[cinemagary]

I have read that Tivo is possibly going to make a come back in europe, I know there are a number of pvr's out there but as I have used it when I am in the states staying at a freinds house I really like the functionality of it.
I have seen that Humax make Tivo's HD pvr so maybe there will be a chance that they will be involved does any one have any ideas or thoughts ?

[andy1249]

It has a nice interface , but isnt it limited to over the air broadcasts ... i.e. its not able to do satellite ?

If so , then there are many independant combo freeview and freesat PVR boxes that require no sub and are therefore a much better option.

They dont have the snazzy interface , but ideally the best option for the consumer has to be a sub free digital PVR.

http://www.satshop.tv/en/Digital-Rec...ombo::547.html

Im a Sky HD subscriber , given the option though , I would rather not be paying a sub for the basic recording functionality of the box.

Devices like these coming on the market are very promising ,

http://www.satshop.tv/en/Digital-Rec...ombo::547.html

[Fe_man2000]

Surely you are paying for the HD aspect as the recording side is now free. Hence SKY+ no longer costs £10 a month but SKY HD does.

not really important but just saying.

[MarkE19]

Ever since TiVo launched in the UK there have been rumours of a new unit to be released - that was back in October 2000 and nothing has been released yet . I would therefore doubt anything new is about to be released, but would love it if it was.
As already mentioned the UK just don't like subscriptions, especially if there is another free option. just because TiVo is the better PVR doesn't mean the UK will buy into it in large numbers. TiVo lite was released in the USA but never made it over here, and this offered much the same as you get from the current Freeview PVR's, but with the excellent TiVo interface - and was subscription free. You then had the option to upgrade to the full TiVo service (which you got as a 30 day trial anyway).
TiVo works with every TV platform as it uses an external STB to decode the signals. This has the advantage of all reception services working, but reduces the PQ and restricts you to recording a single channel at a time. In the USA there were DirecTV TiVo's that had a built in decoder, but I think most still use external STB's.
Sky wont allow TiVo to decode their channels, they lock it all down and only allow a few companies to work with their encription. So unless Sky drop their Sky+ boxes and move to a Sky TiVo you wont get a one box solution for Sky. A Freesat TiVo is possible, but the subscriptions goes against the idea of it being free for Freesat - same with Freeview.

Here's hoping, but I'm not holding my breath for a new UK TiVo.

Mark.

[andy1249]

Surely you are paying for the HD aspect as the recording side is now free. Hence SKY+ no longer costs £10 a month but SKY HD does.

I was under the impression that , regardless of whether or not the £10 fee was being charged , the box wont record without an active sub !

Also if all subs are cancelled , any programs from premium channels that were previously recorded are not playable.

Is that not correct ?

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by andy1249

the box wont record without an active sub!

Correct...you need to be paying the minimum Sky subscription.

[nbaker]

I very much doubt Tivo will return to the UK

Recently Tivo suggestions stopped working & Tivo seem to be unable/unwilling to fix this for the UK market and as such they are loosing lots of UK subscribers. More info here: TiVo Suggestions in the UK - Update - TiVo Community

I think the only way we will get Tivo again is if Nero delvelop a UK version of their LiquidTV PC Software which is based on the Tivo frontend: Nero - Nero LiquidTV Introduction

[nbaker]

Originally Posted by andy1249

the box wont record without an active sub !

By paying the sub you get access to the EPG, with no sub you can still record but only on a manual basis by pressing the record button.

[MarkE19]

I think andy1249 was talking about Sky+ when he said you needed a sub to be able to record.

Mark.

[Fe_man2000]

yeah you need a sub to make sky+ work as intended but what I mean is that you dont pay more for SKY+ over normal SKY any more - they dropped the fee a year back, BUT you pay more for SKY HD so ineffect you paying for HD not the PVR functions as they cost nothing for everyone else.

Eitherway I resent paying to just to record TV.

[Cyril]

Originally Posted by Fe_man2000

Surely you are paying for the HD aspect as the recording side is now free. Hence SKY+ no longer costs £10 a month but SKY HD does.

not really important but just saying.

You are paying for both.

The Sky+ functions for recording are subsidised by your standard Sky sub (minimum 17 quid per month) and the HD aspect is another 10quid per month on top of that.

If the recording side of Sky+ were free you would not need a sub to use it!
You can't even play back recordings that were recorded on Sky+ once you have unsubbed it. This is unlike the UK TiVo sub which allows you to watch anything you have recorded forever onwards.