| Author |
Message |
Jaz
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:34 pm Post subject:
Panasonic vs Tivo (software interface) |
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I'd like to take the plunge into the world of DVR's, and I'd like to
know if Panasonic's user interface is as nice as Tivo's.
So I asked a friend about Panasonic vs Tivo, and in an off-the-cuff
remark he said "they all use the same software." If not true, then
which one use what? Which is nicer?
A while back I decided on the Panasonic becauseI simply wanted to
replace my VCR, and... well, for these other items:
1. Doesn't record all the time - just when I tell it to. I'm not a TV
junkie, so just watching the programs I've setup is fine for me.
Ithought it would also be nice not to have the drive spinning all the
time. (Don't talk to me about hard drive noise -- I've been there,
done that.) I know I'll be happier if the pvr sit's quietly and spins
up only for 4-6 hours per week that I'll actually be
recording/watching shows to/from the hard drive.
2. Has VCRplus+. That is, so long as VCR+ isn't going away. I believe
it's important to keep recurring costs down, so I'm determined to not
subscribe to a Tivo-like service. I understand that Tivo's lifetime
subscrip, compared to the monthly, pays off in approx two years... but
it's not transferrable, so it's not really a lifetime subscrip.
3. Has a DVD-RAM. (bear with me) I'm looking at a slim slot-drive for
a small, always-on PC that does dvd-ram/dvd±rw, which I would use if
Tivo or Pana software doesn't do nice DVD authoring (for playing
recorded shows on generic dvd players)... so...anyway, I figured that
dvd-ram might be a more robust format for moving stuff around.
I should also say that I know the Tivo (1st gen anyway) was hackable,
and I considered putting a network card in, making it so I could
telent in from anywhere to kick off a recording that I forgot to
program earlier, etc. But I'm not into that now, and I want this thing
to last as long as the VCR I'm using, which I purchased in 1987.
Comments Welcome!!
TIA...Jaz
(please excuse the burp when replying)
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Wes Newell
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:30 am Post subject:
Re: Panasonic vs Tivo (software interface) |
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On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 19:34:08 +0000, Jaz wrote:
| Quote: | A while back I decided on the Panasonic becauseI simply wanted to
replace my VCR, and... well, for these other items:
1. Doesn't record all the time - just when I tell it to. I'm not a TV
junkie, so just watching the programs I've setup is fine for me.
Ithought it would also be nice not to have the drive spinning all the
time. (Don't talk to me about hard drive noise -- I've been there,
done that.) I know I'll be happier if the pvr sit's quietly and spins
up only for 4-6 hours per week that I'll actually be
recording/watching shows to/from the hard drive.
2. Has VCRplus+. That is, so long as VCR+ isn't going away. I believe
it's important to keep recurring costs down, so I'm determined to not
subscribe to a Tivo-like service. I understand that Tivo's lifetime
subscrip, compared to the monthly, pays off in approx two years... but
it's not transferrable, so it's not really a lifetime subscrip.
3. Has a DVD-RAM. (bear with me) I'm looking at a slim slot-drive for
a small, always-on PC that does dvd-ram/dvd±rw, which I would use if
Tivo or Pana software doesn't do nice DVD authoring (for playing
recorded shows on generic dvd players)... so...anyway, I figured that
dvd-ram might be a more robust format for moving stuff around.
I should also say that I know the Tivo (1st gen anyway) was hackable,
and I considered putting a network card in, making it so I could
telent in from anywhere to kick off a recording that I forgot to
program earlier, etc. But I'm not into that now, and I want this thing
to last as long as the VCR I'm using, which I purchased in 1987.
Comments Welcome!!
|
My brother has one of the DMR-E80H's are whatever model with the DVR
writer and loves it. But to get a HD to last 17 years s just a little too
much to ask for. I don't know what OS it runs on, but the HD is more than
likely going to fail within at least 10 years, so the real question is
can the HD be changed easily when it fails. And the answer for me is I
don't know. I know as long as you have a backup image you can replace a
defective tivo drive. Takes a litlle work, but most can probably do it.
