Any of you have one of these? I can get one for -$75(yes...I make $75). But, it costs $10 a month to be able to pause live TV and record(rip-off). Thing is...it requires two direcTV signal feeds to be able to record one show while you watch another, record two shows at the same time, or use the live picture-in-picture(pass..barf). I already have a dual LNB direcTV system but only one signal feed will go to the UltimateTV receiver(which will work). I would just replace my existing direcTV receiver and sell it or whatever. In fact, I know I would record stuff more if I had one but I don't record much of anything on a regular VCR. Thing is....the UltimateTV records the digital signal unaltered...which means the video and audio is entact(even a Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcast). It is not HDTV compatible, though. Would be good to record Rocket games on and analyze later with the forward and reverse quick speeds. However, with only 35 hours hard drive space, there is not much room for long-term stuff. You can record down to a vcr from it if you want. Automatic software upgrades for the UltimateTV and it is supposedly getting future upgrades to behave like a Tivo(after they perfect it). Honestly, I don't know if I want one. I figure if I'm going to make $75 on the venture....maybe I should do it just for the hell of it. I could use it for several months at $9.95 plus regular DirecTV programming and, if I don't like it, switch that part off and just get direcTV programming. Kind of stupid you have to pay monthly to record. Is that right(anyone that owns one)? My vcr will definitely be going off-line if I do. Oh, why I make money is a combination of factors, i.e. discount, rebate, work promo deal. It's like getting a free toy or something. So, does anyone have one? Cool or crap? Make the call. Surf
I have a tivo which does more or less the same thing. I love it. The digital recorder is especially good for recording, reviewing and slow motioning Rockets games. That is why I'm such an expert! Can't stand a vcr after tapeless recording. Beats the hell out of a vcr with tape. I would recommend you get it and try it out for 7 months. If you don't like it, quit and your $5 ahead.
I have ReplayTV. Basically the same as TiVo. You do NOT need a subscription service for ReplayTV. They are coming out with new technology soon so their old units may be marked down.
What irks me about the thing is you know how they make their damn money on the thing. $10 a month to be able to use the record features? In two years, you've spent $240....on what? Something that should be standard when you buy the damn product, just like a VCR. From two years on, their basically ripping you off and continue to do so the longer you stay on. Five years down the road...your out $600. Apparently, you can't buy a lifetime of service for a flat rate like Tivo. Doesn't make sense....unless your an idiot. So, in that sense, it's not really a good deal. It's a really bad deal if you pay regular price($299) for it like a regular consumer...if you ask me. Short term and for the deal I can get...it may be a good deal...for like one to two years. Long term and your feeding the bottomless money pit. Surf
I agree. I got the tivo lifetime for $199 18 mos ago. Is now $249. I'm very hapy with it. If you pay for programming like cable. I believe it allows you to certainly drop a premium channel or two with the ability to record and view so much. You can also use tivo with over the air programming and it allows you to catch all the good movies in the middle of the night. Also the blockbuster bill has gone down. Dish network had a built in replay receiver. DSS has built in tivo. I might try to pick up a close out replay for the second tv. What really gripes me is tivo wants you to pay full programming for each device i.e, each tv.
I used to have a ReplayTV (until my ex-roommate and I divied up the goods), and it was awesome. 60 hours of recording goodness. It completely changed my TV viewing habits. Once you have a digital recorder, you can never go back to the old way of watching TV, which is why I'm saving my money to buy another one. My delusion of grandeur includes buying a small ReplayTV (f*** Tivo) and hacking it to a much bigger drive. Or... I could waste a lot of dough on the new ReplayTV 4000. It looks pretty sweet. Broadband! Sharing over the internet! Complete commercial skip! Progressive out! Digital out! Wow. Too bad it's so expensive, though. Funny story: My ex-roommate forgot to change his password at www.myreplaytv.com (the site that lets you organize your Replay from anywhere in the world over the internet), so I hacked it. I could've deleted his shows and set it to record stuff he hates (like all the sci-fi shows I watch), but I wrote messages to him instead telling him what an idiot he was. ... Ok, so maybe that's only funny to me. If you knew my ex-roommate, though, you'd think it was funny, too...
