I've been on FiOS for a long time now and been using a TiVO S3 for almost as long as the old Motorola they gave out back then was garbage in comparison to my old DirecTV TiVO. I've been happy with this setup until this past fall when they enabled encryption on the HBO channels. Since then I've gone through 5 cable cards and today it's started just constantly rebooting if either card is plugged in. I'm currently trying a last ditch effort of cloning it's HDD to a "new" drive in the hope that this is a disk issue, but I think the end is here for it.
It's always galled me that I've been paying more for 2 cable cards and then the TiVO service on top of that, but I haven't met another DVR that I like (bad interface, doesn't work properly, etc..). I know with the new TiVOs that I only need one card which helps, but still...
So it's been awhile since I've played with another DVR and I have no idea what Verizon is shipping at this time. My questions (primarily to anyone that has used TiVOs in the past are:
1) What is Verizon currently giving out?
2) How well does it work?
3) How does it compare with the TiVO?
One of the main things I love about TiVOs and hated about the last Motorola I had was that when watching a buffered/recorded soccer game that I wasn't overally commited to I can put it on the first level of fast forward and it is still a smooth playback that is watchable. On other DVRs even at that level it jumps frames in a non-fluid way so it becomes unwatchable.
Your input and opinions are appreciated.
Thanks,
-dave
Edit: In case it matters I should add that I've replaced the old ActionTec router they gave me way back when with my own router so there is no IP over the coax. I'm using a wireless dongle for the TiVO.