Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 $999.99 I repeat... $999.99 That's insane! A regular HD receiver costs about $300 now. So I'm supposed to pay another $700 for TiVo? TiVo is cool but it's not THAT cool. Considering you can now purchase a plain old low-def DirecTV box w/TiVo for $79.99 $999.99 seems a bit steep to me. Hopefully noone buys these at this price point. They'll be forced to drop the price down if they don't move any units, a la N-Gage last year. If anyone from Hughes is reading, you can talk me into $500, $300 for HD, $200 for TiVo, but you will never ever EVER talk me into spending $700 just to add TiVo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 well, the reason is simple. HD is MUCH higher quality video. I do NOT know the specific #'s, but say to Tivo a regular TV show, it takes 5 Megs per minute of video. For HD, that number would be MANY, MANY times that amount. You are simply paying for a HUGE, ENORMOUS, Hard Drive. It makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 well, the reason is simple. HD is MUCH higher quality video. I do NOT know the specific #'s, but say to Tivo a regular TV show, it takes 5 Megs per minute of video. For HD, that number would be MANY, MANY times that amount. You are simply paying for a HUGE, ENORMOUS, Hard Drive. It makes sense. 44865[/snapback] Unfortunately, hard drives just aren't that expensive... I don't believe that is the reason for the price point at all. I believe that it is because that is the first one out on the market with those features. They'll sell as many as they can then drop it. A year from now the price will be $600 and hard drive technology won't be that much cheaper. Seriously, for $1000 I can buy a pretty decent COMPUTER with a video capture card that will do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 In addition, I just checked the specs. It only records 30 hours in HD, 200 in SD. that means the hard drive is the same size as the SD units they are charging about $350 for. 2 tandem 120 GB drives. 1 120GB internal drive costs about $80, so 2 is $160 So allowing for the $300 that the stand alone receiver costs, plus the 160 for the drive space still leaves 640 dollars to get to the $1000.00 price point. As I said, they are hosing us. They also have units that record 70 hours in HD for $1600 and (check this out) 77 hours for $2000. that's $300 for SEVEN additional hours. You go from 30 to 70 for $600 then 70 to 77 for $300? Hughes needs to get real... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 $999.99 I repeat... $999.99 That's insane! A regular HD receiver costs about $300 now. So I'm supposed to pay another $700 for TiVo? TiVo is cool but it's not THAT cool. Considering you can now purchase a plain old low-def DirecTV box w/TiVo for $79.99 $999.99 seems a bit steep to me. Hopefully noone buys these at this price point. They'll be forced to drop the price down if they don't move any units, a la N-Gage last year. If anyone from Hughes is reading, you can talk me into $500, $300 for HD, $200 for TiVo, but you will never ever EVER talk me into spending $700 just to add TiVo... 44863[/snapback] I challenge you to build a computer capable of doing what the HR19-250 can do for only $1,000. First of all, it can record two off-the-air HD shows at the same time; in essence, it's two HD receivers in one. Taking your quote of $300 for the regular HD receiver, that's $600 right there since it has two tuners. Next, it has a 250G harddrive. Without rebates, that costs another $150. If you shop around, get a good rebate, you might be able to get that down to $100. So you're up to $700. But it can also record two standard DirecTV shows at the same time as well, so it has two regular DirecTV tuners -- let's say $100, putting the total at $800 (not that you can buy that for a PC, but I'm looking at component costs for DirecTV). You're then paying the extra $200 for the "early adopter" tax. Sounds reasonable to me. Oh, and TONS of people are buying these -- they have been VERY difficult to find anywhere, but supply seems to be catching up to demand a little bit. I agree that on the surface, it sounds extremely expensive. But when you look at what's going into the box, it's actually relatively reasonable. Also, I don't think that DirecTV is subsidizing any of the cost, which also explains the high price tag -- when you buy your $99 DirecTV/Tivo combo box, DirecTV is actually paying part of the hardware cost of the box for you. Same thing when you get a regular DirecTV receiver with the "get 5 rooms free" deals. And if you shop around, you can get it for $899. http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showt...threadid=196670 CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 In addition, I just checked the specs. It only records 30 hours in HD, 200 in SD. that means the hard drive is the same size as the SD units they are charging about $350 for. 2 tandem 120 GB drives. 1 120GB internal drive costs about $80, so 2 is $160 So allowing for the $300 that the stand alone receiver costs, plus the 160 for the drive space still leaves 640 dollars to get to the $1000.00 price point. As I said, they are hosing us. They also have units that record 70 hours in HD for $1600 and (check this out) 77 hours for $2000. that's $300 for SEVEN additional hours. You go from 30 to 70 for $600 then 70 to 77 for $300? Hughes needs to get real... 44901[/snapback] It's actually 1 250G drive internal. Where are you getting the units that record 70 hours and 77 hours from? I've never heard of such devices... