TiVo

 Sorry guys, I don't post a lot. Doesn't mean I don't care... wait a minute, actually I don't. I'm not a big - post every last detail of my life, deep thought I have, or the smell of my farts, online, kind of person. Don't mind if you do, gives me something to read while I'm on the can.  But I'm finally following up the post I made about buying a DVR. Here it is:

Last time I posted about buying a DVR, I still hadn't decided on whether to buy a TiVo or go with the DVR Comcast gives you when you upgrade to Digital Service.

Well, I tried going with the Comcast option and it sucked ass. Not only was it more time consuming to upgrade my service to Digital, and have the DVR installed, but it was also more expensive in the end. The cable company had a whole bunch of hidden fees that made that option ridiculously expensive. I kept the DVR for one month and then cancelled the upgrade before the trial price expired. They tried real hard to keep me from canceling, but in the end never really offered anything me anything that wouldn't end up costing me more money down the road. Comcast is just one really large sales department. It's always sell, sell, sell, never mind if it's in the customer's best interest. But what about the DVR? The DVR itself ( a Motorola ) was pretty good, it had a lot of good features and wasn't too difficult to use ( after spending 30 minutes with the manual ). Overall, I'd give it 2 out of 5 stars.  It's kinda flimsy, and lacks features that could "future proof it". If your only choice is this DVR or nothing, this isn't such a bad choice. It's better than nothing.

But in the end I went with the TiVo. And I'm really glad I did. DVR vs DVR, the TiVo wins hands down. It's so easy to use. You can customize features, access online content from: Netflix, Amazon, You Tube, etc., and even connect it to a media server and access all the content from your TiVo. You can also expand the storage capacity by adding an external HDD. Spec for spec the TiVo and Motorola are on par, except the above stated features. But what makes me happiest about my TiVo, is the fact that I don't have to upgrade my service to Digital ( at least not yet, who knows later on ). When I tally up the total cost: cost of unit + cost of TiVo Lifetime Service, the final cost is a lot less than with the Comcast package. I'm taking my savings and buying me some games!!!! Woooot!!!!   Overall, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. It's a great DVR, but it's not perfect. For example: It doesn't include any editing tools, so you can't edit programs before you archive them. Also, even though you can transfer programs from your TiVo to your PC, it uses a proprietary codec that only TiVo can play back. And the  transfers take a long time. Other than these small points, it's a dam good DVR. Your Experience May Vary.

Please note: I don't post very often.