TiVO Vs Sky+ TV

Salient features of TiVo box and Sky+ TV are listed as follow. Sky + TV are also a personal video recorder just like TiVo but some differences exists which differentiates TiVo from Sky+ TV.

Support for DVD and Camcorder:

Using TiVo is always a fun; user can connect RGB or composite device via SCART connection and record from TiVo box and in doing so Macrovision encoding will be reapplied only when outputting to TV device but incase of Sky+ TV there are hardware limitations.

Recording two channels simultaneously:

You cannot record two channels simultaneously unless you own two TiVo boxes and while recording a program you cannot pause a live TV show. Although the available options do not limit your watching experience and give you lot of freedom to watch the previously recorded program while you are recording your favorite show or you can watch the show being recorded. Sky+ TV has two built in TV tuners and you can record two shows simultaneously. Realistically speaking Sky+ is superior to TiVo in this function. You are given an edge to pause the live show while recording an ongoing show.

Using more than one source for recordings:

Unlike Sky+ TV, which only support Sky platform, TiVo give you liberty to chose Terrestrial aerial channels plus any set top box; or Sky Digital via SCART and either Freeview or Cable via RF.

Picture Quality:

Picture quality of TiVo box depends upon the quality level of recording, it’s an extra bonus to TiVo users as they can conserve the disc space by recording at a different levels.

Best Quality = 7.65Mb/s
High Quality = 4.77Mb/s
Medium Quality = 3.62Mb/s
Basic Quality = 2.24Mb/s

If a good quality source signal is available then recording can be made at Variable Bit-Rate (VBR). The quality of Sky+ TV is much better than TiVo, which records the digital bit stream directly but it’s not possible to conserve the disc space.

Sound quality:

Dolby digital 5.1 surround is not supported with the existing hardware but 32 KHz stereo at all recording qualities and Dolby ProLogic encodings remain intact while using TiVo boxes.

Sky+ offers a Dolby Digital optical output and it depends upon the input signal of the broadcasted channel. Few programs on channel 301 to 303 and 611-6112 are broadcasted in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound

Program Suggestion:

TiVo gives thumbs up and thumbs down rating to program you watch and then built your viewing profile according to your taste and later suggest you the programs you are most likely to dribble for. TiVo can automatically record the suggestions and wisely remove those stored program to free up the disc space. This function is absent in Sky+ TV.

Program Highlights and Re-telecast:

View upcoming episode feature demarcates it from Sky+ TV and also Inside TiVo and Channel Highlights which record the highlights of best program of the week.

Finding program of choice:

You can find program of your choice by, title, time, genre, channel, actor, director but your options are limited while using Sky+ TV.

Conclusion:

Certain features of TiVo boxes are superior to Sky+ TV, thus leaving no doubt in buyers mind that TiVo is the best choice in existing PVR market.