Sean - Barking at the moon

Why does this Sean character still post in here? He doesn't care for
TIVO, thinks it's a product made by a company on it's last legs,
doomed to fold in the not too distant future. That being so, why come
here?

How does Sean explain the problems with the SA DVRs? I had one. I
had high hopes for it. The promise was great - dual tuners, lots of
recording time (enough for me at least) and allowed me to consolidate
my video subscriptions to one provider instead of two (cable for
locals AND everything else instead of cable for locals and DISH)
Sounded good, so I got the SA8000 through TWC.

First I gotta say my first experience is with a TIVO. That's where
I've learned what features make a DVR usable.

Back to that SA8000. What utter garbage. Poor user interface, but
could probably live with that if everything else would work and have
the necessary features. But - no searching. no wish lists.
"searching" if you could call it that, amounted to scrolling through
endless lists of programming on a manual basis. That's bad, but even
that could be lived with so long as I paid close attention to the TV
guide and never forgot to record something I wanted to see. Oh, wait,
isn't that supposed to be the job of DVR? Back to that SA8000. Now
I'm recording some stuff. Well, trying to. Sometimes it wouldn't
record. Sometimes it would record a couple of minutes. Most often it
did record the whole show, but then it might only be willing to play
back a couple of minutes then stop and ask if I was done with it.
That error didn't happen everytime, but along with the first two
problem, they did happen often enough that I wondered if anything I
set it to recored would actually be there and then would I be able to
watch it?

Lest you think I didn't give them a fair shake, these problems
manifested themselves with two SA8000s given me by TWC. Both were
brand new units fresh out of the box.

So, I'm ready to use a DVR that's not a genuine TIVO, but I do have
high expectations - I expect it to work. And to work to the high
standards set by my TIVO. Yes, it's a series one. It's old. It's
working. It's been hacked by me only to the extent of putting in a
larger drive.

I ended up reverting my installation to the way it was. Cable for
locals, DISH for everything else.

Honest to pete, this isn't splitting the atom, I'd use a SA DVR if
they'd get the damn thing work right.

because he enjoys the attention he is paid. He is trolling.

Lazarus Long wrote:

Why does this Sean character still post in here? He doesn't care for
TIVO, thinks it's a product made by a company on it's last legs,
doomed to fold in the not too distant future. That being so, why come
here?

How does Sean explain the problems with the SA DVRs? I had one. I
had high hopes for it. The promise was great - dual tuners, lots of
recording time (enough for me at least) and allowed me to consolidate
my video subscriptions to one provider instead of two (cable for
locals AND everything else instead of cable for locals and DISH)
Sounded good, so I got the SA8000 through TWC.

First I gotta say my first experience is with a TIVO. That's where
I've learned what features make a DVR usable.

Back to that SA8000. What utter garbage. Poor user interface, but
could probably live with that if everything else would work and have
the necessary features. But - no searching. no wish lists.
"searching" if you could call it that, amounted to scrolling through
endless lists of programming on a manual basis. That's bad, but even
that could be lived with so long as I paid close attention to the TV
guide and never forgot to record something I wanted to see. Oh, wait,
isn't that supposed to be the job of DVR? Back to that SA8000. Now
I'm recording some stuff. Well, trying to. Sometimes it wouldn't
record. Sometimes it would record a couple of minutes. Most often it
did record the whole show, but then it might only be willing to play
back a couple of minutes then stop and ask if I was done with it.
That error didn't happen everytime, but along with the first two
problem, they did happen often enough that I wondered if anything I
set it to recored would actually be there and then would I be able to
watch it?

Lest you think I didn't give them a fair shake, these problems
manifested themselves with two SA8000s given me by TWC. Both were
brand new units fresh out of the box.

So, I'm ready to use a DVR that's not a genuine TIVO, but I do have
high expectations - I expect it to work. And to work to the high
standards set by my TIVO. Yes, it's a series one. It's old. It's
working. It's been hacked by me only to the extent of putting in a
larger drive.

I ended up reverting my installation to the way it was. Cable for
locals, DISH for everything else.

Honest to pete, this isn't splitting the atom, I'd use a SA DVR if
they'd get the damn thing work right.

"Lazarus Long" wrote in message
...
Honest to pete, this isn't splitting the atom, I'd use a SA DVR if
they'd get the damn thing work right.

I agree, it's amazing that after all these years the developers of Cable
DVRs still don't have software that is on par with Tivo's. What good is
great hardware if the software driving it is crap?

I never see Sean's postings (ramblings) because they made a wonderful thing
called a kill file


"Lazarus Long" wrote in message
...
Why does this Sean character still post in here? He doesn't care for
TIVO, thinks it's a product made by a company on it's last legs,
doomed to fold in the not too distant future. That being so, why come
here?

How does Sean explain the problems with the SA DVRs? I had one. I
had high hopes for it. The promise was great - dual tuners, lots of
recording time (enough for me at least) and allowed me to consolidate
my video subscriptions to one provider instead of two (cable for
locals AND everything else instead of cable for locals and DISH)
Sounded good, so I got the SA8000 through TWC.

First I gotta say my first experience is with a TIVO. That's where
I've learned what features make a DVR usable.

