★★★★★ 0/5

Review: TiVo

In those advertisements, everybody in the street loves TiVo. TV Tonight has been test-driving the DVR and learns some of the neighbours are happier than others.

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In the advertisements that cute little TiVo is having such a fun time. Everybody in the street loves him, and he’s having a blast sucking up a slew of shows down his aerial. Even in Sex and the City TiVo was a girl’s best friend.

In the real world not everyone loves him so much. He’s a bit of a pricey houseguest and it’s taken a renewed marketing push, plus some additional features, to start winning over the neighbours.

TV Tonight has been test-driving TiVo for a few weeks now.

When you open your TiVo box it’s hard not to notice that in terms of design it’s been hit with the ugly stick. It’s a big, black box with a slab of silver. He’s not even trying to look sleek. The other thing that strikes you is the amount of connecting cords –enough to give anyone a headache. The good news is that by following the instructions and repeating the phrase “calm, blue ocean, calm, blue ocean” it’s actually achievable, if somewhat time-consuming.

To connect your TiVo, you’ll need high-speed broadband. It likes to update and download via the net, so if you’re without a decent connection better get your purchase priorities in order first.

Once you’re connected, you’ll be using the remote and stepping through on-screen instructions. It’s about here you have to remind yourself that what you’ve just connected is a digital recorder –not a content box with an instant world of entertainment. Those ads hoodwink you into thinking that for your $699 you’ve got stacks of new shows at your fingertips. No, you’ve got a wiz-bang recorder that still has the same shows that you accessed via a HD set top box or television.

But make no mistake. If you’ve never been able to rewind live television it’s a great boon. Wanna watch a replay sports moment? Miss the answer to that question? Need to get your head around a crime scene? That’s all a pushover. Recording two shows at once is also very neat. The real power of TiVo is also in its ability to become familiar with your viewing habits, making recommendations, recording shows on your behalf, recording entire seasons, or movies with your favourite actors. That’s super smart technology.

I was a tad insulted by some of the shows it thought I would like, simply because I’d recorded them once, including changing the show I was watching on my TV because it started to auto-record another. I’m sure this can be easily resolved. It was easier just to yell at the TV and find the stop button, or as I got to know it, the “What The?” button.

Recording via the web is a nifty feature provided you have a Yahoo! account.

The on-screen menu is rather clunky but again TiVo is so adaptable it can be personalised to a layout that suits you. It just takes a little exploration…

TiVo has recently begun adding features –you can now order pizza (how, umm, healthy!), and there’s a free movie download each week from Blockbuster. Warning: make sure you are comfortable with the download size 2-5GB before agreeing to go there. So far the movies are disappointing: Jerry Maguire, Hudson Hawke and a bunch of other flicks from the bargain bin.

The biggest omission in the Aussie TiVo is in leaving out the ad-skipping feature. It’s hard to forgive this decision. We’re told that in order to keep the price down to $699 the trade-off was in ads, which like your old VCR, can only be fast-forwarded.

There has been some criticism that its 160GB isn’t big enough storage capacity. Whilst you won’t shore up the equivalent of your DVD library, I found it plenty big for recording and watching FTA shows.

As pleasurable as it was to have a big, ugly box that recorded and replayed everything I could (practically) ever want for a one-off payment, I couldn’t get my head around the fact my multimedia laptop allows me to record, pause and rewind live television via Windows Media Centre. Sure it’s not directly connected to my TV but there are ways around that too.

Still, one of my friends absolutely swears by his new toy. At least some of the neighbours love little TiVo.

– TiVo sells for $699 at Dick Smith, Harvey Norman, David Jones, JB HiFi, Domayne and Clive Anthonys. The optional Wireless Adapter is $59.95.

46 Responses

  2. I’m forced to use NextG Wireless because we can’t get ADSL here, having 2-5gig vanish on one of these ‘blockbuster’ movies is out of the question.

    I have an LG DVD/HDD just over a year old and it does everything I want, the next time I upgrade it will be to a twin HD tuner model. I’ve only heard bad things about the Austar MyStar box which is the equilvant of the Foxtel IQ and the TiVO is too limited and ugly, it’s designed like a VCR from the 1990s.

    Again what I want to know David is how will FreeView affect TiVO?

  4. Can you switch it off or does it have to remain switched on all the time? A friend has an AppleTV which runs quite warm, even when left in standby mode and I was curious if the Tivo is the same.

  5. There used to be some VCR’s that were capable of skipping ads so it could be pressure from the broadcasters for Tivo not to include an ad skipping function. Hopefully the Tivo manufacturers have addressed the old G-Code problem where you miss out on some of the program when it doesn’t start at the advertised time.

