I'm An Idiott (I Think)

unitron

· #2 · Sep 19, 2011

Soapm said:
Am I an idiot?

I just bough a Tivo Premier but for what I need in a Tivo a Series would have been a lot cheaper, hackable and do everything I need from a Tivo. And the monthly subscription is still $12.99.

We have no HD TV's and don't plan to get any soon. No netflix or block busters. Anyone think of anything the premier can do that the Series 3 can't that a guy like me would need?

That depends, are you in the market for extra aggravation?

Leaving that aside, "The Idiotts" would be a good name for a band.

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Apart from online features (such as Hulu and Rhapsody), and the HD search/ribbon UI, no. I beleive the other HD models are practically done for major software feature updates.

If you have cable, I would not recommend other than any HD model. The preferred non Premiere/Elite model would be the TiVo HD though. The only reason to get an original Series 3 is for the looks.

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dlfl

· #4 · Sep 19, 2011

The Premiere's network transfer speeds to/from a PC are several times faster.

The Premiere is slightly inferior in OTA tuner sensitivity, reportedly.

By proclaiming yourself an idiot up front, you undercut many posters here who would have enjoyed stating, or implying, that themselves. Nice tactic!

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atmuscarella

· #5 · Sep 19, 2011

First anyone who has to pay $19.99/mo for service on a Premiere really should look at lifetime service, it is paid for in just over 2 years.

If the Premiere is too pricey for you I would think the next best option is a TiVo HD, you should be able to buy one on ebay with lifetime service for less than $400 and for under $100 if you really want one you have to pay for service monthly on.

I think the Premiere is worth the extra up front money over a used TiVo HD. First it is new and second it is more future proof.

Good Luck,

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RMBittner

· #6 · Sep 19, 2011

Soapm said:
We have no HD TV's and don't plan to get any soon. No netflix or block busters. Anyone think of anything the premier can do that the Series 3 can't that a guy like me would need?

Frankly, if you don't have HD TVs -- and have no plans to get any "soon"

-- you might actually be better off with a Series2. You wouldn't have any Cablecards to deal with (which, depending on your cable provider, can be a hassle), and you'd still have two tuners.

Bob

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atmuscarella

· #7 · Sep 19, 2011

RMBittner said:
Frankly, if you don't have HD TVs -- and have no plans to get any "soon" -- you might actually be better off with a Series2. You wouldn't have any Cablecards to deal with (which, depending on your cable provider, can be a hassle), and you'd still have two tuners.

Bob

He only has dual tuners if he still has analog signals and he will have to deal with IR blasters and a cable STB. I would only get this if I could find a Series 2 DT with lifetime service for not much money.

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dlfl

· #8 · Sep 19, 2011

RMBittner said:
Frankly, if you don't have HD TVs -- and have no plans to get any "soon" -- you might actually be better off with a Series2. You wouldn't have any Cablecards to deal with (which, depending on your cable provider, can be a hassle), and you'd still have two tuners.

Bob

The THD can tune analog channels without CableCARD(s). I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the Premiere can do the same. With those models, you're all set when your cable co drops the analog channels.

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RMBittner

· #9 · Sep 19, 2011

dlfl said:
The THD can tune analog channels without CableCARD(s). I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the Premiere can do the same. With those models, you're all set when your cable co drops the analog channels.

Fair enough. Just got the impression that the OP was looking for a cheaper alternative. And if he has zero interest in HD channels, an SD unit sounded like one.

Bob

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rainwater

· #10 · Sep 19, 2011

RMBittner said:
Fair enough. Just got the impression that the OP was looking for a cheaper alternative. And if he has zero interest in HD channels, an SD unit sounded like one.

You can get a premiere unit for 50-100 bucks so the initial costs will actually be about the same or cheaper for a new Tivo Premiere. Yes, the monthly rate is more, but put lifetime on it and it will pay for itself in a few years.

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Soapm

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 19, 2011

atmuscarella said:
He only has dual tuners if he still has analog signals and he will have to deal with IR blasters and a cable STB. I would only get this if I could find a Series 2 DT with lifetime service for not much money.

Exactly, we got notice we're going all digital next month which would leave me with the one IR Blaster tuner that rarely if ever hits the right channel. Last night it took me no less than 7 tries to get the night game on.

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Soapm

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 19, 2011

RMBittner said:
Fair enough. Just got the impression that the OP was looking for a cheaper alternative. And if he has zero interest in HD channels, an SD unit sounded like one.

Bob

Not necessarily cheaper, hackable...

