[ale] Tivo questions

[scott mcbrien]

On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 8:30 PM, David Tomaschik
<david at systemoverlord.com> wrote:
> On 01/04/2011 04:28 PM, Drifter wrote:
>
> Cosco has a tivo box on the shelf:
>
> It says it is a Tivo Premiere, Model#: TCD746320
>
> Allegedly has a hard drive that can hold up to "45 hours of HD recording."
>
> Is this a good buy at $89 or is it a model about to be discontinued?
>
> Box also indicates I will need a "cable card." Am I going to have any
> trouble getting one from Comcast? Or is Comcast actively trying to block
> useage of Tivo?
>
> Given what Comcast is charging me for the recording box, this would pay for
> itself in short order.
>
> Sean
>
> No idea if it's going to be discontinued soon, but I have a TiVo premiere
> myself.  Getting the cable card from Comcast was no trouble, but does
> require an installer to come out.  They charge $1.99/mo for the cable card.
> TiVo service (for getting your data information) is $13/mo.
>
> Personally, the TiVo is far superior to the Comcast DVR.  My old Comcast DVR
> had frequent problems, and they had no apparent incentive to improve their
> software.  TiVo does push down new firmwares with new features, and I
> appreciate that.

Tivo Premiere shouldn't be discontinued soon, it's about a year old.
Though Tivo is having their subscribership eroded by people using the
crappy cable provider provided DVRs.

Comcast does offer cable cards, I always have problems with Comcast
(the people, not the equipment) when trying to get them.  It really
depends on the installer they dispatch to your house.  Last one I had
was pretty good, but over the last few years whenever I needed a
cablecard, or I moved and had to change my service it would be 3 in
home visits and countless hours of suck.  Comcast doesn't actively
block the use of Tivo, but cable cards can't do On Demand programming,
and their installers difficulty getting the cablecards activated is
generally the issue.

The big additional thing that you're going to have to pay (as Sean
points out) is the Tivo service charge.  you can get a Lifetime
Service for your Tivo, but it costs about $350.  If you're going to
keep the box for more than 3 years it's worth it, if not, probably
monthly is better.


-Scott