With my DirecTV contract being up and Mediacom offering me Tivo service and saving $20 bucks a month, I figured I'd give it a shot. I've had the service since Wednesday and watched A LOT of TV this weekend, so I feel I can give this a fair review. Also, I work for a telecom company, so I do have some knowledge ........ :) So for comparison sakes, here's my review:
Channel lineup. It's by no surprise, DTV offers many more channels. However, for what I watch, its a wash. Mediacom offers me more for less than I had with DTV. The channels I watch are all there, in HD, PLUS I now have Starz and Encore on top of all the free video on demand. So for channel lineup, for me, advantage Mediacom.
DVR: This is an easy one. I had the HR24 with DTV and i have the Premier Q for Mediacom. Massive advantage for DTV on this one. The Premier Q is slow. Painfully slow in comparison to the HR24. Menu's and getting to my recordings and playing my recordings is shameful. With my HR24, there was no lag. Everything was there once I hit the button. Things are even worse when I try to access things from my secondary STB in my bedroom. This is a huge deal for me and possibly the deal breaker. I'm sure the new Pace Tivo STB is head and shoulders above the Premier Q, however I'm stuck with this. Another problem I've been experiencing is the message "HDMI Connection Not Permitted" when I change channels. It seems to be a handshaking problem between my AVR and Tivo that I never experienced with the HR24. It's irritating to say the least. If you have experience with DTV's Genie (i have) you will even be more disappointed.
Pic quality/sound. Advantage Mediacom, solely for the fact that I haven't had any of those damn audo cutouts the DTV is notorious for! Pictured quality; I notice no difference between the 2. Both look outstanding.
Remote: Advantage again Mediacom. I love it. Simple and just works and has better command of my AVR vs DTV remote.
Intangibles. I love love love the Tivo App on my iPad and iPhone! It works amazing. The DTV app was nice also, but the Tivo app is faster and easier to navigate. I actually use my app more then the STB to set recordings and turn to channels (mostly due to the fact of the slow Premier Q).
As you can see, I am happy with the Tivo offering. If you're a current Mediacom customer, I strongly recommend you check out their Tivo services. It's head and shoulders above the 'stock' Mediacom. However, if you're a DTV customer and happy with it, stick with it, unless the savings is really worth it. The Premier Q really hurts the overall experience when you compare it against the HR24. If you are one of the lucky ones to get the newest gen Tivo box, I absolutely guarantee you will be thrilled.
Overall, I give this a 7/10 with the potential of a 10/10, if the Tivo hardware was up to par with the great Tivo interface and options. Thanks for reading!
↧