direct tv, dish network and tivo

[mushroom]

Presently we have Dish Network and we have never had tivo.
I was wondering everyone's opinion on one or all three.

Thanks! :)

[Max Power]

I love my Tivo (actually, a ReplayTV, but the same idea). I hate to say things like "I love my [insert gadget here]" - especially as I hate the symbiotic relationship most people have with their TVs. However, there is a lot of stuff I like to see, but I hate to and will not arrange my schedule around TV.

Intro: ReplayTV. I haven't watched "live" TV for months. I watch what I want WHEN I WANT TO. I sound like a commercial, it's true. But seriously, I've got the BBC morning news, sportscenter, and the late night shows recording every night to watch over my AM coffee. I've got all the Simpsons I need. I record anything with the words "soccer" "futbol" "religion" or "philosophy" in it. I have movies that air at stupid times. I have MST3K which airs at 7am on a saturday, plus all the talking head shows from Sunday AM... I could SO go on... Plus, with the commercial skip and FFWD, I can watch a lot of things MUCH faster (2 hours of wrestling in 35 minutes!)

I only have regular cable, but besides HBO and Fox Sports World (more soccer) I couldn't imagine having another channel. With the RTV I don't even watch all that I record from the channels I do have.

[Max Power]

Plus I have a DVD burner so I got that going for me, which is nice :)

[Cissy]

Max - Caddyshack references, lol.

Our family has Dish network...it's nice. We've had DirecTV, but I like Dish better, personally.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by Cissy
Max - Caddyshack references, lol.
Well done! Any friend of Caddyshack is a friend of mine!

[Muzicfan]

I have tivo, and direct tv. Besides the computer, most used electronic in the household. Well worth the $$$

[epski]

Everyone I know who's ever used ReplayTV or TiVo has become hooked on it. I haven't heard enough to prefer one over the other, but TiVo sounds better on paper. I'll probably get one of them eventually, when I subscribe to a digital service after my next move.

In the meantime, I have a DVD burner with a built in 80GB hard drive and interface that allows me to not only record shows like a VCR, but to label them, compress them, create and delete chapters (helpful for archiving programs without keeping the commercials), etc. I LOVE it.

[Michael]

Friend of mine had a TiVo and I thought it was stupid. But once he showed me how it worked I went home and ordered one that night! I absolutely love it and can't imagine living without it.

My favorite features are that I can set up season passes (and it will record my shows even if they change the time), and as Max said, I can watch what I want when I want. Being able to fast forward through commercials in 2 seconds is a plus. :) And even something so simple as not having to worry about whether or not I remembered to turn the vcr off!

It is expensive to buy a standalone unit but I think you can rent the DirecTiVo units for not much more than you're paying now.

Also, there's a great bulletin board at http://www.tivocommunity.com

[mushroom]

Wow, Max you watch A LOT of sports and you've gotten me interested in a DVD burner now...hmm.

Everyone, thank you for the information and for the link, Michael.
I appreciate it. :)