Which Series 3 to buy

For most people, the THD has everything they need in a mainstream HD DVR. The few extras in the original S3 (OLED display, nicer remote, THX certification) is hardly worth double the cost, IMO.

I would buy three TiVoHDs, if I were in your position. You should have no trouble getting cable cards, just explain its for three Series 3 TiVos. They are FCC mandated to provide cards to you.

The original S3 has an OLED display, bigger hard drive, nice backlit remote, newer (more stable) software and an extra $300 or so on the price tag.

The Tivo HD does everything the S3 does more or less, but has the non backlit remote, no OLED display, software which still seems to have a few issues, and less recording space (assuming you don't upgrade the hard drive).

Personally I think if money is no object, by all means get the S3. On the other hand you might be able to get 3 Tivo HD units for not a lot more than what you would spend on one S3 box. There was recently a pricing mistake/coupon deal from Circuit city that allowed some of us to get our Tivo HD for $218. I'm sure other price mistakes, coupons, will allow for some nice discounts in the coming weeks.

And the S3 is THX certified, if that's important to you and worth something. It's important to me, but at this point not worth the additional $300 (especially since I have 2 S3's already, and don't have 2 THX setups).

I would start bugging your local cable office about trying to get M-Cards. If you can get M-Cards, you could go with the TiVo HD since it supports them already. Then you would only need 3 and there would be less chance of issues with 3 vs 6. Amazon is selling the TiVo HD for $285 with free shipping. That is a really good deal. The S3 does come with a bigger hard drive but later this year the TiVo HD should have its eSATA port enabled so space is not a issue (you can easily add a external eSATA drive once this is enabled).

And the S3 is THX certified, if that's important to you and worth something.

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THX certification is nothing more than a label they slap on the Tivo as a sales incentive. The S3 Tivo just records a digital input verbatum and does absolutely nothing with the audio. If you pass it through to your A/V receiver or preamp/processor then it has no bearing on the quality of the audio signal whatsoever. You're paying a lot of extra money just or a meaningless label.

jmpage2 said:

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Personally I think if money is no object, by all means get the S3.

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Or, by the cheaper unit and donate the difference to your favorite charity.