TiVo or Cable DVR: Which is Better?

Many people assume that every digital video recorder is the same. However there are significant differences between the TiVo service and the DVR service available from your local cable provider. Before deciding between whether to purchase a TiVo DVR or rent one from your local cable service provider, it's important to understand the advantages and drawbacks of both services.

TiVo Advantages

TiVo offers many features that cable DVR does not. TiVo gives you the ability to stream television, movies, photos and music to your PC. TiVo also offers compatibility with video services. TiVo has a wide selection of devices with various different features, most of their DVRs include the ability to replace your existing cable box and integration with your home audio system as well.

TiVo Disadvantages

The initial costs of purchasing a TiVo DVR and a subscription to the service are higher than renting a DVR from your cable company. With TiVo, you purchase your equipment upfront and have to pay for a minimum of one year of service. Because you own your TiVo equipment, you're responsible for service and/or replacement if it malfunctions.

Cable DVR Advantages

Unlike with TiVo, Cable companies rent out their DVR equipment and charge a monthly fee. Although this may seem more expensive in the long run, they don't charge extra fees for the DVR service. Depending on your cable service provider and your location, the combined monthly cost of your cable box and DVR may be less than monthly TiVo fees. Additionally, since the equipment is rented, any time you have a problem you can simply return it to your cable company and get a replacement.

Cable DVR Disadvantages

Cable DVRs are considered generic DVRs and don't offer nearly the wide variety of expanded features such as full entertainment system integration and computer streaming that TiVo does. Most cable companies also don't offer a choice of which DVR model you can rent, it's determined by which model is currently being used in your area. Cable DVRs generally don't offer the different recording speed settings to save hard drive space that TiVo does.

Comcast and TiVo

Comcast, one of the largest cable providers in the United States, partnered with TiVo in March 2005 to offer TiVo DVRs to their subscribers. However, as of June 2010, Comcast-compatible TiVo DVRs are only available in the New England area. The TiVo branded DVRs available through Comcast do not support viewing video from other providers such as Netflix and YouTube, they only support Comcast on-demand programming. Comcast also charges an additional fee in addition to the standard DVR fee for the TiVo interface.