TiVos for HD OTA in Canada

[FunkyTown]

That's true. I agree with you in that case. If it's under warranty and needs replacement the lifetime guide should be included with the new machine. Maybe a month to month is more appropriate for the first year. Then they get an extra $150 if you do that too. So it's certainly a gamble.

[Wirenut]

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

You're welcome. The only thing negative that I've noticed over the past few days is the speed of the new interface. It's very slow. I'm not using wifi, but a gigabyte Ethernet connection. I've contacted TiVo about the speed and they said they plan on rolling out firmware upgrades over the next weeks and months. So at least they acknowledge it. They said it was due to the system accessing the Internet. It loads a number of pictures and graphics and doesn't seem to give priority to the menu functions.

For now I've chosen to use the old style menu which is really fast.

Yeah I read about the problem with the HD menus being as slow as molasses in January on the Tivo Community web site. From what I gather, the official story is as follows:

The current software version of the Premiere uses only one core of the new BCM7413 Broadcom dual-core processor inside. Once the software is stable enough running in dual-core mode, Tivo will release a SW upgrade that should make the HD GUI run much faster... hopefully. The catch is that using 2 cores instead of one won't make the Premiere twice as fast.

I'm also hoping there will be some kind of on-line VOD service like Netflix or Blockbuster On-Demand available in Canada in the near future. Not essential but nice to have for renting movies and TV series from cable-only channels like HBO or Showtime (since I'll be using the Tivo in OTA only).

[FunkyTown]

I'm with you on those features. I wondered why Amazon, Blockbuster were not showing up. It's not a big deal though as I can download movies from iTunes. It would be excellent if TiVo partnered with iTunes. I think Apple would never do that in light of their Apple TV device. TiVo is a bit of a competitor for Apple TV.

Thanks for the note about the CPU. Maybe it will get better. I switched back to the new display tonight and it seems a bit faster. It's not terribly slow, but it's slower than a new 2010 machine should run. By this point in time speed with computers should not be an issue. I still prefer this pvr over any others I've tried. This is my 4th brand of PVR in the past 9 years. Eventually we will reach perfection.

[ericball]

Originally Posted by Wirenut

I'm also hoping there will be some kind of on-line VOD service like Netflix or Blockbuster On-Demand available in Canada in the near future. Not essential but nice to have for renting movies and TV series from cable-only channels like HBO or Showtime (since I'll be using the Tivo in OTA only).

I wouldn't hold my breath. The Series 2 Dual Tuner has been officially available in Canada since xmas 2007 and still doesn't support the Amazon.com marketplace.

[FunkyTown]

I think buying Apple TV for that type of service would be my next move. It's too bad TiVo didn't focus a bit more on Canada. We have a company here in Ottawa called Zip.ca that could be used for Canada as opposed to Netflix and Amazon. One of the issues is Canada has a different rating system than the US. I find Canadians are slow to adopt some of the newer technology too. Nobody at work even knows what TiVo is and we are all technically inclined in my field of business. Although we have great technologies here and have invented cool things, it would be great if Canada was a little more enthusiastic with technology.

In the meantime I'm going to enjoy my OTA TiVo pvr.

[Jase88]

DVR technology was indeed slow to take on here in Canada. And when it finally did, the BDU's (Rogers, Shaw, Bell, et al) had already launched their DVR/PVR solutions...and customers went with them instead. Part of the issue is that few (if any) BDU's here have gone with CableCard...so TiVO won't work with satellite or digital cable.

TiVo is having problems in the US now as well...as American BDUs eat up more DVR marketshare. I predict that, unless TiVo reinvents itself, it will soon disappear. This is why I see TiVo making deals with more BDU`s to offer DVR service in a bundle.

[FunkyTown]

I haven't had a PVR from a cable or satellite company that wasn't riddled with bugs. One would think by 2010 (decades after the PC came along) that producing an awesome PVR would be a snap!

Even if the cable/sat companies did adopt TiVo, you would still have to put up with the never-ending fee increases. So for me I don't care what they do anymore. I'm switching to OTA and cutting the dependance on cable/sat. No more fee increases. I can still record my shows and watch when I want. Yes, some channels I'll miss, but any show I truly love that I can't get with OTA TiVo I'll download from iTunes. I don't mind paying for one or two commercial-free shows if I don't have monthly cable fees on top of it.

I think eventually we are going to depend on the Internet more for tv anyhow. TiVo has already headed in that direction which is smart. They need to focus more on Canada before iTunes completely takes over. By then it's too late for Canada.

[intravino]

That's true. I agree with you in that case. If it's under warranty and needs replacement the lifetime guide should be included with the new machine. Maybe a month to month is more appropriate for the first year. Then they get an extra $150 if you do that too. So it's certainly a gamble.

Problem is that the TiVo's almost never have hardware failures. On the unofficial TiVo forum, Some Guys have their TiVo's running for years and years, no bugs.

The hardrives do sometimes go out but it's easily replaceable.

As for TiVo having problems in the market place, the naysayers have been saying that for years and years and TiVo is stil going strong.

[FunkyTown]

I think with more Internet choices and over-the-air broadcasts in high def digital, this opens an entirely new door for TiVo and they are designing new machines that will take advantage of this. For folks like me who are sick and tired of cable and satellite providers in Canada, yet still want a decent PVR, this is our ticket to just that.

[Wirenut]

Amen brother. And let's not forget that Tivo's will play Mpeg2 and Mpeg4 videos and it's possible to transfer those from your PC to the Tivo's drive. And there's a lot of HD material to be found on the Internet, especially on Usenet.

[FunkyTown]

I know - it's all good! I never would have bought a TiVo. I've known about them for years. My first thought when I saw the clarity and beauty of OTA television, I wanted to build a pvr using a computer. The cost was quite high. Then I researched TiVo. This is the cat's meow of PVR's as far as I'm concerned. With OTA, more people than ever will become interested in TiVo.

[FunkyTown]

There seems to be a new version of the TiVo software available. I'm currently at 14.1c and the latest version is 14.4.

Since I'm new to TiVo, can anyone tell me how long it takes them to push the new software out to all customers? I know it was released last week. I check daily but I still don't have it.

Thanks.

[classicsat]

They have a public pre-release for a couple weeks to gauge CS requirements and feedback. I think the main launch lasts about 3 weeks. You can sign up on a priority list and get it within 3 business days. That is my expierience with Series 2 software updates.

[FunkyTown]

Oh that's interesting. When you say sign up, is that the beta test user thing?

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

Oh that's interesting. When you say sign up, is that the beta test user thing?

No, beta testing happens much eartlier in the software development. The Priority list is for the public software release.