaster. Its bascially a little ir emitter that acts the same as a remote control. The Tivo will be connected through an A/V cable to the receiver.
 
Plus the unit being officially sold in Canada does not have a digital tuner -- it has two analog tuners. Only one of these can control a digital box from your cable or satellite company. The other tuner is strictly analog; there is also no OTA mode. So hooking to satellite, it becomes, by default, a single tuner PVR.
 
so, Tivo is just coming now too, so for Canadians, both are really "new"...as well, the 14 day guide isn't "new", it was only 2 days in older firmware...the US version have had the extended guide for many years on their PVR machines.


well, the BEV PVR's won't do the internet thing, but they do have some fairly decent search functions, especially now with the enhanced guide.


you can't really compare the two, because with TiVo, you need to add the cost of the hardware/service in addition to the cost of the BEV hardware/service...with the BEV hardware/service, a lot of the more popular features will already been enabled...as well, even though an HDPVR is $20/month to rent, that is for the entire unit...if you get a regular PVR for $10/month or a regular receiver for $3/month...anything with Tivo is going to be EXTRA.


to be honest, i can't see this being very popular...Canadians already don't like how much they pay for their services...expecting them to pay more is a bit of a stretch, epsecially when a large portion of what this machine can do can already be done on our providers top machines...factor in the lack of HD capability, and i can't see many people going for it...HD is the future.
 
Don't forget there are many people in canada who already have tivo.Back in 2005 there was a story in the ottawa citizen that 20,000-30,000 people in canada had tivo.What could really hurt other companys in canada is tivo is expected to bring there rebate program here very soon.Meaning more or less you get a free box.Now since tivo is opffical in canada i know my local best buy has sold out of them.
 
Tivo is Okay is you have basic cable and don't mind wasting $15 a month, otherwise it's a waste of money, and pita if it need to be wired to another STB. Way better off getting a Bell (or rogers)PVR.
 
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