DirecTiVo versus DirecTV Plus DVR: No Comparison

News Type: Opinion — Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:09 PM EDT

technology, tv, tivo, dvr, directv, consumer-electronics, satellite-dish, dvr-comparison

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Are you a TiVo subscriber?

Yes
67%
No
22%
I use another type of DVR
11%

Total Votes: 9

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How would you rate your DVR compared to TiVo?

TiVo is better
58%
My DVR is better
25%
They are about the same
17%

Total Votes: 12

I have been a DirecTiVo user for a little over 2 years and it has been a very fulfiling relationship. I had been a cable subscriber for about 10 years but my latest move in search of a larger abode and more green space took me into the unincorporated area of the county. With some trepidation I signed up for dish service and TiVo through DirecTV. Within a couple of weeks of using the DirecTiVo unit I was in love.

A couple of weeks ago the wife and I began discussing the need for upgrading our DirecTV receiver in the master bedroom. Our TiVo unit was in the family room, connected to the surround sound system and our DVD recorder, but from time to time we had felt the need for DVR functionality in the bedroom. The ability to pause, rewind, and record cannot be taken for granted, especially when the phone rings or an interesting show is on while you're trying to shower, get dressed, and get out of the house.

Knowing that the DirecTiVo unit was no longer available, I put in an order for the Plus DVR receiver.

For those of you who are cable or fiber optic subscribers, or who got DirecTV DVR service for the first time after approximately January of 2007, I'll tell you that the DirecTiVo unit is vastly superior to the Plus DVR unit. First, what do they have in common? Both units are DVR's, so you can pause, rewind, and record live tv. Both units allow you to watch one program while you record another. Both units allow you to record two programs while you watch a pre-recorded third program.

That is where the similarities end.

The Plus DVR unit has one glaring handicap that needs to be overcome before it can adequately replace the DirecTiVo unit. With the Plus DVR it is impossible to record two programs at the same time and watch one of the programs that you're recording. Let me explain with an illustration. Suppose you have already set the Plus DVR to record a program and it is currently recording that program. Cool. Now, let's say you stumble across another program and realize that although you want to watch it now you also want to record it, perhaps for someone else to watch later. You hit the record button. You'd think you could continue watching the program while it's being recorded, right? Wrong. The moment you start recording the second program your screen goes black. To me, that's a bit of a problem. That issue does not exist with the DirecTiVo box. With it I can freely toggle between the two programs that I'm recording, pause them, and rewind them.

The Plus DVR also lacks TiVo's convenient Season Pass, WishList, and Suggestions features. With the Plus DVR you can record an entire season of a show but you can't easily adjust the priority of one program over another. True, you can stumble across the menu to be able to do so, but it isn't intuitive. You can do keyword, title, and person searches to find something to record but it isn't as handy and robust as the DirecTiVo. As a TiVo veteran it especially irks me that I can't tell it what shows I like so it can find similar programs to record. Simply put, the TiVo interface rocks; the Plus DVR interface doesn't.

Another deficiency of the Plus DVR involves the recording of pay-per-view programs. When you record a PPV program with the Plus DVR, the recording comes with an expiration date. If you don't watch the recorded PPV program by the expiration date, it will automatically be deleted. As a frequent traveler who rarely has the opportunity to actually plan to watch tv, having to contend with a deadline is an unnecessary complication of my life. Needless to say, the DirecTiVo unit doesn't have this limitation.

With so much going against the Plus DVR I will add one advantage that it has over DirecTiVo. The DirecTiVo will record approximately 80 hours of material. The Plus DVR will record approximately 100 hours. That's a difference of about 12 movies or almost an entire season of an hourlong show.

If you've never experienced TiVo then you won't know that you're missing anything in using the Plus DVR. If you have experienced TiVo, you will see how lacking the Plus DVR really is.

I heard from my installer that there may be a few DirecTiVo units still in DirecTV's inventory but you have to specifically request one and practically beg to get it. After experiencing the Plus DVR, I'll be getting in the begging line. I'd advise you to queue up behind me if you're considering the Plus DVR.

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{"commentId":906947,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

The DirecTV Plus DVR pales in comparison to the DirecTiVo unit. I can only assume that DirecTV makes more of a profit from hawking their own wares than they did from the deal with TiVo. To say that the Plus DVR is a reasonable substitute for the DirecTiVo unit would verge on perjury in a court of law.

{"commentId":906947,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

1 vote

#1 - Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:11 PM EDT

{"commentId":907338,"authorDomain":"kirklennon"}

Kirk Lennon

My parents have long had DirecTV and TiVo. When I moved out two years ago, I greatly missed TiVo. I put up with horrible cable at my apartment, but just moved into a house and had DirecTV Plus DRV installed on Friday. I'm pleased to once again have satellite, and to have a DVR, but I immediately knew DirecTV's own offerings were a far cry from TiVo.

