Poll: WHICH TIVO WOULD YOU BUY??

[swezey]

Thought this might make an interesting poll: I'm trying to figure out which way to go for 3 HD TiVo's in my house. I just got FiOS and have been researching TiVo's for about a week now. I'm pretty sure I understand all the differences, but don't have any experience with the different models to help me decide the best way to go. Maybe this poll will help me and other people in my same situation. The choices should be pretty self explanatory. Looking froward to the results!!

P.S. I could not post the full descriptions of the poll choices in the poll itself (limited to 100 characters), so here are MORE description choices to help voters understand the choice I am trying to make:

1) Brand new HD from TiVo (I'll likely upgrade HD and void warranty but might use My DVR expander to keep warranty coverage. 500 GB seems a little chintzy though)

2) Refurb HD from TiVo (again, I'll likely upgrade HD and void warranty - again My DVR is an option. If they had a 1TB certified option I'd probably pick number 2 and add a certified 1TB but this would certainly cut into sales of the pricey XL so I don't see TiVo officially offering this any time soon)

3) Brand new HDXL from Tivo (no need to upgrade, I keep my warranty, pricey, especially for three units)

4) Refurb S3 from Tivo (will upgrade and void warranty - may use My DVR but same issues as above - not the best bang for the buck)

5) Cheap EBAY HD or S3 which will be upgraded but no warranty to void so who cares...and I can make it as big as I want (well within reason - 2 TB would be good X 3 machines = 6TB of storage woo hoo!!)

[jgantert]

If I could get the lifetime service for 299, I would pick up the refurb Tivo HD.

Since that doesn't seem to work, maybe pick a new one up from Amazon or a refurb from Woot if it ever shows up again.

BTW, Costco has the My DVR Expander for $120 shipped. That's plenty enough space, IMO. No need for the pricey XL model. I'm OTA only, so everything is recorded in HD (no SD OTA channels anymore now that everything is digital, even SD shows are 1080i or 720p) and I've never ran out of space.

-John

[swezey]

If I could get the lifetime service for 299, I would pick up the refurb Tivo HD.

Since that doesn't seem to work, maybe pick a new one up from Amazon or a refurb from Woot if it ever shows up again.

BTW, Costco has the My DVR Expander for $120 shipped. That's plenty enough space, IMO. No need for the pricey XL model. I'm OTA only, so everything is recorded in HD (no SD OTA channels anymore now that everything is digital, even SD shows are 1080i or 720p) and I've never ran out of space.

-John

John,

All excellent points! I guess Costco or Woot would have been further choices in the poll - there really could be infinite choices I suppose. TiVo tying the full priced service to the refurb units seems to be a tricky way to get an extra $100.00 from those of us who want to deploy multiple units - thus making the refurbs not as attractive. I guess my poll had more to do with preserving a factory warranty (either on a refurb or new unit) and paying more for limited HD space or not worrying about a warranty because these things never break (and when they do its an easy HD or PS fix) and getting more space for the $$$. Interesting poll results so far, let's see how things keep going.

[swezey]

Hmmmm... great interesting results so far... Thanks to everyone who has voted. Still not sure which way I'm going to go yet so KEEP VOTING!

[bkdtv]

Note if you aren't buying a refurb, there's no reason to buy from TiVo.com. You'll pay $50 to $100 more by buying from TiVo.com.

[moyekj]

Original S3 is still the best box especially if you plan on using MRV or TTG.

[swezey]

For anyone who wants to see what prompted this poll... here is a link to the original thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=412255

Bill

[delgadobb]

My vote is for a standard Tivo HD - no series 3 & no Tivo HD XL.

The question beyond that is do you want lifetime service? Tivo won't sell it to you with a refurb unit. $299 isn't bad for a Tivo HD, but just got an e-mail from Tivo for a bundle including a wireless adapter & 'entertainment pack' for music & movie rentals along with lifetime service for $598.99. You may only qualify for this if you already have active Tivo service, tho ... the Tivo HD nets out a little over $200 this way, just depends if you want the Wireless adapter & other stuff.

This is a bit of a longshot, but are you looking at buying a TV along with your Tivo? I've been fence-sitting on the Tivo HD for a while now, finally getting the motivation to order it. I ordered a 60" Mitsubishi 1080p DLP TV on Black Friday & noticed Best Buy gave the option for $100 off a Tivo HD (normal or XL). I set up my TV for delivery (free in my case), then set up the Tivo for store pickup on the same order.So, I ordered my Tivo HD for $199 & I'll get lifetime service for $299 - then I'll sell one of my regular TIVOs locally to help pay for it. :)

Hope this helps someone, either the OP or anyone reading this thread. I just checked Best Buy's web site, you can still do it.

