Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A Rock and A Hard Place
So...it comes down to this.
In order to keep the Comcast On Demand features and watch HD movies whenever I want, AND be able to record and watch TV shows in HD, I think I'm (and I can't believe I'm typing this), going to return the Tivo HD box and get the Comcast HD DVR box instead.
This is all about monopolies and money - or put another way - monopoly money. The Comcast HD DVR has a shitty interface compared to the magic of Tivo, but it's only $5 more a month than what I am paying now compared to a $300 Tivo box and $12.95 a month for the service.
If I keep the Tivo HD, I lose HD On Demand and Pay Per View services, and although I can upload movies and TV shows anytime via Amazon Unbox at an additional cost - they don't offer HD movies or shows - yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they do, and I can reconsider my choice later.
Also, Comcast is supposedly going to be offering Tivo software on their boxes in the near(?) future, and it will simply be a software download to the box if you already have one.
Don't get me wrong. I adore Tivo - it's one of the best inventions ever. But I live in a Comcast monopoly that limits choice and access as HD and DVR technology gets integrated across all platforms and providers.
A third choice is to abandon Comcast alltogether and get an AppleTV unit. The only drawback there, is that it is a pay as you go provider, and it is not a DVR or TV Tuner, it's essentially an iPod interface for your TV. Seriously sexy interface and options however, but the beauty of a DVR is that it lets you record shows you might not otherwise watch, and experiment with shows you're not certain about. I don't want to pay $1.99 to watch something I'm not going to enjoy.
Change is never easy - even when the new technology is vastly improved upon.
Funny. The other no hassle factor is that I can just swap my cable box out for the DVR box at a Comcast office and save $40 on an install and not miss a half day or more of work.
I don't watch that much TV - honestly. But I do like to watch WHAT I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it, so the On Demand HD feature is more important to me than the coolness of Tivo, but this is gonna hurt because I hate Comcast with a passion.
It's sad, isn't it? I had to return my HD Tivo because they didn't tell me when I bought it that it only worked for cable connections and we have DirecTV. They're edging themselves out of customers with all this lack of flexibility. I miss TiVo SO MUCH.
Of course if you forego the On-Demand and Pay-PEr-View you will be saving money you can apply to your TiVo bill. :-)