TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder
by TiVo
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Category: Home Theater
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: TiVoBrand: TiVo
Edition: Electronics
Model: TCD652160
Color: Black
Publisher: TiVo
Studio: TiVo
Music Label: TiVo
Product features:
- Controls cable TV with record, pause, rewind and fast-forward in HD
- Records two HD channels at once, while watching another recorded show
- 160GB internal hard drive records up to 20 hours of high definition programming (or 180 hours of standard definition)
- Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
- Sources supported , Digital cable, Analog cable, Digital antenna (ATSC), Analog antenna and broadband content.
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder
Customer Review: Know what you are getting into before jumping in!
Summary: 2 Stars
I had TiVo service from DirecTV several years ago (two of the black philips units) and loved it. I have also had two ReplayTV units and two Dish PVRs. My most recent set-up was Dish Network ViP 722 at my last house, and we just moved into a Verizon FiOS area. After reading horror stories about the Verizon DVR, and after taking a few years off from TiVo (...in part to block the memory and sting of the wasted money spent on "lifetime" service subscriptions....), I was very much looking forward to this TiVo HD! Because of my house-move and timing, I was also able to compare head-to-head, the Dish PVR, the Verizon PVR, and this TiVo unit. So here is my impressions of the good, the bad, and the ugly:
GOOD:
- Well-designed rear-panel with just about any connection scenario being possible except coax-digital (same for Dish and Verizon, not a big deal in the HDMI age....)
- It can record two programs and play a third (same for Dish and Verizon)
- Wireless USB Internet adapter works perfectly, even for the initial setup (this is unique, Dish has Ethernet and phone jacks; the Verizon box is inherently always connected to their network); the wireless adapter costs an extra $40
- Fan and Hard-Drive are VERY quiet and the unit doesn't get too hot
- The best TV guide information, the importance of this should not be minimized, TiVo by FAR has the best guide! (Dish guide is very-OK, the Verizon guide STINKS...horrible causing many missed or duplicate recordings)
BAD:
- Small Hard-Drive, only 20 hours of HD; need to buy a specific $170 500gb drive to use the expansion e-Sata port (BTW there is no technical reason for this, other HD TiVos support any external e-Sata drive)
- Need to unplug the box to turn it off (a quick call to customer service will educate you to not "trust" the menu item that restarts the TiVo)
- Menus are very "deep" for every-day use; getting to many options is not intuitive and information is not organized together that the user often needs to access at the same time
- Noticeable picture "wave" on some HD material (...before and after attenuation...I ended up not using any)
- Can not order "On-Demand" events
- Slow menus
- Momentary screen "grey-out" when using the "native resolution" option; the "native resolution" option will pass through the TV signal as broadcasted, which should be a "good" feature, but TiVo customer support readily admits it doesn't work consistently and ask you not use it and to choose a scaling option.
- There is a disarming "pop" sound when changing some high-definition channels
- The "TiVo Desktop application" to share videos, photos, etc from your computer is a poorly written resource hog, it is very hard to uninstall, and doesn't work very well.
- You can sign-up for TiVo service online, and manage your account online, but to cancel you need to call (and the call experience is horrible)
UGLY:
- Prominent advertising all over most screens, even in the sub-menus where TV show episodes are listed! This also actually makes the menus ugly and busy.
- Set-up is loony and unruly with the CableCards, and TiVo support is horrible (although the reps are very pleasant)
- TiVo monthly service-charges are about the same as Verizon for PVR, but the ~$250 for the TiVo unit is an additional expense, and for this extra cost, you get a lot of advertising!!! I know I've noted it a few times, but there really is a lot of advertising and it takes up Hard-Drive program space.
- Although TiVo customer support representatives are in the US-of-A and are very pleasant, the support service is not very good. (1) every-time you call you need to listen to a (I believe lengthy) condescending message to go to the TiVo website rather than calling support; BTW there is next to no useful information on their website. (2) No matter what option you choose via the phone voice-prompts, every-time you call you first need to speak to a "TiVo customer service" rep, who after a few minutes informs you that they must transfer you to the "TiVo High-Definition customer service" representatives; BTW, it seems "TiVo" and "TiVo-HD" support are two distinct organizations in different locations. (3) All of the customer service reps ask for a call-back number if the support-call is interrupted; I was disconnected several times when we needed to deviate from their standard support script, and I never received a call-back, and providing the case-number when I did call TiVo back myself didn't prevent having to go through the entire script again.
The two big issues I had were:
(1) getting the TiVo box to recognize I had service and an account (TiVo shut me off after 7 days saying I didn't have an account, although online and the customer-support reps showed I was indeed active) and
(2) getting the CableCards working properly is brutal (to their credit, Verizon was willing to put the time in to get the TiVo to work, it just took several trips and several many-hour calls to get SD and HD picture content to work at the same time, and we never got both CableCards to say "subscribed" at the same time)
I went through most of the online TiVo forums and printed out the latest and greatest install tips, tricks and details.