[jlib]

Although the S3 would have advantages for your proposed networked use, it gets harder to justify the extra Cable Card fees as the number of TiVo units in your house increase. The Costco HD with internally upgraded drive is probably the best all around approach...

[bareyb]

I'd get the refurbed Series 3 and then immediately pop a 1 TB drive in it. The Original Series 3 is the nicest TiVo box ever made. There will likely never be another one like it. It is the Rolls Royce of the TiVo Family. :D

[bareyb]

Original S3 is still the best box especially if you plan on using MRV or TTG.

I didn't know that. How is MRV and TTG better on an S3?

[moyekj]

Why is that? The original S3 does network transfers faster than THD or HDXL boxes. It used to be twice as fast as the THD units for both TTG & MRV. While that gap has closed with recent releases the S3 is still quite a bit faster so it's easy to MRV HD shows and watch them in real time while skipping all ads, something you still can't do with THD units for decent quality HD channels.

[bareyb]

The original S3 does network transfers faster than THD or HDXL boxes. It used to be twice as fast as the THD units for both TTG & MRV. While that gap has closed with recent releases the S3 is still quite a bit faster so it's easy to MRV HD shows and watch them in real time while skipping all ads, something you still can't do with THD units for decent quality HD channels.

Good to know. By the way... I used to know a Keegan. Are you the guy that coined the phrase "taking the juice for free?" :D

[aaronwt]

I like the S3 better than the TiVoHD so for the right price I would choose the Series 3.

[ciper]

I personally believe the Series 3 is only a better choice if you plan to use OTA. With cable the continual double monthly charge of the S3 makes the THD a better choice.

[swezey]

Thanks for all the insightful replies... I think I am coming to the natural conclusion that the thread seems to be reaching: The S3 is the nicest TiVo out there.... Because I will be moving recorded shows around the house to different TV's, the S3 is probably the way to go EXCEPT for the added expense from Verizon for the 2nd CC (X3, so that's an extra $12 a month = $144 a year). So I have to decide if the performance of the S3 is worth an extra $144 a year (although this may be offset somewhat by being able to upgrade with a cheap external SATA drive vs. the My DVR unit). Here's a question that may help me decide: What do I give up by only having 1 CC in an S3?? In other words, could I have 2 cards in the main unit in the living room and only 1 in the bedroom and den? How does this affect TTG & MRV? This may be the best all around solution as long as it doesn't create some huge issue I'm unaware of. I've seen S3's for around $200.00 and you could probably add 2TB for another $200 so for $400.00 you have a 2TB TiVO WITH THX AND the faster TTG/MRV. I'd save the original drive JIC and have a real cable killer... So just WHAT does only have one card affect??? Comments...????

[bkdtv]

What do I give up by only having 1 CC in an S3?? In other words, could I have 2 cards in the main unit in the living room and only 1 in the bedroom and den?For full dual-tuner functionality with FiOS, a TiVo Series3 needs two CableCards.

With one CableCard, the TiVo Series3 functions as a single-tuner device. That means you can't record two channels at the same time, and you can't record one show while you watch another channel live. You can still record a channel while you watch a previous recording.

A TiVo Series3 -> TivoHD transfer is faster than a TivoHD -> TivoHD transfer. That given, you might consider making your main box a Tivo Series3, and the other boxes TivoHDs. You could put 1TB in the TiVo Series3 -- if that's what you spend most of your time watching -- and then 500Gb in the TivoHDs to minimize costs.

Do you have people watching different TiVos in different rooms at the same time? If not, you could just buy one Tivo Series3, a Slingbox HD, plus a Slingcatcher (http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingcatcher-slingplayer) for every room. That would allow you to access your TiVo Series3 in every room, and it would eliminate the need for extra TiVos, subscriptions, and CableCards.

[swezey]

Do you have people watching different TiVos in different rooms at the same time? If not, you could just buy one Tivo Series3, a Slingbox HD, plus a Slingcatcher (http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingcatcher-slingplayer) for every room. That would allow you to access your TiVo Series3 in every room, and it would eliminate the need for extra TiVos, subscriptions, and CableCards.

