Has anyone heard if a receiver is in the works with HDTV and Tivo available. HDTV is awesome, but I would have trouble giving up my TIVO.

I've got both HDTV and Tivo and would LOVE to have an HD-capable Tivo. I've heard that Sony has some new models coming out that MAY be HD-capable, but don't know what kind of signal they take in or how they'd hook up with your OTA tuner, HD cable box or HD satellite receiver. Time Warner is test-marketing the Scientific Atlanta 8000 PVR that is supposed to be HD-capable but ONLY works with cable TV (it's also a digital/analog cable tuner) and does NOT use Tivo software (bummer!). Capacity may be an issue for people who are used to adding monster drives Tivos to get total capacity (at lowest recording quality) in the hundreds of hours. You may not be able to record HD at anything but "best" quality and an 80 Gb drive may handle as little as 10 hours. Still, I'd love to test-drive one of these bad boys!

Dish Network is the only mfgr that has announced an HD-PVR. No idea when it may be out, though. Probably get 6 other mfgrs to announce AND start shipping by the time Dish gets the 921 out.

I bought an oval, 2LNB satellite antenna for my TIVO and installed it myself. It worked great, and about a week later, the "switch" in the antenna died. I called DirecTV and they sent a guy out who simply replaced the dish with a 3LNB one. The one he installed focuses on Satellite 101, 119 ....and....110. I don't have HDTV, but the guy said I could get it with DirecTV now that I had a 3LNB dish. He said to tune to DirecTV Channel #90. I have no idea if he was right, cause I dont't have HDTV, but do with this info as you will. Gordon

Yes, now that you have a 3lnb dish, you can get hdtv,but you'll need a hdtv receiver. That receiver won't have tivo.

Just for the record, there is an HDTV decoder box WITH a built in recordable Hard Drive. It's made by Luce! Retail is about $3,000.00. It is also a scaler for other sources as well. The web site to check out is www.lucetv.com.

Paul

There is also a DVHS product from JVC that is an HD recorder. This is NOT the same as the original DVHS product which was an Echostar sat receiver. Anyway, this is really the cheapest current way to get HD recording at this time.

Hughes is supposed to have their SAT HD/TiVo recorder available already. We are still waiting for it to become available. The word is that there is some legal stuff holding everything up. (You know I's dotted and T's crossed.) I would bet it will be available before xmas. There are some aftermarket guys doing some cool stuff with the older TiVos. Try Google TiVo.

Hughes has announced no such product. Where did you get this info?

Sony has a product available in Japan and in Europe called the Cocoon. This device is TiVo like in that records broadcasts using a hard drive or hard drives. In this case it uses one 160GB with the option of a second to bring its capacity up to 320GB. From what I have been told this system has component video, optical audio, and coxial audio inputs. The system also requires the use of a broadband connection for reasons I'm not too clear on. Also, from what I understand, Sony is using their own software to run this system and not TiVo's. Although, they have the rights to use TiVo software. Unfortunately TiVo and their partner manufacturers have nothing coming to the U.S. market with large enough hard drives and inputs necessary to record HDTV signals. If allowed, systems could come out in a matter of months. However, most manufactuers are scared of lawsuits by the MPAA (a.k.a The Motion Picture Industry) who in turn are scared of being the next victims of piracy from a Napster / Morpheus like situation.

Time Warner Cable is test-marketing a Scientific Atlanta HD-capable digital cable TV tuner that does PVR recording, including (allegedly) HD. It is a cable tuner, so it won't handle satellite (DISH Network, DirecTV, etc.) or over-the-air broadcasts. It does NOT use Tivo software, which Tivo users are quick to point out is half the value of a Tivo. They are not marketing it in my area, but I would love to give one a spin. Supposedly, they're only charging an extra $5-$10 a month for it (you can't buy it; only lease it).

I have 2 160GB hard drives in my TiVo and it gives me just under 100 Hrs of record time in the best quality. I'm guessing an HD signal would net less than a quarter of that capacity. Does anybody know how much more disc space an HD signal takes?

Last I read, the MPAA is threatening to withold cable's rights to broadcast their movies unless the cable people maintain the ability to block recording of any digital signal. So if someone like Motorola or GI releases a set-top box with a DVHS output that TW wants to use, the MPAA wants to dictate when that port is active.

I enjoy watching the entertainment industry blow its cash on legal fees fighting these unwinnable fights, but I hate to see desirable technology blocked by it.

In lieu of a Tivo box, I see a lot of discussion about using a PC with a HiPix card (there are others available, to record HD now. May not have all of the Tivo features. There is a lot of discussion on the Theater Spot web site on this item.