Virgin has a TiVo user’s forum and the company seems to be taking note of feedback for its software updates over the coming months. Perhaps inevitably with a first-gen version, there are glitches.
Pleasant ‘peanut’ shaped remote, worth one or two thumbs up
An early batch had reportedly faulty hardware and some people say the TiVo’s SD quality looks too soft. This may also depend on the broadcast, the TV being used and the eye of the beholder. Compared to my Sky box, it’s about the same; compared to the V+HD, the upscaling isn’t quite as crisp, but to me this isn’t a deal breaker given the increasing number of HD programmes and the 1TB storage.
Verdict
Overall, it’s an impressive and promising (re)start. While some people may prefer the familiar simplicity of Sky+, others will welcome this smart recorder with open arms – and thumbs resoundingly up. ®
More DVR Reviews |
||||
 TVonics
DTR-Z500HD |
 Icecrypt
T2400 |
 TVonics
DTR-HD500 |
 Humax
HDR-Fox T2 |
 BT vs
Sky vs Virgin |
Virgin Media TV Powered by TiVo
COMMENTS
When will these companies realise that they are now just another utility?
About the same time you realise that someone who thinks "I'd go get a small-ish, quite PC (something like a Fit-PC2, but maybe with more oomph) drop XBMC/Myth on it and stream from a common source " isn't the target demographic for this device?
This is for ordinary people, they don't want to do what you describe, they want someone to come round, install the magic box for them, then leave so they can watch tv...
Not bad...
... but not a patch on a custom MythTV build.
A custom build will definitely cost more - at least £300 for a reasonable rig.
It'll also more than likely take you an entire weekend to get up and running, assuming you've got the chops.
Built myself a MythTV box 18 months ago and it's still going strong - hooked up to Telly via HDMI.
I'm running Boxee and XBMC on it too, so it covers all the bases.
Copy stuff across the network, schedule TV recordings (remotely too), watch from any computer in the house (with mythtv frontend), or share folders via Samba and watch recordings on any device (android mobile for instance) - plus it's yours to hack away on and install whatever else your heart desires. I use mine as an SVN repository and home Apache dev server too.
Highly recommend this route if your geeky enough to be able to do so - and this being The Register, I'm sure most of the readers here are.
The fact that your not in any way locked down by the hardware or vendor, that you can add more storage space, more ram, run anything you want on the box - is awesome.
Never looked back.
Nothin' o
"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on". Sums up their offer
cost?
More than happy with v+ but would like more disk space with more and more HD channels coming on line. Don't see any particular advantage in the TiVo other than disk space and I don't want to increase the monthly payment again (already xl with 2nd box)
Any chance of an unbundled version?
I'm a big fan of TiVo and loved my UK series 1 before it shuffled off this mortal coil. Sadly I don't live anywhere near a Virgin cable network so this won't work for me.
Does anyone know if Virgin have an exclusive deal with TiVo or is there any chance that other companies will be bringing out TiVo Freeview/sat boxes?
