Poll - Empeg vs. Tivo

I'm just curious:





This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

Subject: Poll - Empeg vs. Tivo

What does this poll have to do with Tivo?

(30 seconds later) I think I should go do something else for a while rather than just sit here and continuously refresh waiting for 2.0 to materialize...

Borislav

Edited by borislav on 10/10/01 06:10 AM.

...You caught it before I posted the second poll:)
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

You need to add...

#. do you WISH you had a Tivo...

=]


|| loren.cox ||

(or a ReplayTV)

I always tell people that there are two things that changed my life: Empeg and TiVo... I'm just that lame :) But seriously, if you talk to either group of people, they are religious about these technologies. I would definitely think there'd be an overlap between these two -- I'm really curious to see the outcome of the polls.

Mike

(or a ReplayTV)

Do you work for SonicBlue?

-Rob R
--------
12GB MK2 Blue 090000736 (6166 in the queue)
10GB "Backup" MK2a Blue 030102953

I have to say that I love my Empeg most, but I tend to preach TiVo more. If I really had to, I would find a way to get MP3s in my car. However, I would never be able to make something as elegant as TiVo. Also, there are lots more people that watch TV than want 3,000 songs in their car.

Empeg and TiVo are by far my most treasured posessions. Yes, I am lame.

-Rob R
--------
12GB MK2 Blue 090000736 (6166 in the queue)
10GB "Backup" MK2a Blue 030102953

...This poll should be edited to read "Tivo or other video recording device" - but as it is, go ahead and choose the appropriate option if you own a Tivo lookalike:)
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

Rob,
Up until last June I did work for SB. I was part of the first set of cuts they made back then. And while they may have made it possible for me to get a good deal on a ReplayTV, from what I've seen of Tivo, I'd still rather have the Replay.

Especially since there is no additional charge per month to own one.

Best regards,
Tim

This poll reminded me of the one issue I really want to see in the Car Player ever since the tuner modules started becoming reality--or was it after I got my ReplayTV... I want to be able to back up 7-10 seconds and catch that news item I missed.

Yes, snagging traffic reports would be keen. Scheduled recording of shows like All Things Considered would be so sweet. But the most compelling feature I want in the Car Player from the realm of PVR's is the ability to back-up and catch that news item that I wasn't fully focusing on. No hunting. No fiddling, just a quick Jump back.

I've been on this horse before, but I know someone out there is smart enough to make this function a reality in empeg-land.

I feel better now. Thanks.

I agree - I think that Tivo-like functionality would be awesome for the tuner.. Oh well, we can dream can't we?:)
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

...actually, for that case, I think this functionality is really needed on DVD players.. I've lost count of the number of times that I've reached for the 8-second replay on the DVD remote just to notice that it's not there:(
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

I've lost count of the number of times that I've reached for the 8-second replay on the DVD remote just to notice that it's not there:(

Mine does have an instant replay button, it's cheap Sony of some sort.

(I don't know what model it is because I went shopping for a DVD player with a tape measure in lieu of a feature list. It had to be thin enough to fit in my rack and it had to be 19" wide to "fit in" in my rack. )

Borislav

Yes! Actually Audi are using a new Blaupunkt radio that even allows you to set it to record the traffic messages every morning before you get into the car - e.g. you can set up to record all messages from 8:30 til 9 so that when you get in the car at 9 you can immediately check to see which roads are jammed. This would be REALLY NICE on the empeg! and not that hard to implement? Hugo?

(list 6284, Mk1 S/N 00299 4GB blue [for sale]. Mk2 S/N 080000094 26GB blue)

I went shopping for a DVD player with a tape measure

bet that surprised a few sales persons

Murray
Go-Wit-Da-Fro

...I'd be curious to see which dvd model #'s support this feature - let me know if you can see the model number later:)
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

...I'd be curious to see which dvd model #'s support this feature - let me know if you can see the model number later:)

I found the receipt - it's Sony DVPNS300B.

