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Randy S.
Guest
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 Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Jeff Rife wrote:
| Quote: | MegaZone (newsREMOVE@THISmegazone.org) wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:
It is intended to deter people from getting the unit cheap, activating
it just long enough to get their rebate, then cancelling it and
reselling the box. Or hacking it to work without a subscription.
More than one hack site has encouraged people to do just that kind of
thing.
I fear the day when enough people are using "cracked" TiVos to allow manual
recording without subscription that TiVo feels the need to shut down all
hacks, including larger hard drive installs.
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You know it. That's why these sites are so bad. And that's why
questions that even border on it are greeted with so much hostility here.
Randy S.
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Doug Warner
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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newsREMOVE@THISmegazone.org (MegaZone) wrote:
| Quote: | It is a similar mentality to people who buy some tool they need for a
project, use it, the return it as 'the wrong item'. I've seen people
encourage others to do that many times. It always astounds me that
people think that's somehow acceptable.
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I watched some thief in a home depot returning a high pressure paint
sprayer that was so covered with paint that he must have done ten
houses with it. I asked why he was returning it. and he said that the
nozzle was clogged..
The store people were about to take it back. They should have had
him arrested for fraud instead.
--
Email reply: please remove one letter from each side of "@"
Spammers are Scammers. Exterminate them. |
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GMAN
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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In article <newscache$bbsdoi$ybn$1@sidehack.gweep.net>, newsREMOVE@THISmegazone.org (MegaZone) wrote:
| Quote: | Doug Warner <dwarner22@ccharter.net> shaped the electrons to say:
The store people were about to take it back. They should have had
him arrested for fraud instead.
WAY back in high school I worked the service desk at a drug store and
from time to time we had winners like that too. One lady tried to
return a bottle of Lysol she claimed she'd bought earlier in the week,
and was returning because the nozzle was broken. She didn't want a
new bottle, of course, she wanted her money back.
The bottle sure did have a broken nozzle. It was also of a design
Lysol hadn't used for a while, certainly not one we had in stock the
entire year I worked there - it looked a few years old. The price
sticker, which was faded, was not of the type we used at the time.
And, of course, no receipt.
When I pointed these minor details out, she blew her top. I let one
of the managers deal with her.
I've been the victim of these jerks too. Some people will buy an item
and use it up - like a grill lighter, battery, etc - then go buy a new
one, put the old one in the new package, and return the 'new' one.
Which gets restocked, and some poor sap, like me, buys it - then has
to look like the jerk when you return it. "No, really, it was empty
when I got it home!"
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Ya know , in most states, what you the retailer has just done is very illegal.
It is illegal to repackage or shrinkwrap an item and resell it as new on the
shelf. i sure hope you marked it as returned or open box item.
| Quote: | I've seen things like "Oh, just get a crimper from CompUSA and return
it when you're done with it" on TiVo groups for people making Ethernet
cables. Or suggestions for people to do the same with *hard drives*
when they need an extra drive to shuffle things around.
Borrow from your friends, if they can't help, suck it up and pay for
it. If you don't need it - eBay it later, or just keep it and then
next time someone needs it, lend it to them.
Feh.
-MZ |
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MegaZone
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:34 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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glenzabr@xmission.com (GMAN) shaped the electrons to say:
| Quote: | Ya know , in most states, what you the retailer has just done is very illegal.
It is illegal to repackage or shrinkwrap an item and resell it as new on the
shelf. i sure hope you marked it as returned or open box item.
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I don't think you read what I wrote. I'm the sap buying the restocked
item, not the one restocking it.
And when people do this they usually reseal it and claim they never
opened it. So the retailer doesn't know. "Oh, I got it home and it
was the wrong thing." You can't aways tell when something is opened.
-MZ
--
<URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org> Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-852-2171
<URL:http://www.megazone.org/> <URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/> Eris |
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DG
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:03 pm Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Ablang wrote:
| Quote: |
TiVo Killers?—Windows PVRs
The PVR is quickly becoming the way people watch TV. TiVo popularized
the idea of a set-top box that lets you pause live TV, time-shift it,
skip commercials, and see all your listings on a single program guide.
With a great remote and intuitive interface, TiVo has become so
well-loved that it has become a verb synonymous with controlling your
TV programming. "Did you see Battlestar Galactica last night?" "No,
but I TiVo'd it."
Microsoft recognized that with a decent TV tuner card, the PC could be
a great PVR. It could do anything TiVo does, plus run Windows
applications, and would make quite a good DVD player, music jukebox,
and photo viewer. Though Windows Media Center Edition started off on
rocky footing, the 2005 edition made a whole host of improvements, and
more will come in the next month with the massive "Rollup 2" patch.
Let's say you don't have Media Center Edition and don't want to wipe
your drive and install it. You have Windows XP and simply want to add
a TV tuner card and PVR type functions so you can hook your PC to your
TV or sit across the room from your large monitor and enjoy all the
benefits of TiVo.
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Except for being able to leave the machine on like I have done with my
Tivo for over a year. The problem for MSFT is that they need a stable
operating system to exploit this killer app.
