TiVos for HD OTA in Canada

[YOURPVR]

Yes this is true that there is no cable card support but I can record over the air HD ch in HD with both Canadian & USA guide data and features. Then I use another TiVo to control a HD pvr and just switch the input on tv to another input. I can't live with the crapy Rogers guide or pvr. The dula tuner pvr tunes to the HD channel and TiVo records it in SD for my portable devices like my iPhone or laptop.

[Wayne]

I agree that CableCard has nothing to do with OTA recording but part of the featureset of the HD TiVo is the ability to record from cable channels with CableCards. Presumably it costs TiVo to include this functionality. Therefore you are paying for functionality which you cannot use in Canada.

I agree TiVos are great - I have two Series1 TiVos that I used for many years until I replaced them with my HTPC based PVR system for OTA plus cable.

[ladybugblue]

Originally Posted by Wayne

I agree that CableCard has nothing to do with OTA recording but part of the featureset of the HD TiVo is the ability to record from cable channels with CableCards. Presumably it costs TiVo to include this functionality. Therefore you are paying for functionality which you cannot use in Canada.

I agree TiVos are great - I have two Series1 TiVos that I used for many years until I replaced them with my HTPC based PVR system for OTA plus cable.

The subscription for Tivo is the same for the standard definition Tivo sold in Canada and the HD Tivos. There is no price difference if you are using the HD one or not. So no you are not paying for a functionality that you cannot use in Canada.

I wish more places had the OTA options in Canada as I would ditch the cable company PVR for the Tivo in a heartbeat.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by ladybugblue

The subscription for Tivo is the same for the standard definition Tivo sold in Canada and the HD Tivos. There is no price difference if you are using the HD one or not. So no you are not paying for a functionality that you cannot use in Canada.

I meant the original cost of the unit, not the subscription. Surely part of the upfront cost of the unit goes to the cost of hardware. Although that will pale in comparison to the monthly sub fees that you will pay which is the one downside to TiVo.

[stampeder]

A good discussion comparing the pros and cons of Tivo HD versus WIndows HTPCs has been split off from here to the following thread in the HTPC forum:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=118678

This existing thread is very specifically for Tivo discussion.

cheers

[Chudsmith]

Hey all I just recently got my second TiVo HD unit and I’m very happy with both of my units.

I have cable connected to my unit and it works with both analogue and digital as you probably already know. The problem of course is that without a cable card you do not get the guide info for the digital stations. Cable companies here in the republic of Canada do not have to provide us a Cable card the way they do, by law in the United States. In short we the consumers do not have the right to choose which PVR we want to use. If you want Bell, Rogers or Cogeco you have to purchase their receiver. I have two terrible Bell PVRs that don’t do HD in the basement right now collecting dust; both cost more than $600.00. My TiVo HD receiver including the life time subscription cost about the same the difference is OTA is fantastic and free.

Time for a little rant.
When I called up Bell to cancel my phone service they asked why and I told them by switching to V.O.I.P I could cut my bill in half and choose a (416) area code which would eliminate almost all of my long distance call bills because for some reason calling from Milton to Brampton 20 Kilometres away was long distance. The guy had no response.

When I cancelled my Bell Satellite the Girl told me that she would lower my monthly fee from $70.00 dollars a month to $40.00, I told her that I had been a customer for four years and that perhaps If they had just given me the best rate from the start I wouldn’t be cancelling now.

When will these Companies get a clue and realize that perhaps treating your customers fairly and with respect they may keep their customers in the future. Maybe they could offer a customer like myself a Cable Card for my TiVo so In the future when analogue is gone I keep using their services as opposed to cancelling there service. Which is exactly what I plan to do.

These Companies are worse than greedy they’re Stupid, and if they got their way it would be illegal to have an antenna on your roof to begin with.

Every week I notice more Antennas going up around my subdivision and smile knowing that these are people like me unplugging from the Matrix.

[jennywenny]

Hi there,

I completely don't know anything about cable tv hookups and digital cable and all that, but I was serously looking into getting a TiVo simply to be able to record anything i want on TV without having to actually catch a particular show at a particular time. Now, I know that about 2 years ago TiVo came to Canada... I'm currently living in the basement apartment of a house with a Bell satellite with HD.

Now, I know I don't want to go out and purchase a Bell PVR, because they are REALLY expensive and i never liked Bell as a service provider anyway, so when i move into my own house one day, I will NOT be subscribing to Bell's cable service and then my PVR will be useless. However, I WILL be subscribing to some kind of digital cable service, probably Rogers.

