GB-PVR Can Coexist with TiVos

Yog-Sothoth · 2006-12-12, 05:29 AM

I just tried Tivoserver with a program that I recorded using GB-PVR, and the results were impressive. It scaled the 1080i program to a size needed to view it on a standard 4:3 480i TV. This is very promising, so if I drop DirecTV and go with cable, I'll still be able to use my DirecTiVos for their MRV (multi-room viewing) functionality.

ydekmekji · 2006-12-12, 05:42 PM

Why would you? I mean, why pay for Tivo on a monthly basis? Did you know GBPVR pretty much does everything Tivo claims it can do?

Yog-Sothoth · 2006-12-12, 06:18 PM

Sorry if I wasn't clear - unsubscribed DirecTiVos can still function for MRV, so programs recorded with GB-PVR can be viewed on them using Tivoserver. Unsubscribed standalone TiVos are only good for doorstops.

Ted the Penguin · 2006-12-12, 07:41 PM

gigantic tivo branded much less functional MVPs, but hey at least you get to keep that cute little TV looking thing around

nitrogen_widget · 2006-12-13, 02:10 PM

If I wasn't afraid of killing my directv tivo i'd do it.

ubu · 2006-12-17, 10:51 AM

I was an early TiVo adopter so I've got a Series 1 box with a free lifetime subscription. (ie. I'm good until the box dies) so I keep it around. I have it plugged into my PVR-150 as a direct recording capture source (so I can into dump its recordings into my GB-PVR recordings folder, if need be).

GB-PVR can obviously do most everything TiVo can do and much, much more and is my primary PVR system. However, there's a few areas where TiVo does still win:

With a Tivo "wishlist" I can say "record anything that has Bill Maher in it". So then, as well as recording scheduled Bill Maher shows ("Real Time") it will also record the Larry King show if Bill Maher guest hosts it, old sitcom episodes where Bill was a guest star, talk shows that have Bill as a guest, unscheduled Bill Maher specials, etc. etc.

You can create wishlists based on actor, director, category or title or you can use a simple keyword match. So I can have a wishlist for "any movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock" or "any documentary about history" or "anything that has to do with 'dwile flonking' ".

TiVo also lets you "vote" for shows (using little thumbs up/thumbs down keys on your remote). After a while, it develops a profile of what it thinks you like and then makes suggestions for shows to record (a bit like Amazon does with books, only the TiVo algorithm seems less brain-damaged).

Most people I know who use a TiVo cite these two features as the primary reason they own one. I've been waiting for somebody to write a plugin to do the wishlist thing for GB-PVR. If my TiVo box dies, I'll have to write it myself.

I also think TiVo's Season Pass Manager is a bit easier to use and offers a few more options than GB-PVR's equivalent functionality for maintaining scheduled recordings. (I like "Record all episodes on all channels" and "Keep Until [Space needed | x number of days | Forever ]" for instance).