Back to that SA8000. What utter garbage. Poor user interface, but
could probably live with that if everything else would work and have
the necessary features. But - no searching. no wish lists.
"searching" if you could call it that, amounted to scrolling through
endless lists of programming on a manual basis. That's bad, but even
that could be lived with so long as I paid close attention to the TV
guide and never forgot to record something I wanted to see. Oh, wait,
isn't that supposed to be the job of DVR? Back to that SA8000. Now
I'm recording some stuff. Well, trying to. Sometimes it wouldn't
record. Sometimes it would record a couple of minutes. Most often it
did record the whole show, but then it might only be willing to play
back a couple of minutes then stop and ask if I was done with it.
That error didn't happen everytime, but along with the first two
problem, they did happen often enough that I wondered if anything I
set it to recored would actually be there and then would I be able to
watch it?

Lest you think I didn't give them a fair shake, these problems
manifested themselves with two SA8000s given me by TWC. Both were
brand new units fresh out of the box.

So, I'm ready to use a DVR that's not a genuine TIVO, but I do have
high expectations - I expect it to work. And to work to the high
standards set by my TIVO. Yes, it's a series one. It's old. It's
working. It's been hacked by me only to the extent of putting in a
larger drive.

I ended up reverting my installation to the way it was. Cable for
locals, DISH for everything else.

Honest to pete, this isn't splitting the atom, I'd use a SA DVR if
they'd get the damn thing work right.

On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 03:32:57 GMT, Michelle P wrote:
because he enjoys the attention he is paid. He is trolling.

Of course, and he gets more attention everyone _starts a thread with his
name in it_. Why do they give him what he wants?

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In article ,
Lazarus Long wrote:
Why does this Sean character still post in here? He doesn't care for
TIVO, thinks it's a product made by a company on it's last legs,
doomed to fold in the not too distant future. That being so, why come
here?

It keeps posting here because it is a troll. Trolls like nothing better
than to stir up sh*t and watch the resulting fireworks fly. If more people
would ignore Sean, it would eventually come to the realization that its
posts aren't getting a rise out of anyone. It might then pick another
newsgroup to crapflood...or maybe it'll just assume room temperature as a
result of some STD it picked up in a bathroom stall at the last Village
People concert and spare all of Usenet.

_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

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How does Sean explain the problems with the SA DVRs?

He doesn't explain - ever. He tries to convince others that these problems
don't exist, likes to refer to Tivo users as "rumpswabs" (whatever the hell
these are - perhaps something he uses), and often trashes Tivo's leadership
and their business practices (I doubt he will ever be CEO of anything).
Thing is, even if Tivo were to close their doors today they still have
changed the way that people watch TV, almost single-handedly made the DVR
the killer app it is today, and made tons of money doing so. Sean doesn't
seem to get this despite the fact that his beloved Comca$t box wouldn't
exist if not for the success of Tivo. The only viable argument I've ever
read in any of his posts is that Tivo (standalone) hardware doesn't support
HDTV yet.

Sean (and the other Comcast fanatics) can keep their overpriced (and rising)
service to watch and record a few HD programs on their "free" equipment...if
Comcast can keep their equipment running and a signal to their homes. Some
people just don't get that free equipment does no good if it doesn't work.
It shouldn't be long before there are some more HD DVR's on the market and
prices come down a bit. By then there should also be more programming
available to make it all worthwhile.

It's not hard to figure out why someone who regularly posts to a Tivo
newsgroup to spew his dislike for the product. There are a few words people
have used to describe such a being, which I won't repeat. I've simply
learned to ignore his posts, as there's not been a single rant of his with
any valuable information.

Of course, and he gets more attention. Why do they give him what he wants?

Because he has a point. Valid one. Why do you blindly cheerlead instead of
acknowledging Tivo's faults?

"Scott Alfter" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
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In article ,
Lazarus Long wrote:
Why does this Sean character still post in here? He doesn't care for
TIVO, thinks it's a product made by a company on it's last legs,
doomed to fold in the not too distant future. That being so, why come
here?

It keeps posting here because it is a troll. Trolls like nothing better
than to stir up sh*t and watch the resulting fireworks fly. If more
people
would ignore Sean, it would eventually come to the realization that its
posts aren't getting a rise out of anyone. It might then pick another
newsgroup to crapflood...or maybe it'll just assume room temperature as a
result of some STD it picked up in a bathroom stall at the last Village
People concert and spare all of Usenet.

_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden What's the most annoying thing on
Usenet?

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Gotta admit that's a pretty funny post.

"eric" wrote in news:[email protected]:


"Lazarus Long" wrote in message
...
Honest to pete, this isn't splitting the atom, I'd use a SA DVR if
they'd get the damn thing work right.

I agree, it's amazing that after all these years the developers of Cable
DVRs still don't have software that is on par with Tivo's. What good is
great hardware if the software driving it is crap?



Well, if you've dropped low to mid five figures on a home theater,
and you want to watch shows in HD, but not watch them when the network
airs them, you can't really use a Tivo to do that (unless you have
DirecTV).

So, in that case (which I understand puts me in the minority of users,
but soon *many* people will have HD), one has to put up with a ****ty
user interface to be able to enjoy their investments.