My question is, do the Canadian TiVos really NOT record HD channels?? or do they just not record them in HD format?? meaning, they will still record the channel, but not in HD?? sorry if my questions sound a little dumb... i just don't want to buy a TiVo if it's not going to record the channels i wanted in the first place...

say, The Movie Network for instance... will it be able to record those channels??

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by jennywenny

My question is, do the Canadian TiVos really NOT record HD channels?? or do they just not record them in HD format?? meaning, they will still record the channel, but not in HD?? sorry if my questions sound a little dumb... i just don't want to buy a TiVo if it's not going to record the channels i wanted in the first place...

say, The Movie Network for instance... will it be able to record those channels??

I believe that the TiVos that have been sold in Canada are not able to record HD - just Standard Definition (SD). There is also an HD version of the TiVo that is sold in the US. This will work in Canada to record Over The Air (OTA) channels if you can get them. But that is limited to the regular TV networks - you are in Mississauga so if you have line of sight to the south and east you might be able to pick up Buffalo and Toronto stations (i.e. CBC, CTV, CITY, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) but no TMN, TSN, etc.

These HD TiVos have something called a CableCard slot that allows you to record HD cable stations if your cable company gives you a CableCard. US regulations force American cable companies to give their customers CableCards if they ask for them but no cable company in Canada is doing so and the CRTC hasn't forced them to do so.

So that means that you can buy a TiVo but it won't record HD (with a few exceptions). That leaves you with buying (or possibly renting) a PVR box from your cable or satellite company if you want to record HD. But these boxes totally suck compared to a TiVo.

There is one other solution but it is much more expensive and complex and that is using a PC to record all of your TV shows. That will allow you to record all of your HD shows.

[tenstu]

Wayne is correct. Or, you could find a DTVPal DVR in the US at a Sears. (google it)

Some of us have them here and have had a variety of experiences with the units.

In my own case, it has served us well as a recorder and guide and my experience has been very positive. Others have hoped for more, but it depends on your expectations of the device.

Stu

[Wayne]

The best solution might be to hodl your nose and buy one of the Bell PVR units. I don't know how much Bell charges for their PVRs but with Rogers you have the rental option and the payback between buying and renting is often less than 2 years. So if you are going to be in your current location for 2 years then maybe you should just buy and hope to resell to someone when you move.

[intravino]

I wanted to purchase a DTVpal last year at this time. But the DTVpal had several bugs last year ( I don't about now ). I choose the TIVO HD and never been more happier with a home electronic equipment.

I can record Canadian analogue broadcasts and digital one OTA. Someone told me that you cannot record analogue broadcasts with the DTVpal but I cannot confirm that.

The Tivo run 4 to 6 hours at my home during the week. Not one bug.

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by Chudsmith

In short we the consumers do not have the right to choose which PVR we want to use. If you want Bell, Rogers or Cogeco you have to purchase their receiver.

For provider HD anyways. Series 2 TiVos work fine with SD.
I am okay without an HD-DVR for now.

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by jennywenny

My question is, do the Canadian TiVos really NOT record HD channels?? or do they just not record them in HD format?? meaning, they will still record the channel, but not in HD??

The TiVos that have been sold in Canada are/were Series 2s. Yes, they record only in SD. Yes, your box can tune them and watch them direct in HD with component or DVI/HDMI tot he TV.

The TiVo HD models (you would have to import on your own), can only record from cable or antenna directly (does not support any sort of box), and for all practical purposes in Canada, can record only HD from antenna.

Being you have Bell, you can get a 6131 receiver form them, and plug a USB hard-drive into it, to make it into a single tuner DVR, which will record in HD.

[jennywenny]

Thanks for all your replies... I really don't want to buy any PVRs for $400-600... I don't have that kind of money to play with, but I was really looking into the TiVo since it's being sold for around $189 at Best Buy and I keep hearing about all the convenient options it has. I don't mind not being able to record in HD format, as long as the channel itself still gets recorded. I don't mind watching stuff in SD format. What I will record will mostly be movies and tv shows, not sports games, so I don't mind the picture not being the best it could be. Right now the place i'm renting subscribes to Bell satellite, so as long as the TiVo will work with the receiver box and still record all the channels i want (just not in HD all the time), then i'll be happy... ) did i understand you guys correctly??

[Wayne]

Yes, the TiVo will work with the Bell box allowing you to record all of your channels. The TiVo is a great box but don't forget that you have to pay a subscription fee of (I think) $12.95/month. That's over $150/yr, more if you add in taxes so that it isn't that much less than $400 when you look at your all-in costs for one year.