BKDTV,

I wasn't even aware of this option - I'm really totally new to all this. Right now we've got the FiOS solution which is one DVR accessible by the other STB's around the house so this sounds like it might work for us. I was looking forward to having Rhapsody access in each room though. Guess I would give that up with the Slingbox solution - or would I be able to access ALL the functionality of the S3 via the Slingbox interface?? I guess it's time to go back to the drawing board and start reading some more!! The more I look the deeper in I get....:eek:

[DawnW]

Just be careful of the Best Buy "deal."

The TV we want is $300 MORE expensive at Best Buy than some of the other places we have looked, making the $100 savings not worth it.

Dawn



My vote is for a standard Tivo HD - no series 3 & no Tivo HD XL.

The question beyond that is do you want lifetime service? Tivo won't sell it to you with a refurb unit. $299 isn't bad for a Tivo HD, but just got an e-mail from Tivo for a bundle including a wireless adapter & 'entertainment pack' for music & movie rentals along with lifetime service for $598.99. You may only qualify for this if you already have active Tivo service, tho ... the Tivo HD nets out a little over $200 this way, just depends if you want the Wireless adapter & other stuff.

This is a bit of a longshot, but are you looking at buying a TV along with your Tivo? I've been fence-sitting on the Tivo HD for a while now, finally getting the motivation to order it. I ordered a 60" Mitsubishi 1080p DLP TV on Black Friday & noticed Best Buy gave the option for $100 off a Tivo HD (normal or XL). I set up my TV for delivery (free in my case), then set up the Tivo for store pickup on the same order.So, I ordered my Tivo HD for $199 & I'll get lifetime service for $299 - then I'll sell one of my regular TIVOs locally to help pay for it. :)

Hope this helps someone, either the OP or anyone reading this thread. I just checked Best Buy's web site, you can still do it.

[swezey]

Just be careful of the Best Buy "deal."

The TV we want is $300 MORE expensive at Best Buy than some of the other places we have looked, making the $100 savings not worth it.

Dawn

I agree... sometimes "deals" are not really "deals" afterall....

[swezey]

Well, I guess in the interest of full disclosure, I should let everyone know that I voted in my own poll tonight. My response was "Cheap EBAY S3 or HD which will be upgraded". This is because I bought a stock S3 with lifetime service on EBAY for $500.00. Since this is my first TiVo the lifetime sub would have run me $399.00 so I figured I got the S3 for $100.00. I also got the shiny black remote with it AND a TiVo wireless adapter. You can now all officially welcome me to the TiVo owners club! :) It's supposed to be in 100% working condition but obviously does not have a warranty but since I was planning on upgrading anything I got anyways, the warranty to me is no big deal. Now I have to order my CC's from Verizon... We'll see how that goes. Someone suggested a slingbox and sling catchers for my other TV's... I honestly don't know about those units but I figured I needed at least one TiVo anyway so I bit the bullet. I can be learning about slingbox in the meantime.

I'm going to leave the poll open because I'm fascinated watching people vote and maybe someone else will find this useful. I'll post back more after the unit comes in. Thanks everyone who helped me make up my mind!!

[ZeoTiVo]

This is because I bought a stock S3 with lifetime service on EBAY for $500.00. Since this is my first TiVo the lifetime sub would have run me $399.00 so I figured I got the S3 for $100.00.
nice deal. :) bear in mind that the S3 does not work correctly with a single M-card (cable card type) in it. 2 Mcards or 2 Scards will work fine though.

Welcome to the TiVolution :up:


PS I sling TV to my brother in law in Switzerland adn we checked out his slingcatcher when he was stateside for Thanksgiving. It was cool and the fact he could hook up a USB drive or in his case an Ipod with a boatload of movies on it was VERY cool.

[aaronwt]

Well, I guess in the interest of full disclosure, I should let everyone know that I voted in my own poll tonight. My response was "Cheap EBAY S3 or HD which will be upgraded". This is because I bought a stock S3 with lifetime service on EBAY for $500.00. Since this is my first TiVo the lifetime sub would have run me $399.00 so I figured I got the S3 for $100.00. I also got the shiny black remote with it AND a TiVo wireless adapter. You can now all officially welcome me to the TiVo owners club! :) It's supposed to be in 100% working condition but obviously does not have a warranty but since I was planning on upgrading anything I got anyways, the warranty to me is no big deal. Now I have to order my CC's from Verizon... We'll see how that goes. Someone suggested a slingbox and sling catchers for my other TV's... I honestly don't know about those units but I figured I needed at least one TiVo anyway so I bit the bullet. I can be learning about slingbox in the meantime.