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckner's Glove Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Personally, I don't want to own the "first model" anyway. Give them a year or two to work out the bugs and for the competition to make similar products. The end product will be better and the price will be drastically less. Regular SD Tivos used to cost a hell of a lot more than they do today - now they cost next to nothing. A nice option for checking out HD is to get a cheap ($100-$150) HD OTA receiver and a $25 antenna. I just did and the picture quality is amazing! Plus there's no subscription necessary or additional DirecTV costs. In Rochester we now get ABC, FOX, NBC, and PBS. Sadly, CBS is lagging behind in Rochester, so no HD Bills games. Buffalo has CBS already, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 http://www.weaknees.com/direct_tv_tivo.php#hr10 They are toward the bottom of the page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 http://www.weaknees.com/direct_tv_tivo.php#hr10 They are toward the bottom of the page. 44911[/snapback] Well you can't blame Hughes for those prices! Weaknees just mods the boxes themselves. You can buy your own HDTiVo and a second harddrive and add it in yourself if you want to. I've done that to both of my regular DirecTV/TiVos and it's pretty easy. That's not Hughes ripping you off - you're paying Weaknees for the harddrive and for their time/expertise in upgrading it for you. The docs are online to do it for free. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 Well you can't blame Hughes for those prices! Weaknees just mods the boxes themselves. You can buy your own HDTiVo and a second harddrive and add it in yourself if you want to. I've done that to both of my regular DirecTV/TiVos and it's pretty easy. That's not Hughes ripping you off - you're paying Weaknees for the harddrive and for their time/expertise in upgrading it for you. The docs are online to do it for free. CW 44915[/snapback] You are correct, my apologies. But $1000 is still ridiculous and that is them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 You are correct, my apologies. But $1000 is still ridiculous and that is them. 44917[/snapback] Maybe to you, but there's thousands of people who disagree. You said you could build a computer capable of doing the same thing for $1,000. I havn't seen your price breakdown yet. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 Maybe to you, but there's thousands of people who disagree. You said you could build a computer capable of doing the same thing for $1,000. I havn't seen your price breakdown yet. CW 44920[/snapback] That 1000 would be in addition to what I already have ;-) My point was that they are marketing this to new HD customers, hence the direct mail piece i got yesterday, but for the 700 additional they want for tiVo I can get a bigger/nicer HDTV and still have DirecTV in HD. People may be buying it, in fact I'm sure they are. It doesn't mean they aren't getting ripped off for being the first person on the block to have one, which is normal. I'm annoyed because I've intentionally been waiting for the unit to come out and the price is about double what I'm willing to pay for it since the price of HD DirecTV w/o TiVo has dropped by about 200 this past year. TiVo's worth about 200 bucks to me, maybe 300 but certainly not 700, that prices it well beyond other recording devices. In addition you have to then pay for the TiVo service? That's a little ballsy too. $1000, just to fork over another 60/year to use the thing. Whatever, I know you're right I'm just bitching about it. The technology still doesn't cost that much though, we're just on the wrong end of the supply/demand curve and there aren't many competitors yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 That 1000 would be in addition to what I already have ;-) My point was that they are marketing this to new HD customers, hence the direct mail piece i got yesterday, but for the 700 additional they want for tiVo I can get a bigger/nicer HDTV and still have DirecTV in HD. People may be buying it, in fact I'm sure they are. It doesn't mean they aren't getting ripped off for being the first person on the block to have one, which is normal. I'm annoyed because I've intentionally been waiting for the unit to come out and the price is about double what I'm willing to pay for it since the price of HD DirecTV w/o TiVo has dropped by about 200 this past year. TiVo's worth about 200 bucks to me, maybe 300 but certainly not 700, that prices it well beyond other recording devices. In addition you have to then pay for the TiVo service? That's a little ballsy too. $1000, just to fork over another 60/year to use the thing. Whatever, I know you're right I'm just bitching about it. The technology still doesn't cost that much though, we're just on the wrong end of the supply/demand curve and there aren't many competitors yet. 44939[/snapback] Cheater But it's *not* an additional $700. At most, it's only $400 if you assume that this $1,000 is the equivelent of two receivers in one (since it records TWO HD shows at once). I think you're missing that fact. I had a regular HD receiver that I got for free from DirecTV. I realized that I'd never use it because I timeshift *everything* so I sold it. Not being able to watch TV on my schedule wasn't worth it. Is it expensive? Hell yeah. But it's actually about what I was expecting it would be... