So, in reality who will buy this insanely priced S3 box?

[George Cifranci]

Add another poll option that reads...

Yes I am buying one because I make good money, don't have a wife and don't have kids. :-)

Although I will probably wait a month until I pay off the HDTV I bought late last year. :-)

[GoHokies!]

Originally Posted by thwart

Let's say I give you that one. Do you still think $799 is appropriate for a DVR? I wonder how much it costs to make. I'm starting to think that if it cost so much to make this box then maybe it would've been smarter to rethink the design.

Are you going to just magically pull something cheaper out of your ass??? I'm pretty sure that if the box could be made at the same quality for a lower price then Tivo would have done it.

You certainly must be smarter than your posts show if you think that you can do a better job than all of Tivo's engineers.

Your poll is retarded too - you bitch about excluding the people with a negative opinion, but then have those one way poll options. If you were interested in what people had to say, you would have included it. Since it appears you were just interested in being an asshat, you've succeeded.

[wmccain]

Originally Posted by eisenb11

4. The ability to do 480i over HDMI (the spec is relatively new for that)

The TiVo-designed DirecTV HR10-250 can do that, too.

(But my Sharp Aquos LCD TV refuses to accept it. The HR10-250 will also feed Dolby Digital over HDMI, but the Sharp won't accept that either — it insists on PCM, even though it has a built-in ATSC tuner with a Dolby Digital decoder! Fortunately, I don't use the TV to handle audio at all, I feed the audio to an A/V receiver via a digital audio cable. But I had to delete the audio from the HDMI cable by using an HDMI/DVI adapter, just to keep the Sharp TV from complaining about "unsupported audio".)

Originally Posted by eisenb11

Now they just need a way to control it via a home automation system and my wishlist will be complete.

You and me both. But we will never see it. However, unlike some brands I can think of, TiVos are 100% reliable when being controlled by "flashed IR". I've automated several TiVos this way, using an AMX controller. But, as I'm sure you know, IR flashing has it limits. It's "one-way" (no status feedback) and it is difficult, if not impossible, to automate anything that requires "menu navigation".

The ideal would be an RS232 (or Ethernet) control port. It's unlikely that TiVo will ever offer one. Personally, I'm looking forward to the DirecTV HR20P (the "Pro" version, due out at year's end, which is geared to the "custom installer" market and which is promised to have a control port).

Come to think of it, there is one other item on my "wish list", but I know it will "never happen". I wish that the Series3 had audio/video inputs, specifically an S-video input (for SD) and a component video input (for HD), and a digital audio input (that would accept Dolby Digital and PCM). Then it could be used with external STBs, including my big-dish (C/Ku-band) satellite receiver (and, for that matter, with DBS and cable boxes as well).

[tunnelengineer]

Already ordered one. Can we please stop with these polls? Aren't they all the same?

[ufo4sale]

Originally Posted by tunnelengineer

Already ordered one. Can we please stop with these polls? Aren't they all the same?

Yes there all the same that's why I'm getting sick of them. Someone should create the series III DEPRECIATION thread. That way people can bitch and moan in one place.

[hancox]

Originally Posted by cyril

You guys are all spoiled. I would gladly pay $5000 USD for a S3 if it worked in the UK.

Here we have had no decent PVRs since 2000, which was the UK TiVo series one!

Bah, you're just talking big due to the laughable exchange rate these days.

What's $5000, 10GBP, these days?

[Stormspace]

Originally Posted by dswallow

Remember the Series 1 TiVo DVR's? The ones that only recorded one SD video input, and could do nothing more than just store such recordings and play them back? People paid over $1,000 for 12 hours of recording space.

When did that thing come out old timer? Was it 1998? Hmmm, lets see. I bought my first TiVo for 200.00 in 2003 five years later. Using my purchase as a benchmark for when a product is about to go mainstream, it took TiVo five years to be attractive to me. In fact within a month or two of my getting TiVo the local cable co started offering DVRs.

This time around TiVo won't have 5 years to get it's act together and make an attractive product to ppl like me since cable DVRs perform the same function and are getting better all the time and I doubt it'll take them 5 years to have a system that is as good as TiVo's.

[ebockelman]

Stupid poll.

How about a sane option like "I'm buying now - it's priced right for what's included."

or "This thing rocks! I'm buying two!" (my case)

[Leo_N]

Originally Posted by wmccain

The ideal would be an RS232 (or Ethernet) control port. It's unlikely that TiVo will ever offer one. Personally, I'm looking forward to the DirecTV HR20P (the "Pro" version, due out at year's end, which is geared to the "custom installer" market and which is promised to have a control port).

