Some Questions before ill buy a tivo

[pukalo]

Well i finally decided to get a tivo, but theres a few problems i would need to deal with. The first one is that i dont have a phone line in the room where my tv is, and running the wire to another room is pretty bad since most likely my family will trip on it all the time. So does it require to be connected to the phone line 24/7 or can i just connect it for a few minutes once a week and then disconnect? But the phone line would not be for long since I would be getting the wireless adapter since i have a wireless network, but maybe for a month or two id use the phone line. would that adapter work with the tivo dvr which doesnt have an ethernet port? or does it connect through usb? Also is it worth getting the free dvr with 1 year commitment which is on tivo website? I dont really need a fancy one so i thought the free one would be fine for me. Thanks for help everyone!

*Also is the tivo on all the time? If it is , is it really loud or its not? Since it would be in my bedroom

*also whats the difference between the house party offer on tivo website or the normal offer on tivo website? I see that house party offer is $14.95 for 1 year while the normal one is $19.95 for 1 year??? Whats the difference here??? are they same? or theres some catch there?

[Sadara]

I never did bother with the phone line for my Tivo, which I bought recently. I bought a wireless adapter (the Tivo brand) and just used it instead. It was easier to not have to worry about stringing a phone line across the room to the Entertainment center. If you can go this route, go for it. I know the Tivo tries to update every day, at approx every 24 hours, but not exactly every 24 hours.

The Tivo is not loud at all. It's on all the time.

Oh and I went with the Dual Tuner Tivo with one year contract also. I have an opinion about hardware, it gets out of date too quickly and I didn't want to pay for more than one year, in case I wanted an upgrade later on. Single Tuner is ok, but can't record more than one show at a time.

[alansplace]

Well i finally decided to get a tivo, but theres a few problems i would need to deal with. The first one is that i dont have a phone line in the room where my tv is, and running the wire to another room is pretty bad since most likely my family will trip on it all the time. So does it require to be connected to the phone line 24/7 or can i just connect it for a few minutes once a week and then disconnect? But the phone line would not be for long since I would be getting the wireless adapter since i have a wireless network, but maybe for a month or two id use the phone line. would that adapter work with the tivo dvr which doesnt have an ethernet port? or does it connect through usb? Also is it worth getting the free dvr with 1 year commitment which is on tivo website? I dont really need a fancy one so i thought the free one would be fine for me. Thanks for help everyone!

*Also is the tivo on all the time? If it is , is it really loud or its not? Since it would be in my bedroom

*also whats the difference between the house party offer on tivo website or the normal offer on tivo website? I see that house party offer is $14.95 for 1 year while the normal one is $19.95 for 1 year??? Whats the difference here??? are they same? or theres some catch there?try this deal (http://www.tivo.com/0.11.LP_affiliate.asp?a=pcf) or this deal (http://www.tivo.com/0.11.LP_affiliate.asp?a=ptc) for a better service price.
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Alan :D

[bpurcell]

First, if you use the phone line, the tivo doesn't need to be plugged in all the time. Each time it calls, the channel guide is updated for the next 12-13 days. As long as you aren't worried about last minute changes in schedules, you can plug in the tivo once a week and be fine.

The wireless adapter connects through the USB port, unless it is a Game Adapter that is used for consoles like XBox. You should check with Tivo support site to see the list of adapters that are confirmed to work with Tivo (not all of them do).

If you can afford it, it's much better to get the Dual Tuner (I think the free deal is for the single tuner, but maybe you're seeing a different deal). In the end, you are the one using it, so you need to make the judgement on that.

Yes the tivo is on all the time. It is extremely quiet (with only a few exceptions) and is much quieter than the PC, TV (on mute), fridge, AC/heater, etc. I can't hear mine unless I stick my ear up against it.

