I hope everyone will join me in welcoming Tom and Charles back to civilization. If you're spending money on a Comcast DVR, take my advice: use a little of your monthly payment to buy a hammer. Then take the Comcast DVR back to the cable company, and use the hammer to hit yourself repeatedly in the head. It's much cheaper and more enjoyable.
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Too narrow. Take out "DVR" and make that just a generic statement about Comcast, and it's still true. No doubt they have some fine people working there, but the company hasn't figured out how to (a) put those people in the customer service positions and (b) hire more.
I had the same experience. I went from TiVo to Comcast DVR for about 3 months and then back to TiVo. Their DVR was just horrible.
I haven't had any problems whatsoever with Comcast's DVR, unless they significantly changed it in the last 6 months. And I've had all sorts of problems with Comcast over the years, including their obsession with gradually making their interface more horrible all the time. But the DVR always worked reasonably well, even when compared directly with a TIVO.
I'll add another vote for the proper TiVo.
My parents are now on the fairly fancy HD flavored cable-co DVRs, but the interface and features are still painful after exposure to a real TiVo.
As soon as AT&T came in with their fiber-optic cable service, I dropped Comcast (basic service only) like a stone. The AT&T system was a bit glitchy at first, but the DVR and other set-top boxes work great, and I have many more channels than I did on Comcast, all for about what I was paying Comcast. I can even set stuff to record via web browser. AT&T may try to screw me later (I'm not confused about who I'm dealing with now), but I've still got my cables and will go back if I have to. I'm mostly just thankful that Comcast has competition in our area now, and I feel bad for those whose only choices are Comcast and satellite.
I am a Comcast customer and DVR user and I couldn't agree with you more. I would say that with one caveat: Comcast Boston has rolled out the TiVo on Comcast DVR service. For $2 more per month, I get the TiVo O/S (minus some cool features like Rhapsody, Internet Access, etc.) on a standard issue cable DVR. The commercial rollout of the TiVo software feels like a 0.9 release rather than a full 1.0, but it is infinitely better than the Comcast interface. Goodbye ad at the bottom of the screen, hello swivel search.
The nice thing here is that I don't have to front $399 for an HD TiVo, plus the full monthly fee and I can still have access to all of Comcast's VOD features, something unavailable to TiVo standalone users until Cable Labs figures out what the eph is going on with Tru2Way (aka Cable Card 2.0). Just a thought for anyone on their way to Home Depot to buy a hammer.
I have no trouble with my Comcast DVR.
Well, Comcast anything can't be much good. Now, is TiVo any better than Dish DVR? If so, what's the difference? I've had the DishPlayer[s] since time immemorial... well, longer than TiVo was around anyway... so what's the big deal?
Anybody who likes the Comcast DVR hasn't used a TiVo. Good God, I hate the Comcast DVR. In particular, I hate the random keystroke lag that always seemed to show up. Push a button, and it can take anywhere from zero to *15* seconds to take effect. So, of course, you think that the remote wasn't pointed at the DVR, and you push the button again. More random lag. Push the button again. ALL three buttons now take effect; I usually ended up at the 'end of show' screen, and you can't rewind from there.
Not only that, but the hard disk is tiny. It holds what, 4 HD shows?
Personally, I use Tivo Suggestions as my equivalent of VOD; I'm actually way more likely to actually like what I get.
I've got a Tivo upstairs and a Comcast DVR downstairs where my nice TV system is.
I agree that the interface sucks, and it's often not responsive, but I love having a dual tuner in the DVR box. I can record two shows while watching a third (pre-recorded) one.
If TiVo could do that, I'd drop the Comcast DVR.
Tivo is having a special.
"A Blue Moon Birthday Special No monthly fees
Celebrate in HD with a "Lifetime" of service!"
Offer expires 6/16/2008. At $698.99 it is to expensive to not have satellite support. They had this last year in Oct. or Nov. and I just got mine before that. I do not use it for cable but for over-the-air stations. Only CBS and FOX here at this time.