Come to think of it, there is one other item on my "wish list", but I know it will "never happen". I wish that the Series3 had audio/video inputs, specifically an S-video input (for SD) and a component video input (for HD), and a digital audio input (that would accept Dolby Digital and PCM). Then it could be used with external STBs, including my big-dish (C/Ku-band) satellite receiver (and, for that matter, with DBS and cable boxes as well).

You do realize Tivo didn't leave out HD inputs just to piss people off right? Adding 2 HD encoders to the S3 would have skyrocketed the price of this thing. Granted, there would still be people who would pay. But, I think they had to look at this in some type of business sense. And without the HD inputs/HD encoders, you basically have a minorly advanced series2.

[sunman]

at least it's cheaper than Sony's HD box.

[pkscout]

I'm wondering if you could develop answer options more biased than the ones you included. Here are some suggestions:

I will even though I have to take my father off life support to pay for it.
I will, and I even killed a kitten for money to pay for it.
I will, and I embezzled money from my company to buy it.

This poll is kind of like that age old conundrum of how to answer the question, "When did you stop beating your wife?"

My pet peeve plea. If you're going to do a poll, try and have the options be at least a little unbiased.

[tunnelengineer]

amen. go duke!!

[classicX]

Originally Posted by btwyx

You've entirely lost me as to the meaning of this post.

I believe he was referring to the fact that you answered the poll yet are calling it stupid.

Pot calling the kettle black, and all that. I don't really see why participating in a poll that you think is stupid is hypocritical.

This is why when I made the SAME POLL I included generic answers, and also one for "I just want to see the results."

And the poll options are obviously biased.

[eisenb11]

Originally Posted by wmccain

You and me both. But we will never see it. However, unlike some brands I can think of, TiVos are 100% reliable when being controlled by "flashed IR". I've automated several TiVos this way, using an AMX controller. But, as I'm sure you know, IR flashing has it limits. It's "one-way" (no status feedback) and it is difficult, if not impossible, to automate anything that requires "menu navigation".

The ideal would be an RS232 (or Ethernet) control port. It's unlikely that TiVo will ever offer one. Personally, I'm looking forward to the DirecTV HR20P (the "Pro" version, due out at year's end, which is geared to the "custom installer" market and which is promised to have a control port).

Since, Tivo is supposedly aiming that at the "high-end" crowd, I wonder if us automators can unite and ask Tivo to add the ability to control the unit via ethernet (since is has no RS232 ports).

The device doesn't have to support bi-directional communication. Uni-directional transmissions over TCP would be enough to at least guarantee delivery of the command and the installer doesn't have to worry about unsightly IR repeaters and distribution devices laying around.

Ideally, ofcourse, is bi-directional communication where we could get EPG data, the list of recorded shows, etc for full control via automation...

It would really be a shame to have to go IR on such a neat device!

[GoHokies!]

Originally Posted by tunnelengineer

amen. go duke!!

HA!

You'll get you change when basketball season starts

[Ereth]

Originally Posted by thwart

No one in their right mind would have thought we'd have to pay $799 for this box and I certainly wasn't expecting to lose the Tivo-To-Go features in this model.

Why not? The price has been rumored to be near $1000 since it was announced at CES a year ago. Why wouldn't someone in their right might expect that?

And as for losing Tivo-to-Go... those of us on the DirecTV side have never HAD Tivo-to-go so it doesn't seem like a loss to us.

The only way to get the kind of quality this box has was to go to DirecTV and the satellite-specific boxes. I signed up for DTV specifically because of the Dual-Tuner DirecTivo. I cancelled cable for it.

Now, DirecTV doesn't like TiVo any more and even though we have the HR10-250 which can record HDTV we know its days are numbered.

And here comes TiVo with a new box which will do everything our DirecTV boxes will do, only on cable, which isn't switching to MPEG4 and obsoleting our expensive receivers, and with a box that has a future, that has the potential for a lot of new features that none of the DirecTV boxes will ever see.

Those of you in the Standalone world are looking at it differently than we are. To us, this is exactly what we need, a way to get the perfect quality, dual-tuner HDTV experience, without being forced to use a crappy NDS box.

Expect to see a thundering herd of DirecTiVo customers calling their cable company over the next few months/years.

[lynesjc]

Originally Posted by Ereth

Expect to see a thundering herd of DirecTiVo customers calling their cable company over the next few months/years.

This is one of the key questions for the future of Tivo in my mind. How many D* customers will churn to stay with Tivo? Between SD and HD, it's a fairly sizeable group.

