Just curious... what's better - Dish DVR box or TiVo DVR box?

[CaseLogic]

We're moving into a house and might not be able to justify dish anymore (6 TVs... yikes). We might get a TiVo DVR box for our main TV, though... and I'm curious on the differences (I've never used TiVo)

 

[Koilvr]

u will be payin $12.95 a month for tivo an it is annoying there click or pop on ever touch of there button. get a digital pal from dish no montly payments if I am correct. you will pay upfront to dish pal, but not tivo's 2 yr contract of $12.95 a month plus equipment.

 

[stone phillips420]

depends some like coke others like pepsi

 

[MikeD-C05]

DISH dvrs are much better than Tivos. Cnet rates them better than tivo. They use Tivo code as evidenced by the ongoing Tivo lawsuit against DISH. The DISH dvrs are made for both ota and sat tv. THe Tivo will only do cable and ota. The dvr fee for DISH is 5.98 per dvr receiver-unless you take dvr advantage pack or AEP. Tivo is 12.99 per month. I have had both and I totally perfer the DISH dvrs ,especially the 722k with ota module . It can record 4 things at one time; 2 sat/2 ota.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well, since you're asking this question in a Dish Network forum I suspect the replies will be heavily in favor of the Dish Network box. Regardless, I've owned and or used 13 or 14 HD DVR models over the years and, I feel, the Dish Network ViP series DVR is the superior box. We had Dish Network services for several years (still own 3 ViP622s in the closet) and it was a joy to use these DVRs. Sadly, I could no longer stomach their inferior HD-Lite channels so we switched to Verizon FiOS and could not be happier with our TV services...with the exception of the FiOS HD DVR. In any case, we purchased a TivoHD and, surprisingly, the world did not end and we actually like it almost as much as we did the ViP622 - it's a fairly close 2nd place. To be factual the ViP622 has better/faster hardware and a slicker interface, but the Tivo has a lot of really slick applications (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) and has been as reliable as the Dish Network box.

In an ideal worlds, I would take the Dish Network DVR over the Tivo. However, given that the Dish Network DVR also comes with their horrible DishHD-lite (aka TurboHD-Lite) then I would select the TivoHD along with Verizon's 116 (most and best quality) national HD channels 100% of the time.

In summary: Dish ViP series DVRs beat the Tivo Series 3 DVRs however TivoHD and FiOS TV smokes the ViP622/722 and TurboHD.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I've been considering the FIOS / Tivo combination. I like the DISH DVRs, but the fees bother me. I would rather get the TIVO and pay the lifetime subscription. Its something like 2.6 years for payback, but then you are in the clear (no more dvr fees).

Lifetime on the first Tivo is $399 ($399/$12.95 mo=31 months) and $299 ($299/$9.95 mo =31 months ) for each one after that.

Verizon charges $3.99 a month for the mcard, but thats better than renting the set top box.

Also, you get free netflix when you buy a new Tivo right now.

http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/whatsnew/netflixontivo/index.html

I'm not sure if it is 3 months for each Tivo or just 3 months, but its still not bad.

Edit: Tivo is 3 months now, not 6 months.

Or maybe 6, I don't know.

http://www.tivo.com/promo/netflix_6months.html?Wt.ac=tivohome_mothersday_img

 

[kvnfl]

Having had three (3) DVRs, I would say it is almost a draw between the 722 and TiVo. Both have features the other does not. TiVo has a better guide, but it covers the whole screen. TiVo has a better broad search option, you can push TiVo>4>Movies>(select genre) and get a complete list of that genres movies, but it takes up the whole screen. Both have "Wish List" or DVR feature that automatically searches for programs. Both have "Season Pass" features. But, the 722 offers much better control over what is recorded. The 722 filters channels much better. As great as the TiVo remote is, the 722 remote controls more and has more buttons. The 722 has two tuners. The 722 is free at best or very inexpensive compared with TiVo. And if the 722 breaks, its on lease so it is not your problem.

If you go with TiVo you will not be unhappy. Do get the Lifetime subscription. Even though I do not record much with my old TiVo, I do use it like a TV Guide. Plus it keeps track of what you record with "Thumb ups" so you do not record the same thing over and over.

If you do go with TiVo, go to MFSLive.org • Index page and learn how to create a TiVo.bak file. As soon as your TiVo is out of warranty, create the back up file ASAP. You will need it. My TiVo is almost 10 years old. It is on its third hard drive. With Tivo.bak, it takes less than an hour to swap drives. If you do an exact copy it will take 4-8 hours and often does not work.

 

[CuriousMark]

If you plan to stay with Dish and want HD then you have no choice but to stick with the Dish DVR, it is a walled garden.

There are older TiVo SD DVRs still available that will work with a standard Dish receiver (not DVR) to record SD.

If you switch to cable or FIOS then you can get a combination of HD and or SD TiVo DVRs for different TV sets. You can network them and transfer shows back and forth between if you want. They also have the networking features that let you get video podcasts directly to your TV, play music and slideshows from your computer, archive shows to your computer and even burn the files to DVD or save to iPod/iPhone for travel. I think both have online scheduling capabilities, so that is a wash.

If you live in Boston, or soon Chicago you will be able to get the Comcast DVR and have the TiVo search and interface on it.

In the end it will come down to personal preference and feature set. As you can see, most here prefer the Dish offering, I am sure you will the opposite preference at the TiVo Community Forums. That is also a site that will provide more detail on the uniquely TiVo features that might interest you.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

I'd give a slight edge to Dish, just because:

1. No cable cards to deal with - I didn't have many problems with my TiVO Series 3 but once in awhile a random channel would just not decode.

