TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR, Black
CableCARD – click on the image below for more information.
- Connects to your cable service and replaces your cable box. Works with cable and antenna; does not support satellite.
- Records up to 45 hours of HD programming
- Record your favorite shows and discover new ones with TiVo’s new HD interface
- Full HD support, including 1080i and 1080p
- Monthly subscription required
CableCARD
Tivo TCD746320 Digital Video Recorder TCD746320 Digital Video Recorders
TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR, Black
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TiVo Premiere,
I’ve been a TiVo owner since 2003 and this is their best TiVo to date. But it isn’t perfect. It’s a shame that the new HD user interface is still a work in progress. It is buggy and slow. You still have the option of using the old user interface, which is what I do. The processor in the TiVo Premiere is more powerful than the TiVo HD. But the extra processing power is mainly for the new user interface. It has the same recording abilities that the TiVo HD had with the exception of also supporting 1080p. It would have been nice if TiVo would have added a third tuner. Like the TiVo HD, the Premiere only supports cable TV and OTA antenna programming. The Premiere is almost an inch shorter than the HD and is more energy efficient. The main reason I bought the Premiere wasn’t to upgrade from my existing TiVo HD, but I wanted another TiVo for the kid’s playroom. If you already own a TiVo HD and you are looking to upgrade, you might want to save your money for the next TiVo series. If you don’t already have a TiVo or you don’t have an HD-capable TiVo for your HDTV, this is a great purchase. While the upgrades from the TiVo HD are lacking, it is still the best DVR on the market.
We use our TiVo with a large antenna in the attic and a $9 per month Netflix subscription. We have more than enough to watch between the DVD’s we get in the mail, streaming Netflix to our TiVo from the Internet, and the 30+ digital channels we receive OTA. Actually, TiVo makes using an antenna acceptable for us. It records all the shows we like no matter when they are on and we watch them in our time. I was able to buy the TiVo Premiere and a lifetime subscription with the money we saved over the past year by dropping cable. TiVo also supports Internet video rentals from Amazon and Blockbuster, but we prefer using Netflix because it’s cheaper.
This TiVo can record up to 45 hours of HD programming. That sounds like a lot, but you’ll be surprised by how quickly it fills up. You can add an external drive Western Digital My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1S10000VN (Black) to add more recording space. The one big caveat with this method of adding recording space is you’ll lose all your recordings on the external drive and your TiVo if you decide to remove it later. The other option is to purchase the Premiere XL TiVo TCD748000 Premiere XL DVR (Black). It will allow you to record up to 150 hours of HD programming and comes with a backlit remote. I upgraded the internal hard drive in my TiVo HD myself and kept the original drive as a backup. I’m waiting to hear from others before I attempt to upgrade the internal hard drive in my TiVo Premiere. To date, no one knows if it can be done or not.
FYI: TiVo has a couple of specials going for existing TiVo users. You can either get $200 off the lifetime subscription for a new Premiere (if you already have a lifetime subscription) or receive a 20% discount off the Premiere itself (if you don’t have a lifetime subscription). I believe you must purchase your TiVo directly from TiVo to get the discounts. TiVo offers free shipping, but you’ll have to pay taxes on the hardware.
According to a TiVo press release, TiVo is coming out with a wireless N network adapter in May with a retail price of $89.99. They are also coming out with an optional slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote later this year. The remote will utilize a Bluetooth USB dongle that will plug into the back of your TiVo HD or Premiere.
Update 4/18/2010:
I did give the new interface another shot for a couple of days. I like where they are going with it, but as I said before it isn’t a finished product. It locked up on me twice while flipping through the menus. As others have mentioned, if you drill down into the menu system you will eventually end up in the old menu system. They have a new option to list Oscar winning films. So I select a movie and it says it’s available from Blockbuster. Cool, but I haven’t been a member of Blockbuster for years so I go back and configure my TiVo not to search Blockbuster (nice feature). I then go back to the list of Oscar winning films and it still shows the same movie. I select the movie again and this time it tells me it’s not available for me to watch. So why would I want to see a partial list of Oscar winning movies that currently aren’t available for me to watch on my TiVo?