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 IMO, pressing "record" on the VCR is not so difficult as to justify spending $700 on TiVo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 IMO, pressing "record" on the VCR is not so difficult as to justify spending $700 on TiVo. 45011[/snapback] TIVO is alot more than "record" - it changes the way you watch TV. It's easy for people who don't have one to make jokes. Once you have it you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cåblelady Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 TIVO is alot more than "record" - it changes the way you watch TV. It's easy for people who don't have one to make jokes. Once you have it you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. 45034[/snapback] My DVR is free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 My DVR is free. 45036[/snapback] Nothing is free. I have a DVR on my other TV. It really doesn't compare to TIVO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Because I TIVO everything, I rarely turn on my hi-def DSS because I have so much recorded on my standard receiver which uses the TIVO. The hi-def receiver only ever comes on for football. I only recently made a commitment to watch some regular TV in hi-def, starting with my favorite show "Law and Order" and one of my spouse's favorite shows "Third Watch." Holy shamolie! It is definitely time for a hi-def TIVO. Once the price comes down a bit. You've already seen them go from $1500 to under $900 in a short time span. In no time at all they'll be at $500. And THEN it will be time to make the plunge. The guy from Alaska is correct, incidentally. Even if all you COULD do with TIVO is record stuff, it kills a VCR, if for on other reason than to skip through commericals at the speed of sound. My personal favorite TIVO feature is pausing live TV. Phone rings...someone at the door...and BOOM!...you're not missing a thing. Then BOOM! you go back to watching. Then BOOM! you pause it again while you take the Turducken out of the oven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Because I TIVO everything, I rarely turn on my hi-def DSS because I have so much recorded on my standard receiver which uses the TIVO. The hi-def receiver only ever comes on for football. I only recently made a commitment to watch some regular TV in hi-def, starting with my favorite show "Law and Order" and one of my spouse's favorite shows "Third Watch." Holy shamolie! It is definitely time for a hi-def TIVO. Once the price comes down a bit. You've already seen them go from $1500 to under $900 in a short time span. In no time at all they'll be at $500. And THEN it will be time to make the plunge. The guy from Alaska is correct, incidentally. Even if all you COULD do with TIVO is record stuff, it kills a VCR, if for on other reason than to skip through commericals at the speed of sound. My personal favorite TIVO feature is pausing live TV. Phone rings...someone at the door...and BOOM!...you're not missing a thing. Then BOOM! you go back to watching. Then BOOM! you pause it again while you take the Turducken out of the oven. 45048[/snapback] Yup, that's why I sold my high-def receiver... And as you said, TIVO is a hell of a lot more than a VCR; you don't need to know when anything is on, the TIVO does it for you. For example, last year we told it to record Law and Order, CSI, Grounded for Life, 8 Simple Rules, amongst other things. This season we just sit back and wait and they'll all be automatically without any intervention from us. Don't care what day the show starts, don't care what new time it's on, etc. Automatically will be there when I look. And CL -- a cable DVR is *nothing* like a TiVo - you'd have to see it to understand though CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Yup, that's why I sold my high-def receiver... And as you said, TIVO is a hell of a lot more than a VCR; you don't need to know when anything is on, the TIVO does it for you. For example, last year we told it to record Law and Order, CSI, Grounded for Life, 8 Simple Rules, amongst other things. This season we just sit back and wait and they'll all be automatically without any intervention from us. Don't care what day the show starts, don't care what new time it's on, etc. Automatically will be there when I look. And CL -- a cable DVR is *nothing* like a TiVo - you'd have to see it to understand though CW 45099[/snapback] ..and I've had times where I haven't been home in time for the start of the game. No problem with TIVO. I can start watching from the beginning, FF through commercials (and replay reviews), and, if I'm really interested in catching up to "real time," FF through half-time, or even between plays if I am really desparate. I think I remember sitting down to watch the Eagles game last year at 2:30, watching all the plays, but managing to watch the end live. I've considered the HD receiver route, as I watch most of the stuff I record upstairs on my SD TV, but would like to "experience" HD. Holding out because the HD channel selection on DIRECTV seems pretty thin. I've already seen the two documentaries they show on DISCOVERY HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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