I'm giving up Tivo (kinda)
I've been a happy Tivo user since 1999 when my wife and I got one of the original models. We later upgraded the hard drive, and then switched to DirecTV and got a second Tivo - one of the 2 tuner DirecTivos. I don't know how we ever lived without them. They've served us well, and we've more than made up for our lifetime subscriptions.
Last year we got a nice DLP HDTV. The DirecTV signal is nice, but it's not HD. I've been looking to upgrade to an HD PVR for quite a while. I want local channels + premium channels in HD, and they need to be recorded digitally without going to analog and back to digital.
The HD DirecTivo was tempting. I love the Tivo software, and it mostly meets the criteria. The problem is that for local channels you need an over the air (OTA) antenna and I have no idea how many channels I could actually get. It's also quite expensive. The Tivo is $1000, plus I'd have to get a new lifetime subscription (do they even offer them anymore), plus the antenna, plus a new DirecTV dish, etc... I was waiting for the prices to come down and for the local channels to be available in HD through the dish.
I've also been tempted by a Media Center PC. I like all of the extra stuff you can do with them like show photos and use them for music. However, they only support OTA, and only have a single HD tuner. They are also expensive unless you put them together yourself, and I'm not one of those guys that likes to build his own PC.
Recently in the Seattle area, Comcast has made a new HD digital video recorder (DVR) available. It has 2 tuners and records both local and premium channels in HD. It's also cheap! They give you a great deal when upgrading from satellite, and you only pay a few bucks more a month for the DVR. You don't have to buy the unit. I also have a cable modem, and save $10/month on that for also having cable TV.
The picture is *amazing*! It's interesting to see the variation. Some things like Discover and Leno are really high quality, while other "HD" shows are just slightly better quality. Unfortunately, Comcast doesn't carry CBS digitally, so no CSI in HD :-(
The software has taken some getting used to. It reminds me a bit of switching from the Mac to Windows. At first there are a bunch of things that are just different and take some getting used to. They aren't really better or worse, just different. The remote on the Comcast box seems much more complex to begin with. There are several buttons that don't even work (like the PIP stuff), and then some buttons that are just shortcuts to things you can get to through the menus (like On Demand and My DVR). But, even after you get past those, I find that I can get around on my Tivo with just the arrows and select, but you need to use more buttons (like Last) on the Comcast box. It also seems like more navigation is required for some of the common operations.
On the positive side, I think it does a better job of showing conflicts with upcoming recordings. It's also more responsive (although Tivos may have improved -- mine are pretty ancient). I also like that I don't need to plug it into the phone line.
So, I'm retiring the DirecTivo. I've still got my old vintage 1999 Tivo hooked up to the cable. It still works great and has tons of space.
I think I'll be happy with this box for quite a while. When all of my perks from switching from satellite run out, I'll take a look at DirecTV and Media Center and see if they are better. Since I didn't have to buy any hardware for Comcast, I'm not really locked in.