Technology Review: The TiVo Series3 and Me (A Non-Geek Peek)
Published July 24, 2008
Fast forwarding past the commercials: TiVo’s very smart fast forward feature is nothing short of brilliant. Ever fast forward past the commercials, only to skip a bit too far ahead? TiVo feels your pain and understands your frustration. When the fast forward stops, it automatically rewinds back a few seconds, making an often seamless jump over the commercials.
Amazon Unbox: One of the few downsides of using the TiVo box instead of a conventional Comcast cable receiver is the loss of Comcast’s “OnDemand” feature. And admittedly, it’s a great feature; I miss it on my TiVo-powered television. Fortunately, if you miss it a lot, you can add your service’s digital cable box as a second receiver. I have digital cable boxes on two other TV’s so, if I’m in OnDemand withdrawal, I can feed my need. And someday soon (and I believe already available in some markets) Comcast and TiVo will get married and you’ll have access to the best of both worlds.
On the other hand, with TiVo you do have access to the Amazon Unbox (Amazon’s movie rental and purchase download service). This service allows you to browse and search Amazon.com’s movie and television library through TiVo and download direct to your television. Rental is $3.99 for a new release feature film.
Rhapsody: I’ve been a fan of the Rhapsody music service since long before RealAudio took it over years ago. Its music library is exhaustive and eclectic. It’s worth the $25 a year I pay to listen endlessly to everything from classic classical to classic rock, folk, Broadway shows, and pretty much everything and anything else. Log into your Rhapsody account via TiVo and you can have Rhapsody’s entire library come piping though your home theatre.
Et cetera: TiVo comes equipped with a few fun video games, original TiVo programming (The Onion’s, for example), access to Fandango to purchase movie tickets. And now YouTube, as well.
The Future: Amazon has just announced an expansion of its relationship with TiVo. The future will bring a “buy” feature embedded into the TiVo software. That will allow you to purchase products, like books, DVDs and CD (promoted on late night talk shows, for example), direct from Amazon.com with the push of a button on the remote.
The TiVo Series3 receiver retails for around $600.00.
- Technology Review: The TiVo Series3 and Me (A Non-Geek Peek)
- Published: July 24, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Video: Television, Video: Film and TV Business, Sci/Tech: Personal Tech, Sci/Tech: Internet
- Writer: Barbara Barnett
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I mentioned the YouTube thing above. the HD is an option for those not wanting to get the Series3, from what I understand. But it's a very large size difference re: hard drive. Not sure about any other differences. Thanks.
I would strongly recommend the TiVo HD over the TiVo Series3 at this time - and I own a Series3 myself. The difference in the drive isn't that large - 250GB in the S3 compared to 160GB in the HD. And they both have eSATA ports for expansion - the 500GB Western Digital My DVR Expander is the officially supported drive.
As for other differences, price is the primary one. The TiVo HD has a $299.99 MSRP and sells for ~$250 new online, but TiVo also has 'factory-renewed' units for $179.99 with the same warranty as a new box. The Series3 has a $599.99 MSRP, and sells for ~$575 online - and there is currently a $200 rebate. But that still puts the S3 around $125 more than a new TiVo HD, and almost $200 more than a 'factory-renewed' unit.
As for features, aside from the 90GB drive-size difference, the Series3 has a fancier chassis with an OLED front panel display, on-box controls, and a 'piano black' finish on the top and sides. The TiVo HD has a simpler chassis with no on-box controls, LED indicators, and a conventional black case. The S3 comes with the fancier 'Glo' remote, which is nice, but you can buy those separately for ~$40 and still come out ahead.
The TiVo HD supports M-Card CableCARDs, which means you can use just one M-Card for both tuners. The Series3 does not support M-Card, and so requires two CableCARDs even if M-Card is available. The TiVo HD can save you money month to month if your cable MSO charges for the cards - some MSOs give you a free card then charge for additional cards, other charge for all cards - and it can range up to $5/month per card. The TiVo HD also puts the CableCARD(s) in front, behind a door, instead of in the back of the unit as on the S3. That makes installation much easier.
So with the S3 you get a little more flashy case, a slightly nicer remote, and a little (90GB) more drive capacity for an extra $125-$200, plus you may pay more each month for the second CableCARD.
I just can't justify the added cost for what you get.
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Your readers might want to know that they do not have to go out and buy a $600 Series 3 TiVo to get everything you mentioned.
TiVo has released a TiVo HD box that retails for $299 (and can be had from Amazon for $250) that can do everything the Series 3 can, though with a smaller hard-drive. (there is a Tivo-branded hard-drive expander available as well).
TiVo has a monthly service fee of $12.95, but you can prepay a year for $129, or 3 years for $299 (I believe).
Also, your readers might like to know that they can access YouTube videos to their heart's content (with broadband access) starting in the next week or so.