TiVo Acquired
The weekend before last, andrabbi and I bought a TiVo box. Yes, I've been considering trying to build a MythTV box for a while. I even drew up some hardware lists to try and find the cheapest suitable machine. I managed to get the price down to about $400 for a dual-tuner media-machine with room to grow. The problem was that we couldn't really justify the price tag, even at that price. We have been trying to get a better handle on our budget. Our reserves have become uncomfortably low after buying a house and seeing a few unexpected expenses. (For example, my windshield has cracked a second time since we bought the house. I've never had a windshield crack on me before this.) Anyway, the TiVo service was cheaper than renting a DVR from our cable company because the cable company's price included service upgrades and rental fees. The machine itself was not too badly priced. We got the 80gb standard definition dual-tuner. Most of what we watch, we can still only access in SD, but if there is a show we can catch in HD, we can always swap over to the antenna and see it there. I ended up buying the box from Best Buy because the first store I went to didn't have the version I wanted. This turned out well for us in the end. In addition to the $150 mail-in rebate that TiVo is offering with the SD machines, Best Buy had its own promotion and gave us a $50 gift card on the spot! We effectively got the machine for $50 plus $17 or so in tax.
Since getting TiVo, I've spent a lot more time in front of the TV. A lot of it is just playing with the new "toy" and figuring out the controls and what it can do. I do have it record some low priority shows that I wouldn't normally watch, however. If there's an interesting special coming up, we'll set it to record and not worry when it's actually on. (Example: Lewis Black's latest.) We can also have two things recording at once and not have to worry about if we're busy, which is nice. (Example: Biggest Loser and Idol.) The VCR is also still hooked up, so technically we could record a third on tape and watch a fourth over-the-air. The goal of all this was to not be so chained to the TV. andrabbi has had to work a lot in the evening which required a lot of taping to avoid missed shows. We also wanted to be able to go to the gym or do other things without having to worry about missing or taping a show. (Now we just need to drag ourselves to the gym.) With a couple of shows starting up regular episodes recently and several recent botched tapings, we also wanted to get this set up fairly quickly. This is another reason why MythTV ended up getting the boot for now. Maybe one day, if we have a large chunk of spare change, I can make an ultimate TV machine. Until then, TiVo is perfectly fine.
I had a couple of other things on my mind before I started writing this, but they're gone now. Oh well. Maybe in another post ... if I can pull myself away from the TiVo.
Since getting TiVo, I've spent a lot more time in front of the TV. A lot of it is just playing with the new "toy" and figuring out the controls and what it can do. I do have it record some low priority shows that I wouldn't normally watch, however. If there's an interesting special coming up, we'll set it to record and not worry when it's actually on. (Example: Lewis Black's latest.) We can also have two things recording at once and not have to worry about if we're busy, which is nice. (Example: Biggest Loser and Idol.) The VCR is also still hooked up, so technically we could record a third on tape and watch a fourth over-the-air. The goal of all this was to not be so chained to the TV. andrabbi has had to work a lot in the evening which required a lot of taping to avoid missed shows. We also wanted to be able to go to the gym or do other things without having to worry about missing or taping a show. (Now we just need to drag ourselves to the gym.) With a couple of shows starting up regular episodes recently and several recent botched tapings, we also wanted to get this set up fairly quickly. This is another reason why MythTV ended up getting the boot for now. Maybe one day, if we have a large chunk of spare change, I can make an ultimate TV machine. Until then, TiVo is perfectly fine.
I had a couple of other things on my mind before I started writing this, but they're gone now. Oh well. Maybe in another post ... if I can pull myself away from the TiVo.