As reported yesterday, I have an old, Series 1 tivo that no longer works -- the modem appears to be shot. I haven't used it in over three years, but with my move to Seattle, I thought I'd try it out again. I was contemplating buying an 80 hour Series 2, but hesitated a bit on the price of the unit and the $12.95 monthly service charge (probably subconciously reacting to Erich's post on "The Cost of Being Connected").
And then this morning, I read this:
...[L]ocal Comcast digital-cable customers will soon be using Microsoft's on-screen program guide and related features, rather than the TV Guide Interactive system currently in place.
...
The process will begin next week, when Comcast will start offering customers in [Washington state] Motorola digital cable boxes with built-in digital recording capabilities, dual tuners for recording and watching two different shows simultaneously, and enough storage capacity for 60 hours of standard-format TV. The price for existing digital-cable customers will be an additional $9.95 per month on their current bill.
No DVR to buy, cheaper service charge, and (one presumes) a more tightly integrated unit (specifically, no damn remote control rig). I'll definitely try it out, and I'm excited to see what Microsoft's take on the program guide looks like, given their acquisition of WebTV a while back.
And I certainly won't be sad to see the horrible, horrible TV Guide Interactive crap leave my set-top box. Good riddance.
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