I'm going to leave the poll open because I'm fascinated watching people vote and maybe someone else will find this useful. I'll post back more after the unit comes in. Thanks everyone who helped me make up my mind!!

Excellent deal! I would even think about jumping on that to dump one of my tiVoHD boxes. But the $85 fee from FIOS(truck roll charge) to swap out my cable cards disuades me from doing it. Plus I still have 1.5 years left on my TiVoHD contracts.

[swezey]

"Truck roll" huh...??? This keeps getting more and more expensive!! *LOL* The wife WILL NOT be happy. Maybe I'll decide if I'm going slingbox VS. two more S3's before I call Verizon so I only have to pay one "truck roll". Anyone have any experience with FiOS/TiVo/slingbox they'd like to share? I visited the sling site for a few minutes but not sure I actually get it?? Can the remote TV basically do ANYTHING the slingbox attached TV can do? Access Rhapsody? VOD? Order a pizza? They don't do a good job of a 30 second explanation on the site IMHO....

[moyekj]

"Truck roll" huh...??? This keeps getting more and more expensive!! *LOL* The wife WILL NOT be happy. Maybe I'll decide if I'm going slingbox VS. two more S3's before I call Verizon so I only have to pay one "truck roll". Anyone have any experience with FiOS/TiVo/slingbox they'd like to share? I visited the sling site for a few minutes but not sure I actually get it?? Can the remote TV basically do ANYTHING the slingbox attached TV can do? Access Rhapsody? VOD? Order a pizza? They don't do a good job of a 30 second explanation on the site IMHO.... Yes, think of the slingbox as an actual person sitting in front of your Tivo working the remote control. From Slingbox client software whatever buttons you press on the virtual remote control are sent via internet to your Tivo just as if you were sitting in front of it, so you can do everything you normally would do. Of course the down side is you will interrupt anyone else that may be using that Tivo at the time so that's something to keep in mind.

[Scyber]

Excellent deal! I would even think about jumping on that to dump one of my tiVoHD boxes. But the $85 fee from FIOS(truck roll charge) to swap out my cable cards disuades me from doing it. Plus I still have 1.5 years left on my TiVoHD contracts.


You wouldn't need a truck roll to swap cable cards. FIOS doesn't pair the cards with the device. Once they are authorized they can work in any cablecard device in the house. You would need a truck roll to get new cards though. Although they still haven't billed me for when they brought me 2 new cable cards a few monhts back.

[TWinbrook46636]

I'm OTA only, so everything is recorded in HD (no SD OTA channels anymore now that everything is digital, even SD shows are 1080i or 720p) and I've never ran out of space.


Digital does not mean HD. If anything there are more SD channels thanks to digital because of all the sub-channels offered. Also, SD is 480i not 1080i or 720p. If you were really recording everything in HD you would run out of room pretty fast, especially if you are OTA only since it is not badly compressed as it is with cable.

[jgantert]

Digital does not mean HD. If anything there are more SD channels thanks to digital because of all the sub-channels offered. Also, SD is 480i not 1080i or 720p. If you were really recording everything in HD you would run out of room pretty fast, especially if you are OTA only since they are not badly compressed as with cable.
You sir, are incorrect. EVERYTHING on a 1080i channel is recorded in HD, even if it is SD. The 30 minute late nite infomercial is 1080i, and takes up just as much space as recording 30 minutes of 30 Rock in HD.

Of course, it could be in 720p instead of 1080i depending on the channel. The subchannels are all SD 480i. But the main channels are all HD, regardless of whether or not the content being shown on them is HD or not.

-John

[moyekj]

You sir, are incorrect. EVERYTHING on a 1080i channel is recorded in HD, even if it is SD. The 30 minute late nite infomercial is 1080i, and takes up just as much space as recording 30 minutes of 30 Rock in HD.

Of course, it could be in 720p instead of 1080i depending on the channel. The subchannels are all SD 480i. But the main channels are all HD, regardless of whether or not the content being shown on them is HD or not.

-John There are still many markets where OTA digital (8VSB) broadcasts only contain SD 480i sub-channels with no principal HD channel. Los Angeles for example has a whole bunch of religious and Spanish channels that way. So digital broadcast does not imply HD. Most if not all major network channels have HD sub-channel as their primary channel which is what you are referring to.