For myself, I haven't decided yet. Charter doesn't have ESPN2HD yet so that's a deal breaker.

3 options:

1. S3 with Charter.
2. Fisher Price toy dvr from D*
3. Vista pc w/ cc's.

I think many of us will stay with our hr10-250's until D* forces our hand.

[Sirshagg]

Originally Posted by lynesjc

I think many of us will stay with our hr10-250's until D* forces our hand.

+1

[mgar]

I was going to wait and see if MRV is added; however, I will buy one before the end of the year, regardless of MRV, because of the lifetime transfer option.

[Rob Helmerichs]

I'll actually come pretty close to breaking even. $1100 for the box and the three year service, and since I'll be going from DirecTV (for SD) and cable (for HD) to just cable, I'll be saving around $25-30 per month, plus half-off for the first three months.

[hefe]

I bought an HD-TiVo at full price when it came out. (Although customer retention at D* gave me a credit on my programming, which helped.)

If I didn't already have that, I'd be all over the S3.

[Ereth]

Originally Posted by lynesjc

I think many of us will stay with our hr10-250's until D* forces our hand.

I agree with that, I just suspect that, excepting "NFL Sunday Ticket" subscribers, the mass exodus will occur when D* DOES force our hand.

In my own case, I'm not planning on turning my HR10-250 off, I'll turn off my Hughes Series 2 DTivo. The real question will be where do I get the majority of my programming. I can get the minimal HD from the cableco for $12/month more than I pay now (I have a cablemodem). Depending on what I see from the S3 it may be that I gradually turn stuff off on DTV and turn the same stuff on on the cable. It may be that eventually the HR10-250 becomes OTA only once everything moves to MPEG-4.

[wmccain]

Originally Posted by Leo_N

You do realize Tivo didn't leave out HD inputs just to piss people off right?

Yes, I do understand that. And I've known since January (CES) that the Series3 wouldn't have A/V inputs.

Originally Posted by Leo_N

Adding 2 HD encoders to the S3 would have skyrocketed the price of this thing. Granted, there would still be people who would pay. But, I think they had to look at this in some type of business sense. And without the HD inputs/HD encoders, you basically have a minorly advanced series2.

Actually, I'd have been happy with just one HD encoder (i.e., a single component input that could be used, perhaps concurrently with antenna or cable input). And I would be a "people who would pay" for it. (In fact, I will likely buy two of the rack-mount HR20P "Pro" models from DirecTV, at $1500 each.)

Does any manufacturer offer a DVR with an HD A/V input? Sony?

[RCflier]

Originally Posted by wmccain

Actually, I'd have been happy with just one HD encoder (i.e., a single component input that could be used, perhaps concurrently with antenna or cable input). And I would be a "people who would pay" for it. (In fact, I will likely buy two of the rack-mount HR20P "Pro" models from DirecTV, at $1500 each.)

Does any manufacturer offer a DVR with an HD A/V input? Sony?

you can find "cheap" capture cards such as This, and build your own.. I don't know why TiVo or any other manufacturer would leave out the ability, with such a low price.

*note sarcasm*

[propermodulation]

Originally Posted by thwart

Are you serious? Considering that many have already dropped well more than $800 on their HD display I think many will go with the cable companies DVR.

Hmmm now that I spend all that money on a Porche I don't think I can afford the premium gas!!!

[Stormspace]

Originally Posted by propermodulation

Hmmm now that I spend all that money on a Porche I don't think I can afford the premium gas!!!

Uhmmm.

Cable DVR=Premium Gas

Tivo S3 = Premium Gas with additives

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by Stormspace

Uhmmm.

Cable DVR=Premium Gas

Tivo S3 = Premium Gas with additives

I disagree. I think the Cable DVR is more like the cheap gas from the no name quickie mart. It might work just fine, but it might also freeze in your gas lines and make it so your car wont start.

Dan

[Stormspace]

Originally Posted by Dan203

I disagree. I think the Cable DVR is more like the cheap gas from the no name quickie mart. It might work just fine, but it might also freeze in your gas lines and make it so your car wont start.

Dan

No the cheapie gas is the S1 with no MRV, HME, and no dual tuners.

At least the cable DVR has dual tuners and HD, so you have to read the label before using that gas.

[Janizary]

Long time TiVO forums lurker, but first time posting.

I will be getting one and tranferring my LT sub from my series 2. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Probably not, but I can afford it and I want one for the HT.

[btwyx]

Originally Posted by Ereth

Expect to see a thundering herd of DirecTiVo customers calling their cable company over the next few months/years.

+1