Craig's blog

I'm a long time TiVo user, and have always loved both the functionality and the elegant design of the TiVo interface. However, several years ago I found myself with a frustrating dilemma. When my old TV died I decided it was time to move to HDTV. If you haven't experienced it, HD is fantastic. However, at the time the only reasonable way for me to watch shows in HD (without putting up a dish) and still have DVR capability was to use the box that Comcast rents.

I find the Comcast box to be an incredibly frustrating piece of engineering. The hardware is second rate (you could fry an egg on the box from the heat it puts out). However, it's the software in this device that's really infuriating. Here are a couple of examples:

• Many times the box just doesn't record a show it is supposed to.
• More often than not, when you turn the box on, the screen is blank and it takes a big sequence of keystrokes to get it working again.
• About 5% of the time that a key is pressed on the remote, the box doesn't respond for somewhere between 15 and 90(!) seconds. Any other keys pressed in the meantime are queued up and played after the infuriating delay.

Anyway, you get the idea. And it's missing many of the nice features the TiVo has always had.

All of this made me very excited to learn about TiVo's latest offering - the new Series 3 TiVo for HD. It works with your cable signal using "CableCARDs" provided by the cable company. As soon as I read about it, I ordered one ($710 from Amazon). The new TiVo is as great as the Comcast box was awful. The entire user experience is excellent (think Apple-esk). The only complexity in getting setup is putting the two CableCARDs in. Unfortunately, Comcast will not allow you to pick them up and install them yourself, so you must setup an appointment for a Comcast technician to do it. TiVo includes an instruction sheet specifically for the cable installer with very simple, explicit instructions for how they should install the cards (there are 2 because there are 2 tuners in the TiVo). Sadly, it still took Comcast two technicians, two appointments and two days to get them installed.

Here are a couple of examples of the great TiVo experience:

• You can add a program to be recorded on your box from any web browser anytime.
• The box shows the name of either or both shows being recorded on its front display.
• There is tons of storage space (by my standards), even for HD programs.
• The box can display / play music and pictures from any computer on your home network.
  

Anyway, the TiVo experience and the Comcast experience are a study in great engineering and customer service vs crummy engineering and customer service. I'm glad to be back on the good side of that juxtaposition.