Premier Worth It?

IF you currently have a series 3 I would definitely go ahead and spring for a premiere. As long as shows are not flagged you can transfer from paused points. Also while it is still not here yet it is a good bet streaming will be possible in the future. I also have one of my tivos hooked up to a tv in the bedroom and in the living room. The new slide remotes work on bluetooth so you can control the tivo from both rooms. This way would also allow you to start a show in one room and resume it in another. I am pretty sure that you can also do this with u-verse though.

Did they recently announce a new version of TiVo?

BankZ said:

Did they recently announce a new version of TiVo?

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http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=471906 may be what you're thinking of.

BankZ said:

What I really want is to be able to start a show upstairs and resume downstairs.

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This requirement eliminates the build a HTPC and u-verse options, unless you also replace the Series3.

Do not get a Premiere. I had an HD that worked fine, but my new Premiere is a disaster. It freezes up and has to be unplugged/restarted several times a day. My best friend has the same problem with his Premiere. Other people are experiencing it too -- just do a search.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=473806

With the polls taken here you have about 25% of getting a premier that the HDUI is slow and reboots. The remote will quit or slow to respond (which was one of the reason I did not like the comcast boxes) to the remote. It works better in the SDUI menu. I have a 25m down and 5 up internet connection and it still slow in the HDUI so I have in SDUI menu. Mine while transferring a program and watching a recording it shuddered and rebooted.
If I was a little more technical I think would try and build a HTPC. I will not be buying another new model of Tivo.

P42 said:

This requirement eliminates the build a HTPC and u-verse options, unless you also replace the Series3.

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yeah, I know. I would sell it to help pay for my project

I do not think I would buy another S3 because it seems like a dead platform.

Also, I am not trying to start a flame war. I am just trying to figure out my best options. I am going to have to do something soon. My basement will be done in about 2 weeks. I may just get a comcast box until I can figure it out.

I had an HD. I found it unstable with regular reboots, often due to poor tolerance for bad signals.

I replaced it with a premiere (Now have 2) and have not had any issues since the early software updates. Huge improvement over the HD, many new features (Love the iPad app) and transfers are scary fast.

Beryl said:

Glad I didn't read the forums before getting mine. It is working fine. Then again, I'm glad I got the warranty too.

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Exactly! If you read the forums you would think none of them have ever run for more than 24 hours without multiple reboots.
I have an issue with the current OS, but before this round my home upgraded refurb Premiere XL ran for almost 6 months without ever missing a beat.

BankZ said:

I do not think I would buy another S3 because it seems like a dead platform.

Also, I am not trying to start a flame war. I am just trying to figure out my best options. I am going to have to do something soon. My basement will be done in about 2 weeks. I may just get a comcast box until I can figure it out.

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Get an HD w/lifetime off of fleabay, and wait for Tivo to release the 4-tuner Premiere. And then wait some more for them to iron out the bugs (everyone here is still waiting, so you get the picture).
Big mistake to even consider getting the craptacular Comcast DVR if you already have a Tivo. You will hate this box and all its limitations.

DeWitt said:

I had an HD. I found it unstable with regular reboots, often due to poor tolerance for bad signals.

I replaced it with a premiere (Now have 2) and have not had any issues since the early software updates. Huge improvement over the HD, many new features (Love the iPad app) and transfers are scary fast.

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I like the iPad app too but I don't see the HUGE improvement. But then I never had a problem with my HD and my XL is cranking along fine too.

I bought a Premiere XL shortly after it the hit the market in desperation. I really needed another working TiVo that could accommodate digital and the late production HDXLs, two in a row, that I'd serially purchased within a month for that position had totally crashed. A slight bit of flakiness with the PXL very early on, but now totally reliable. It's our primary, living room, unit and we use the SD menus.

Have two other high def Tivos, HDs with aftermarket drives....one in the MBR and one in the basement workout room...that also work well.

My premier has worked flawlessly since I got it. It is in the family room and gets the highest use. I have the HD in the Media Room and the S3 in the bedroom.

I am looking forward to the 4 tuner model and I will definitely upgrade the aging S3 model!

I have two Premieres (1 standard & 1 XL) that I am very satisfied with. They both operate reliably, with the exception of an ocassional (usually several weeks apart) unexpected reboot. Once TiVo finally sped up the HD user interface to make it much more responsive than it initially was at product launch, I have switched back to using it since I find it much more effective for program searches and more pleasing to the eye than the standard user interface on my TiVo HD.

1a. Try the cable-co DVR first since you can get it for free for 3-6months at least... you'll quickly learn for yourself whether or not you hate the DVR.
(You probably will hate it as you are already a TiVo user.)

1b. If you have a Win7 PC and an Xbox 360 already, try using Win7MC by buying a cheap OTA tuner.

2. If you don't like the cable co DVR or MC, then buy a Premiere and get lifetime on it.
Don't bother with a used S3 or HD unless you plan on simply reselling it at a later date.

If I buy a used TiVo HD that has a lifetime subscription already, is there any problems with transferring it to my account? If I have two HD's can I pause one and resume on the other?

No, and yes. And you'll save around $200 over the cost of the still-buggy Premiere.

BankZ said:

If I have two HD's can I pause one and resume on the other?

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Tivo HD remotes have a switch for DVR 1 or 2, you could set the Tivos to remote codes 1-9 and set the remote for the two different channels for 2 Tivos. The instructions on how to set this up are here.