-= https://home.comcast.net/~d.j.go/ =- |
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John in Detroit
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:36 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Randy, this concept of tying a rebate to a service contract has been
around a long time, at least 15 years. It's new to digital video
recorders however
So, where was it 15 years ago? Answer: The cell phone industry
Yup, cell phones 19.95 (299.95 w/o activation and a 2 year contract)
Now days you see "FREE CELL PHONE" signs everywhere you go
(Free with activation and 2 year contract that is)
Randy S. wrote:
| Quote: |
Of course, if you get lifetime service, you get the rebate and there's
no 'contract'. Honest people who are buying the device with the
intent of using it are in no way touched by this requirement...it's
the people who want to dishonestly collect the rebate. As an honest
user, I'm COMPLETELY fine with it.
That's great, and I agree, but I've never even *heard* of a contract
controversy. Do you think that it's the rebate thing they are referring
to? It certainly seems to be a non-issue.
Randy S.
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--
John F Davis, in Delightful Detroit. WA8YXM(at)arrl(dot)net
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"
Diabetic? http://community.compuserve.com/diabetes |
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Randy S.
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Oct 16, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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John in Detroit wrote:
| Quote: | Randy, this concept of tying a rebate to a service contract has been
around a long time, at least 15 years. It's new to digital video
recorders however
So, where was it 15 years ago? Answer: The cell phone industry
Yup, cell phones 19.95 (299.95 w/o activation and a 2 year contract)
Now days you see "FREE CELL PHONE" signs everywhere you go
(Free with activation and 2 year contract that is)
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I think you misunderstood me. I know the concept of the contract-tied
rebate. It's the fact that there's supposed to be some type of
controversy over the Tivo contract that puzzles me. I haven't seen any
evidence of any controversy.
Randy S. |
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John in Detroit
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Oh, well I'm saying that is there is a controversy I don't understand
why, I mean this type of thing has been around a long, long, time
Or in other words... Bring a magnifying glass and READ THE FINE PRINT.
(I use Firefox... Built in magnifying glass for fine print :-) )
Randy S. wrote:
| Quote: | John in Detroit wrote:
Randy, this concept of tying a rebate to a service contract has been
around a long time, at least 15 years. It's new to digital video
recorders however
So, where was it 15 years ago? Answer: The cell phone industry
Yup, cell phones 19.95 (299.95 w/o activation and a 2 year contract)
Now days you see "FREE CELL PHONE" signs everywhere you go
(Free with activation and 2 year contract that is)
I think you misunderstood me. I know the concept of the contract-tied
rebate. It's the fact that there's supposed to be some type of
controversy over the Tivo contract that puzzles me. I haven't seen any
evidence of any controversy.
Randy S.
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--
John F Davis, in Delightful Detroit. WA8YXM(at)arrl(dot)net
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"
Diabetic? http://community.compuserve.com/diabetes |
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C. Sowash
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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On 14-Oct-2005, "Z Man" <z1z@hotmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Windows MC2005 is not a great PVR, it is a hassle and a nuisance (amd I
repeating myself?). I have several Tivo's including two hidef Tivo's and an
HP z545 Media Center 2005 computer. The Tivo's are extremely user friendly,
and work efficiently and accurately with a minimum of effort. The have a
specific job, and do that job wonderfully. On the other hand, the HP takes a
lot more work and its functionality is limited. The HP cannot do everything
Tivo can due, no where near it. The key factor in favor of Tivo is ease of
use, in which Tivo excels. Thee is simply no comparison, Tivo wins by a
large margin. So, why do I have a Media Center PC? I use it for content that
cannot be played any other way. For example, you can download TV shows in
HDTV format from newsgroups such as alt.binaries.multimeda. These hidef
shows look just great, but the only way to play them is through a computer.
Sure, I can record two HDTV shows at the same time with Tivo, but if a 3rd
show is on at the same time, I must download it. That's principally what I
use my HP for, as I have no choice. In order to cover all bases, you need to
have both Tivo and a media center computer.
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This is a useful message, but how about putting in an occasional paragraph
break to make it easier to read? |
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Matt Mac Donagh
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:10 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to the
operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a TiVo.
"Z Man" <z1z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ZTM3f.5355$t43.4918@trndny02...
| Quote: |
"Ablang" <HilaryDuffSkinny18YO@ablang-duff.com> wrote in message
news:rskuk1dggjdjmqfc8s3tf91nkmn6jm1o22@4ax.com...
TiVo Killers?-Windows PVRs
The PVR is quickly becoming the way people watch TV. TiVo popularized
the idea of a set-top box that lets you pause live TV, time-shift it,
skip commercials, and see all your listings on a single program guide.
With a great remote and intuitive interface, TiVo has become so
well-loved that it has become a verb synonymous with controlling your
TV programming. "Did you see Battlestar Galactica last night?" "No,
but I TiVo'd it."
