Which HD DVR is Better? Tivo or UVerse?

When I ran into the problem, just over a year ago, of what to do with my HD/DVR services I didn't know exactly where to start or what to do. After all, this was a problem that could cast doubt over my television viewing experience, which was a risk I wasn't willing to take!

Every time I read someone compare Tivo to another DVR I kept reading the same thing, other DVRs were good, but nobody was as user friendly as Tivo. After a year of AT&T Uverse service, I must whole heartedly disagree.

I was a steadfast and ardent supporter of Tivo products and services for several years after joining the DVR world in 2001. Many friends and family hadn't ever heard of Tivo at the time, but I was always ahead of the curve on electronics and this little gem was captivating. No VHS tapes to set up with complicated future-date recording options? I didn't think it was possible.

I was in love with my Tivo for 7 years and then we hit a bump in the road. After our wedding, my Wife and I were given the gift of a flat screen HD TV from my parents. It was wonderful and I was thrilled. I was then given an HD Tivo by a friend for the same occasion and I couldn't believe my luck and what kind of an experience I was about to have! Then, it all began to fall apart.

I was not too happy to find out that the dual-tuner HD Tivo would need "cable cards" to function and these would have to be installed by my cable company, Cox Communications. A VERY long story short, the technician spent 3 trips to my house and a combined 10+ hours of time in my living room to tell me that the cable card technology was not very good and it wouldn't work. No help from Tivo, no help from Cox and I began my search for a new Cable/HD provider.

As I previously wrote, I loved Tivo and their service, but I couldn't stand to have the HD TV and not have HD programming. After spending a LOT of time studying I decided to put the HD Tivo in the closet for a while and try AT&T Uverse. I have never been more contented. The picture is great, the channels are amazing and the user interface is just as easy to learn, if not easier!

In my trials to find another provider I tried the Cox DVR and was completely lost, it was clunky and weak. I couldn't find the right shows and the software seemed very similar to trying to run a computer 10 years ago. Uverse was very easy. My Wife, who used to call me to figure out how to run the Tivo every now and then, solved this in the first afternoon.

We had all of our shows set up again in no time and now can't imagine going back to recording one or two shows at a time when Uverse will let me record FOUR shows at once. Don't believe the myth; Uverse is a competitor on equal footing with Tivo's user-friendly interface!