One of the reasons I've stayed with Tivo this long is because mines is hacked and does more that just Tivo. It does my caller id, lets me stream to my daughters XBOX in her room, my PC in my office and my wifes laptop when she's wherever she is in the house. I also have tons of season passes all lined up the way I like them and that no-record module in TWP is like my best friend. Take that and figure the monthly service would be $12.99 instead of $20 and wow am I an idiott...

I've been dreading life without a hacked Tivo and now I see had I of done more homework a little more I could have smartly invested my dollars to better accommodate me and my house.

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Soapm

Discussion Starter · #13 · Sep 19, 2011

atmuscarella said:
I think the Premiere is worth the extra up front money over a used TiVo HD. First it is new and second it is more future proof.

Good Luck,

I actually prefer no software updates since I'm linux challenged. Restoring the hacks after an OS update was always a pain to me and generally something I spent an entire weekend doing until someone here wrote me a script I call "updater" that made it all a snap. I still prefer no updates unless there is a glaring reason to fix something...

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Soapm

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 20, 2011

One other question, does the Premier interact or allow you to navigate the video on demand menu's from cable providers? I am sure the S3 doesn't since it's interface looks like my current S2 but I was wondering of the S4 had this ability.

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lrhorer

· #15 · Sep 20, 2011

Soapm said:
Am I an idiot?

It's certainly possible.

Soapm said:
We have no HD TV's and don't plan to get any soon. No netflix or block busters. Anyone think of anything the premier can do that the Series 3 can't that a guy like me would need?

Other than network performance, not much.

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lrhorer

· #16 · Sep 20, 2011

classicsat said:
If you have cable, I would not recommend other than any HD model. The preferred non Premiere/Elite model would be the TiVo HD though. The only reason to get an original Series 3 is for the looks.

'Not true. The S3 has significantly better network performance than the THD. The Glo-remote is also significantly superior to the standard peanut. These may or may not mean much to the OP.

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lrhorer

· #17 · Sep 20, 2011

atmuscarella said:
I think the Premiere is worth the extra up front money over a used TiVo HD. First it is new

What advantage is that? (Answer: none. )

atmuscarella said:
and second it is more future proof.

No, it isn't. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. Many people who have Premiers today and enjoy MRV and / or TTG will be very upset tomorrow when their CATV system decides to copy protect everything. If I had a Premier, it would be little better than a very expensive paperweight.

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lrhorer

· #18 · Sep 20, 2011

Soapm said:
I actually prefer no software updates since I'm linux challenged. Restoring the hacks after an OS update was always a pain to me and generally something I spent an entire weekend doing until someone here wrote me a script I call "updater" that made it all a snap. I still prefer no updates unless there is a glaring reason to fix something...

An entire weekend??? It never took me more than 20 minutes to hack a TiVo, starting from scratch. Once I had a production platform set up, it didn't even take 5 minutes. I never was able to effectively hack the living room TiVo, though, because my disabilities made it both very difficult and very painful to pull the TiVo and remove the hard drive, so I finally decided to go with scripted upgrades. Now I upgrade them from a telnet session.

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lrhorer

· #19 · Sep 20, 2011

Soapm said:
One other question, does the Premier interact or allow you to navigate the video on demand menu's from cable providers? I am sure the S3 doesn't since it's interface looks like my current S2 but I was wondering of the S4 had this ability.

Nope. Don't hold your breath, either.

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atmuscarella

· #20 · Sep 20, 2011

lrhorer said:
What advantage is that? (Answer: none. )

irhorer, We all know you like to be confrontational but really if you can not find any advantage in buying a new product that is returnable and has a warranty versus buying a used product with limited ability to return it and no warranty I am beginning to really wonder

lrhorer said:
No, it isn't. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. Many people who have Premiers today and enjoy MRV and / or TTG will be very upset tomorrow when their CATV system decides to copy protect everything.

Ok so what does that have to do with if a Premiere is more future proof than and TiVo HD? In fact the Premiere is likely to provide Premiere to Premiere streaming where we are nearly 100% sure the TiVo HD will not. If you believe being more future proof is a benefit or not is certainly an individual thing. But the Premiere is more future proof than a TiVo HD and that is not really debatable, unless you just want to disagree for the sake of disagreeing.

lrhorer said:
If I had a Premier, it would be little better than a very expensive paperweight.

So if you think a Premiere is an expensive paperweight do you somehow think a TiVo HD is better? I was giving my opinion on if someone should buy a used TiVo HD over a New Premiere. This assumes they actually want a TiVo, from your statement it appears you do not, so why the comments?

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