tivo vs. verizon/cable DVR

decides2dream

thoughts?
pros....cons...costs?
we got a 'free' DVR when we first signed up for the 'triple play' package from verizion - phone, internet, HDtv/cable. that is exactly how they suck you in. :twisted: you cannot possibly miss what you never had, but they get you addicted to (at least in my husband's case :oops: ) this device....and then when the free trial is over, keep it cheap enough for a year....and then raise it to $16.99 a month. :evil: so now we are considering...tivo? now that doesn't seem all too 'cheap' either, but if considering the costs over long-term, say 3 years or more?...it might well be cheaper, more options, perhaps better? my head hurts with all the options...

i don't even want to get into how utterly ridiculous it is to spend all the $$$ that we spend on all this Bs, shit we lived without for....ever....up until last year. tis also why i held out as long as i did b/c i knew it would become one of those things that we *had* to have once we got it all. it's just crazy. $150 a month for phone line, fios internet and HDTV/cable...netflixn.....insane. and then cell phones, $70 a month. so sweet bejeebus, over $220 a month, for what?! :shock: seriously. and yes, we are movie junkies, but cmon. hahahahahahaha. christ. anyhoo, i was a-ok with the netflix subscription, and sure...i've enjoyed the cable HDtv, but i think it's insane....and sorry, i've now turned this into a rant.

anyhoo, on topic - i want to keep my now DVR/cable-tv addicted husband happy so trying to weigh our options. what do you have, what do you like, what do you think offers the best value, etc. do please share! i am going out of my mind with all these options and what a stupid decision to be hung up on....haha...


thanks for any input!

TravisTheSky

Stop the insanity! (Sorry, ancient Susan Powter reference.)

Get rid of cable/satellite television. Donate your mobile phones to charity. Pay only for internet: Get the cheapest high speed internet that your local company provides. (I had a more expensive 'High Speed' last year, but bumped it down to 'basic high speed.' THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME SERVICE!!!)

Use the internet to watch television for free. All of the major American networks including PBS offer the shows on their websites within hours of the original airing. Hulu is a good place that has the American shows cached. Veoh and Guba have a large selection of British programmes. YouTube has a surprising range of full-length tv, movies, documentaries, reality shows, etc. Tudou [spelling?] has lots of movies. It's a Chinese site where people upload even current releases. Learn how to download Torrents. Everything and its brother can be found for free if you search long enough.

You can still rent the titles that you can't find online. A great way to watch whole series of your faves is to buy an excellent-condition used Box set on eBay. When you have finished, sell it on again to another fan and make your money back. If you don't have a region-free DVD player, look up your model # online to see how to make yours region-free. Usually, it's as simple as typing in a sequence of numbers with the remote. Then you can buy DVDs from other countries that sell them much cheaper, and watch shows that never got released in Region 1.

Spend $20 on a MagicJack internet phone line. For $20 a year, you can call anyone, anytime, anywhere, in America and Canada. No "minutes" to keep track of. No bills. No local versus long distance regions to keep in mind. Limitless calls! Less than $2 a month! You can listen to your voice mails right from your computer without even using an actual telephone.

With all the money you will save, you can go on a nice trip, start a college fund, work less hours, etc.

It's all about priorities.

decides2dream

TravisTheSky wrote:

Stop the insanity! (Sorry, ancient Susan Powter reference.)

Get rid of cable/satellite television. Donate your mobile phones to charity. Pay only for internet: Get the cheapest high speed internet that your local company provides. (I had a more expensive 'High Speed' last year, but bumped it down to 'basic high speed.' THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME SERVICE!!!)

Use the internet to watch television for free. All of the major American networks including PBS offer the shows on their websites within hours of the original airing. Hulu is a good place that has the American shows cached. Veoh and Guba have a large selection of British programmes. YouTube has a surprising range of full-length tv, movies, documentaries, reality shows, etc. Tudou [spelling?] has lots of movies. It's a Chinese site where people upload even current releases. Learn how to download Torrents. Everything and its brother can be found for free if you search long enough.

You can still rent the titles that you can't find online. A great way to watch whole series of your faves is to buy an excellent-condition used Box set on eBay. When you have finished, sell it on again to another fan and make your money back. If you don't have a region-free DVD player, look up your model # online to see how to make yours region-free. Usually, it's as simple as typing in a sequence of numbers with the remote. Then you can buy DVDs from other countries that sell them much cheaper, and watch shows that never got released in Region 1.

Spend $20 on a MagicJack internet phone line. For $20 a year, you can call anyone, anytime, anywhere, in America and Canada. No "minutes" to keep track of. No bills. No local versus long distance regions to keep in mind. Limitless calls! Less than $2 a month! You can listen to your voice mails right from your computer without even using an actual telephone.

With all the money you will save, you can go on a nice trip, start a college fund, work less hours, etc.

It's all about priorities.

