Review on the S3

[Johncv]

Go here for reviews on the S3

http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/060915/16958_id.html?.v%3D1&quicken=2

[MediaLivingRoom]

"The real problem is that other than HD-support, this just isn't a big leap forward. Indeed, without the HD functions I don't see much reason to upgrade."

"The ability to time shift HD content is a great, but is it worth $800? I don't think so. Not when the Series2 is being given away free with a three year contract and a 180-hour Series2 DT will only run you $130. $800 just seems pricey to me, but then again I don't even own a HDTV yet. Although the bank is up to $24. Damn it, $25."

http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/09/12/20861.aspx
Posted By: Dan Costa

[tunnelengineer]

Wow, another meaningful post......

Of couse without an HDTV you are not going to see a reason to buy the S3. Just the same as if you are using satellite or like the cable company crappy DVR's.

I bought it specifically for what is was intended......Recording cable HDTV channels and digital cable using 2 tuners. I'm sure 90% of the purchasers did the same thing. What do you want a tivo to do Make your toast in the morning?

[ZeoTiVo]

"The real problem is that other than HD-support, this just isn't a big leap forward. Indeed, without the HD functions I don't see much reason to upgrade."

wow, without getting HD from my content provider I see no reason to lay out $2000 for a HD capable TV. Thanks for confirming to me why I do not spend much time reading most of the blogs out there.

[rainwater]

wow, without getting HD from my content provider I see no reason to lay out $2000 for a HD capable TV. Thanks for confirming to me why I do not spend much time reading most of the blogs out there.

Right now the only feature the S3 has that cable company DVRs don't have are Wishlists. It is going to be a tough sell to get people to buy a S3 for a nice UI and wishlists. So I can not totally disagree with the review. However, obviously they rushed the box to market so I would hope they are planning on adding a lot of features to this box pretty soon. But only time will tell.

[pmrowley]

Well, I'll say this:

After messing with our Tivo3 this weekend, and comparing it to the Cox DVR, my wife told me, "I don't care how much this thing cost, I am NOT giving it up."

Yes, there are some shortcomings currently, but there are some little details that make this box worth the price of admission:

1) Ability to see what is being recorded, on which tuner, at a glance, just by looking at the box. This, in and of itself, sold it for my wife. She can glance at Tivo, and tell if it's missing a recording, and which recording it might be missing. With the Cox DVR, all you have is a little red light, showing that a recording is occuring. You don't know what it's recording, or whether something is being missed. Over the weekend, this became the killer feature.

2) Hybrid viewing mode: I have a Vizio 50" plasma that prefers to display in 720p. However, scaling 420i just looks horrible, if the scaling to 720p is done by the cable box. With hybrid mode, HD looks incredible in 720p, Tivo deinterlaces 420i to 420p, and the monitor upscales 420p to look almost as good as HD in zoom mode. The Cox box has one output mode at a time, and doesn't support a "native mode" that passes each format to the monitor. If I want to watch SD stuff and not have it look awful, I have to go in and change the output mode.

3) Tivo interface: 'nuff said.

4) Higher-quality video output: The Tivo3 just looks better in HD mode. It just simply blows the doors off of the Cox DVR PQ.

5) Capacity: I just field-upgraded our Series3 to 750GB. I can't do that with a cable DVR.

Yeah, if you don't watch HD content, or don't have an HD monitor/TV, this box is a TOTAL waste of money. However, if you watch HD, it's no contest in comparing a Series3 to any of the cable DVRs. And with the savings over time with not renting a cable decoder/dvr combination from Cox, we are paying back that $800 at a rate of about $20/month.

-P

[timckelley]

And with the savings over time with not renting a cable decoder/dvr combination from Cox, we are paying back that $800 at a rate of about $20/month.

-P

Are you not paying a monthly fee to TiVo for your series 3?

ETA: I just realized that early adopters have the ability to transfer lifetime from another box.

[jsmeeker]

1) Ability to see what is being recorded, on which tuner, at a glance, just by looking at the box. This, in and of itself, sold it for my wife. She can glance at Tivo, and tell if it's missing a recording, and which recording it might be missing. With the Cox DVR, all you have is a little red light, showing that a recording is occuring. You don't know what it's recording, or whether something is being missed. Over the weekend, this became the killer feature.



All the other TiVos until the Series 3 were the same way. just a red light. But I never worried. TiVo was pretty reliable. Having to know the schedules all the time in a way partially defeats the point of having a TiVo (or another DVR).

I still think the killer features of the S3 over other TiVo's (in order) is HD and recording digital/"scrambled" stuff without the need for a cable box.

[Johncv]

5) Capacity: I just field-upgraded our Series3 to 750GB. I can't do that with a cable DVR.

-P

Please explain "field-upgraded". I don't understand, what did you do?

[jjberger2134]

Please explain "field-upgraded". I don't understand, what did you do?


He added a larger hard drive to the unit. This voids the TiVo warranty, but gives TONS and TONS of extra space to store recordings, especially HD content.

[mattack]

Of couse without an HDTV you are not going to see a reason to buy the S3.

I realize it's just one data point, and I *haven't* yet bought one..

But I don't have an HDTV, but the lifetime transfer option has very much piqued my interest.

Again, I may not actually buy one before Dec 31, but it is very very intriguing to me.
I currently have 2 lifetime series 1s.

Things that intrigue me:
1) Being able to record HD -- even though I don't have an HDTV yet, if I get a good enough signal (either OTA or hopefully eventually via QAM-without-cablecards), would be nicer than sometimes snowy analog pictures. I'm someone who argues against the prevalent "digital is always better than analog" argument too.. But if I can get a good HD signal, even for some channels, that's a benefit.
2) 2 tuners. One SP list for most of my shows would be an improvement. A $1K improvement ($800 + $200 lifetime transfer)? I don't think so, but..
3) Future proofing. Eventually I will get an HDTV. Probably after I buy a house, and need/want another TV.

[megazone]

5) Capacity: I just field-upgraded our Series3 to 750GB. I can't do that with a cable DVR.Did you use a WeaKnees.com drive? If not, how did you do it?

(BTW, I think you mean 480i/p, not 420i/p. :-) )

[greg_burns]

Did you use a WeaKnees.com drive? If not, how did you do it?

Here's someone else who did it.
http://www.nehrings.com/blog/?p=35

From this thread
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316327&page=1&pp=30

[boywaja]

5) Capacity: I just field-upgraded our Series3 to 750GB. I can't do that with a cable DVR.

-P

The SA8300 given out by Cox reportedly supports an external SATA drive. You can event buy a drive from weaknees that was manufactured for that specifically. (I think its a maxtor).

Not the same as replacing the internal drive, but it gets the job done. Hopefully TiVo will enable their SATA drive and allow the same.