Tivo or MCE

[Neil Fuller <neil.fuller@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

About a year ago, I got a TiVo but so far, it's remained unused. The
main reason for this is that my Sony TV has an integrated digital decoder.

Now this is a bit of a problem because to record digital TV, I have to
have the TV on so that the digital decoder is working.

So, for recording programmes whilst we are out, pausing live TV etc, I
seem to have the following options . . . .

Get an external digital decoder and use Tivo
Cons => More boxes under the TV, £10 a month (or £200 for the
lifetime
sub) and all it does is record TV!!!
Pros =>  Seems a load of hassle for not a lot . . . . but it is
quiet(ish) and probably wouldn't cost much more to run than the video

Or

Get an MCE box with a couple of digital decoders built in to it
Pros => Only one more box under the TV (and lots less cabling). We can
use it for other things too.
Cons => It is (lots) more expensive and it's another power-hungry PC
that has to stay on 24/7

It seems that Tivo owners l-o-v-e their Tivos but how does the Tivo
stack up against MCE?
Is MCE a capable system or is it flakey and falls over more often than not?
What's the EPG like? Is it "fully featured" or are there things
missing
(like the Tivo "Season Pass" feature)

Have you changed your Tivo for an MCE box? Are you happy or are there
things that MCE lacks that you really miss!?

Any other ideas (and don't say move it all to Node 0, I simply can't get
the cabling to the TV without ripping the walls apart.
(OTOH, could I put it all in Node 0 with just one standard coax feed and
one cat 5 point at the TV position.) - Damn, if only I had the foresight
when I rewired 12 years ago

So many questions and, no doubt, so many answers . . . . . . . .

TIA

Neil