DTivo to Fios Tivo HD

Tivo told reviewers to expect a software update with TivoToGo and MRV before the end of the year. At the moment, it supports neither of those features.

By moving to FiOS, you'll gain significantly improved picture quality with both SD and HD. You'll see more detail / resolution and substantially less blocking and pixelization. The larger your screen, the more difference you will see.

You'll gain several usability enhancements. The DirecTivos use an old version of the Tivo software that lacks most of the usability enhancements Tivo has made in the last year. Examples include overlap protection and the recently deleted folder.

Be aware that the current software on the TivoHD does exhibit intermittent pixelization unrelated to the source signal. This should be fixed in the very near future with a software update, but you'll have to decide whether you want to opt for the TivoHD now or wait for that to be fixed.

The TivoHD also uses the older 8.1.x branch of the Tivo software. While much newer than the software on the DirecTivo, it doesn't have the performance enhancements of the 8.3.x software on the Tivo Series3. The TivoHD should see a noticeable performance boost (in terms of menu and guide responsiveness) when it gets an update to that 8.3.x branch.

 

And THX certification. That's it.

 

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btw: either way you go, even with the slow 8.1 based menus on the tivohd, it is VASTLY better than the qip-6416's menu speed.

 

Well, a little bit more than that. It has the OLED display on the front of the unit, which displays what the TiVo is recording, it has a more advanced remote control and is (at the moment) easier to upgrade. And it sounds like it has a more stable build.

The differences are minor, but it is a couple of things.

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm totally flummoxed as to which box I want. With the falling prices on the series3, I'm tempted, but even at $576, it's the better part of $300 more for what appears to be a larger hard drive, OLED display, THX, and a fancy-schmansy remote.

It also seems like some of the guts are different, but I don't know enough about it to know what's relevant and what's not.

Oh well. I'll probably do the newer one and hope for a software update. I'll be buying in the next three weeks, so until then I have to keep browsing and learning.