A Non-Geek Look at Moxi’s HD DVR

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I’m still getting familiar with my loaner retail Moxi HD DVR ($800, no fees). The Moxi UI is high def lusciousness and it offers some compelling features beyond requisite DVR functionality – such as the ticker, media streaming, and web browsing (!). And not an ad in sight. However… The interface does take a bit of getting used to. Plus, like Engadget, it feels like just about everything requires one too many clicks and, like Gizmodo, remote control operation is often a mystery.

However, I’ve been perfectly willing to give it a little time. Melissa isn’t quite as patient. While I’m responsible for nearly all our tech decisions/purchases, she often ends up living with them. Perhaps a family DVR shouldn’t involve a learning curve. Her thoughts, with only minor stylistic and grammatical editing (hypertext links, too) by me:

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Among the many benefits of being Dave’s other half, is getting cool gadgets shipped to our home. While I may not be a true geek, I appreciate user-friendly devices that aren’t meant solely for tech gurus. We all know about Dave’s love-hate relationship with TiVo. True to himself, Dave has always provided an honest critique of the TiVo product. But, I have come to love our TiVo(s) simply because “My TiVo gets me“. Which is why I am not loving the Moxi unit we currently have hooked up in our bedroom.

Maybe I am a creature of habit and don’t do well with change. So, the burden is on Moxi to help me make a smooth transition if they want me to fall in love with their product. The interface is busy and distracts me from seeing what I am looking for. Way too colorful. Plus, it makes me work too hard. Moxi simply takes too long to find recorded programming. There seems to be too many steps to get me to the shows it recorded. I’m also somewhat frustrated with lag time when flipping channels.

I miss my simple-to-use TiVo that I have come to depend on. Not only because she gets me, but because I get her!

6 thoughts on “A Non-Geek Look at Moxi’s HD DVR”

  1. I enjoyed when Brent offered dual reviews of the Kindle 2, by he and his wife. So when Melissa was giving me her impressions of Moxi last night, I said write it up. I had no idea she actually would and was half joking. But without my knowledge or input, she put this together. Less blogging work for me today – thanks, hon! (It also turns out she’s a ‘short form’ blogger, like I. Less is more.)

  2. “Non-Geek Look at Moxi” <—- Anybody that can differentiate between two DVR brands, in terms of the utility they provide and the user experience, *is* a geek. And anyone willing to fall on the sword and articulate in writing those differences, in order to benefit Consumers in their purchasing choices, is a geek beyond salvation.

    Welcome to Nerdsville Melissa, we’re glad you are here!

    P.S. The vast majority of people ( non ZNF readers ) still refer to any STB or home theater component as “the thing” ( I just got back from WalMart, can you tell? ) those who do so are who I consider “non-geeks”.

  5. I just got a Moxi box from my cable co-Charter & it doesn’t have alot of the features that I have read about on Digeo’s site–same DVR I think.This is really dissapointing and I feel I have been short-changed by Charter..how in the heck can they cut out features if this Moxi has it anyway? Any one can explain that one to me? Thanks

  6. Rick, the retail Moxi box is not the same as the cable company issued box. Especially if you got one of the old ones running on Motorola hardware.

  7. Moxi apparently can’t be bothered to support MPEG-4 streaming of any flavor: xvid, MKV, mp4

    that’s a deal killer.. on the fly transcoding to mpeg-2 with tversity would get old REALLY quickly at $800

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