TiVo is now poised to officially enter the Canadian market - story at http://www.canada.com/entertainment/story.html?id=98ab71b7-1010-495a-8cbf-1caf88454192

Dare we hope that this will persuade Expressvu to:
- expand the program guide beyond 48 hours?
- improve the quality of the program guide?
- establish TiVo equivalent "name-based" recording as currently on the Dish equivalent receiver?

I love the 9200 but it really ticks me off how much better it could be w/o these restrictions.

Regarding the quality of the guide info - here's an example -the cast list on new episodes of NCIS continue to list an actor who were killed off the show last year. Who the heck have they hired to do these listings? Until they fix this I doubt they could really implement succesful NBR.

Personally, I don't think Bell will care one bit since a Tivo cannot record in HD. Now don't get me wrong, I am a ReplayTv user so I appreciate the things that a Tivo-like pvr can offer (NBR, 12 day guide etc.) but I would not give up my 9200 for anything.

The competition for Bell is Rogers/Shaw/Cogeco/Videotron and Star Choice.

The 9200 features are programmed in the U.S. where TIVO has been around for years so the folks at Echostar know all about Tivo.

Don't get me wrong, 7 years ago I wanted a Tivo. They had a chance to come to Canada for years and didn't. IMHO, they missed the boat.

BTW, this is not new. It has been on the website for some time now and several threads exist discussing this

I used to have a Directivo with lifetime subscription. Set up was easy as it had local Candian phone numbers to dial into :)

Crispy

Personally, I don't think Bell will care one bit since a Tivo cannot record in HD.

Unless you have a PVR that does:

http://www.cesweb.org/shared_files/innovations/innovations_2004/2787/mainphoto2787.jpg

I bought a TIVO. It's kind of cool, but having an integrated pvr with a satellite or cable receiver is the way to go.
The latency between controlling the tivo and the set top box is brutally long. It's also tough to match up what you have subscribed to and what the tivo has in its guide. if you dare channel up, you could become out of synch between the tivo guide and the programming. Have to create a favourites list to match it up I suppose.
The recording time is a little deceiving. The record quality must be set to standard to get 80 hours out of the 80 hour box. If you want good/best quality then you are stuck with 35 hours of record time.

The home networking features and remote recording is a killer app...if you can find the right USB wireless transmitter to find it work that is.

If Bell where smart,
when they make there move to MPEG4,
they should ditch Echostar/Dishnetwork all together and comandeer TIVO to make a dual tuner integrated MPEG4 sattelite receiver for them. If BEV was smart, all there receivers would be HD PVR's (in a couple of years i mean) and they should have 2 models:

1)A vanilla dual tuner MPEG4 TIVO HD-PVR with a modest hard drive

2) A quad tuner Server MPEG4 TIVO HD-PVR with a MASSIVE Hard Drive that can output (via homeplug 2) up to 4 HDTV at the same time.

If Starchoice does this, then screw Bell i'm switching over even if i can't get NFL Sunday Ticket in HD... (I plan on getting DirecTv in 2007 once they deliver on there promise of 150 channels of National HD so i'll get it with them...).

If Bell where smart, when they make there move to MPEG4, they should ditch Echostar/Dishnetwork all together and comandeer TIVO to make a dual tuner integrated MPEG4 sattelite receiver for them.

Which would mean dumping those 1.6 million customers with their 3 or 4 million receivers too.

Please explain how that would be smart?

hugh,

How would that be hard to do. TIVO can make the receivers. No one said they can't still use DBS technology and Nagra 2 encryption.

Echostar makes the hardware currently but licences the encryption system. Anyone can make hardware; in fact Echostar sources out to RCA/Thomson, JVC etc.

Crispy

Okay so then I misread, I read as dumping the installed receiver installed base.

Okay so then I misread, I read as dumping the installed receiver installed base.

No need to dump anything.
TIVO is an O/S and a flawless one at that.
They have the BEST guide data information BAR NONE.
It is always accurate (first runs & repeats) extremely detailed (original air date, actors, full detailed description of episodes including the title of the episode etc...)
and, to top it all off, they give you 14 days worth!

It can be used on any type of hardware (dbs,dss,cable whatever). The current receivers would remain and still work. Now let's see if one of the Canadian Satellite providers is smart enough to snatch a contract with them.

