TIVO Series 3 HD DVR vs. TIVO HD DVR

Don't forget about the $200 rebate on the Series 3 purchases going on until the end of the month. It's $200 difference, not $400.

I went through the same thoughts as you did, and it boiled down to the following:
1) I wanted a Glo Remote, and the S3 comes with one out of the box.
2) The extra 90GBs of storage space without cracking the box.
3) The much easier work to get a "roll-my-own" DVR expander with a 5-year warrantied Seagate drive and a 3-year warrantied eSATA enclosure.
4) The OLED front panel was a nice perk, though not a huge part of the decision.

 

I hear S3 to S3 transfers are faster than S3 to THD or THD to THD transfers, as well.

Plus, the S3 comes with all the cabling you could need while the THD doesn't.

I do appreciate the time display on the S3, although I wouldn't pay $200 more for it. But add up the remote upgrade, the cables, and the extra drive space and maybe it's worth $200. Close, though.

 

Advertisements

Actually the S3 is $390.41 right now after rebate from Amazon. The TiVoHD can be found at Amazon for $187.99 + $10.50 shipping NEW.

 

the benefits of the S3 to me are the remote (really like the feel and function of it), front panel display, controls on the front for when i can't find my remote, larger HD (though i'll upgrade once i'm sure the S3 problems are acknowledged and addressed), and - okay i'm superficial - i really hate the look of the HD and my components aren't behind glass.

there. i said and admitted it.

 

Check below.

I ended up getting mine from Amazon.com for $559.77, which is about the low-point I've seen it for. Rebate knocked it down to $359.77, and at the time, the HD was about $220.something, so it was $139.77 for the difference between the two for me. Decided it was worth it for the price difference.

 

Don't forget that the S3 takes 2 cable cards and the TiVo-HD can use one M card so you have to find out how much more you cable co will charge for two cards vs one (M) card in the same box.

 

That's a variable cost that depends on the cable company's charges for a cable card.

For me, it'll still save me $3 a month with the HD cable box I'm sending back to them, which was the only cable box I could get to work with the Tivo my S3 is replacing, as the prior one died.

 

Also don't forget that the THD is rumored to have MPEG4-capable hardware so there is some hope that will be enabled via software at some point. I believe the older hardware in the S3 does not have that capability.

 

I have both and I cant see any reason to pay the extra money, I wouldnt again. Simple as that.

 

IIRC, the THX certification doesn't have anything to do with output quality.
It only means that the S3 is engineered to meet certain specs for home theatre setup whereas the TivoHD is not.

 

The interface for the Series 3 is nicer imo. I have both and can't stand the way the Tivo HD still shows the program in the background while you're trying to adjust the settings.

 

I also have both units...

The S3 is nicer looking (remote, front display, etc), has more storage capacity out of the box, includes HDMI cable, and better eSATA expandability.

On the other hand, the TiVoHD only requires one M-Card (a $10/mo savings for me!) and it costs less.

I would go with a TiVoHD instead of the S3.

 

What are you talking about? Which settings?

 

Actually, it may mean even less than that. As far as I know, the specs are the same, its just that TiVo paid to have the Series3 'certified' and didn't bother with the TiVo HD.

I have two Series3 units (bought them when they first came out) but if I were to install another, I'd use a TiVo HD.

The OLED's on the Series3 are nice, but not useful if your unit is in an enclosed cabinet (like mine) and the capacity / remote issue is something that can easily be dealt with in other ways.

It would be nice to have just one M-card (I have two M-cards in each, but running in S-card mode) but with my cable company, its only $1.50 per card which is not such a big deal.

 

I am not an expert, but I believe the both have capable decoders.

S3: Broadcom BCM7411

TivoHD: Broadcom BCM7401

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=376554

 

I have both. The S3 before the lifetime transfer expired, the THD through Woot.

I really like knowing what the S3 is recording. My THD, I'm never home when it's recording shows, so no loss.

My cable company (RCN) only charges $1.50 for each cable card - I have 2 in the S3, the THD is used for recording analog cable and OTA HD. But it would only cost me a $1.50 more to get CC for the THD. RCN doesn't charge outlet fees

Overall, it's a tossup. If you never had an S3, it's that "Can't miss what you never had" as far as the OLED info display, ect.

I do have them both hooked up to the same TV right now, so I haven't been needing to do transfers. If I ever do get my 2nd HDTV fixed, then it might change.

 

Please explain further. The TiVoHD, as well as older TiVo's that I have owned starting with a Series 1 model, only display the program in the background while utilizing the Guide menu. The picture and sound go away when accessing any other menu.

 

I have both, and I prefer the S3, the HD is my backup/archive/analog box, after 8 months it doesn't even have CableCARDs yet.

I just prefer the look and feel of the S3, esp the OLED, it was worth the extra cost, and the PnP eSATA is nice over needing to winmfs it.

Diane