:shock:
are you crazy?!


i kid, i kid!



all i can is....that ain't ever happening. hahahaha. i hear ya, and i agree with a LOT of what you say. however, it ain't just me. secondly, i don't WANT to wtch tv/movies on my computer. yuck. i don't ever watch anything on my computer outside the occasional youtube vid, and even that....rare. i LOVE my HD 52" tv with superb suround sound system. THAt is my 'luxury' at home, b/c i love, love, love movies! thus why we always had the netflix subscription, and that, alone, was always cheap enough. however, my husband has fallen in love with basic cable and the DVR box. and i do agree, we do rent a lot of tv series/documentaries, etc.


the only reason we have a land-line is...i like the idea of having one in case of emergency, i like having a 'home phone' seperate from each of our cells, and sure, the triple-play package is actually 'cheaper' than doing just the internet or cable on it's own. hell, i pay $5 a month to have an unlisted #. however, ya know....you got me thinkin' - always dangerous - and i HAVE seen that magicjack commerical here or there, but never much looked into it. it might well be a good idea, idk. i am going to copy/paste your poste in it's entirety to an email to hubby....and see what he thinks. i think it may well be far too *drastic* a change for him, but who knows!


btw - dont have kids, can never work less hours (my job requires the time i am here)...but sure....saving $$$ and more trips is ALWAYS a great idea! (also my own thought for all the BS) ahhhhhh, marriage...all about compromises!


2nd btw - my husband has done/is doing, exactly what you suggest with the boxed set discs for the lost series...and it is a great idea....


anyhoo....thanks for the well thought-out response, most appreciated!

chromiam

Before you throw cable/TV out the window and go all streaming internet remember one thing, most ISPs are putting restrictions on how much you can download from the internet a month.. which would cut access to the internet once you reach a certain level. Also, if you like sports, good luck watching major sporting events over the internet.

decides2dream

chromiam wrote:

Before you throw cable/TV out the window and go all streaming internet remember one thing, most ISPs are putting restrictions on how much you can download from the internet a month.. which would cut access to the internet once you reach a certain level. Also, if you like sports, good luck watching major sporting events over the internet.

i don't think we'll ever have that concern. i highly doubt i will get hubby off the cable now that i finally relented to getting it last year. he wants it for the HD capabilities, and sure....he LOVEs the history channel and a plethora of other stuff. this is not something that i think i can change now. to be fair, i do enjoy a few shows myself, but nothing regularly...and i probably could well live w/o em. also why i held out for over 16 years of marriage before i finally relented last may (coinciding with the tv purchase above) for the cable. hahaha. amazing. neither one of us give a shit about sports. at all. so that is never a concern. me, i could be perfectly happy with the netflix subscription and just regular tv, and sure...i do love my fios internet.

i think we already decided to forego the DVR for a few months. (actually we HAd already made that decison, sent the box back...but now hubby is in withdrawl ) we still have to pay $5 a month towards the box, so the DVR actually only comes out to an additional $10 a month.....but still, that's $120 a year, and with all the *other* shit....well, that shit adds up! and the day i could ever pry the cell phone from his hands, will be the day i leave him. seriously, for a quiet guy, he is on the phone ALL the time, and sure...the convenience of it, etc...we have the best/cheapest sharing plan you can get. so yes, overall...i just don't see much room to change there. it Is priorities, absolutely...but again, while they may not be 100% MY priorities, relationships are all balance, eh? looking over the plans, i think tivo may well end up being 'more evil' in that there are even more options he may well get addicted to :twisted: so it might be best to stick with the basic DVR if/when we ultimately go back to it. i told him if he really, really wants it...go for it. however, he too realizes how crazy it all is, so i think he's going to try and rough it and see how it goes.....


however, i am still interested in people's thoughts! travis's post, while probably too 'extrme' for our house, still awesome to read and see other options that people choose.

chromiam

You don't have to explain it to me, I am in the same boat. About $200/month for HD cable, internet and phone. I get every movie channel, extra sports channel, have a DVR and two set top boxes and do question from time to time why spend all this money but in the end, I enjoy it and being able to sit in front of my TV and watch just about anything I want, whether it is on live TV, my DVR, or OnDemand channels.

decides2dream

chromiam wrote:

You don't have to explain it to me, I am in the same boat. About $200/month for HD cable, internet and phone. I get every movie channel, extra sports channel, have a DVR and two set top boxes and do question from time to time why spend all this money but in the end, I enjoy it and being able to sit in front of my TV and watch just about anything I want, whether it is on live TV, my DVR, or OnDemand channels.

see, but i was never one of those people.... :twisted: hahaha.
as i said it took 16 years! to finally get me to give in and get basic cable. (mostly b/c we already had, and loved, fios.....and sure, we got the HD 52" tv, which yes...i love and wanted) little did i know what i was in store for! and see, we just have your basic cable, no extras. it just kills me you spend all this $$$, and yet.....still go for netflix, or still have to go on demand and pay for that...it's all those extra/hidden/little fees, that just piss me off. :evil: it's like having to pay to have an unlisted #, wtf? but i digress. bottomline it all eventually comes down to things that get viewed as 'necessities' or 'must-haves'...whereas little more than a year ago, they were not. i guess too, i always resist this sort of stuff, b/c i know where it all leads..... i took forever to finally get a cell phone, and i barely use it, but yes....it IS great to have.



so your DVR, is it tivo or thru your cable?