[jgantert]

Well, around here almost all the subchannels are just stupid weather channels, so if you want to record something, its usually off of the main channel's HD feed. Even if you do want to record a SD show, its usually better to record the HD feed than the SD subchannel, since the subchannel is usually very compressed and without 5.1 audio.

I don't think Baltimore has any main channels that are just SD now that My24 has switched over to HD.

-John

[aaronwt]

You wouldn't need a truck roll to swap cable cards. FIOS doesn't pair the cards with the device. Once they are authorized they can work in any cablecard device in the house. You would need a truck roll to get new cards though. Although they still haven't billed me for when they brought me 2 new cable cards a few monhts back.

Then they have changed things. The last time I dealt with cable cards with FIOS was back when the tiVoHD came out and I couldn't do what you described.
so I f I don't need them to come out I might just try to get an S3 with lifetime for a good price, if I can find one. And then just sell a TiVoHD or give it to my brother.

[aaronwt]

Well, around here almost all the subchannels are just stupid weather channels, so if you want to record something, its usually off of the main channel's HD feed. Even if you do want to record a SD show, its usually better to record the HD feed than the SD subchannel, since the subchannel is usually very compressed and without 5.1 audio.

I don't think Baltimore has any main channels that are just SD now that My24 has switched over to HD.

-John

I like those weather sub-channels. They get more use from me than any of the ESPN channels.

[swezey]

RE: SD vs. HD - I'm still a newbie to all this so I don't know about OTA and sub channels, markets, etc. but this is EXACTLY what drove me to look at TiVo in the first place. The pathetic DVR that came with my FiOS package holds 20 hours of HD and last Sunday when I couldn't be around to watch the Eagles OR the Steelers I used up almost 50% of my capacity in ONE DAY!! Who the hell thought of this...???? DUHHH... Look out TiVo here I come!! WOO HOOOOO!!! :-)

[jgantert]

I like those weather sub-channels. They get more use from me than any of the ESPN channels.
Well, being from NoVa, you must admit RTN7 is a much better use of a subchannel, right? :D It's one of my favorites.

swezey, yeah that fios DVR is what drove me to OTA. Everything was ok until the Guide 2.0 was pushed out in Sept/Oct 2007. Then I started missing recordings and the box rebooted randomly, etc. Canceled the TV service, bought a Tivo and had an antenna installed and haven't looked back. Very surprised that my wife hasn't missed cable tv, but she's been fine with it, except for the few weeks that NASCAR was on ESPN. Saves me over $100/month with all the channels I was getting. I pretty much had everything with 3 boxes, it really adds up -- $1200/yr!

[swezey]

jgant,

I hear ya... I'm about $150.00 a month now but that's with phone, internet, FiOS TV and the DVR and STB's. Not sure if I'll go up or down - I guess it depends on how I go 3X TiVo or 1X TiVo and 2X Slingbox/Slingcatcher... although it looks like the Slingcatcher can't catch HD yet so what's the point?? If I wanted SD I'd have been fine with my Verizon DVR and never even started this whole journey in the first place. For sure though they have really gotten us to open up our wallets!! :eek:

[swezey]

Well it figures that the option I took is the one with the least amount of votes - just a scant 12.41% as of right now. I'm such a non-conformist... :-) Hopefully this isn't a warning sign of bad things to come. I haven't received my unit yet but I'll keep everyone posted on how it works out. Keep voting folks - perhaps I'll be vindicated yet!!

[guarh]

Well it figures that the option I took is the one with the least amount of votes - just a scant 12.41% as of right now. I'm such a non-conformist... :-) Hopefully this isn't a warning sign of bad things to come. I haven't received my unit yet but I'll keep everyone posted on how it works out. Keep voting folks - perhaps I'll be vindicated yet!!

It should be ok. I guess most people, including myself, like the peace of mind buying directly from tivo, plus the ability to return the unit if you don't like the overall experience. Btw Tivo allowed me to upgrade my refurb to a lifetime within the first 30 days ($399) they even refunded the monthly sub charge for the first month.