    TiVo is hardly worth the price they are charging for me anyway, I won’t buy it unless it is around the $100 mark, I would pay $200 at most for it. It’s 2009, these recorders probably don’t cost that much to manufacture.

  6. I’m sure that someone will release a new machine to rival the TiVo. There are some great featues but also some that need a little work and some help from the FTA networks (yeah right).

    What we really need in Australia is bigger download limits. Faster would also be really, really great but the amount the ISP’s give us is just insulting. It should be unlimited.

  7. I am still waiting for a media device that combines the freedom of full internet, downloading, on demand, TV recording and music all together neatly all in the same box.

    I know there are solutions for this, but nothing that is appealing or easy to use.

    I think a company like Apple should be getting more into this field.

  8. For those interested, according to the TiVo website here is the upcoming free Blockbuster movies coming up…

    A Dog Of Flanders
    Grizzly Falls
    Hotel De Love
    Joey
    Jumanji
    Legends Of The Fall
    Matilda
    Muppets From Space
    Paradise Road
    Prince Of Tides
    Prince Valiant
    Robin Hood Men In Tights
    Sahara
    Silver Brumby

    I’m happy with a few of those, but yes they are not really blockbuster!

  9. I’ve got a Topfield TF7000HDPVRT and its a pretty good unit Twin HD tuner, and 250GB HDD. I wish however I waitied a couple of months later and got the newer model with ethernet and wireless, as it is a pain having to download the ICETV guide and transfer via USB every week. The FTA guide is pretty bad, but thats the same for all over the air guides.
    I can set it up just like a VCR and have programs record at the same time each day/week/weekday/weekend etc.
    I dont see the need for TiVO in AUS until the networks can offer quality download content and decent programming at scheduled times.
    My Foxtel IQ is great, however I dont get FTA via satellite in Adelaide which is annoying. I think FTA is coming to satellite this year but only for eastern states. Only issue is the guide occasional does not work and you need to reboot or scroll though the channels and back to get them working. I have also been getting a lot of series link dropouts in the past week. Think I just need a reboot though.
    Good review though David. I would get one if I lived in the US.

  10. Ohhh … i love a debate!

    I freakin’ love my TiVo becuase
    a) its so easy my mum can use it (unlike Windows Media Centre and EyeTV, both of which I have used extensively),
    b) it’s a once off cost and I never have to pay anyone again (not for the guide or FOXTEL or IQ) and
    c) the ‘suggest’ feature is brilliant I’ve already discovered so many new shows I never knew I would like.

  11. I’ve had my TiVo for six months now and I find it awesome. Before that I had a VCR, which was always a hassle to find a video that had room on it.

    The Blockbuster Movies have been disappointing, but really – they’re not going to put anything recent for free.

    I wanted something which is pretty simple out of the box because my Mum isn’t that tech savvy and this works out well.

    All I need is that external HDD!

  13. I have to say for around $200 less thew topfeild box are a far better option. I have had my box for a year and my wife and i love it and find it very easy to use

  14. Why bother paying 700 bucks for this when you can get a good internet connection for $70 a month? Then you can get all the TV shows, movies, etc you want and more without having to sit through ads at all

  16. I bought myself a Hard Drive / DVD Recorder a few weeks ago. I did look at the Tivo, but i couldnt justify the price. Sure, I can only record one show at a time, only SD, but for less than half the price of a tivo, it does what i want – and thats record shows that I miss due to social commitments or being on too damn late for me.

    Plus my LG one ain’t ugly like the Tivo is!

  19. Good summation of Tivo’s features David

    If anyone is interested in a real PVR which isn’t crippled by removing adskip and which has a proper large hard disk drive check out Dtv forum – Australia’s leading source of information about digital TV equipment

  21. Great report, and ITA there are a few downside which is why I haven’t got one. The biggest is no way to get stuff off the TiVO via DVD-R and again this is limited to FTA. I guess with Foxtel it would need a much bigger storage and the ability to record many more channels at once.

    For the price I’d rather get a twin HD tuner PVR with DVD, I just have to set the shows to record manually.

    BTW how will FreeView affect TiVO sales?

  22. My problem with this is not the TiVo itself (disregarding the non-working ad-skipping feature), but with the networks. They market it as having all your favorite shows at your fingertips – well what happens if it runs late, or yanked off the schedule? It would be next to useless taping a show with channel nine, or the other stations, when they do this. At least one other service which uses the internet is reliable….Despite your good review David, i have to say that i wouldn’t buy one or recommend one to anyone.

  23. So there’s broadcast, but there’s also the occasional download? And downloads register on your ISP account and included as part of your internet download quota? Is that how it works?

  25. ya know… maybe it’s just me but I thought a review had either stars or numbers out of 5/10/100 that gave a rating… eh guess i’m old fashioned lol

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