[greenstork]

I switched to cable, a Series 3 and an HDTV right when the S3 was released. I had been waiting for years to make the switch to HDTV until I could do so with my TiVo, dual tuners, high capacity, the whole shabang. I switched from an S2 DirecTiVo.

I experienced instant TV bliss. Not only did I love HDTV, but my TiVo was pretty close to perfect, with the exception of additional storage, MRV and TTG (and at least one of those issues has now been addressed with others hoefully coming soon).

Now I'm watching DirecTV roll out one HD channel after another, for networks that I watch frequently. I hate SD programming more each day and find myself seeking out HD programs. I'm pretty disappointed with Comcast, as their HD rollouts seem woefully slow and they'll probably run out of bandwith after adding only 3-4 of the 15 or so new channels that DTV has just added. That, or move to switched digital, which would completely screw me.

I'm taking a serious look at DirecTV but I'd be hard pressed to abandon my TiVo. Ultimately, I find myself having to choose between more HD and TiVo, which is a really lousy choice to have to make.

 

[kmill14]

I can tell you that I am thus far disappointed in the DTV roll-out of HD channels...not for anything DTV did, but because the channels themselves have very limited HD content. Take Food Network for example...they have a very limited # of HD shows, and they recycle them over and over and over.

I end up watching the local networks in HD, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN, the Universal HD and HDNet, and thats really about it...basically all the same channels I watched before. I will watch CNN and The Weather Channel periodically, but its not a regular thing, and not a deal breaker for me.

DTV is about to jack up its HD fees if you want Universal and HDNet, and probably MGMHD.

If I were you, I would check out the channel listings for the new HD channels on DTV and see if you feel like you are missing out.

 

[yunlin12]

One channel that is a big deal for me, Sci-Fi HD. Hopefully Comcast will add that quickly, maybe before the BSG starts.

 

[N7TB]

I was in the same quandry as you and called Comcast to tell them that their pricing for cable was not compatitive with satellite and their HD content was very limited compared to DTV. I was told that Comcast was coming out with more HD content by the end of this month and that they are converting analog channels to digital as fast as they can because they can get, and I can't remember the exact numbers, but something like 10 SD and 5HD channels in the same bandwidth as one analog channel. I guess we will see, but I specifically told him that I wanted History HD and he said that would be out in the next month. I guess time will tell, but it was enough to cause me to not change right now to satellite.

I am in the position of wanting to buy the Tivo HD and buy the lifetime subscription but that promotion ends Nov. 8th.

Hopefully this info is helpful

 

[HiDefGator]

Now I'm watching DirecTV roll out one HD channel after another, for networks that I watch frequently. I hate SD programming more each day and find myself seeking out HD programs. I'm pretty disappointed with Comcast, as their HD rollouts seem woefully slow and they'll probably run out of bandwith after adding only 3-4 of the 15 or so new channels that DTV has just added. That, or move to switched digital, which would completely screw me.

Wow. I never saw that coming. If only Directv had made some annoucement ahead of time.

 

[greenstork]

Wow. I never saw that coming. If only Directv had made some annoucement ahead of time.

I'm guessing from the sarcasm that you're implying that I should have waited and perhaps just stayed with DTV, but I really wanted an HDTV a couple years ago and I really wanted TiVo so the Series 3 and the Comcast triple play package made sense at the time. At the time I switched, Comcast actually had more HD content and the DTV stuff was just pie in the sky.

I appreciate the comments, the channels that I'm missing in HD are Food Network, Speed, TBS, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, Comedy Central, and a few others -- all of which have hit DirecTV AFAIK. I've heard that there is still a lot of SD content still being broadcast on these "HD" channels, so that eases my sense of urgency a bit. I'm also glad to hear that Comcast is slowly catching up although it could be faster IMO.

 

[HiDefGator]

If you bought that long ago then I suppose you didn't deserve the smart remark. Sorry.

 

[Addy]

One channel that is a big deal for me, Sci-Fi HD. Hopefully Comcast will add that quickly, maybe before the BSG starts.

You get UHD in San Jose? They often show stuff on Sci-Fi, used to be they only showed older shows of Atlantis and BSG etc but over the summer they ran Flash Gordon the same day. Hoping this is the case for BSG…Sci-Fi HD all the time would better though.

 

[nrc]

Here's my advice. It's a bit long winded but there are a lot of factors to consider.

First, go through your season passes and determine whether the content you're recording is available and whether it's actually in HD at this point. Not everything broadcast on the HD stations is actual HD. Much of it on some stations is stretched SD or just windowboxed.

If you're watching a lot of stuff live (CNBC, CNN, MSNBC?) maybe you won't miss TiVo so much after all. If you routinely use both live buffers and switch between them you'll miss that feature unless you can live with some kludgey work-arounds.

Visit the dbstalk.com forums to see discussion of issues with the DirecTV DVRs free of the evangelizing that goes on on the DirecTivo forums here.