On a superficial level, they do basically the same thing. The difference is in the software and UI. Plus is an ugly mess, whereas TiVo is simple and intuitive. I can't help but think of PCs and Macs. It's not just about raw specs, it's getting it to do what you want.

Among other things, the text on Plus is horribly jagged, and the remote is just a disaster. It has many superfluous buttons, often duplicating the tasks of others. If that weren't enough, there are the four mysterious colored buttons. They do a variety of tasks, all of which could more logically be completed by the myriad other buttons. Did the creators even try to use this garbage? Of course, they're the ones who must have thought pressing the (unlabeled) "dash" button twice was an obvious way to delete a recording highlighted in the menu.

With the Plus DVR you can record an entire season of a show but you can't easily adjust the priority of one program over another.

I repeatedly found the priority menu while searching for a way to adjust the number of episodes to keep when you've chosen to record an entire series. In the world of Plus DRV, it's a fairly easy menu option to discover, which doesn't say much.

{"commentId":907338,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"kirklennon"}

1 vote

#2 - Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:59 PM EDT

{"commentId":907603,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

I repeatedly found the priority menu while searching for a way to adjust the number of episodes to keep when you've chosen to record an entire series. In the world of Plus DRV, it's a fairly easy menu option to discover, which doesn't say much.

I should say that it's neither as simple nor as elegant as the Season Pass Manager feature of TiVo.

I certainly agree with you about the UI and the remote. The UI is about as clunky as Windows 3.1. Even saying, "It's clunky but it gets you there" doesn't quite hold up. The remote reminds me of my first cell phone back in 1998, though it's not as heavy. The buttons are not placed very well and the remote doesn't lend itself to a "natural" fit in the hand. The TiVo peanut remote places your hand in the right position to easily access the buttons that you need to use most. The Plus DVR remote does none of that.

{"commentId":907603,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

1 vote

#2.1 - Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:08 PM EDT

{"commentId":955711,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

In the latest news somewhat related to this, DirecTV has announced a DirecTiVo software upgrade for 2008. Among the features that will be added will be the ability to schedule DirecTiVo recordings through the DirecTV website. Another addition will be the Overlap Protection feature that TiVo users are already accustomed to. I'm pretty stoked about the new features but I'm hoping some of the bad features of the Plus DVR aren't thrown in there as well. In their press release DirecTV mentioned some type of renewed agreement with TiVo that took place this past April, so I'm hoping the Plus DVR will just become a bad memory and DirecTV will go back to marketing a DirecTiVo unit, preferably with broadband connectivity, functional USB ports, and a larger hard drive.

{"commentId":955711,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

1 vote

#3 - Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:43 PM EDT

{"commentId":1161802,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

A full 90 days into the use of the Plus DVR and I must say that it still hasn't grown on me. The remote is still awkward to use, requiring that some lights be turned on if I want to do anything beyond the most basic functions.

{"commentId":1161802,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

#4 - Tue Nov 6, 2007 12:24 PM EST

{"commentId":1235365,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

Another update. DirecTV no longer wants to be in the DVR manufacturing business. Good news for TiVo. Now if I could only get somebody to take this Plus unit off my hands....

{"commentId":1235365,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

#5 - Sun Dec 2, 2007 3:07 PM EST

{"commentId":1666939,"authorDomain":"slicey"}

Slicey

I recently moved to an apartment where I can only get DirecTV. After 4 months living here I finally got around to hooking up my Series2 DT TiVO, only to find out that I couldn't record 2 shows at the same time. To me, TiVo/DVR is a waste of money if you can't record 2 shows at a time or record one program and watch another. I may as well still have a VCR.

I turned to the TiVo website which tells me I need a DirecTiVo. I turn to Google which leads me to sites selling Directv DVRs and so-called DirecTiVos that look to me like they're just Directv - despite the TiVo in the name.

So now I'm thoroughly confused. Do I have to drop my TiVo service (that's alredy paid for, btw) and upgrade my Directv to a DVR model? The reason I turned down the DVR-featured satellite box to begin with is because I planned on using the superior TiVo. Now I'm at a lost because I don't feel like I find a straight answer from either Directv or TiVo on this issue. Does anyone know if the DirecTivo box actually has TiVo features? And if so, if I were to buy one how does that affect my various service subscriptions?

{"commentId":1666939,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"slicey"}

#6 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 2:18 AM EDT

{"commentId":1667596,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

Division by Zero

It is my understanding that the TiVo unit will not work with DirecTV in dual-tuner mode without some serious reconfiguration. The DirecTiVo unit allows you to enjoy most of the TiVo functions except for online scheduling and maybe one or two others. The problem is that the DirecTiVo units are only available on the secondary market now that DirecTV has opted to only use the Plus DVR & HD units. If you can get your hands on a DirecTiVo, go for it. As for why DirecTV chose to market their own inferior DVR, I can only imagine that it is more profitable for them to do so. Your subscriptions should remain the same.

{"commentId":1667596,"threadId":"131552","contentId":"867006","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}

#6.1 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 9:21 AM EDT

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