For people who have rated the TiVo Premiere one or two stars because of the new user interface, well I can’t argue with them. Perhaps TiVo should have sold the Premiere with the old user interface enabled with the option…
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|Comment by Easy-G — February 9, 2012 @ 7:33 pm |
TiVo Vs. Cable DVR,
Tivo is something I didn’t really understand at first on how different it is from a regular Cable DVR. I understand really well how cable technologies work with my degree in Computer Networking as well working for Level 3 support at my local cable company. I read all the reviews on this TiVo box and it was somewhat puzzleing. Some of these reviews do seem to be one sided…either a huge grudge against the cable company, a huge grudge against TiVo, or they just love everything. I’m going to play neutral and try to break it down so that is may seemed more central opinion.
I have owned my TiVo for a few weeks, and right now there really isn’t too much a difference between it and my Cable DVR. The main thing is, if you want to save money in the long run…and I mean a long long run, the TiVo is a better deal. If you want stuff to work right away, the Cable DVR is the best way to go. Here are my reasons why:
Cost: The cost of the TiVo is expensive, but can be worth it in the long run. Most Cable DVRs run between $15-$20. My Time Warner Cable HD DVR is $17 and runs with no problems. Now, if you think that just buying a TiVo will save you money, well, look at all the other added costs. You will need to get a MultiStream CableCard from your cable company and they most likely aren’t free. Mine is $2.85/month, and make sure when the technician comes out to install it, that it needs to be a MultiStream CableCard and not a Single Stream. Single Streams will not work with this box and you’ll just have to wait longer for your box to start receiving digital channels. Also you’ll need to get a service plan with TiVo. Tivo has monthly plans starting at $15/month (add that to the cable card and now you’re not saving any money because it now cost as much per month for the TiVo as your CableDVR did), or you can choose quarterly, yearly, or get it over with with one payment. If you going for cost, you mind as well just pay it off all together right away. So, $299 for the DVR + $399 for the lifetime service plan =$700 one time charge. Now do the math. 700 divided by 17 is about 41 months. It will take 41 months to match what you’re paying for with your cable DVR. Hence, if you’re going for cost, don’t plan on upgrading the box for a long time, because you’re just going to be losing money.
Winner on Cost: Both- Depends if you’re okay on keeping a box for about 4 years or not without an upgrade.
Time: The time to get a TiVo fully functional is a process that takes weeks. You need to have your TiVo set up and ready to go before the cable guy comes out to install the cablecard. Then after your cablecard is set up, as long as you don’t live in a Switched Digital Video (SDV) area, you’re ready to go. If you live in SDV area, you’ll need to sign up for a Tuning adapter through your cable company (their free if you have Time Warner Cable). Mine will be shipped to me when one comes available, hence I don’t have it yet. Without this box, you won’t be able to watch all your channels. SDV works by turning TV streams off that are not in use, so if no one is watching BBCHD, and you want to watch it on your TiVo box without the Tuning Adapter, you won’t be able to watch it. Call your cable company to see if this is needed if you think about going this route.
Also, the TiVo takes a long time to download the guide and set your channels on initial set up, so don’t be in a hurry. It takes about 1.5-2hrs for the TiVo to install everything.
Winner on Time: Cable DVR
Content: I think TiVo wins this category big time. With Amazon on Demand, as well as HD streaming from Netflix, its really nice. The only problem is that if you subscribe to premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, or Starz, you’re not going to get their On Demands like standard cable customers get for free with their subscriptions. Amazon On Demand has more choices and better prices than Cable On Demand. Their have been reviews on here that say you can not watch your Amazon On Demands right when you order it…this is false. You have to give it about 2-3 min to download enough content, then you’ll be able to start watching it (as long as you have high speed Internet about or above 7Mbps).