I've also got an RCA DRS7000N recorder and to replace the drive in it just
plug in a new one, power up and push the format buttons and you're back in
business real easy.
--
Abit KT7-Raid (KT133) Tbred B core CPU @2400MHz (24x100FSB)
http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm |
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Gordon Burditt
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:53 am Post subject:
Re: Panasonic vs Tivo (software interface) |
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| Quote: | I'd like to take the plunge into the world of DVR's, and I'd like to
know if Panasonic's user interface is as nice as Tivo's.
|
I have a Series 1 TiVo, and I recently got a Panasonic E85 DVD recorder.
Why? Well, the Panasonic is mostly for transferring shows from VHS
to DVD.
| Quote: | So I asked a friend about Panasonic vs Tivo, and in an off-the-cuff
remark he said "they all use the same software." If not true, then
which one use what? Which is nicer?
|
The Panasonic obviously has a whole lot of software that lets you
edit and copy to DVD. The Series 1 TiVo doesn't have a DVD drive.
It also doesn't let you edit programs. The appearance of the
menus and such are very different.
From what I've seen of the TV guide on the Panasonic, it sucks
compared to TiVo. It doesn't appear to know what episode is on,
nor does it let you avoid recording recent repeats. TiVo's season
passes have spoiled me on that point. So, I don't use the Panasonic
TV Guide. The Series 1 TiVo records what I want to watch. The
Panasonic burns to DVD what I want to save, and plays DVDs.
Transferring from VCR to the Panasonic or TiVo to the Panasonic is
easy (yes, it can be time-consuming, but then I can start transferring
a whole VHS tape, go to sleep, 6 hours later it finishes, and I
shut it off a few hours after that). I like that nice title screen
the TiVo produces with the "Save to VCR" function.
| Quote: | A while back I decided on the Panasonic becauseI simply wanted to
replace my VCR, and... well, for these other items:
1. Doesn't record all the time - just when I tell it to. I'm not a TV
junkie, so just watching the programs I've setup is fine for me.
|
You can turn off TiVo suggestions if you want. This has nothing to
do with whether the hard drive is spinning, though.
| Quote: | Ithought it would also be nice not to have the drive spinning all the
time. (Don't talk to me about hard drive noise -- I've been there,
done that.) I know I'll be happier if the pvr sit's quietly and spins
up only for 4-6 hours per week that I'll actually be
recording/watching shows to/from the hard drive.
|
How can you even tell?
| Quote: | 2. Has VCRplus+. That is, so long as VCR+ isn't going away. I believe
|
Actually, I thought it went away years ago, and I almost forgot it
existed, until I saw it on the Panasonic remote control.
| Quote: | it's important to keep recurring costs down, so I'm determined to not
subscribe to a Tivo-like service. I understand that Tivo's lifetime
subscrip, compared to the monthly, pays off in approx two years... but
it's not transferrable, so it's not really a lifetime subscrip.
3. Has a DVD-RAM. (bear with me) I'm looking at a slim slot-drive for
a small, always-on PC that does dvd-ram/dvd±rw, which I would use if
Tivo or Pana software doesn't do nice DVD authoring (for playing
recorded shows on generic dvd players)... so...anyway, I figured that
dvd-ram might be a more robust format for moving stuff around.
|
From reading the Panasonic documentation, it appears you can't
finalize DVD-RAM (doing so would also be a waste of comparatively
expensive media), so it can't be used in generic DVD players. I
also don't recall seeing any generic DVD players that take caddys.
| Quote: | I should also say that I know the Tivo (1st gen anyway) was hackable,
and I considered putting a network card in, making it so I could
telent in from anywhere to kick off a recording that I forgot to
program earlier, etc. But I'm not into that now, and I want this thing
to last as long as the VCR I'm using, which I purchased in 1987.
|
Hard drives are unlikely to last 17 years.
