the stages of grief
May 15th, 2006 @ 9:30 pm | miscellany | Post a CommentCue death music.
Dum dum dum dummm dum dum dum dum dum dum dummmmmmmmm.
It’s the TiVo again, but this time it’s no false alarm. Our little silvery child is officially a goner. It made a few high-pitched sputters tonight before slipping into oblivion. RIP.
I think it happened because the sexy Grey’s Anatomy surgeons and hotstuff Jack Bauer were being pumped through the airwaves at the same time tonight. That much raw sexiness and miraculous lifesaving was just too much to handle. Poor little internal processor.
Looks like I’ll be spending more of that hard earned cash at Costco to buy a replacement. It didn’t seem so urgent to buy a new one until I realized that I never got to watch today’s Oprah. Won’t be seeing tomorrow’s either! All week - no Oprah! Ack! Must. Replace. Now.
Once I realized Oprah was at stake here, I moved on quickly past my mourning and into action. I’ve been wading around the internet trying to figure out what to buy and it’s making my head spin a little. Dear readers - please help! Which one do I buy so I don’t break the bank? Thanks in advance.
I have never had an actual TIVO unit so i don’t know what I can recommend. I have Dish Network and I got a pretty kick ass unit that came with. mine will record two shows at once while watching a third(recorded) program and holds 100 hours of recorded stuff. but that’s the sat receiver. The internal technology is basically the same on all of them, I would look for the most features(that you would use) for the least money. If you have cable or Sat TV check with your provider they may have a deal that is better than having to buy another unit. this is not a plug but an example: I have Dish in three rooms and that DVR in the living room, I have 120 channels plus Starz all for $49.99 a month and right now they have this $100 back deal that cuts my bill to $39.99 for the next ten months. Sorry if this doesn’t help you.
written by Dale
May 16th, 2006 @ 8:30 am
Thanks for the tips, Dale. I think that you are about ten notches fanicer than we are
I do have the option of getting DVR through Comcast cable, but it would mean upgrading to digital, which would increase the monthly bill a good amount, plus paying $10/month for the DVR part. And right now I am getting HBO through my analog cable for free and really don’t want to compromise that!
I should also say that our dead unit is/was a Replay TV, but I just call it a TiVo because that word is like “Kleenex” to me - it kind of means all DVR products even though it is an actual brand.
written by janet
May 16th, 2006 @ 8:40 am
Tivo is cool and not very expensive, but I agree with the comment above. It seems like the “most cost effective” option at the moment. (at least it seems that way to my husband and I)And you can always visit RocketBoom on http://www.rocketboom.com :).Depending on how computer savy you are, there are other options also. (time consuming and slightly costly but well worth it)
written by Paige
May 16th, 2006 @ 8:44 am
We have the same deal with comcast. We’re hanging on to our analog box for dear life. I think it’s 2007 though, they’re going to make everyone with an analog box convert.
Up up up goes the cable bill, but it won’t be a choice anymore. (so you might consider that in your decision. 100$ buys a year and whatnot.)
written by Paige
May 16th, 2006 @ 8:47 am
Welcome to the world of commercials!
written by Alexa
May 16th, 2006 @ 9:16 am
Is there some reason why you have to have cable and cannot switch to satellite? I don’t think my dish deal is a local thing I ordered it from the dish network website. My Dad had a setup with a Tuner card and some software on his PC that turned it into a “TIVO” that might be an option if your computer is anywhere near the TV.
written by Dale
May 16th, 2006 @ 9:52 am
We don’t have tivo and actually just recently canceled all cable except for the basic channes (abc, nbc, fox, cbs, upn and I think tbs or something) I thought I was going to die, but wanted to save $80 a month and it’s been worth it. Michael doesn’t really watch tv so I live on a diet of abc, nbc and netflix. Sometimes I am sad b/c I miss my Mtv reality crap, but I look at our growing savings and I am $240 happier!
written by Sarah
May 16th, 2006 @ 10:18 am
Dale — when I even think of the word satellite, I see money signs buzzing around in my head. I am guessing there are upfront and monthly costs involved with satellite that far exceed the $40/month we pay for cable now, which includes plenty of stations, free HBO and SHO, and our free replayTV because Andrew bought lifetime monthly service upfront like 4+ years ago.
So I am trying to keep my current cable bill plus any new TiVo functions to as close to $40-$50 a month as I possibly can…don’t know if it’s possible though.
Sarah — I think I could probably live with less TV, but I don’t think my other half would survive. I would miss What Not to Wear the most!! And HBO too…
written by janet
May 16th, 2006 @ 10:25 am
actually I paid $49.99 upfront, that is the install fee and was credited on my first bill for agreeing to 18 months of service. no other fees were involved but you are right i just ran your scenario on dish’s site with 60 channels plus HBO and Showtime(8 channels each) and the DVR I have you would pay $64.00 a month, I get a break by not having those movie channels added on there. The cheapest brand new replay tv unit I found was $280 but i didn’t get into that to much since you said you had already been searching for one.
written by Dale
May 16th, 2006 @ 11:49 am
I have a DVR with my digital cable that has think basic+ without any premiums (no name company) and cable internet and it comes to about $90 a month. I don’t know if it’s worth it for the digital cable (mandatory upgrade), but I can’t imagine life without my DVR. So long as you get one with dual tuners so you can record two shows at once, I don’t think you can go wrong.
written by Bebe
May 16th, 2006 @ 2:11 pm
am I the only one totally confused by this entire conversation??
written by Haggalicious
May 16th, 2006 @ 3:06 pm
I recommend check into your Replay TV contract before switching to TiVo. Initially, the companies did not have “lifetime” attached to the “life of the machine”, so you may be able to roll over your lifetime payment to a new Replay TV DVR.
If that doesn’t work, I’d go for the TiVo which should be
written by Jenn Bo
May 16th, 2006 @ 10:43 pm
That was weird. here’s the rest of the story:
…TiVo should be less than $100 from Costco (after rebate). I have a Toshiba DVR/DVD recorder with TiVo software that I love because I can put shows on DVD and watch them when I travel. These are a little more expensive (mid-to-high $300 range).
The other thing to consider is a DVR that doesn’t use TiVo or Replay service. They work like a regular VCR. Toshiba has a couple (RD-KX50 and RD-XS32). The best price might be a Pioneer that runs about $200 (DVR-233-S).
written by Jenn Bo
May 16th, 2006 @ 10:46 pm
I HIGHLY recommend Windows Media Center PC — it hooks up directly to your digital cable, regualr cable, antenna, satellite unit and is a version of TIVO and more. It is awesome. I have it, my boss has it, my friends’ sister has it. The beauty of it all is it also is a computer as well without the TIVO monthly fee. You can hook it up to your tv unit (depending on the correct cables and how high end you are…call up DELL, Call up HP, call up TOSHIBA). Research it!
written by CatWise99
May 20th, 2006 @ 1:13 am
We went thru this too b/c I refused to do Comcast digital. We bought a n40hr Tivo from Tivo.com for $50 after rebate. Service is $12.99 a month. You can only record or watch 1 show at a time (ie the tv must be on the channel it’s recording unless you put the tivo on standby) and that sucks. Comcast DVR will do 2-3. Tivo just came out with a dual tuner that will do 2 things at once.
written by Erika
May 23rd, 2006 @ 10:11 am