Upgrading to HDR-FOX T2 from TiVo

Q

quboid

I'd like to upgrade my ageing Series 1 TiVo and I'm considering the Humax
HDR-FOX T2. My wife loves the TiVo and is now mostly used to its foibles so
I'm slightly worried about losing functionality when upgrading.

We mostly stopped watching live TV many years ago and rely on the TiVo to
automatically record new series of programmes we want to watch. It means
that we occasionally miss something new and have to watch it several months
later when it is repeated but this isn't really a problem. Our "season
pass" list has over a hundred items in it.

Does the HDR-FOX T2 work well with this usage? Can we set it to record,
say, "Spooks" and it will record the current series and all future series
on the same channel even if it several years before an episode comes up
again? Can it be told not to record repeats in this situation?

Is the Humax remote able to control TV volume/power too or is it necessary
to buy a separate universal remote for this. I've seen it mentioned that
the HDR-FOX T2 doesn't do CEC so is it necessary to switch the TV to its
HDMI input using its remote too?

Has anyone else switched from a TiVo and found that they missed features?

Thanks.
 
Does the HDR-FOX T2 work well with this usage? Can we set it to record,
say, "Spooks" and it will record the current series and all future series
on the same channel even if it several years before an episode comes up

again? Can it be told not to record repeats in this situation?

It does support series link but it will only record the programs of the current series. The series link data is provided by the broadcaster and not all broadcasters provide it but most do.
 
Hi.....
I am running a FOX-T2 alongside my trusty TiVo

I originally had (well still do actually!) a 9300T to help out with the lack of dual tuners on the TiVo.... I got the T2 so that I could get the HD content.
Tivo now handles the recording of anything that is Sky based... and the T2 does the vast majority of my recording..

My TiVo is well hacked and conected to my network at home... so there are lots of things that I like about the TiVo that I will never get in another box. (Daily email to let me know whats happening, and the ability to set recordings over the internet.. blah blah blah.....)

As far as the wife factor goes.... she also loves the TiVo... and has not yet wanted to try doing anything on the T2....

There are no wish lists or suggestions as you will be used to...
I have not had any issues with the Series Links, and some programmes that you set to record will suggest another programme that you may also want to record.... but nothing like the the way theat TiVo does it.

Can I ask if you are in a virgin media cable area? If you are... were you aware of the up-coming TiVo service that they are launching? I unfortuantely an nowhere near getting cable.... which is why i went this route..

IMHO TiVo is, and always will be the best PVR... and I am just hoping that Virgin release a box that will have the ability to control other STBs as the original.... but that may be a bit of a wait....

Regards
Martin
 
Thanks to you both for replying.

Hi.....
I am running a FOX-T2 alongside my trusty TiVo

I originally had (well still do actually!) a 9300T to help out with the lack of dual tuners on the TiVo.... I got the T2 so that I could get the HD content.
Tivo now handles the recording of anything that is Sky based... and the T2 does the vast majority of my recording..

My TiVo is well hacked and conected to my network at home... so there are lots of things that I like about the TiVo that I will never get in another box. (Daily email to let me know whats happening, and the ability to set recordings over the internet.. blah blah blah.....)

I've only lightly hacked mine. Auto pad and TivoWeb seem to be features that I stand no chance of hanging on to. :(

As far as the wife factor goes.... she also loves the TiVo... and has not yet wanted to try doing anything on the T2....

I suspect that mine would be happy to keep using the Tivo too. It does occasionally fail to change the channel on the Freeview box though so I suspect that she might be tempted away if something else proved more reliable provided it didn't do other annoying things like miss the ends of programmes.

There are no wish lists or suggestions as you will be used to...

We don't use wish lists at all and only very rarely do we find that a programme the TiVo recorded by itself was something we wanted to watch. I think we can live without them.

I have not had any issues with the Series Links, and some programmes that you set to record will suggest another programme that you may also want to record.... but nothing like the the way theat TiVo does it.

Hmm, that's interesting. It would seem that needing to set it again each time there is a new series would be a bit painful though.

Can I ask if you are in a virgin media cable area? If you are... were you aware of the up-coming TiVo service that they are launching? I unfortuantely an nowhere near getting cable.... which is why i went this route..

We are but our house isn't hooked up. I've looked briefly at it (of course my TiVo is currently hassling me about it on an almost daily basis!) but it seemed quite expensive on an monthly basis. Having bought my TiVo during the 2002 fire sale and paid for a lifetime subscription back then I think it has proven to be quite good value over that time.

IMHO TiVo is, and always will be the best PVR... and I am just hoping that Virgin release a box that will have the ability to control other STBs as the original.... but that may be a bit of a wait....

That would certainly seem unlikely since not needing to reencode the programmes makes things somewhat easier and keeps the picture quality constant.

Thanks again.
 
I suspect that mine would be happy to keep using the Tivo too. It does occasionally fail to change the channel on the Freeview box though so I suspect that she might be tempted away if something else proved more reliable provided it didn't do other annoying things like miss the ends of programmes.

My experience is that the accurate recording on the HDR-FOX-T2 is a significant improvement on the 9200 and has worked flawlessly so far with no lost beginnings or endings. The only issues are when late or early running programs mean that recording everything is impossible; if you are using the box then a reasonably clear dialog is shown to allow you to guide the box as to what should take priority.
 
IMHO TiVo is, and always will be the best PVR... and I am just hoping that Virgin release a box that will have the ability to control other STBs as the original.... but that may be a bit of a wait....

Well, as of this morning it appears that my TiVo will become a brick in June. So, having looked at the cost of the VirginMedia box (about £600 over the first 18 months after subtracting current phone and Internet charges and after that hope they'll let it work with the cheaper TV packages) it looks like I shall be buying a HDR-FOX-T2 in the near future. Thanks for the information.
 
I am also gutted by this news.... even more so as I went out and bought the FOX T2 for free HD to compliment the tivo..... and now have to go and spend out on SKY+HD so that I can still record the few shows that I watch on Sky.....

I neednt have spent the money on the Fox..... although i do get more recording space on it ;-)
 
So what happens about the one-off payment lifetime subscribers? Do they get their money back?
 
Well, as of this morning it appears that my TiVo will become a brick in June

I think there is hope an alternative source for the EPG data will be up and running before then now this announcement has been made.
 
I have just taken delivery of my new Humax HDR Fox T2 to replace my aging and, soon to be extinct, TiVo.
After a couple of days I am very impressed. I only have Freeview, but no HD in my area yet. The picture quality through the Humax is a vast improvement over the aging TiVo. The TiVo also had reached the point where it was very unreliable and managed to record the wrong channel more than the correct one. Since I have had broadband the programme updates have required a system reset before they were successful.
From my experience with other digital PVR's this Humax is, without doubt, the best I have seen.
Like all the others, it doesn't have all the facilities we have come to love with the TiVo, but none of those will be available from June anyway.
 
Back
Top