Unfortunately the cable provider in my area is Videotron and, even if by some freakish accident of nature TIVO fell on there lap, it would be a cold day in Hell before i migrate to that 2 bit pathetic excuse for a provider... i think i'd rather stop watching tv alltogether (waiting a year for the shows to come out on BlueRay Disc would be less painfull then having to endure watching tv via Videotron).

Don't hold back, unreal1080p....feel free to tell us how you REALLY feel about Videotron :)

Does anyone know how I can get TIVO to interact with My receiver?TiVo is now poised to officially enter the Canadian market - story at http://www.canada.com/entertainment/story.html?id=98ab71b7-1010-495a-8cbf-1caf88454192

Dare we hope that this will persuade Expressvu to:
- expand the program guide beyond 48 hours?
- improve the quality of the program guide?
- establish TiVo equivalent "name-based" recording as currently on the Dish equivalent receiver?

I love the 9200 but it really ticks me off how much better it could be w/o these restrictions.

Regarding the quality of the guide info - here's an example -the cast list on new episodes of NCIS continue to list an actor who were killed off the show last year. Who the heck have they hired to do these listings? Until they fix this I doubt they could really implement succesful NBR.

Don't hold back, unreal1080p....feel free to tell us how you REALLY feel about Videotron :)


If Videotron (and other cable company's in Canada for that matter) supported cablecard, then we could get the NEW TIVO Series 3 Dual Tuner HD PVR with external Sata port for additional storage capacity and a FULL 14 Day Program Guide see link bellow:

http://www.tivolovers.com/252572.html

Even IF Videotron decided to support cablecard, i still would'nt go with them because THEY SUCK !!! Latest example: Videotron only has like 8 HD channels to begin with and they suddenly decided to DROP Discovery HD.
Why you ask: Because Discovery HD moved to FULL 24 Hours a day HD they apparently raised there licensing fee so Videotron dropped them like a hot potatoe. There is simply no end to how much Videotron sucks. I'm sure if i lived in Kazakstan, i could get a better tv provider.

I think this is another "the grass looks always greener on the other side" threads...

Everybody wants a Tivo simply because they can't have it.
Once it is here, it's just another pvr... :)

I think this is another "the grass looks always greener on the other side" threads...

Everybody wants a Tivo simply because they can't have it.
Once it is here, it's just another pvr... :)


I'm affraid your are DEAD WRONG on that one. My first TIVO was in 1999 (Stand Alone) and then a year later i went to a DirecTIVO (Dual Tuner built-in Sat Decoder + TIVO all in 1)

The only thing i like more than TIVO is HDTV and, unfortunately, HDTV has "forced me" to move away from the TIVO platform because I refuse to spend 1000$ US on a box that is/will be obsolete because it can't record MPEG4 (a necessity for the provider in question).

It's been nearly 2 years since i've used TIVO as my primary PVR device and i still feel like i'm in rehab or in a bad dream (nightmare would be more like it) and i keep hoping i'm going to wake up!

Comparing ANY pvr available in Canada to TIVO is like comparing a dumb mule(other pvr) to a Ferrari (Tivo)...
There both going to get you there but one of them is going to do it much faster, in a much more elegant and convienent fashion and it wont stink the high heavens of menure... and you wont want to beat it with a stick because even tough you tell it to go in one direction, it goes in another...

Once you try TIVO there simply is no going back (not without emotional distress and dragging and kicking anyway).

I think this is another "the grass looks always greener on the other side" threads...

Everybody wants a Tivo simply because they can't have it.
Once it is here, it's just another pvr... :)

I guess you've never used one. I'm still in Tivo withdrawl after unplugging my
DirecTV Tivos. Those boxes delivered the best experience I expect to see.
When you set up a recurring recording, it works without attention, and if you
want to pay attention, you can, for example, have it not record a specific
episode you've seen before. Conflict resolution works, rather than rebooting
the machine or ignoring the resolution you specified.

I'd be happy enough with a 9200 firmware load that didn't forget it had timers
every week or so, that didn't miss scheduled recordings, that didn't start to
twitch uncontrollably during rain fade, that had a guide that went more than
two days out, that would actually remember my previous searches, that
could make a 4x3 program correctly fill the screen of my 4x3 HDTV, and that,
in general, I didn't have to compusively worry about. I want Canadian
programming, so I don't want Directv any more, but I'd like to narrow the gap.

Rob