What's the major differences between regular Tivo and D*Tivo?

[joellyn]

Not sure if I should run out and buy a regular Tivo before prices change? I have a D*Tivo right now and love it!

Can't you schedule recordings from a computer with a regular Tivo? Do you have to have a phone line? And I heard that you can't record 2 things at once like the D*Tivo?

Just curious...

[Guindalf]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. All of your assumptions are correct. However, with a small investment of time and money, you can get a lot of the features like networking, HMO, TTG, etc., but "Zipper-ing" your existing D* box. Got to the TiVo Underground or Upgrade forums for more details.

The only standalone TiVo that has (will have) dual tuners is the new Series 3, which is aimed at the cable and OTA markets, so I would say, all things considered, IMHO, stick to what you have.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Single Tuner - Only record one thing at a time.

Phone or Network connection mandatory for guide data.

Reduction in video quality on recorded shows or massive increase in storage requirements.

You can schedule recordings over the internet.

You can easily network a stand alone TiVo with a computer. (Not that the zipper is hard.)


If you've got D* then there's not really any reason to go for a SA TiVo over a DTiVo.

[undertow]

Can anyone who's got both a standalone and a DTivo fill us in on the image quality differences? I know that DirecTivos record the actual satellite stream so there is no loss in quality from the original signal and the recorded show is pretty small because DTV's got some efficient MPEG encoders but the image quality isn't the best since they compress it so much.

Assuming a high quality signal to begin with, will a standalone give roughly the same results in image quality but with larger resulting file sizes?

[ebonovic]

Unless TiVo has upgraded their MPEG quality since their initial units (Series 1 StandAlones)

BEST Quality is about equal or a tad less then the "exact" quality on DirecTivo
Medium is fair, but it noticeable different
Basic Quality IMHO, is usually a waste of time.

My SA unit is now at my InLaws home and another at my mom's.... Bottom line, it truely is less... but PQ is always in the eye of the viewer.

(And obviously it is depended on what channel you are watching, as SCI-FI on DirecTV doesn't look good period some days)

The other piece... Channel Changing.
With the DTivos... it is "slow" when compared to a non-DVR
But, mix in an SA-TiVo that isn't using it's integrated tuner... you are looking at about 3 seconds or so to get that channel change done.

[HiDefGator]

The big selling point for me is the integration. Having both DTV and Tivo in the same box is so much cleaner to use.

[goony]

Guindalf is spot on - it's worth the effort to "Zipper" (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=265929) your DTivo... the TivoWebPlus features bring a lot to the party (see attached images) and using info from these forums you can setup secure remote access.

Example: I wanted to put 12 30-minute shows to DVD recorder on a single disc. With TivoWebPlus 'merge' module the whole thing took about 3 minutes to get started - next morning, disc was done and I "finalized" it on my DVD recorder.

To be fair, you can add TivoWebPlus to a standalone Tivo too, but the 'total' package of recording quality, integrated dual tuners and networked features make a modified S2 DTivo a great SD television experience. For $5.99/mo. DVR fee it's a bargain!

[JimSpence]

No one mentioned the monetary difference.

SA TiVo subscription is $12.95/month of the first one and $6.95 for each additional one.
DirecTV DVR (TiVo or otherwise) subscription is $5.99/month, additional units are covered under that price.

[bidger]

The big selling point for me is the integration. Having both DTV and Tivo in the same box is so much cleaner to use.
Yeah, that's true. I noticed it when I switched over from a S1 SA TiVo hooked up to a DirecTV receiver to a D-TiVo. Of course, the one advantage to a SA TiVo is if you do change providers, you can still use the SA. You can't use a D-TiVo to record cable.

It's no longer an option, but if you bought Lifetime on a D-TiVo before it was taken off the table, it's tied to your account, not the receiver. I used that to upgrade to an HR10-250 last August. With TiVo's announcement of Lifetime going away, I'm glad I made the choice of Lifetime with DirecTV 5 years ago this month.