Gordon L. Burditt |
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Mary
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 30, 2004 5:36 am Post subject:
Re: Panasonic vs Tivo (software interface) |
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I bought the Panasonic DMR-E85S with TV Guide (and VCR+) -- returned
it -- HATED IT!! --
the list of channels appeared to be random (i'm sure there was some
logic but I couldn't figure it out) - wasn't numerical, wasn't
alphabetical etc.
and rest of the user interface was the most unintuitive ever -- (I am
fairly knowledgable -- have both a TIVO and Replay) - wanted one I
could record TV and copy to DVD to take on the road with me -- don't
care about editing --
Bought a Humax Series 2 TIVO DRT-800 -- LOVE IT!!
installed easily -- can write to DVD-R AND RW (Panasonic only R -- yes
DVD-RAM but my PC can't play them)
fabulous TIVO interface with - AND with digital cable box with serial
cable works beautifully changing channels - (Panasonic only IR
interface) --
good shopping
On 29 Oct 2004 21:53:09 GMT, gordonb.u3w8q@burditt.org (Gordon
Burditt) wrote:
| Quote: | I'd like to take the plunge into the world of DVR's, and I'd like to
know if Panasonic's user interface is as nice as Tivo's.
I have a Series 1 TiVo, and I recently got a Panasonic E85 DVD recorder.
Why? Well, the Panasonic is mostly for transferring shows from VHS
to DVD.
So I asked a friend about Panasonic vs Tivo, and in an off-the-cuff
remark he said "they all use the same software." If not true, then
which one use what? Which is nicer?
The Panasonic obviously has a whole lot of software that lets you
edit and copy to DVD. The Series 1 TiVo doesn't have a DVD drive.
It also doesn't let you edit programs. The appearance of the
menus and such are very different.
From what I've seen of the TV guide on the Panasonic, it sucks
compared to TiVo. It doesn't appear to know what episode is on,
nor does it let you avoid recording recent repeats. TiVo's season
passes have spoiled me on that point. So, I don't use the Panasonic
TV Guide. The Series 1 TiVo records what I want to watch. The
Panasonic burns to DVD what I want to save, and plays DVDs.
Transferring from VCR to the Panasonic or TiVo to the Panasonic is
easy (yes, it can be time-consuming, but then I can start transferring
a whole VHS tape, go to sleep, 6 hours later it finishes, and I
shut it off a few hours after that). I like that nice title screen
the TiVo produces with the "Save to VCR" function.
A while back I decided on the Panasonic becauseI simply wanted to
replace my VCR, and... well, for these other items:
1. Doesn't record all the time - just when I tell it to. I'm not a TV
junkie, so just watching the programs I've setup is fine for me.
You can turn off TiVo suggestions if you want. This has nothing to
do with whether the hard drive is spinning, though.
Ithought it would also be nice not to have the drive spinning all the
time. (Don't talk to me about hard drive noise -- I've been there,
done that.) I know I'll be happier if the pvr sit's quietly and spins
up only for 4-6 hours per week that I'll actually be
recording/watching shows to/from the hard drive.
How can you even tell?
2. Has VCRplus+. That is, so long as VCR+ isn't going away. I believe
Actually, I thought it went away years ago, and I almost forgot it
existed, until I saw it on the Panasonic remote control.
it's important to keep recurring costs down, so I'm determined to not
subscribe to a Tivo-like service. I understand that Tivo's lifetime
subscrip, compared to the monthly, pays off in approx two years... but
it's not transferrable, so it's not really a lifetime subscrip.
3. Has a DVD-RAM. (bear with me) I'm looking at a slim slot-drive for
a small, always-on PC that does dvd-ram/dvd±rw, which I would use if
Tivo or Pana software doesn't do nice DVD authoring (for playing
recorded shows on generic dvd players)... so...anyway, I figured that
dvd-ram might be a more robust format for moving stuff around.
From reading the Panasonic documentation, it appears you can't
finalize DVD-RAM (doing so would also be a waste of comparatively
expensive media), so it can't be used in generic DVD players. I
also don't recall seeing any generic DVD players that take caddys.
I should also say that I know the Tivo (1st gen anyway) was hackable,
and I considered putting a network card in, making it so I could
telent in from anywhere to kick off a recording that I forgot to
program earlier, etc. But I'm not into that now, and I want this thing
to last as long as the VCR I'm using, which I purchased in 1987.
Hard drives are unlikely to last 17 years.
Gordon L. Burditt |
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