Borislav

Um, I'm sorry Dionysus, but I fail to see why the purchase of an empeg or a Tivo would have anything at all to do with each other. Mind explaining the logic behind that? They're two completely different products made by two different companies. When I saw the thread topic, I thought the poll would be something more like "are you more nuts about your Tivo or your empeg?" Or something like that.

Oh well, the answer to that question would be...oh crap....that's a tough one........

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

from what I've seen of Tivo, I'd still rather have the Replay.

Especially since there is no additional charge per month to own one.



I'm SO tired of hearing this.

You DO realize that you can buy a lifetime subscription? And the cost of the lifetime subscription + player is about the same as the replay? Personally, I'm happier with the Tivo on this point for one reason. Choice. Tivo gives you that. Replay... Well, you HAVE to buy the lifetime service, it's not an option. If the price for the machines was the same or nearly, and replay came with the subscription, THEN I'd see it being an argument. But last time I checked (and admittedly, it was a long time ago) the Replay was about $200 MORE than the Tivo.... About the cost of the Lifetime subscription.

I have DirecTiVo, a co-worker has ReplayTV. Everytime we get into a discussion, he always seems a bit disappointed in the ReplayTV. Not sure why, but the fact all his recordings were deleted last week for no apparent reason and ReplayTV says they don' t know why but he should "reformat his drive" is a bit unsettling...

While TiVo's support is less than spectacular, I love it the TiVo itself, and the TiVo forum is much like this one, lots of support by very enthusiastic people and a few "unofficial" TiVo employees an the board as well.

My biggest problem after owning TiVo for almost a year, I can't find the 8 second replay for real life...

Dave Clark
Austin, Texas
12g Blue MK2
S/N was 80000329 -> now 90000970

I have DirecTiVo, a co-worker has ReplayTV


I know of no one who bought a Replay TV and actually lived to tell of the experience.

Hows that for a product!!!

Just kidding...

The Tivo Forum is truly one of the best"free" perks that accompany the Tivo... Or rather, the information contained within it... That and the fact that the developers of it are hackers at heart. Oh, the stories that (I can't tell) from the beta groups..... And don't get me started on Tridge and the underground......

Best damn product I've bought 4 times.

Not including the Empeg... I couldn't give up either, and would probably fight more for the empeg, esp. now, but honestly....

I CAN listen to CD's in someone elses car. I have a HELL of a time watching tv without the Tivo in the loop. Most of the time, I simply won't.

Tivo or other video recording device

Now you tell me, after I voted no, due to owning a DishPlayer :-P

I dislike DirecTV, so I went with Dish a while back. Then I bought the DishPlayer when they had it for dirt cheap before they finished the PVR software (mine could pause only for the first two months). Then one night, it asked if I wanted PVR. It did cost extra initially, ($10 a month), but Dish now has it so that if one is activated, no charges apply, as their new PVR unit also has no extra charge.

One of the things I did early on was upgrade the drive to a 40gb from the origional 8, (A simple swapout, just like a computer. Plus no warranty seals...). It saw the new drive, and downloaded the software it needed. I've had one issue where it wiped all my data, but according to some forms I browsed about it, it was caused by keeping the player too full on that big of a drive with the current software. Since then, I have had only a glitch or two beyond that, well within my acceptable range for a device like that.

The biggest thing that I like is that it has no quality loss. And I'm glad MS didn't release an UltimateTV ad in the listing patch for it. It's just too bad the You Don't Know Jack episodes on mine are no longer updated, those were fun on the TV.

I don't want to start the PVR jihad, but when you buy a Tivo for $300-$400 and get lifetime service for $250, you come out with roughly the same price for Tivo and Replay.

All things being equal, Tivo is better due to the large amount of unofficial support (much like this BBS).

Also, since I have two DirecTiVo units, I only have to pay for one subscription. I bought lifetime service on my master Tivo ($199 at the time) and the service is mirrored to the other unit for free.

