Ok, So I investigated the Tivo thing a bit more, and it turns out that a while ago it was advantageous to get the Sony unit because it was cheaper, but this is no longer true. The feature set between the two brands is almost identical, the Sony has a lousy remote compared to the Phillips, and the Sony is more expensive (although not that much more).
A bigger problem is that Tivo doesn’t support my ghetto A/B cable system, and won’t ever. I would have to jump through all kinds of hoops in order to get it to work, and it simply isn’t worth it.
I am now thinking about getting a DirecTV receiver with built in Tivo, and just get rid of my shitty cable service.
There are two problems with that:
- Placing the Antenna – I am supposed to get my landlord’s permission, which I will attempt. If he doesn’t give me permission, I can always invoke FCC law which “…prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used to receive video programming.” and “Effective January 22, 1999, the Commission amended the rule so that it also applies to rental property where the renter has an exclusive use area, such as a balcony or patio.”. So the “Patio of Doom” may very well be my ticket to DirecTV.
- Having the Right Sky – I am not sure if my sky is good for DirecTV… I will try and figure that out tonight… I see other people with dishes on my block, but I think they are all Dish Network.
There are a couple of advantages however:
- Cost – Believe it or not, this whole operation will be cheaper overall. The 35 hour Tivo-ed DTV receiver is $399, but there is a rebate bringing it down to the same price as the normal 30 hour box. The DirecTV service, even with HBO and the like added comes to around $50 a month, which is $10 a month cheaper than my cable bill, with more channels.
- Second Tuner – The Tivo’ed DirecTV receivers have two tuners built into them, so you can record a program while watching another, or record two programs at once. This is a great advantage over the normal Tivo receiver.
- Get Rid of Ghetto Cable – My cable system blows, and it would be great to get rid of it. Of most annoyance is the A/B setup, where I have to press a button on the remote to change the switch, allowing me to view the second half of my channels.
I know that some people reading this have experience with DirecTV, so I was looking for some feedback. I am particularly concerned with rain and stuff like that affecting the picture quality. Is there anything I should know? I am aware of the “local channel” stuff, and DirecTV offers local service in this area, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Yeah, you’re allowed by law to setup a DBS dish on a rental property.. I’ve done it several times (sucessfully) with temporary mountings.. In theory, you can even put the dish inside and point it out the window. (I haven’t been able to do that, Travis has. It depends on the line of sight and lead content in the glass.) Probably the best is to find something secure that you can notch a chunk of 4×6 to, then bolt the dish to the 4×6, and clamp that to the railing.
Dish network is at 110/119 degrees, DirecTv is at 101. Odds are if your neighbors can see dish, you should be able to see directv. To get a better idea, go to here and select the DirecTV 101 slot and Boston.. Take a compass and a protractor and see if you’ve got a clear sky view at the angles they give back (The azimuth is true north, to correct it to magnetic you’ll want to add about 16 degrees for Boston.)
Just make sure where you buy from has a good return policy if you can’t see it. I think BestBuy is 30 days.
Heavy rains will cause rain fade, but that can be minimized with a solid dish mounting and proper alignment. You’ll get a signal within about 2 degrees of the right setting, and it’ll be stronger as you go to the center of the satelite. You should be able to get a signal in the high 80s, and maybe even low 90s. The stronger that signal is, the less susceptible it is to rain fade, as long as it’s mounted securely enough that the wind won’t blow it off.
For local channels, you’ll probably need to wait 90 days after canceling your cable subscription, unless that rule got repealed. I could rant for another page on the local channels mess I’ve had in 4 years with ours. Congress royally screwed up with SHVA, they’ve tried to fix it once, but the fix isn’t much better. DirecTV now has to dedicated almost an entire orbital slot to support local channels, when it’s the same shit on most of them half the time. Boston’s local channels are on the 101 birds, so you don’t need the larger eliptical dish.
I’m glad you responded…. I was going to mail you about it, since I know you know a ton about it, but the power was still off in NRH.. :)
I will have to go buy a compass on the way home today to see if I have good sky..
Thanks for all the suggestions, I may be tapping your head a bit more in the next few days as I play with the notion of committing to this crap.
As far as the local channel shit goes, I know it’s a mess… And quite frankly, I am not even sure if I am gonna bother with it. I thought about it a bit more and I have trouble thinking of ANY local networks that I want to watch. In fact, I am so much more accustomed to the NYC networks having lived in jersey, it will probably be nicer than the crap here. :)
My two cents…
I have had DirecTV for over two years and in that time only lost reception about three times. Each time the loss only lasts about 30 minutes or so, until the big cloud/storm passes by.
As far as the local chanels go, I’m not sure if it matters to you, but DTV only offers Boston stations 4,5,7, and Fox. So no Dawson’s Creek or Moesha for you. :)
Lastly, if all you really want is Tivo functionality you can build virtually the same thing using a PC. All you need is a decent sound card, a video card with the correct in and ouputs, and a munga hard drive. There is free software that will do the rest for you.