Figure up the actual cost of DirecTV. If you have a double or or triple play bundle with your Cable provider be sure to figure total cost of your services for comparison. Keep in mind that DirecTV now has two charges for HD content. 10.99+4.99

Keep in mind that you will be required to make a 2 year commitment to DirecTV to get their HD DVR. Upfront cost per DVR may be anywhere from $0 to $299 plus install for your leased HD DVR. You can get out for a pro-rated $240/per year fee - not sure if that's per DVR.

If you know someone with a DirecTV HD DVR go try it out. There's no trial period or money back guarantee on DirecTV service. Once you're committed you have to pay to get out.

Look at the installation information for the latest DirecTV DVRs. Look at the size of the dish, mounting, line of sight, and cabling requirements. The dish in particular has gotten larger with more limitations on where and how it can be mounted.

Look at your cable lineup and make sure you know what you would gain and what you would lose by switching. Pay particular attention to locals and premium channels. We gain three locals and our cable co includes Starz/Encore with digital service and provides more HBO SD channels than DirecTV.

Consider picture quality. Keep in mind each carrier's history of being willing to turn down picture quality to save bandwidth. Most of my SD channels on cable are better quality than on DTV. My cable HD is much better quality than the MPEG2 HD on DTV. The new MPEG4 channels have gotten positive reviews so far but they have a lot of channels left to roll out.

If you use TiVo's HMO features investigate the DirecTV equivelants (where they exist). They have music and photos (although they're more tied to an MS platform than TiVo) and DirecTV "On Demand" is coming soon. I'm not aware if they have any TTG or MRV equivelants available or in the works.

Finally, consider where your cable company stands with HD. If it would only take a few additional channels to sway you back to cable and TiVo you should probably wait and see. If you need a more than a half dozen it will probably be awhile before those are available on most carriers.

If your cable company is likely to use SDV to add HD capacity then you could probably switch now and use up most of your DTV commitment before those channels will be available with TiVo HD.

I went through all of this and switched from DTV to cable with TiVo. Part of that is because TiVo is important to us, part of it is because the HD content we're interested in is mostly locals or movies and cable gave us more of that for less. For that I can wait a while for Monk and Rescue Me in HD.

 

[dshinnick]

Quite a response, and very educational. Thanks for taking the time. I'm sure I will refer to this often!

dave

 

[greenstork]

Seriously, what a quality response -- much to consider. Thanks.

 

[greenstork]

Well, with external storage, MRV and TTG in place for my Mac, I'm going to have a hard time justifying a switch at this point.

 

[mappler]

I want to reiterate the comment about checking to make sure what "HD Content" their truly is. The two major problems I've seen with some channels is:

1) Upscaled SD sent over a 720p or 1080i signal is worthless. Your HD TV and TiVo already know how to upconvert 480i broadcasts.

2) HD channels that just don't have much content. Food network and PBS are great examples for me. They have a handful of shows. After the first two months of HD service, I think I'd seen all of the History Detective episodes and as much of the 5 food network shows in HD that I cared to see.

It makes it REALLY REALLY hard to compare between providers who actually has more HD content.....

 

[jtseltmann]

I just did the opposite switch from DTV to Cable with full Tivo. Basically I could not live without the TiVo interface and with the new MRV/TTG/HMO etc..there is just no comparison that I have seen. The quality of the channels HD and SD broadcasts on HD channels is fantastic. The new MRV and TTG are super also. Pushing shows from TiVo to PC and then iPod is saving me the cost of buying shows (kids shows especially) from iTunes.

I'm very impressed so far even with the slower MRV speeds of the THD...they'll fix it soon...

good luck.

 

[rgarretson]

... I got HMO and MRV but can someone decode TTG for me? Sorry, I've been living in cable DVR Hell for six months because I couldn't afford not to accept RCN's triple-play bundle, but I just used the latest Lifetime upgrade offer to get an HD Tivo. So I'm back in the Community. ...

--Rob

 

[RoyK]

... I got HMO and MRV but can someone decode TTG for me? Sorry, I've been living in cable DVR Hell for six months because I couldn't afford not to accept RCN's triple-play bundle, but I just used the latest Lifetime upgrade offer to get an HD Tivo. So I'm back in the Community. ...

--Rob

TTG > TiVo To Go - Allows transfer of recordings back and forth between TiVos and PCs.

http://www.tivo.com/whatistivo/tivofeatures/tivotogo/index.html

 

[fredct]

... I got HMO and MRV but can someone decode TTG for me? Sorry, I've been living in cable DVR Hell for six months because I couldn't afford not to accept RCN's triple-play bundle, but I just used the latest Lifetime upgrade offer to get an HD Tivo. So I'm back in the Community. ...

--Rob

TTG = TiVoToGo, i.e. downloading videos from your TiVo to a PC