Thinking about buying

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>
>
> Ken Alverson wrote:
>> <aloe@rev.net> wrote in message
>> news:1121722573.451972.263820@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>> If you have DirectTV, consider a DirectTV based Tivo.
>
> No thanks. I'm not interested in paying $500 annually just to record
> TV. (I've been using my VCR for years at a fraction of the cost.)
>
> I'll inquire about the standalones.

A standalone monthly fee is more than a DTiVo monthly fee.

And $500 annually is $41.66/month. Why would you pay $41.66/month for
TiVo service? Unless this was a knock against DirecTV...but that's why
Ken wrote "If you have DirecTV..." If you already are paying for DirecTV,
a DTiVo is a no-brainer. If you don't have DirecTV, it might not be the
best solution.

--
This is my .sig

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Mike Hunt wrote:
> On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:

> > I'll inquire about the standalones.
>
> A standalone monthly fee is more than a DTiVo monthly fee.

A local appliance store told me I could buy a device for under $200. As
it will pick up a free broadcast signal, why would there be any monthly
fee?

> If you don't have DirecTV, it might not be the
> best solution.

What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.

-- Coney O'Hare <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
> Mike Hunt wrote:
>> On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>
>> > I'll inquire about the standalones.
>>
>> A standalone monthly fee is more than a DTiVo monthly fee.
>
> A local appliance store told me I could buy a device for under $200. As
> it will pick up a free broadcast signal, why would there be any monthly
> fee?

There are two parts to a TiVo. The hardware and the software. The $200
gets you the hardware and the monthly fee gets you access to the software.
Without the software, the hardware is pretty useless.

>> If you don't have DirecTV, it might not be the
>> best solution.
>
> What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
> only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.

I can't think of any good solution for this. If you actual mean to just
save partial shows instead of entire shows etc., I don't know of a
convenient way to do that with any hardware. Purhaps MythTV can do this
without too much pain (marking slices and cutting them out)?

--
This is my .sig

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

> What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
> only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.
>
> -- Coney O'Hare <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

Get a DVD recorder, copy the VOB files to a pc, convert to mpeg, edit as
you wish, make compilations of the clips you want and burn to DVD in the PC.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Tony D wrote:
> > What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
> > only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.

> Get a DVD recorder, copy the VOB files to a pc, convert to mpeg, edit as
> you wish, make compilations of the clips you want and burn to DVD in the PC.

If I get a DVD recorder, why can't I burn a DVD there? Why do you say I
should use the PC?

-- Coney O'Hare <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Mike Hunt wrote:
> On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
> > Mike Hunt wrote:
> >> On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:

> > A local appliance store told me I could buy a device for under $200. As
> > it will pick up a free broadcast signal, why would there be any monthly
> > fee?
>
> There are two parts to a TiVo. The hardware and the software. The $200
> gets you the hardware and the monthly fee gets you access to the software.
> Without the software, the hardware is pretty useless.

Can't I buy software or write it? What operating systems are available?

-- Spud <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

 

[seth]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

<aloe@rev.net> wrote in message
news:1122589570.413935.202910@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Mike Hunt wrote:
>> On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>> > Mike Hunt wrote:
>> >> On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>
>> > A local appliance store told me I could buy a device for under $200. As
>> > it will pick up a free broadcast signal, why would there be any monthly
>> > fee?
>>
>> There are two parts to a TiVo. The hardware and the software. The $200
>> gets you the hardware and the monthly fee gets you access to the
>> software.
>> Without the software, the hardware is pretty useless.
>
> Can't I buy software or write it? What operating systems are available?

The OS is a customized version of Linux for the PPC or MIPS processors
(depending on the generation of equipment). Then there is the TiVo app
itself which is the interface to the user as well as the engine behind the
whole machine. And then there are the proprietary device drivers to handle
the custom hardware in the machine.

My guess is that if it were trivial someone would have already written a
replacement OS/DVR App to put on machines. But if you are a good
programmer, go for it. Would be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 2005-07-28, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
> Mike Hunt wrote:
>> On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>> > Mike Hunt wrote:
>> >> On 2005-07-19, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>
>> > A local appliance store told me I could buy a device for under $200. As
>> > it will pick up a free broadcast signal, why would there be any monthly
>> > fee?
>>
>> There are two parts to a TiVo. The hardware and the software. The $200
>> gets you the hardware and the monthly fee gets you access to the software.
>> Without the software, the hardware is pretty useless.
>
> Can't I buy software or write it? What operating systems are available?

