Pros: Value; video quality; feature set; price; capacity
Cons: Possible incompatibility with SDV in some areas; fees; CableCard installation
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended overall, but expect some minor setup headaches. Also, investigate SDV compatibility and CableCard fees before purchasing. Otherwise, an excellent unit for the price.
f8ster's Full Review: TiVo HD 180-Hours Video Recorder
Quick Summary
Great value; excellent video quality; great feature set, although a step down from Series 2 in a couple areas; somewhat complicated CableCard install and monthly fee structure; compatibility problems with Switched Digital Video (SDV) in some areas. Dual-tuner capability to record two HD or SD programs at the same time is very cool. Overall, highly recommended, but do your homework first on CableCard costs and SDV to make sure you know exactly what’s entailed.
Overview
The TiVo HD is the latest revision of the TiVo Series 3 platform. It is a cost-reduced version of the original high-definition Series 3, but it retains most of the features and functionality.
In the Box
The TiVo HD unit comes with the remote, power cord, and cables for component video and stereo audio. It does not come with an HDMI cable. A phone cable is included.
Outputs
TiVo HD has the following outputs:
- Component video
- Composite video
- S-Video
- Stereo audio (left/right RCA jacks)
- Digital audio (optical)
- HDMI
Inputs: Cable Connectivity
The first thing you should know is that the TiVo HD is intended for use with cable or over-the-air (OTA) HD signals only. If you have cable, you must obtain one or two CableCards to receive the HD channels you pay for (more on this in a minute). It doesn’t work with an HD cable box, and does not tune QAM channels (QAM allows some HD channels to be received unencrypted over normal cable; however, TiVo HD does not receive these channels).
If you are a cable subscriber and are already paying for HD channels, you simply need to call your cable company and request two CableCards. Most cable companies will need to schedule a technician to come out to your house to install the cards and activate them. In some cases, you may only need one card; some cable companies now support the “M-Card,” which is a multi-stream card, and only one M-Card is required. However, if your cable company only provides single-stream cards (and most of them do), you’ll need two. This is because the TiVo HD has two tuners. You can’t use it with only one single-stream card; TiVo will complain. You must have two single-stream cards or one multi-stream card.
The CableCard installation isn’t exactly straightforward, and is probably the biggest hurdle in getting everything set up. It took two different visits from Comcast to get it working. Because the units are relatively new, I don’t think the installers have a lot of experience getting them configured.
An Alternative if you Don’t Have Cable: Over-the-Air
TiVo HD does allow you to receive HD channels for free over the air (OTA). In many areas, you can receive a number of channels with a decent antenna. Sites like antennaweb.org will help you choose an antenna and locate stations near you. You can use both tuners with a single OTA antenna connection.
Differences Between TiVo HD and TiVo Series 3
About five hundred bucks. :-) Actually, there are a few other minor differences. First, the front-panel display that shows the currently-playing show is not available on the TiVo HD. The TiVo HD also has a smaller hard disk, and holds only 20 hours of HD content vs. the 32 hours on the Series 3. The Series 3 is also THX-certified, while the TiVo HD is not. You also get the “old” plain remote with the TiVo HD, not that pretty shiny one the Series 3 comes with. Other than that, they’re pretty much the same.
Dual Tuners
One really nice feature of this box is the dual-tuner capability. You can record two shows (yes, even two HD shows) at the same time, while watching a third one from your Now Playing (previously recorded shows) list.
Each of the tuners has its own 30-minute pause buffer. You can switch between the two tuners by pressing the “Live TV” button. This is great for watching two football games – pause one, switch over to the other, etc.
Having been an “old” (Series 2) TiVo customer for several years, I love dual tuners. It makes recording much easier, especially when there are partial overlaps between two shows in primetime, or two good things on simultaneously.
Capacity
TiVo HD has a 160GB hard disk, which TiVo claims will hold 20 hours of HD content or 180 hours of standard-definition content at Basic quality level. I find that HD content typically takes up a little over 8GB per hour, although some very wide-screen content does take up less, I’m guessing because of the increased area of the black bars on top and bottom for very wide-screen movies.
There’s an external SATA connector for an additional external hard disk, but it’s currently disabled. The manual labels it “for future use.”
Quality
I had a Series 2 TiVo attached to this TV before, and I’d swear that even the standard-definition content looks a lot better with the new TiVo HD. Of course, HD content looks impeccable. TiVo HD will support 720p and 1080i content. Personally, I think the 1080i content looks a shade better, but it might be my imagination.
