No really, guys… that can cooler, does it work or not?
I need frosty beers more than I need comparisons between TiVo and other alternatives.
Yes base romero tivo has wifi over this xl4. But xl4 has moca wher as base romero doesnt
I will agree that Tivo appears easier to use than Windows Media Center. I have been using WMC since 2005 and it wasn’t until the digital cable card tuners came on the scene that it really reached it’s potential.
The Silicon Dust HD Homerun and the Ceton infinitv both accept cable cards and allow your WMC system to play and record encrypted cable channels. Depending on the model, the tuners can be internal cards or network attached devices. I have both and although I had an Ceton Infinitv first, and it worked great, as soon as I tried to move the pci-e card to a new computer it would not work. Ceton tech support sent me many firmware updates, but it never resolved the issue. So I switched to HDHR. That has been working pretty reliably.
This setup does require your computer to be connected to your TV or for you to have a Media Center extender (Xbox 360 or Ceton Echo) connected to your TV.
I have almost jumped on the Tivo bandwagon many times, but the one thing holding me back is limited storage. WMC lets you add as much storage as your computer can handle. Right now I have 6 2TB HDDs and 3 3TB HDDs full of movies and TV shows.
Other options for the WMC system include Ceton iOS and Android apps for remote controlling and scheduling. There is also an app called Air Video that allows you to stream non-copy protected content to your iOS device.
If you want an easy system, Tivo is the way to go, but I will stick with WMC until Microsoft kills it.
I was thinking about getting the wireless USB adapter, then I found a Wireless-N adapter on Amazon for only 9 bucks and change. I sometimes take work computers on travel, and none of them have internal wireless cards for security reasons. So I could make use of something like this.
I bought the Duo Pinball controller last time around and like it but am very frustrated that it doesn’t seem to unlock 5 games. It only unlocks 3 (and I think 1 of those if free anyway). There doesn’t seem to be any one customer service on this device anywhere; their website is non-existent. I hope Woot! checks it out because I didn’t get what was advertised.
bought several of those slimline usb chargers (Flipit) as stocking stuffers. Thoroughly disappointed; they don’t work on iphones or the likes. So much for a clever idea…
Marley Headphones:
the microphone is garbage. I took a call with no noise or anything, and my boss thought i was on speakerphone in the bathroom from the next stall. It was fun trying to explain.
Looks like the answer is “Yes”. It does work, but you have to fill it with ice. (The battery is used to spin the can, presumably to allow more warm contents to hit the cold edges and speed the process.)
But at that point, you can get the same results by filling a bowl with ice and water and sticking the can in yourself. (I used just this method to quickly cool down some cans in a hotel ice bucket last week.)
So it works, but the extent to which it makes the process more convenient strikes me as a little dubious. (I’d thought it had a built-in Peltier cooler or some such.)
Randomly googled review (from CBS Pittsburgh) at Does It Really Do That: Frost Boss - CBS Pittsburgh
Hang out during a woot-off. Not that I’ve seen it used in a while. It’s a particularly devious one, though.
Just went in for a Tivo bundle - xl4.
Ive been eyeing them for a while and looked into the new Tivos. This is a great deal! I dont see a LOT new about the tivos except that its an “all in one” package - wireless, stream, etc. Still though for stream you have to use wired on the DVR according to all that I can find. This one has a bigger hard drive (twice as big) then the middle tier Roamio (which costs a lot more). The new Tivos have a new interface - not sure how great or not it is but its different.
Ive been on a Tivo 2 w/ lifetime for many years. I looked on Ebay - people selling the XL4 with lifetime service is still not as good as buying this bundle and getting lifetime service with it (if you are already a tivo owner - its 399).
Ill pass on what seem like minor improvements on the Roamio and to me this is a fantastic deal.
if you want woot CS to look into a problem, why not write them directly?
thought this may help with anyone wondering about the Tivos old (premiere) and new (Roamio). good article and I still think the Premiere xl4 here if an absolutely killer deal esp since the bundle comes with the stream.
Thank you for letting us know - you saved me money!