[NTLUG:Discuss] HDTV, broadcast flag, ...

[Paul Ingendorf]

I just had to reply to clear the air here.  The Tivo does not require a
monthly fee for their service they also offer a lifetime service for $299.
Think about it you can get a 40 Hour unit right now for $49.  Do you think
they can make a unit that does real time mpeg hardware compression &
decompression, has a 40GB HD, a built in digital tuner, and a nice user
interface for $50 bucks?  Come on part of the way they generate revenue is
through the recurring revenue found through their service.  So what does
this mean for you? If you want to avoid a monthly charge of 13 dollars just
spend the $350 on the unit and you are done.

http://www.rapidsatellite.com/hdtv_land.aspx

is an example of what google gave me while searching for the HD Tivo.  This
means for about $600 you get everything you were looking for and no monthly
costs.  Also I don't know this for certain but it was my understanding that
direct tv receivers did not have monthly charges for the vivo service which
would make your cost installed $300.

Your concerns about the broadcast flag could be an issue but if you took the
time to think it out you would realize that the tivo is one of the most
hacked PVRs out there.  The user base and knowledge base are huge.  This
means the repository of knowledge on how to disable the broadcast flag if
Tivo ever enabled it is high as well.  In the early days various reps from
the organization pointed us in the right direction to unlock several big
"features" in the sa units.

Regardless of the Tivo facts, if you are so animate about a 13 dollar
monthly charge how much money are you willing to spend on an hd tuner
capable of receiving satellite signals?  In the end if you just want to
build your own go for it, but don't make it about some misunderstood
concepts that aren't even correct.