You buy the software from TiVo via either the monthly subscription or the
lifetime subscription. Your second question isn't related since the OS is
part of the software we are talking about, it's not its own entity.

Can you write your own? Depends on how proprietary the hardware is I
would guess. It wouldn't be trivial else someone would have done so by
now.

--
This is my .sig

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

aloe@rev.net wrote:
> Tony D wrote:
>
>>>What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
>>>only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.
>
>
>>Get a DVD recorder, copy the VOB files to a pc, convert to mpeg, edit as
>>you wish, make compilations of the clips you want and burn to DVD in the PC.
>
>
> If I get a DVD recorder, why can't I burn a DVD there? Why do you say I
> should use the PC?
>
> -- Coney O'Hare <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>
>
You said you wanted to save "clips". To me that means "edit". You can't
edit on a standalone DVD recorder. At most you can mark endpoints before
you finalize the disk, but you still waste all the space beyond them.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Mike Hunt wrote:
> On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:

> > What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
> > only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.
>
> I can't think of any good solution for this. If you actual mean to just
> save partial shows instead of entire shows etc., I don't know of a
> convenient way to do that with any hardware.

If Katie Melua, Tears for Fears, Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Jim Gaffigan,
or Tom Dreesen performs for a few minutes on a talk show, I don't want
to record the umpteenth boring interview with Jessica Simpleton, Brian
Williams, or Pam Anderson along with it. Right now, I have to keep my
trigger finger on the VCR control to separate the wheat from the chaff.

How do the rest of you handle it?

-- Spud <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 2005-08-01, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
> Mike Hunt wrote:
>> On 2005-07-23, aloe@rev.net <aloe@rev.net> wrote:
>
>> > What is the best solution when I want to record "Late Night" but save
>> > only the few entertaining minutes? It is not easy to juggle VCR tapes.
>>
>> I can't think of any good solution for this. If you actual mean to just
>> save partial shows instead of entire shows etc., I don't know of a
>> convenient way to do that with any hardware.
>
> If Katie Melua, Tears for Fears, Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Jim Gaffigan,
> or Tom Dreesen performs for a few minutes on a talk show, I don't want
> to record the umpteenth boring interview with Jessica Simpleton, Brian
> Williams, or Pam Anderson along with it. Right now, I have to keep my
> trigger finger on the VCR control to separate the wheat from the chaff.
>
> How do the rest of you handle it?

triple-fast forward on TiVo goes through the chaff pretty quickly. A 10
minute "boring interview" flies by in 10 seconds - not bad in my book.

--
This is my .sig

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Mike Hunt <in2sheep@yahoo.com> wrote:
> triple-fast forward on TiVo goes through the chaff pretty quickly. A 10
> minute "boring interview" flies by in 10 seconds - not bad in my book.

It does such a good job that sometimes I miss the part that I want ;-)
I have wishlists set for a lot of people. Occasionally Letterman, or Oprah
Winfrey, or 60 minutes gets recorded, and I have to look at who's on to see
why my wishlists picked it up. Then I 3FF through the show until I hit the
segment with the person I want to see.

Sometimes, Letterman will have someone perform a song that isn't
interviewed at all, and I miss the whole thing. I might go back through,
more carefully, or delete the show, and forget about it.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Mike Hunt wrote:

> triple-fast forward on TiVo goes through the chaff pretty quickly. A 10
> minute "boring interview" flies by in 10 seconds - not bad in my book.

Right -- but I want to save the entertainment on my shelf without the
talk.

-- Spud <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

aloe@rev.net wrote:
> Mike Hunt wrote:
>
>
>>triple-fast forward on TiVo goes through the chaff pretty quickly. A 10
>>minute "boring interview" flies by in 10 seconds - not bad in my book.
>
>
> Right -- but I want to save the entertainment on my shelf without the
> talk.
>
> -- Spud <http/www.rev.net/~aloe/tv>
>

Unless the shows are going to provide the guide folks with detail
information about content *within* the show, it would be impossible for
Tivo to only record the portions of a show that you are interested in.
Since many of the late night and other talk shows don't know themselves
exactly which acts will appear then (preemptions and overruns happen all
the time), this is pretty much impossible.

If you want to record and store clips, your best bet is to use TTG or a
hacked box to get the show to your PC and edit it there. Or use a DVD
recorder w/ hard drive to edit it, the Tivo/DVD recorder combos will let
you edit like that, won't they!

Randy S.