directv woes

Basically, I want this to read like a Top Gear segment, where they spend the first 90% explaining how awful the car is, then they break into how utterly majestic it is in some key aspect.

That's how I feel about the new THR22 DirecTV TiVo HD DVR. There are so many things to dislike about it. It's based on the, now very outdated, HR22 hardware platform. It's only got a SD UI instead of the TiVo Premier HD UI. The "peanut" remote that ships with it isn't as high-quality or as comfortable as the old DirecTV TiVo or a real TiVo remote. It's lacking many features of the normal TiVo Premier and even lacks some features of the HR-series DirecTV DVR. DirecTV is charging too much for it. It's not worth the extra $5 per month "TiVo tax".

But then, you use it for a while, and you forget about all that. It is utterly majestic, especially if you've suffered with the HR-series boxes, as we have in my household.

So here are the nitty gritty details:

It's basically an HR22 running a port of the TiVo software with DirecTV-specific mods (such as VoD).

In terms of the user-interface, this new TiVo is actually quite similar to the first DirecTV High-def TiVo, the HR10-250 from 2004 (the box they made me stop using in 2008, which was the original inspiration for this blog). In some ways, that's not a bad thing. The old HR10-250 TiVo interface was simple, fast, and easy to use. One could argue that you're getting an old outdated UI with this new TiVo, but for me, getting that old HR10-250 TiVo interface back via the new THR22 makes me realize how much I missed it. In other words, that eight-year-old TiVo experience is still vastly superior to the DirecTV HR-series DVR experience, at least for everyone in my household.

So that's strike one. You could argue that the interface is old and outdated.

A second strike could be that this new "peanut" remote is not as nice as the old one nor is it as high-quality and comfortable as the current stand-alone TiVo remotes. There is no "List" button on this new remote. Instead, you have to press the TiVo button twice. The arrangement of the navigation arrows and the select button is not as natural as the old HR10-250 peanut remote. The overall build quality and feel is cheap. But it's still better than the normal white DirecTV remote in all respects except that the white remote has nicer power on/off features to turn the DVR and TV on/off all in one press. Whereas with the TiVo remote, you have to turn on/off the TV separately from putting the TiVo in standby.

Those that hate the TiVo (or perhaps they really just hate TiVo zealots) argue that this new TiVo doesn't have a bunch of features that the normal HR-series DVRs have. This supposedly long list of missing features mostly boils down to no support for the Whole Home DVR service nor the DirecTV iPad app. These are legitimate gripes. But for me the trade-off in terms of the benefits of the TiVo TV experience far outweigh the loss of these features. I never wanted to pay the extra $3 per month for Whole Home DVR anyway and the iPad app is kinda cool and fun to play with, but not something that's really all that practical, at least for me. Some people say the DirecTV TiVo may support these features someday. Frankly, I doubt it, so if they're important to you, it's something to think about before getting the new TiVo.

In terms of the cost, I don't love the fact that DirecTV won't sell us any of their DVRs anymore. They only "lease" them to us, so they always come with a monthly fee.  But that's not unique to the TiVo DVR. However, there is an extra $5 per month fee for the TiVo box, in addition to the normal $7 per month DVR lease fee. This is the so-called "TiVo Tax" that TiVo haters like to talk about. However, in my case, as a lifetime TiVo subscriber, I don't have to pay this extra $5 per month, so it's not creating me any pain. But this shouldn't matter anyway. Think about it. I'm paying DirecTV over $150 per month and the TiVo is what actually makes that TV experience enjoyable, so shouldn't they get paid for that? If I'm willing to shell out $150 to DirecTV every month, doesn't it make sense for TiVo to get some of the money since TiVo is so important to the experience?

Another strike you hear from TiVo-haters is that this TiVo is using the HR22 hardware. Sure it would be nicer to be on newer hardware, but for me, the experience is what matters, not the CPU or MHZ, and so far the THR22 experience has been so much better than any HR-series box, regardless of the supposed hardware performance, that I can live with the fact that the hardware is "outdated". The one thing I do fear on this front is that there will be no updates to this thing, ever. For that reason, I hope it is so successful that neither DirecTV nor TiVo can ignore it and it gets lots of upgrades and support prospectively. Let's hope there is a THR54 some day!

