Cable TV DVRs

TiVo vs. a rented DVR box

If you're a cable (including fiber-optic) subscriber, your choice is between renting a DVR from your provider or buying a TiVo box plus TiVo service. Hands down, reviews say that TiVo-based DVRs have the most polished, easy-to-use interface. But TiVo boxes also cost considerably more than DVRs available from most cable providers. With TiVo, you have to pay a service fee on top of the price for the set-top box. In comparison, large cable companies such as Time Warner and Cox Communications charge between $8 and $20 per month, and there's no equipment to buy. Because you are renting the DVR from the provider, you can take advantage of future equipment upgrades.

The cost of the equipment is not the only issue with TiVo, especially for those interested in high-definition programming. HD TiVos are not simply a DVR; they are also the cable box and require provider-issued CableCards to function. Once relatively inexpensive, some providers have upped their charges for CableCards, and two CableCards are required in most cases for full functionality in the latest dual-tuner TiVos. If you are fortunate enough to be served by a cable company that's offering multistream (M-series) CableCards, you can get by with just one card. Not every provider offers M-series CableCards, but user reports indicate that they are becoming more readily available.

CableCards (which take the place of a component cable box) are problematic for a number of reasons beyond cost. CableCards -- including multistream CableCards -- only support one-way communication, which disables some of the functionality of digital-cable systems, including the interactive programming guide (not that big a deal if you have a TiVo) and video on demand. In addition, CableCard users can't view HD programming that's distributed using a system called switched digital video (SDV), which uses less bandwidth than other distribution methods. Many -- but not all -- cable companies are using SDV as a way to offer more HD content to compete with satellite providers. Like CableCards, providers using SDV are required to provide tuning adapters. Reports on enthusiast forums, however, indicate some providers have been switching to SDV prior to having the adapters available.

TiVo diehards -- and there are a lot of them -- say that TiVo's friendly interface and extra features are well worth the higher price and other issues when compared with boxes rented from Time Warner and the like. For example, TiVo has a Wish List function that automatically records programs based on a specified genre, actor or keyword. TiVo also "learns" what programs you like and will make suggestions for similar programs. You can remotely program your TiVo from any web browser. You won't find these features with most other DVRs, although Verizon Fios has recently added remote web-based programming for subscribers who have opted for the company's extra-cost Home Media DVR (*est. $20 per month).

TiVo's most basic DVR is the TiVo Series2 DT (*Est. $145 plus TiVo service). This standard-definition model has all of TiVo's hallmark programming features, including Wish List, Season Pass (for recording an entire season of a show) and keyword searches. This unit records up to 80 hours of programming in standard definition. The DVR lacks a commercial-skip function as shipped, instead offering a fast-forward mode for zipping through commercials. However, there's a well-known hack to enable a 30-second skip - a brief web search will lead you to the answer.

The Series2 DT works in conjunction with a cable- or satellite-TV box to record premium content, with control signals sent to the box via a serial control cable or IR blaster. Reports say that this technique works reliably. In addition, the Series2 DT is a dual-tuner DVR, but critics say the execution isn't ideal. That's because the second tuner can only record analog cable channels -- it can't record any digital cable or satellite channels. For this reason, PC Magazine's Ben Patterson calls the Series2 DT TiVo "half-baked." Also, the TiVo Series2 DT can't record broadcast signals.

While the Series2 DT works in conjunction with the cable box to record premium content, TiVo's current HD DVRs, including the HD XL (*Est. $600) and HD (*Est. $230 plus TiVo service), actually replace your cable box and require CableCards to record premium content. In addition, they can record non-HD basic cable without a CableCard, as well as high-definition, digital and analog broadcast signals.

The two HD TiVo DVRs are essentially identical. The biggest difference is recording capacity. The XL version can hold more hours of programming by far than any other DVR available -- up to 1,360 hours of standard-definition programming or 150 hours of HD. The less expensive TiVo HD holds far less, but its capacity of 180 hours of SD and 20 hours of HD is sufficient for most users, reviewers say, and the price is far more palatable. Other perks in the HD XL include THX certification and a premium backlit remote.

With either HD TiVo (when equipped with a CableCard) you can record in HD on both tuners and watch a previously recorded program at the same time. The DVRs have an Ethernet port for downloading program information over broadband, and it can connect to a network to access music, video and photos stored on a computer. If you want even more storage, there's an eSATA port for connecting an external hard drive.

The Ethernet connection found on these DVRs can also be used to connect directly to the Internet to search for content, and users can access downloadable or streaming video from Netflix, Amazon.com, Jaman and CinemaNow. You can also access the Rhapsody music service and hundreds of free Internet radio stations via Live365. You can even use your TiVo to order a pizza from Dominos. The Series2 DT has broadband capabilities as well, but features are more limited; for example, Netflix subscribers can't use it to stream videos from that service.

TiVoToGo, which lets you download recordings to a PC or to a portable media player, is another perk available to all TiVo owners. But several reviews say TiVoToGo isn't that easy to use.

If TiVo is too expensive, the best alternative for cable subscribers is to rent a DVR from your cable provider. While those are not as easy to use as a TiVo and lack some of their nicer features, reviews say that such DVRs are more cost effective and have several advantages of their own. Perhaps the biggest is better integration with your cable system. There are no CableCards to worry about, so a cable-company DVR will give you total access to programming, and two-way features such as video on demand are fully supported. In addition, if a new or better box is offered, it is a simple matter to trade in your gear at no cost. Negatives include less-sophisticated search and programming options -- but reports say that setting up recordings through the cable system's interactive programming guide is a fairly simple affair.

Note that users rarely have any choice when it comes to cable-company-provided DVRs. Many providers use boxes made by Motorola, such as the dual-tuner DCT6412, which can record up to 90 hours of SD programming or 20 hours of HD programming. Cisco (formerly Scientific Atlanta) also makes a number of DVRs exclusively for cable companies. Its current top model is the 8300HD, which has dual digital tuners for recording high-definition programs. It, too, can record up to 90 hours of SD or 20 hours of HD programming.