The advantage to a PC based PVR is that you can record all you the TV you want without paying that damn monthly subscription to Tivo (and the initial setup is most likely cheaper). Another cool thing is that you would then have a PC hooked into your AV system which allows you to do all kinds of other cool shit, play MP3’s surf the net, etc.
Hope this helps…
Re: My two cents…
Lastly, if all you really want is Tivo functionality you can build virtually the same thing using a PC. All you need is a decent sound card, a video card with the correct in and ouputs, and a munga hard drive. There is free software that will do the rest for you.
The advantage to a PC based PVR is that you can record all you the TV you want without paying that damn monthly subscription to Tivo (and the initial setup is most likely cheaper).
Ugh… Don’t even get me started on why that is a bad idea. I used to have a PC integrated into my home theater setup, and I laid out quite abit of money on ‘quality’ components to try and make it not completely blow. It was the biggest fucking mistake I have made to date.
First off, nothing is more frustrating than watching a movie and having the software/OS/etc lock up. Actually, one thing *IS* more frustrating… Having the remote control software crash, bug out, or just act retarded, preventing you from using your DVD menus.
Second off, even expensive audio cards (unless you go professional) have TONS of fucking noise that becomes evident on high-quality home theater audio rigs. Sometimes it was unbearable. Switching to AC3 audio out helped much of the noise, but not the fan noise. And when the AC3 out on the PC randomly stops working, more frustration ensues.
The main reason that I would never, ever, use a PC as a PVR with current resources is the software. While most of the PC PVR solutions allow you to use your PC as a digital VCR, that is the absolutely least-interesting use for PVRs. And for the pieces of software that have the REAL features of PVRs (recording shows it thinks you will like, season passes, etc.), their Channel Listings are obcenely flawed to the point of uselessness.
The most obvious point of failure for this solution, however, is the cost. There is no way you could build an effective solution that is as reliable as a Tivo box for $300. The video card alone from that article costs $175 (cheapest on pricewatch). Add in a motherboard, processor, ram, harddisk, case…. It ends up being more expensive than the $300’s for the Tivo unit and the $250 for the lifetime subscription for their service. And that ‘cost’ doesn’t even tally the hours of frustration you will encounter getting the machine ‘just right’, and then the frustration you will see when it crashes (and it will, it’s windows).
Thanks, but no thanks… I have been down that road before, and learned my lessons. I have absolutely no problem paying for a good product, and good service. I see absolutely no benefit whatsoever in expensively reproducing what is already cheaply available.
Another cool thing is that you would then have a PC hooked into your AV system which allows you to do all kinds of other cool shit, play MP3’s surf the net, etc.
I wouldn’t ever “surf the web” at my television (I had the opportunity to for 2 years and never did). The big loss is the lack of a keyboard and mouse. If you have a wireless keyboard/mouse, why not just be at your PC (the resolution will be better). I have a portable, harddisk based MP3 player which, again more reliable that the PC (and there is a nice feeling to carrying a large subset of your music collection in your jean pocket).
Sorry for the strong opinions, but this is something I have had experience with in several different fashions, all of which blew and sucked away far too much of my time.
Re: My two cents…
Yeah, I guess you do have your points there.
The main reason I would consider it is the price, I already have tons of parts hanging around and would only need a video card to complete the job.
ALso, I just don’t see the point in paying the monthly fee to Tivo, 10-20 a month??? For a glorified TV guide?
Re: My two cents…
ALso, I just don’t see the point in paying the monthly fee to Tivo, 10-20 a month??? For a glorified TV guide?
It is $9.99 a month, or $249 for a lifetime subscription.
My subscription to the print TV Guide is like $1.50 a week, and I can’t search through it. :)
Re: My two cents…
Currently I just use DirecTV’s built in guide, I guess I don’t understand why Tivo doesn’t give you the option to record without getting the guide thingy…
In any case I also remembered that there was a pretty good deal on the Sony DTV receiver at the Sony outlet down in Wrentham. If I remember correctly it was under $300.
Re: My two cents…
Currently I just use DirecTV’s built in guide, I guess I don’t understand why Tivo doesn’t give you the option to record without getting the guide thingy…
I don’t understand why you would want to just use it as a glorified VCR….
In any case I also remembered that there was a pretty good deal on the Sony DTV receiver at the Sony outlet down in Wrentham. If I remember correctly it was under $300.
Well, if I was going to go the DTV route, I would get the one with integrated Tivo… But it doesn’t look like I am going to be able to get it anyway (I don’t think I have a view of the sky I need).
….and another thing
Here is a link on building a PC based PVR unit if you are interested in going that route.
http://www.maximumpc.com/reprint/ultimate_entertainment/