I have also seen complaints about the TiVo and 30-second skip, but I don't get it because the old TiVo had it as a "secret" feature that could be enabled with remote-codes and this new one has it built-in. In my case, although I've had this feature on the TiVo and on the HR-series, I seldom use it. It seems like I spend more time repositioning after using 30-second skip than just using fast-forward - and, as I'll discuss below, the TiVo fast-forward is so much more responsive and more precise that it's my preferred way to skip commercials anyway. I suppose if you are in love with the 30-second skip on the HR-series then, apparently, you may not like the TiVo 30-second skip as much, but frankly I can't explain why.

What's worse than all that is how DirecTV intentionally cripples the box, forcing TiVo to remove many features that stand-alone TiVos support. Here's a short list of features that a real TiVo supports that DirecTV forbids:

• Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, BLOCKBUSTER On Demand
• TiVo App for iPad and the TiVo App for iPhone
• Transfer recordings to your laptop, iPod, iPhone, PSP, or other mobile device
• Transfer recordings to your computer and burn them onto a DVD disc
• YouTube
• Audio podcasts on your TV or home entertainment system with Podcaster
• View photos from Picasa or Photobucket
• Stream music from Pandora, Rhapsody, Music Choice, or Live 365

On the DirecTV site, there is a comparison table, but the features presented are clearly hand picked to favor the HR-series. Even though I don't think it's all that helpful for really appreciating the benefits of this new TiVo, below is my version of the obligatory comparison table:

Feature	HR-Series	- THR22 TiVo -	TiVo Premier
Compatible w/DirecTV	Yes	Yes	-
Share recordings with other rooms	Yes	-	Yes
Youtube	Yes	-	Yes
iPhone/ipad apps	Yes	-	Yes
Maximum Season Passes	50	unlimited	unlimited
Two-tuner switching	-	Yes	Yes
Netflix	-	-	Yes
Pandora	-	-	Yes
Peanut remote	-	Yes	Yes
Responsive FF/pause	-	Yes	Yes
Wishlists	partial	Yes	Yes
Suggestions	-	Yes	Yes
PC or Mac photo libraries on your TV	-	Yes	Yes
Recover Recently Deleted Items	-	Yes	Yes
Cost	$199 †	$199 ††	$79 †††

††† plus $19.99 per month or one-time $499.99 for Lifetime service


So there you go. This thing must suck, right?  WRONG.

As I said above, after a few days of having TiVo again with the THR22, my TV experience is simply transformed. The stress of "press... wait... press... wait..." is gone. So what is it that makes this so much better for me? Here's the short list:

1. The "Live TV" button and switching between tuners - oh that is so sweet
2. The "fast-forward" button. Okay what? Yes, having a working fast-forward button again changes things perhaps more than any other single feature for me. Smooth fast-forward (oh how I hate that jerky HR fast forward). Responsiveness and precision that lets me start fast-forwarding when I want and stop exactly where I want. How well this works on the TiVo just reminds me of how terrible this fundamental, and most common, function is on the HR-series boxes - even with the same hardware!
3. Not running out of "series links" - my wife has over 150 season passes (the HR-series has a limit of 50). Enough said.

So I would say that if you're starting from scratch (i.e. not a DirecTV customer), I might look into Cable TV with a real TiVo Premier or TiVo Premiere XL. In my case that would have meant three new TiVo boxes ($300 each for the XL) plus three lifetime subscriptions at $500 each - total $2400. Whereas the two DirecTV TiVo boxes were $199 each, $398 total - a $2,000 difference! Plus, there's all the hassle of switching to Comcast. For that reason, I'm so happy DirecTV and TiVo finally got this new TiVo out the door. And there are things about DirecTV I actually like over Comcast. In my case, there are college sports that I cannot get on Comcast and my wife refuses to give up the east coast feeds of the cable channels and movie channels (because it means she is more likely to find a time to record all her shows without conflicts). Plus there's the HD quality. I think DirecTV still rules on that (Comcast around here seems to vary quite a bit in terms of quality of the HD).

In summary, with all the things you could legitimately complain about with this new THR22 TiVo, for my household, it's a godsend. It's been so long, I thought this new TiVo might land with a thud, and in some ways, you could say it should be a loser - but then you use it for a little while and all is right with the world. Haters are gonna hate, but I say, while I'm not happy that you took it away three years ago, I thank you DirecTV for listening to us and giving us TiVo again!

Comcast Sports Bay Area baseball games broadcast in hi-def do not appear in the guide until a few hours before the game, apparently. This is a total pain. Unless I remember to record the game before it starts, I miss the chance. For example, the game tomorrow is not in the guide yet, so I can't tell the DVR to record it. What a PAIN!

DirectTV - fix this!