[pukalo]

wow! thanks for the $12.95 a month deal, im certainly getting a tivo now, and the tivo wireless adapter sometimes this week

[alansplace]

wow! thanks for the $12.95 a month deal, im certainly getting a tivo now, and the tivo wireless adapter sometimes this weekyou're welcome :)

if you're in the same room as the router why not get the DT ($30 extra) and just plug the router into the back of the DT (it has an ethernet port) instead of bothering with wireless?
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Alan :D

[pukalo]

you're welcome :)

if you're in the same room as the router why not get the DT ($30 extra) and just plug the router into the back of the DT (it has an ethernet port) instead of bothering with wireless?
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Alan :D

I have the router in another room. Maybe i would get the DT, and for now use the phone line and later get the wireless thing. But will DT work with digital cable? or does it have to be normal cable?

[matt11]

I have the router in another room. Maybe i would get the DT, and for now use the phone line and later get the wireless thing. But will DT work with digital cable? or does it have to be normal cable?

Yes the dual tuner will work with digital cable. You'll be able to record one digital cable channel and one analog cable channel at the same time. However you can not record two digital cable channels at the same time.

[alansplace]

I have the router in another room. Maybe i would get the DT, and for now use the phone line and later get the wireless thing. But will DT work with digital cable? or does it have to be normal cable?i have 'digital cable', but channels 1-99 are transmitted as analog. that is the norm, ask your cable company for your specifics. the DT will tune those channels that are analog internally and will be able to connect to a set top box to tune to the digital channels you get.
--
Alan :D

[angra]

does the DT models have the crushing slowness problems that the standalone S2s have recently?

[alansplace]

does the DT models have the crushing slowness problems that the standalone S2s have recently?imho, that's a pretty subjective subject. my 649 (DT) appeared to me to not be at all sluggish after the 7.2.1 software upgrade. both of my 540's slowed down noticeably after the 7.2.1 software upgrade. but imho they've never been, as some people describe, crippled or unusable.
--
Alan :D

[angra]

imho, that's a pretty subjective subject. my 649 (DT) appeared to me to not be at all sluggish after the 7.2.1 software upgrade. both of my 540's slowed down noticeably after the 7.2.1 software upgrade. but imho they've never been, as some people describe, crippled or unusable.
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Alan :D

yes, I should have been more clear that it varies from unit to unit, but it is fair to point out to a prospective new user that there is a chance of "winning" the lag lottery and ending up with a very slow unit. It's 7.3+ that has the problems isn't it? What software are the DTs on?

[alansplace]

yes, I should have been more clear that it varies from unit to unit, but it is fair to point out to a prospective new user that there is a chance of "winning" the lag lottery and ending up with a very slow unit. It's 7.3+ that has the problems isn't it? What software are the DTs on?
the DT's ship with 7.x.x i don't really remember the exact number, but it doesn't matter because in the first few days they auto-update to 7.3.1 which is the problematic software release. most folks i've read comments from are like me concerning the DT and 7.3.1.

i noticed no apparent change in the 649 (DT)'s response to button presses.

it never slowed down in my opinion.

however the 2 540s that i have did, in my opinion, slow down.
--
Alan :D

[Einselen]

try this deal (http://www.tivo.com/0.11.LP_affiliate.asp?a=pcf) or this deal (http://www.tivo.com/0.11.LP_affiliate.asp?a=ptc) for a better service price.
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Alan :D

Why on the PTC deal (2nd link) it has a picture of a DT when the deals are only for single tuners? Tricked me for a second as I thought I could get a DT for 1 yr for just the standard 12.95/month.

[Sadara]

I just ordered a DT and ST less than two weeks ago. My DT is fine, no slowness. I'm of course comparing that to the speed of my Cox DVR, so for me it's seems FAST. The ST is so super slow, it's so painful!! I read about all the problems so I'm not complaining, I expected this.

[ZeoTiVo]

the DT's ship with 7.x.x i don't really remember the exact number, but it doesn't matter because in the first few days they auto-update to 7.3.1 which is the problematic software release. most folks i've read comments from are like me concerning the DT and 7.3.1. Alan :D

DT ships with 7.2.5 adn then does update to the latest which is 7.3.1 at the time of this post. I did not notice any speed difference at all between 7.2.5 and 7.3.1