2. Easy PPV/On Demand. Again, I'm not a big user of these services, but I do order the occassional PPV sporting event or movie, and this just isn't possible in the TiVO hardware.

3. The 722 can record three channels at once with an antenna connected, and the 722K can do four simultaneous recordings. This can be really nice.

The TiVO has Netflix HD streaming as well as Amazon Unbox, which looks like a really cool feature in its favor, as well as multi-room viewing.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The 922 will do all that the 722k does today + internet access. I can see many sites you could visit if you had full internet access, that could compliment your programming. You-tube, Hula come to mine. Of course I am betting that DISH will limit what sites you can go to .

 

[DishSubLA]

Owning a Series 3 (the original THX with the OLED display) and seveal Dish DVR's, Dish DVR's are better. However, I would say that Tivo is a good product. Dish DVR's can record up to 4HD channels at the same time. While Tivo can record both QAM and OTA, it is still limited to only 2 HD recordings at the same time. Some more differences:

Dish has PIP, not Tivo; Dish has video and audio in most of the menus, Tivo does not; Dish better guide display and the extended display is also offered and better (subjective, of course); Dish buffers for one-hour; Tivo Series 3 (all models) only buffer for 1/2 hour; Dish larger HDD or just more capacity (remember Dish is MPEG4 unless OTA); Dish better external HDD solution allowing unlimited number of HDD's and that can be connected (although one at a time per box until software update) to any ViP boxes on your account, from one to another to another, etc., which means you can have 1TB HDD for movies, another for TV, another for the wife, another for the brats, and they can be connected to any of the ViP boxes on your account and you can switch and change them around while Tivo limits you to one external HDD that is "married" to that DVR and must always be powered on or you may lose all your recordings (no we do not count any hacks in this game); Dish menus much LESS cumbersome; DHHP warranty will replace DVR at no cost and no rip-off of the "Lifetime membership" up front $$$ robbery. Tivo really hoses its subs on that one (I have come across several Tivo subs who have had extremely negative experiences regarding their "Lifetime" membership); Dish has less expensive DVR monthly fee.

Now, Tivo does have the most aesthetic interface. The displays are all very large and clear large sized fonts and very pleasing backgrounds that are all easy on the eye for its menus and list of recordings and all except the guide which is not as good as Dish's. Also, I love the OLED display (not available on the HDXL nor HD models) of what it is recording because when I see the red light on Dish, I do want to know what is recording without having to turn on the TV. Tivo has the most robust search features with far more categories of individual sports than Dish and more categories in general. Tivo does have the best access to a wide variety of content available on the web. Options include Netflix, Amazon large library and several other content such as The Onion.

While Dish DVR's are still, overall, the best out there, it is clear that the Tivo is far superior to any of the cable company DVR's or AT&T Uverse or FiOS DVR's. If I left Dish, I would probably invest in Tivo boxes. However, if it were OTA only, I would probably go with the DTV Pal DVR by Echostar (Dish Network) because while it isn't as "sexy" as a Tivo, it does the same job with NO monthly fees at all and has the same external HDD solution as the satellite boxes. The latest firmware update for the DTV Pal DVR seems to have fixed some earlier issues and now that the conversion has occurred, more accurate PSIP has made guides reliable.

 

[jdmacor]

Actually, the thing I wish for the most on my 722, that the Tivo can do, is the ability to watch a recording from one box on any of the other boxes; ie, multi-room viewing.

 

[DishSubLA]

Actually, the thing I wish for the most on my 722, that the Tivo can do, is the ability to watch a recording from one box on any of the other boxes; ie, multi-room viewing.

Well, that can be accomplished by taking advantage of Dish STB's Home Distribution output on the back. I can watch any of my 6 boxes on any of the TV's in the house, and do so.

Also, using the external HDD feature can accomplish this preserving HD quality, as well. I do that quite often, and I can easily connect it to any box at any time. While the Tivo feature sounds nice, I know people who say that it is painfully slow and they like my Dish external solution better for multi-room viewing as it does not require a network and is faster than the Tivo transfer.

Personally, something I wish the Dish DVR's could do that the Tivo's do is allow you to "un-erase" or recall an erased recording, much like a PC recycle bin.

 

[jdmacor]

Well, that can be accomplished by taking advantage of Dish STB's Home Distribution output on the back. I can watch any of my 6 boxes on any of the TV's in the house, and do so.

Also, using the external HDD feature can accomplish this preserving HD quality, as well. I do that quite often, and I can easily connect it to any box at any time. While the Tivo feature sounds nice, I know people who say that it is painfully slow and they like my Dish external solution better for multi-room viewing as it does not require a network and is faster than the Tivo transfer.

Personally, something I wish the Dish DVR's could do that the Tivo's do is allow you to "un-erase" or recall an erased recording, much like a PC recycle bin.

If I was really asking for anything, I would actually want a more sophisticated version of multi-room viewing than the Tivo supports. I would not only like to be able to live stream from any other box in the house (as opposed to transferring recordings), but it would be extra awesome if conflicts could be resolved on other boxes in your house. Tuners in your living room are occupied? The bedroom box could come to the rescue! Capacity in the bedroom filled? Stick an episode on the kids room dvr! Now that would be sweet. I would dub this the 'hive mind dvr.'

 

[bgee]

Tivo UI is better. Dish UI is clunkier, although functionality is good.