What is the difference in TIVO and a dvd recorder for the TV ?

Question

Please explain in baby steps I am 57 and not ultra techi :) thanks. I have an old TV

Answer 1

I have installed many DVD recorders and even more TiVo units for my customers. Every DVD recorder I have ever installed my customers have complained that it is not as easy to opperate as they thought it would be, and these are everyone from older non-techies to younger very tech savy folks.

DVD recorder menus are harder to navigate and the timer programing is difficult.

TiVo is a brand name hard drive unit that can opperate with any cable or satillite provider. If you have cable TV now then the TiVo unit will need some setup in the begining that is kindda difficult. If you have Direct TV satillite they have a contract with the TiVo brand. If you call Direct TV they will send you one (for a fee). If you have Dish Network satillite then they have their own unit called a DVR that is the same as TiVo just without the brand name. Again call Dish and they will send you one (for a fee).  

My recomendation is always for TiVo or DVRs, especially for someone like yourself.

The only thing DVD recorders are good for are being able to take a copy of somthing with you to to another location, like on the road or to a different house.

Answer 2

Hi Wendy,

A TiVo records programs directly to a hard drive built into it. There are no tapes or DVDs. We prefer TiVo because of simplicity of use. The schedule is always correct because it is updated every day. I can program TiVo to record from out of town over the Internet. TiVo learns what you like and recommends shows that you might like. Often times we never would have known they were on. You can program an entire season of a given series with a single click and TiVo never forgets. You can tell TiVo you like someone or something and it will locate shows for you. For example if you tell it you like John Wayne it will watch for and record anything he is on.

I could go on and on about TiVo. There is one downside and that is the monthly (you can pay yearly if you want) fee.

To learn all about TiVo check their web site here - https://www3.tivo.com

Check the TiVo user forum here - http://www.tivocommunity.com

I hope this helps you make the best decision.

Norm

Answer 3

TIVO is a digital hard drive, recording television programming for current or deferred playback. A DVD recorder literally records programming on a removable optical disk (DVD). Most often you would have both a digital hard drive for temporary recording and a DVD recorder to create a DVD archive disk of something you want to keep permanently.

Answer 4

on TIVO you can select a tv guide on screen which lists all the upcomming programmes on the TV channels you have. this means that you can set TIVO to record by flipping through the menu and selecting what you want

you have to set a dvd recorder yourself. you can programme it but it means you have to enter time and date info by yourself.

also TIVO works on a hard drive which is much more flexible than recording to DVD. recordings can be easily deleted or over written