For standard-def content, you have the same traditional choices for quality: Basic, Medium, High, and Best. Each uses proportionally more disk space per program as the quality level increases. I typically use Medium for standard-def content, which takes up about half the space as Best mode. You can set the default quality level to whatever you want, and for any scheduled recordings, you can change the quality level for a given show (if, for example, you want most stuff in medium, but you want your favorite show in best).
For HD content, there is no quality selection – it’ll only record at the maximum quality level.
Format / Aspect Ratio
One thing that takes a little messing around with is the format selection. The TiVo HD remote has a “Format” button that’ll change the aspect ratio of the content you’re viewing. And, because most wide-screen TVs also have an aspect ratio selection, you have to experiment with both to get things to look right. I have my TV set to “Stretch” (which only has an effect for SD content, not HD), and my TiVo set to “Full.”
Monthly Fees / CableCard Fees
TiVo has a semi-complicated fee structure that changes depending on how long you commit, whether you pay up front or by month, and whether or not you already have a TiVo in your house (multi-TiVo discount). I pay $7/month, but I’m in the best-case scenario, so your monthly cost may vary.
In addition, some cable companies charge for the CableCards. Some give you the first one free and only charge you for the second one; some don’t charge you for the cards at all but do charge you for the technician visit to get them activated. Ask your cable company what they’ll charge you beforehand. In my case, I didn’t get charged for anything.
Home Network Connectivity
If you have a home network, you can connect your TiVo HD to it via wi-fi, or with a standard Ethernet cable via a built-in LAN port. Note that for wi-fi, the only wi-fi adapter supported is the “TiVo Wireless G” adapter; other third-party adapters will not work. The TiVo adapter is a bit expensive, so it’s a little disappointing not to be able to use a cheaper Linksys or DLink adapter. On the other hand, the TiVo adapter seems to be very reliable and has been working great since day one.
So what does home network connectivity get you? Lots of things: the ability to schedule programs from a web browser (handy for scheduling from work), faster guide updates and service updates, and the ability to schedule a variety of downloadable shows ( a feature called “TiVoCast.”) TiVoCast offers a number of programs such as CNet’s Tips for Digital Living, which is a weekly 15-minute show with product reviews and tech tips. TiVoCast also offers a variety of humor, news, and other content.
Network connectivity also allows you to access a whole host of additional applications on your TiVo. These include music (listening to music resident on your PC through your TiVo), photos (viewing photo slide shows from pictures on your PC), traffic, weather, stocks, movie rentals and purchases (downloadable directly to your TiVo), and more. The apps.tv website has a list of user-created applications, and there’s a wonderful array of additional things you can do with your TiVo once it’s on the network.
If you don’t have a home network, you can still use a phone line to receive updates, but you won’t get all of the fun applications.
Network Restrictions
If you’re a current Series 2 TiVo user and you have more than one TiVo, you may be used to the ability to transfer shows between the two boxes. Note that this is not currently supported to or from the TiVo HD box (although there is some indication from TiVo that this may be supported in a future software update).
Another Series 2 feature that is not available on the TiVo HD is the ability to transfer shows to and from your PC and watch them on your PC. The TiVo HD is also not capable of transferring your home movies from your PC like the Series 2 is.
Fast Forward
Fast forward image quality is excellent (this is a problem for other non-TiVo DVRs, and I was pleased to see how well it works on TiVo HD). One thing I do notice, though – it takes a second for the audio to kick in after hitting Play.
Other Traditional TiVo Features
TiVo HD has all of the same features of traditional TiVos – Season Pass (recurring recordings), Wish List (automatic listings or recording by keywords), Kid Zone (restrictable content for child viewing), Showcases (recommendations for viewing), TiVo Suggestions (automatic idle-time recording of shows TiVo thinks you’ll like based on your preferences), etc.
The user interface is pretty much exactly the same as a Series 2, except that they’ve spiffed up the graphics so it looks a bit nicer.
Switched Digital Video – Warning
Some cable providers use a technique called “switched digital video” (SDV), which has some potential compatibility problems with the TiVo HD. This is not a problem for me (Comcast in the WA/OR region); however, you should investigate this for your own cable provider before purchasing. Google “tivo switched digital video” for more information and check out the top 8-10 results for a lot more information on this topic.
Summary
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the TiVo HD. Once I got it configured with the CableCards, it has been working flawlessly and I’m now able to record from HBO HD and all of the local HD channels. The dual-tuner capability is great, and the video quality is fantastic. As a long-time Series 2 TiVo owner, the TiVo HD is a great step forward. For the price, I believe the TiVo HD is a much better value than the Series 3.
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