Stand-alone Tivo, or wait for Comcast DVR?

[obie]

I am in a major bind.

My wife and I love Tivo. Love it love it love it cannot imagine living without it. We have it with Directv service, which is an ideal combination -- better functionality, better picture quality, and whatnot. I would recommend it to anyone anywhere.

But now, we're moving into an apartment where we will not have exposure to the southern sky, which means no Directv, which means no DirecTivo. Where we're moving the cable company is Comcast (shudder), and they are rolling out a DVR service for their digital cable subscribers. But it's not yet available where we live.

So here's our choice: Shell out $$$ plus the $12 or so monthly Tivo fee for a standalone Tivo, or wait for the Comcast DVR. Does anyone have experience with the Comcast system? Are we going to be so disappointed with the non-Directv Tivo that we will regret it? Anyone?

[MeridianFC]

COMCAST Sucks, but I'm sure you knew that.

If you wait for the combo unit it's one less piece of junk in your stereo rack, which might be an important consideration. On the other hand they might only offer the 40GB hard drive, which might be more than enough for you but maybe not. The units sold directly from DTV are only 40GB. I bought an 80GB from Best Buy (sorry) to get a little bit extra time.

Are COMCAST offering any kind of deal? I have the DTV Premier Silver Too Many *#*#*#*#ing Channels deal so they waive the Tivo fee.

K.

[ElJefe]

Get the standalone TiVo. No it's not integrated and it'll take up more space, but by this point, you've gotten so used to doing things the TiVo way that any other DVR would be, at the very least, a pain in the ass.

And it's versatile, too. I've got a standalone that was hooked up to my old DISH Network system, and now that I've switch to DirecTV, I've got it hooked up to a basic DirecTV receiver, in addition to the DirecTiVo that I've got in the den.

Oh, by the way, if you can swing it, spring for the $299 lifetime subscription. It's worth it.

[obie]

This is good stuff; thanks!