Microsoft recognized that with a decent TV tuner card, the PC could be
a great PVR. It could do anything TiVo does, plus run Windows
snip
Windows MC2005 is not a great PVR, it is a hassle and a nuisance (amd I
repeating myself?). I have several Tivo's including two hidef Tivo's and
an HP z545 Media Center 2005 computer. The Tivo's are extremely user
friendly, and work efficiently and accurately with a minimum of effort.
The have a specific job, and do that job wonderfully. On the other hand,
the HP takes a lot more work and its functionality is limited. The HP
cannot do everything Tivo can due, no where near it. The key factor in
favor of Tivo is ease of use, in which Tivo excels. Thee is simply no
comparison, Tivo wins by a large margin. So, why do I have a Media Center
PC? I use it for content that cannot be played any other way. For example,
you can download TV shows in HDTV format from newsgroups such as
alt.binaries.multimeda. These hidef shows look just great, but the only
way to play them is through a computer. Sure, I can record two HDTV shows
at the same time with Tivo, but if a 3rd show is on at the same time, I
must download it. That's principally what I use my HP for, as I have no
choice. In order to cover all bases, you need to have both Tivo and a
media center computer.
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Z Man
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:10 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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"Matt Mac Donagh" <gamefixer@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:prGdnaFYFbjWvMneRVn-rg@comcast.com...
| Quote: | I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to
the operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a
TiVo.
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I could not agree more. |
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Randy S.
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Gordon Burditt wrote:
| Quote: | I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to the
operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a TiVo.
We haven't had many viruses targeted at windows-based PVRs yet, but
you can expect that there will be some.
- The infomercial virus: puts a hidden #1 priority season pass for
every infomercial broadcast into the schedule, so if there's an
infomercial on, it records it instead of what you wanted recorded.
- The commercial-skip virus: when a commercial ends, it skips to
the beginning of the next one.
- The DRM virus: deletes all the recordings (except the commercials)
over 2 minutes old produced by MPAA members.
- The virtual football virus: causes recordings to start 2 minutes late
and end 2 minutes early.
Gordon L. Burditt
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Ok, Gordon, I'll give you some humor points for those ;-) Virtual
football, ha!
Randy S. |
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Gordon Burditt
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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| Quote: | I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to the
operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a TiVo.
|
We haven't had many viruses targeted at windows-based PVRs yet, but
you can expect that there will be some.
- The infomercial virus: puts a hidden #1 priority season pass for
every infomercial broadcast into the schedule, so if there's an
infomercial on, it records it instead of what you wanted recorded.
- The commercial-skip virus: when a commercial ends, it skips to
the beginning of the next one.
- The DRM virus: deletes all the recordings (except the commercials)
over 2 minutes old produced by MPAA members.
- The virtual football virus: causes recordings to start 2 minutes late
and end 2 minutes early.
Gordon L. Burditt |
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Randy S.
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Z Man wrote:
| Quote: | "Matt Mac Donagh" <gamefixer@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:prGdnaFYFbjWvMneRVn-rg@comcast.com...
I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to
the operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a
TiVo.
I could not agree more.
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Never? That's a bit strong, don't you think? There's always the
possiblity that MS might purchase Tivo and integrate the software in the
Windows Media Center ;-)
Randy S. |
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John in Detroit
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:
Re: TiVo Killers? -- Windows PVRs |
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Matt Mac Donagh wrote:
| Quote: | I've had a few WIN/PC based PVR's and they have failed to come close to the
operation of the TiVo's. A windows PVR will NEVER be as good as a TiVo.
|
Never having used a TiVo, I can't compare, However I have 3 Replays and
can there
..5The Windows based DVR card I use most (ATI TV-Wonder) has basically 3
record modes (I'm not talking about quality settings here)
I will call them: VCR-1, VCR-2 and Advanced listings mode
VCR modes are just like my Panasonic or Magnavox VCRs.
Manual: You tell it "Record for 3 hours" and it records for 3 hours or
you tell it "Record" and "Stop" and it does... Just like the VCR (VCR-1)
VCR-2: I can tell either the ATI card or the real VCR's "Record Channel
7 from 9 to 10 pm on Wendesdays" and it will
IN addition, I can use the "Tv-Guide" service much like I used to use a
VCR+ Vcr I used to have to record a show.. Just click on it, Or even
search for it, Again I can set for one time or every week or even every
day, Again, JUST like the VCRs
What I can not do is 1: Get the listings to auto-update (Though I
imagine I could schedule an event using windows scheduler) or 2: Get it
to automatically search for a show and record it (Theme channel
recording) which the Replay does quite well.
Another thing I can not get it to do is record a show and let me watch
it on a television (less I jump through hoops such as RTVTools) (or use
the MSI computer which actually has a TV out on it)
I also can not get the computer to do automatic commericial advance,
though I can get it to do a 1 or 1/2 minute jump forward
All in all... I have to agree with you... The Replay (And thus one
assumes TiVo) is easier than a Tv-Tuner card w/software
--
John F Davis, in Delightful Detroit. WA8YXM(at)arrl(dot)net
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"
Diabetic? http://community.compuserve.com/diabetes |
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