FiOS TV Technical Assistance

[#1]

I currently use a Tivo box at home. I recently upgraded to Verizon Fios for everything. I was wondering how the Verizon DVR compares to Tivo. Tivo has a lot of functionality like "Season Passes" for shows, searching by title, actor, etc. However, I have to pay for Tivo, which is more expensive then getting just a Verizon  DVR.

Thanks for any input.

[#2]

Go for the Tivo, especially if you are using HD.  I've got two of them, and I'm about to replace the only Verizon box I have with another.  The HD Verizon box is $16 a month, and is buggy as hell.  Tivo service is $12 a  month plus $4 a month for a cablecard (which you pay Verizon for).  So from a cost perspective it's a wash.  The only drawback is no Video on Demand....which I never use anyway.

[#3]

I live Tivo better then my FIOS STB. My only issue with tivo is the Guides UI. I like how fios is color coded for the type of program, and tivo does not list broadcast channels as fox, it list its call letters ie WNLO.

[#4]

I tried a Verizon DVR and a friend's house and found it to be terrible, compared with TiVo. I have a TiVo HD XL with a 1 TB drive in it. It can record over 150 hrs of hi-def, and over 1200 hours of standard def digital. I can download movies from Netflix or Amazon, so I don't need the TV on demand features of the Verizon box. I found the Verizon box's user interface to be clunky and not particularly responsive. Also, it's pretty trivial to pull things from TiVo to my desktop, or push movies on my PC to TiVo. I can easily convert to iPod format and watch on the go.

Yes, TiVos are expensive. But it's worth it to have something that works and works well.