The comment I made about Tim being a SB employee was a joke. I really wasn't expecting it to be true. When TiVo and Replay were first introduced, it was generally accepted that Replay was better. However, TiVo's marketing somehow won that battle. Perhaps people liked the idea of initially paying $400 for a PVR instead of $600-700. Just my $.02.

-Rob R
--------
12GB MK2 Blue 090000736 (6166 in the queue)
10GB "Backup" MK2a Blue 030102953

I used to...back when it was S3. I did video drivers though.

In reply to:

---

Um, I'm sorry Dionysus, but I fail to see why the purchase of an empeg or a Tivo would have anything at all to do with each other. Mind explaining the logic behind that? They're two completely different products made by two different companies. When I saw the thread topic, I thought the poll would be something more like "are you more nuts about your Tivo or your empeg?" Or something like that.

---

Shrug - I don't watch TV that much in general, and honestly I would have never considered a Tivo - the only reason I picked it up was because of a slashdot article talking about the upgradability of the Tivo, and because of my experience with listening to what I wanted to, when I wanted to as I can on the Empeg.

-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

I think to fairly compare Tivo and ReplayTV, you'd have to be somewhat familiar with each of them. I would really need to "feel" through the UI of Replay in order to make good judgments. All I can say is that it would be VERY hard to out-do Tivo in the UI department. It's just so easy. And one look at Replay's remote give me the feeling that it doesn't. Sometimes, twice the buttons does not mean twice the usability.

On the other hand, Replay has several huge features that attract me to it. For one it had ethernet. Please, Synergy, explain to me why the HELL Tivo doesn't have ethernet! If they are such geeks at heart, I would think ethernet would be essential, especially when marketing to the geek TV watchers. Not having a phone jack near the TV is a huge hinderance with this product. At the moment I have a phone cord running accross my bedroom to the other side where the wireless phone transmitter is. It's a real pain.

Then there are the other cool network features of Replay. Those definitely looke cool.

Believe me, I love my Tivo. It's the second best gadget I've ever bought, but I certainly wouldn't say it's without flaw!

DiGNAN
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, etc.

Please, Synergy, explain to me why the HELL Tivo doesn't have ethernet! If they are such geeks at heart, I would think ethernet would be essential, especially when marketing to the geek TV watchers.



The way it was explained to me..... is very similar to some of the reasons the Empeg ISN'T going to be around.

It's a geek toy, with Ethernet. It's not mass-market. Tivo basically striped the tivo unit hardware down to the bare minimum needed to do the job. It's a money issue, and the accountants and CFO's of the company tend to win those.

NOW, Ethernet is more mass market. It wasn't when the original hardware was rolling out.

If you want Ethernet, it's not hard to add it anymore... But you need to be more of a geek.

(And I'll certainly say that it has flaws. More ram has been proven to be a BIG help on that box, but it's not there... Many of the cost cutting 'features' hurt the box in the long term, but I can't say that I would have been able to justify them to MY CEO... So I can't fault the engineers at the time it went into production. That's not saying that it couldn't stand a retooling... Which is exactly what the replay unit recently underwent. I don't believe it always had ethernet... )

In reply to:

---

I went shopping for a DVD player with a tape measure

bet that surprised a few sales persons

---

Today it would, not many rack mounted components anymore, although the Home Theatre still uses rack systems heavily.

#695-Mk2/8 colors-12Gig w/Tuner- awaits v2.x & Voice Recog.

Shrug; My Tivo has an Ethernet - it costed me about $100 plus about an hours worth of labor.
-mark

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

Yes, it may have ethernet, but it doesn't have 100mbit ethernet with streaming to other replaytv 4000 units... or automatic advert skipping ;)

We had a demo of the 4000 series today (various empeg people in Santa Clara at the moment) and it's pretty darn impressive :)

Hugo

the description on the replay website sounds great too bad I just got the tivo (well there's always ebay)

32Gig MK2 In 2001 VW Golf TDI

Heh - you guys are right around the corner from me right now:) (I live 5 miles from the sonicblue HQ)
-m

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

Ahh, but can it do PDC?