{{Tangentially, if you go down the treacherous TiVo-HD path...make sure (a) the cable installer installs one CableCard at a time [they will want to do both at the same time....], (b) the "Host-ID" and "Data-Value" must be input into the cable-system [installer needs to make a specific additional call for this] and check the TiVo "Conditional Access" screen to make sure, (c) reboot and re-do guided set-up a few times, and (d), [perhaps only for Verizon], you may need to use an attenuator to lower the input signal for a good picture, check the Diagnostic screen for "RS Uncorrected" errors.}}
To put some context on the TiVo support issues, they were not helpful and they were consistently inconsistent. For example, one rep told me to unplug and re-plug-in the unit twice within an hour and then force an Internet connection twice in that exact sequence to fix some issues I was having, another rep told me to unplug the unit for at least two hours and then force two Internet connections, but made a point to say "never unplug twice without connecting to the Internet in-between". Another rep told me unplug the unit and use a can of compressed air to clean where the power-cord goes in, then do two guided set-ups and let the unit connect to the Internet automatically at night. I started to think I was on candid-camera, and they were going to ask me to perform some type of sacrifice or only connect to the Internet when I was facing the north-pole ..... I think you get the idea, but that is what I mean by inconsistent and not helpful, and very frustrating!
For those interested in some comparisons of the Dish PVR, the Verizon PVR, and this TiVo unit:
Picture Quality: (1) Dish ViP722 is by far the best for High-Definition content, and everything looks good, (2) Verizon has the most consistent looking picture and sound, and (3) as noted above the TiVo sometimes had a HD "wave" appearance, SD was identical to the Verizon PVR, and TiVo had "grey-out" when changing channels using native resolution.
Sound Quality: (1)Dish and (2) Verizon have perfect sound, and (3) the TiVo was usually the same perfect sound but sometimes made a loud "pop" when changing channels.
Menus/Options: (1) Dish menus are functional and allow you to set some slack-time before or after shows so you do not miss the end, (2) Verizon menus are serviceable but have no slack-time options and the default behavior is often different than most PVRs, and (3) the TiVo menus have ads all over them and are unnecessarily complicated; TiVo has slack-time options, but they didn't work well for me (as evidence, look at on-line forums and news stories for the countless folks who missed the winner on the American-Idol finale this year, and previous years....)
Capacity: (1) Dish has 55 hours of HD and 350 hours of SD, both (2) Verizon and (3) TiVo have 160GB internal drives giving about 20 hours of HD and 180 hours of SD
Expandable Storage: (1) Dish can use any external Hard-Drive [need to call Dish to activate for one-time $5], (2) Verizon has no expansion options yet, and (3) TiVo requires a specific $170 MyDVR 500gb to expand.
Multi-Room: (1)Dish, (2) Verizon both have real multi-room built in and they work out of the box without additional set-up. The Verizon multi-room's quality is exactly the same from any Verizon box in the house, The Dish quality is not nearly as good at other TVs in the house as the PVR, but does not require a converter box, just a cable-ready TV tuned to channel 67. In my opinion the (3) TiVo HD does not have much multi-room functionality because you have to have another TiVo box to watch shows recorded on another TV (in addition to the "TiVo Desktop application" being horrible, the application will not give you PVR recordings to another room, it is for get content to and from your computer). The TiVo ad-ware implies great content flexibility, but the bottom-line is if you have one TiVo DVR, you can only watch recordings on the TV it is hooked-up to, the Verizon and Dish let you watch your one DVR's recordings on any connected TV without any wiring hassles (they piggyback on the same one coax that goes to the TV already).
Remote: (1)Dish, (2) Verizon, and (3) the TiVo are all fine although you need to "hack" TiVo to have 30-second skip capability; all are "universal remote" compatible.
Cost: (1) Dish is cheapest and has most HD [for just TV], (2) Verizon is $15.95 a month for PVR [though you can usually get a $12.95 monthly special], (3) TiVo is $12.95 per month, BUT has advertising all over it and you need to pay $250 for the box and $40 more if you want/need the wireless Internet adapter.
I ended up keeping the Verizon PVR because Verizon FiOS Internet is exponentially faster and more reliable than the competition in my area and the cost for Internet-only is prohibitive without a TV bundle. Also, I am renting a single-family home, and the owner said "no dishes" in the lease (so no Dish).
I sincerely wish good luck all those who venture into TiVo-land, hopefully this manifesto was somewhat informative (and still visible on Amazon), and maybe TiVo will get their act together someday! I think TiVo needs to partner with more cable and/or some satellite companies, and/or pre-load pre-set-up boxes to take the hassle out of installation, they need to fix their customer support (but keep it in the US....just give their staff the tools and information to be successful), work on quality control, and focus on prospective customers, not just existing TiVo fan-club members!
Description of TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder
Introducing TiVo HD, the digital video recorder that combines the intelligence of the TiVo service with the razor-sharp clarity of HD recording. Designed as a universal cable box to work with any cable provider, the TiVo HD box also offers network connectivity, delivering the best of broadcast and broadband TV, right to your living room.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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