The Day TiVo Died

Maybe the title is a bit sensational. The post is really about the day my HD DirecTiVo got traded in for a DirecTV HD DVR.

Up until Monday, DirecTV had been transmitting their HD signal using MPEG-2 encoding, which my HD DirecTiVo happily displayed. Yesterday DirecTV rolled out new HD channels using MPEG-4 encoding, which required me to update to the new model.

The new model, a DirecTV HR20-700 High Definition PVR, does not use the TiVo software, but instead uses DirecTV's own software. From a capabilities standpoint, the boxes are pretty similar, with the HR20 probably having a few additional 'future options' included in the hardware.

My biggest problem is that I think in TiVo. I've been using a TiVo since ~2002 and that is my only interface to TV. I've transformed my thinking into the way TiVo views the world. Now I have to readjust my thinking to this new and less elegant world.

After a few days I'm pretty confident that this new box will serve me will and allow me to do what I want. The new HD channels are certainly worthwhile. I'll be watching the Illini trounce Penn State (one can hope) this weekend in High Definition on the Big Ten Network. I'm also really looking forward to FX and Sci-Fi's HD roll out this fall.