Winner on Content: TiVo
Interface: I’m very partial to both interfaces. My Cable DVR has a nice looking interface, but its harder to navigate all the settings and options. The TiVo interface is rough. The guide isn’t a clear as I would have thought for an HD Box. You can see the letters are fuzzier than HD quality should be. Both boxes fail at using the remote to search for programming. It takes forever to type in a show, or log into YouTube off the TiVo. I wish either one would develop a Wii concept for better interaction. The TiVo’s is better at interacting with you. TiVo will help you find suggestions for your programming you like with the ratings on which…
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|Comment by Chozomaster747 — February 9, 2012 @ 8:18 pm |
NOT ELIGIBLE FOR LIFETIME SERVICE, PERIOD.,
We’re longtime Tivo users and have always gotten Lifetime service (aka Product Lifetime Service aka PLS) on our Tivo units. I’m a big fan of the Tivo interface and features, the reliability of the units, etc.
What Tivo and Amazon have done here, however, is a shameless bait-and-switch that is going to have me filing a complaint to the FTC, writing off to Consumerist and of course leaving this one-star review.
When I tried to activate the new HD Tivo, I was only offered one option: A 1-year subscription at $19.99 a month. Period. Nothing else.
– I can’t pre-pay for a year, even at full price
– I can’t commit to more than one year
– I can’t go month-to-month AT ANY PRICE
– I can’t add Product Lifetime Service, not even at the full $399 price
Even as an existing Tivo customer, I’m given NO other option. Hell, I can’t even transfer my existing PLS to the new unit, SOMETHING I AM WILLING TO PAY MONEY FOR.
Me : “Hey Tivo, do you want $400?”
Tivo: “DERP”
Me : “No, really, I want to give you a bunch of my money. Here, take this wad of cash–”
Tivo: “DEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRP!” *sets cash on fire*
When I talked to Caitlin in Tivo’s Activation department, she said that all of the units sold at these reduced prices (i.e. through Blockbuster, Best Buy, Amazon, etc) are ineligible for anything but the crappy, single service rate. It is part of a promotion being done during the holidays, which ends Dec. 31st, 2010. Caitlin also said that Tivo “may” offer other options after the 1 year commitment is up, but I am absolutely not going to buy into that without a written guarantee that I would be able to get PLS.
I will add that Caitlin was at all times professional and courteous, and I could tell from her tone that she’s had to deal with more than a few stunned customers like me.
I am also very annoyed at Amazon.com for deceiving customers. No where in the description of the item or during the purchasing process was I told that I could only do a monthly plan. Under technical specifications, they merely say “Monthly service plan required”. Well yes, of course you must have a service plan to use a Tivo. But what they actually mean is “ONLY MONTHLY SERVICE PLAN AVAILABLE”. Tivo’s own website also glosses over this, except buried deep into the payment plans option:
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2.1.2 When purchasing a TiVo Premiere box from a third party retailer at $99.99 (includes an instant $200 savings off MSRP) for the TiVo Premiere box or $299.99 (includes an instant $200 savings off MSRP) for the TiVo Premiere XL box, you may only subscribe to the TiVo Service on a monthly basis for $19.99 a month with a one (1) year commitment (renews monthly after one year).
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More than likely I will be returning this unit to Amazon, as it is completely useless to me. I may consider going through Tivo’s upgrade program, but I will also be considering going to the DVR service offered by my cable company. After all, I was already planning to upgrade to digital cable and the DVR will be built into the cable box, and it’ll only cost me $7 or $8 a month. I stand to save $230 that way.
In summary, if you buy this highly-discounted unit you will HAVE to pay an additional $240 over the course of one year in $19.99 increments. No other option exists, even if you are already a Tivo customer. And you have no guarantee you will EVER be allowed to get Lifetime Service, EVER.
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|Comment by Jeff C. Mercer "Jeff The Riffer" — February 9, 2012 @ 8:21 pm |