Hi guys. I am looking to buy a DVR for my mother who is definately not tech savvy. I thought a TIVO might be the easiest to use (not sure why I think that). Eljo has them for $629 and I can't find a better deal.
My questions are
1/ Do you think that the TIVO is a good choice?
2/ Do you know of a better deal.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks inherant, I didn't even consider Dick Smith, they are usually a bit expensive. Some food for thought on the set top box suggestion! I will check out how seamless it is, easier the better for my old mother, great suggestion though!
Tivos are what's considered to be PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) whereas TEACs and DGTECs are DVRs (Digital Video Recorders). DVRs are just VCRs that record to HDD rather than tapes. PVRs incorporate a TV guide.
So Tivos will need an internet connection for it to work fully (hardwired, or with the extra wireless dongle for extra cost). It can be used as a DVR by programming date+time (like a VCR) but the full potential is when used with the guide that it downloads once a day (?). All your mother needs to know is the name of the show (it doesn't even need to be exact), and it will record it, no matter what channel or day or time. So if a show shifts a timeslot this week (sports, news etc making it move) the Tivo will record it as long as the guide gets updated in time.
I fully recommend Tivos (I have two!).
PVRs incorporate a TV guide? What HD set top box does not have an Electronic Program Guide? I really don't see why the TEAC HDVR845 or the DGTEC DG-HD6760 wouldn't have been designed so you can't record from the TV guide. Besides the requirement to get an external hard drive, I think the main difference between the $699 TIVO and a $199 DGTEC/TEAC PVR-Ready box, is the internet connectivity which might allow you to set it to record remotely or download movies and use a more dynamic guide than an EPG. The reliability of the $199 option could be a risk though, so if you're going to watch/record a lot of TV you probably do want a better one.
I don't watch TV much, but personally I find the Topfield TBF-7120 quite fine.
As a side note, I see that a Google search reveals the really blurry or perhaps non-existent line between DVR and PVR…
I picked up a Tivo today at Clive Anthonys (Kedron in Brisbane) for $569 and my Mum loves it so thats a win. Thanks for the advice guys. They had it marked at $699 but when I said Dick Smith was selling for $599 the salesman (Phillip) revised the price. Very happy with that price.
Well it looks like Dick Smith has em at $599: http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/product/GH57…
Also, if RT Edwards stocks TiVo then I see they have a 10% price beat policy.
As an alternative you might want to go into Harvey Norman and have a look for their $199 PVR-ready HD set top box with USB recording. When I checked recently they had a TEAC and a DGTEC. With a device like that you'd just add one of those external hard drives and you've got the same basic functionality as TiVo. I couldn't tell you which way to go though.
Edit: here's the TEAC that Harvey's has: http://shopping.hotdockets.com.au/Product.asp?Action=Detail&… (HDVR845)