Recommendations?

[tmccartney]

Yes, I'm a little behind - I didn't realize anyone made a Tivo unit with a DVD burner, which is why I've been holding onto my increasingly buggy Philips HDRW (non-Tivo) unit this long.

So now I'm in the market for something different, specifically something I might be able to purchase used with a lifetime subscription already attached. I don't need a super-large hard drive, but I do need ethernet/wireless capability. It should work with my Comcast digital cable box (I think the Philips unit I have is a victim of Comcast starting to abandon analog signals).

It appears that Humax, Toshiba and Pioneer are the brands in this space. Can you guys suggest models I should be looking for on Ebay? I appreciate your help for this Tivo wannabe newbie. :)


Tracey

[robomeister]

Welcome to the TiVo Community!

I own one of each of these units. I like the Pioneers the best, because they seem to have the best encoder and are slightly faster than the Toshibas and Humaxes. But, finding re-recordable media aka DVD-RWs for the Pioneers can be hard. They only like 1x and 2x media, and will not work with 4x media. They can be a little picky on the DVD-R media, too. I've found that they will work with 8x and 16x media, but you have to get a good brand of blank media.

Also, if the DVD burner fails in the Pioneer, it will be expensive to fix. It does contain a near stock Pioneer burner, but it contains a special firmware version that is specific to the Pioneer TiVo. Putting in a generic replacement burner will not work. It may be able to read discs, but not write discs.

The Toshiba and Humax models work with more blank media and are easier to fix if the burner fails. These units like 4x DVD-RWs.

The Pioneer and Toshiba models come with TiVo Basic subscription, which is a stripped down version of the regular TiVo subscription. So you don't have to pay for a subscription for these models. The Humax requires a subscription.

So for maximum flexibility for upgrading and fixing the burner, you best bet is the Toshiba. But I still like the Pioneer. :)

You may not be able to find these units new anywhere. I've gotten all of my from eBay.

Hope that helps,
robomeister

P.S. Send me a personal message (PM) if you want to discuss getting one of these from me. I do have extras, for backup purposes.

[tmccartney]

Thanks. In the time after I posted that original query, I'd about settled on the Toshiba. PM is on the way re. extras you might have lying around.

One other question - I have gathered that the Toshiba and the Pioneer both support network connections if you get a wireless adapter. Does this allow one to download the Tivo program guide without a phone line?

[robomeister]

All of the TiVos with DVD writers are Series2 TiVos, so they have USB ports. This lets you connect a USB to ethernet adapter to use for downloading the guide information. The USB to ethernet adapter can be either wireless or wired.

robomeister