Or is it one of the US-Centric products that get sold in Europe, but don't really work properly (ala Tivo)?

Paul.

Paul Haigh, Reg. 4120
(mk1) 6GB, Blue, 00254
(mk2) 12GB, Red, 00357

Is it going to be available in Australia...?

Kim

Here is a link to a nice description of some of the new Replay 4000 and a perspective as to other issues SonicBlue is having with customer service on the Replay side. Not really news, but it should help to give us perspective on the pains that Rob & gang are going through.

Keep up the great work guys!

(fan flame)
Also, at the bottom of that thread there is mention that someone got their replay 3030 for $179--which is pretty stinking cheap for 30 hrs of record time and no lifetime fee....
(/fan flame)

can any one tell how the advertising skipping feature works. do they somehow know how long the ads are or does it just skip a certain amount of time ?

32Gig MK2 In 2001 VW Golf TDI

I do live in France and at least we can be Empeg owners but not
Tivo and Replay .

When will it be possible to buy those ?

When V2.0 will come up ...

Empeg II - 10 Gb - Red Fascia - 750 Songs -

- I Will Strike From the Grey -

It works it out by things like black frames, silent audio, etc. It's spooky to see it in action!

Hugo

do you know if they are planning on selling these units in stores or just on-line

thanks for the info


32Gig MK2 In 2001 VW Golf TDI

It works it out by things like black frames, silent audio, etc. It's spooky to see it in action!

Does it use the "Commercial Advance" (tm) technology, or is it something that Sonic Blue developed on its own? Commercial Advance works by sensing the black frames between the programming and the beginning of the commercial breaks. How it determines whether a subsequent black frame is another commercial or resumption of programming, I do not know.

I have found the Commercial Advance feature on my VCR to be only about 85% reliable. That is, about 15% of the time it will not catch the beginning of a commercial break or it will miss programming thinking it is still in commercial.

Of course, since I got TiVo, I don't think I've used m VCR more than once or twice. TiVo does not have Commercial Advance or equivalent, and when I asked them, they said they never would -- apparently as a result of an agreement they made with the commercial broadcasters.

tanstaafl.



"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

In reply to:

---

Of course, since I got TiVo, I don't think I've used m VCR more than once or twice. TiVo does not have Commercial Advance or equivalent, and when I asked them, they said they never would -- apparently as a result of an agreement they made with the commercial broadcasters.

---

They might not CALL it that, BUT - 2.51 is coming out with this:

In reply to:

---

Skip by Tick Marks:
You can now skip through a program faster than ever! Any time you're using Fast Forward or Rewind, you can press the ADVANCE button (below the Fast Forward button) to jump to the next tick mark on the green Status Bar. Press it again and you advance again to the next tick mark. Easy!

---

This space used in memory of the victims from 09/11/01

[RANT]
At least Tivo has a company that is 100% behind their product since their revenue depends on that product and that product alone.

It's better than to just have a range of mismatched products, experiment by throwing things out there and half-ass support it, and then killing it when it doesn't bring the revenue that you expected.

Sorry, I know this sounds probably worse that I what I mean by it but you have to admit that the early adopters for those very expensive PVRs are going to be VERY nervous considering SB's track record at trying things/buying people and then moving on when it doesn't work rather than having a real strategy and sticking to it.

[/RANT]
-D

---
reg. #10798 - blue 40gig MK2 #764

considering SB's track record at trying things/buying people and then moving on when it doesn't work rather than having a real strategy and sticking to it.

[sarcasm]
Really? SonicBlue has such a record? What products would you be talking about? Certainly not the RioCar...
[/sarcasm]


-Tony
MkII #554