[swezey]

It should be ok. I guess most people, including myself, like the peace of mind buying directly from tivo, plus the ability to return the unit if you don't like the overall experience. Btw Tivo allowed me to upgrade my refurb to a lifetime within the first 30 days ($399) they even refunded the monthly sub charge for the first month.

guarh,

That's good to know... but I'll probably stick with the used/EBAY route AS LONG AS this first experience works out OK. If I could get 3 S3's with lifetime for $500 each I'd be in HOG HEAVEN! *LOL* I kinda figured since I know I'm gonna upgrade the internal HD anyway, and this is most likely the component to fail, I'd try to save a few hundred bucks on my three units. I guess some would argue I could have gone with a refurb HD from TiVo and saved a few $$$ (well maybe not even since a refurb HD with lifetime would be $578.00 right now), but I wanted the faster streaming performance of the S3 which was part of my design goals for this whole project. Someone else may benefit from knowing TiVo will let you switch your sub on a refurb during the first 30 days. Thanks again... BTW, did you vote??

[ciper]

You wouldn't need a truck roll to swap cable cards. FIOS doesn't pair the cards with the device. Once they are authorized they can work in any cablecard device in the house. You would need a truck roll to get new cards though. Although they still haven't billed me for when they brought me 2 new cable cards a few monhts back.

This may only be in your area. My cable company does the same thing. It's quite convenient from an end user point of view but the IT guy in me screams everytime I think about it. The purpose of pairing the cards is to prevent me from inserting them into some evil device that would give me pure digital access to the video streams.

[delgadobb]

Just be careful of the Best Buy "deal."

The TV we want is $300 MORE expensive at Best Buy than some of the other places we have looked, making the $100 savings not worth it.

Dawn
Fair enough.

Believe me, I'm no big fan of Best Buy. In general, I looked at their Black Friday sale & thought "Huh? How is this different from any other week?" A second glance at their ad found me what I wanted buried in the middle of the ad ...

Mitsubishi's WD-60735 DLP (60") was on sale for $999, better yet I was able to order it online on Thanksgiving with free shipping so I wouldn't have to wait in line on Black Friday. I haven't seen a better price for it, although a couple places temporarily matched it. The picture is AMAZING, with two caveats: Color needs tweaking to get it right, and bulbs can get expensive if you happen to burn through them. It sounds like it's less of an issue with the newer models, and you can now get the bulbs for $99 directly from Mitsubishi. The kicker was the $600 gas rebate Mitsubishi linked into during that period - yeah, it's a headache to save receipts & send 'em in, but if it saves me only another $2-300 it's gravy. $600 would be a dream.

My other TV option was a Samsung HL61A750. Another great set, LED DLP so no bulbs to replace. That said, even with a great price it's $500 more than the other, which can pay for a lot of bulbs. Both have amazing pictures, giving a lot more bang for the buck than plasma or LCD - and I have plenty of space for the 14" depth.

Beyond that, I'd agree with Dawn - while the TIVO deal with Best Buy is great, be careful that the TV deal you're getting doesn't cost you more than you saved on the TIVO.

[Playloud]

I have a Tivo HD. If I was buying one today, I would buy the XL. HD shows are taking up space quickly. I have to make sure I am watching at least every few days to make sure I don't lose shows.

[swezey]

Playloud,

I feel your pain!! Verizon's POS DVR only has 20 hours of HD also. Two football games in HD and I'm almost HALF FULL!! AAARRRGGHHHH! But, this is exactly why I went S3 so I could upgrade with a "non standard" external e-sata or whatever TiVo calls it. For about $650.00 I'll have a lifetime S3 with 1.25TB of storage (1 TB external which I'll add and the original 250GB internal). I figured this is a way better deal than an HDXL for $599.00 PLUS $399.00 for lifetime and it only has 1TB and I have faster TTG,TTCB... right? Am I missing something here..?? Oh, I voided my warranty.... DAMN... ;-)

[swezey]

Well... just got my 2nd S3 on EBAY with lifetime for $560.00. :up: Not QUITE as good as the first deal but not terrible either. One more and I'll have my triple play! My choice is still dead last in the poll, but "so far so good". Can't wait to start streaming stuff all over the house! :D Thanks for everyone who voted and shared their thoughts on this subject. Happy Holidays and Happy TIVOing!

[classicsat]

I'd accept one form TiVo if I got a transfer deal for my Product Lifetime, and I could otherwise use it fully (I have satellite, and no digital locals).

OTOH, I might choose a second hand or a retail unit and put MSD Product Lifetime on it, and a big HDD, if I could reliably receive digital stations which carry the top US network shows in HD, and the financial opportunity existed.