Rating: 
Summary: TiVo - Excellent right out of the box
Review: I have to say I was a bit nervous when I purchased TiVo. After reading most of the reviews that were left here at amazon. While a good 90% of the review's were very positive, there were the remaining 10% were less than imprssed with tht unit or had some various problems with the unit. I took my chances on the TiVo in favor of the competition because of what was said in the reviews that I read.
Right out of the box you recieve everything that is needed to get the TiVo up and running in a very short time. All the right cables and hook-up that you could ever need are included, even the phone jack splitter. No need to go to your local media store to get something that was either left out or something that you didnt even know you needed was there. This is a small thing but to me (someone who has had some bad luck with issues like that)but still very important. The setup was very seamless and when very well.
Now that I have used the unit for a little while now I am still very impressed. If you have read any of the other reviews you will know all the features and shortcuts that can make your TV viewing a much more enjoyable experience, so I wont get into all of that. I would like to thank all the people at TiVo for all your hard work and enginuity they do to make that little corner of my life better.
Rating:
Summary: TV Your Way
Review: TiVo is one of those items that once you have it, you'll never know how you did without it. Never worry about having a tape cued to tape your favorite shows. You can even watch a previously recorded show while another one is recording. Or, you can start watching a recorded show before it finishes. Wishlists will scan the program listings for titles, actors, directors, or subjects you're interested in. Season passes let you record all episodes of a show, regardless of when it's on.You can pause and rewind live TV as well. While you're paused, TiVo is recording the show. You can either resume watching where you stopped, or fast-forward to the current broadcast. This is helpful in skipping commercials as well -- just start watching 10-15 minutes after the show starts broadcasting, and then fast-forward through the commercials. Be aware that the TiVo service is a required item -- it won't function at all without it. A telephone line is required for the initial setup, but after that you can use an internet connection instead. The latest release (4.0) of the TiVo software supports wired and wireless ethernet adapters (seperate purchase; check TiVo's web site for compatible devices). New systems will automatically be upgraded to the latest software when they dial in. Also new in 4.0 is the Home Media Option. This service ($.... one time fee for the first TiVo, $... for each addtional) allows you to share shows between TiVos if you have more than one. It also allows you to transfer pictures and MP3s to your TiVo from your PC. However, you can't view recorded shows on your PC. HMO also allows you to schedule recordings via TiVo's web site, in case you're at work or out of town and realize there's a show you want to record. TiVo will work with virtually all broadcast, cable, or satellite systems. For systems that require a cable box, TiVo has an IR blaster that emulates the box's remote control. That way, TiVo can set the channel for its recordings. If you have DirectTV service, you should consider the Hughes reciever with a built-in TiVo.
There is a wealth of information about TiVo on the internet, both for general use, and for the technical minded, how to upgrade the device.
Rating:
Summary: I have three!
Review: Since I can't live without my TIVO and have three places I live at, I recently had to buy a third TIVO. Now I'm back to watching television when I want to. Expensive but worth it!!
Rating: 
Summary: watch out!
Review: I have had this unit for 4 months and was a little bit worried about buying a 'TIVO' brand unit rather than a name brand. The 90 day labor warranty should have been a tip off. Anyway, here I am, 4 months in, and anything recorded or passed through the recorder has an intense tinny overtone. I verified the problem was coming from the recorder by hooking my TV directly up to my cable box -- the cable box sound is functioning just fine without the TIVO. Although news programs are comprehensible, movies and music are just plain painful to listen to. And now I face a mind boggling customer support experience from a startup company that is clearly not set up to support stereo components in the same way as a name brand. Next time I will buy a Sony; my last Sony DVR is still going strong after 2 years.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it and then relax
Review: This purchase will change how you watch TV. My friends told me that and I did not believe them, but I now know what they mean. Recording and watching what you want to see is incredible simple. Type in the name of the show, decide if you want just new shows or replays, and let Tivo do the work. There are a few obstacles to get going that you have to get past, but nothing worth fretting over. The biggest is that you'll need a phone line to plug Tivo in to. We did not have one close by, so I had to purchase a wireless modem jack (runs around[cost] ). Note: not a wireless phone jack, a modem jack; there is a difference in the quality of the phone signal and it will only work with a wireless modem jack. You'll also have to connect the cables, although if you can handle connecting a VCR you can handle the same for Tivo. Once you do that you'll follow a guideed setup procedure. It takes longer than you'll want to wait, but you only have to do it once. Finally you'll need to sign up for the Tivo subscription service to download your TV schedule. You can choose between the monthly service or lifetime. I went with the lifetime subscription since it breaks even after a bit of a year and a half. Decide for yourself, and read the fine print. Once its up and running you'll find many major improvements over a VCR. Record one show while you play another. Enjoy up to 80 hours of recording time. No rewinding to find the start of a program. Programming that is much easier smarter - it even tells you if you have a conflict between program requests and proposes how to resolve it!
Rating:
Summary: Can't live without it
Review: I bought TiVo about two years ago; once you have it, literally you can't live without it. We are able to watch one show and record another. We subscribe to cable and Sattile, so we can record two shows on Satlite and watch live on Cable, so that means we can see view three shows at the same time. While watching the one on cable, the other two, that are all on at the same time, we can watch anytime we want, a day later or whenever. IT seems whenever we get hooked on a show, they are always on at the same time. TiVo elimates that problem. Not to mention the fast forward which is goes up to 300x times fast. I went with Ultimate TV. IT is our Satitte box, our TiVo box and it also has Web TV, which I used until I got my laptop. I could lay in bed and reply to emails, which was awesome, all the while being able to watch TV in a box in the corner, and recording another show. Needless to say, I love it. I pay no fees for TiVo, just my satille fee, and if you hook up to Web TV, you don't have to if you don;t want to, that is ten bucks a month. So the bottom line is you can record two shows at once, and watch a third on cable all at the same time. Just last week, I watched American Idol, taped The Bacherlete, also taped The new Twilight Zone. THey were all on at 8:00. SO after watching American Idol live, I watched the Bacherlette, skipped all the commericals, then watched Twilight Zone after, again skipping all the commericals. How cool is that!
Rating: 
Summary: A very good product with a few problems.
Review: I bought and installed the Tivo last December as a Christmas present for my parents. Their overall experience with it has been positive, but there have also been a number of problems, which I will go into in this review for the benefit of those trying to make an informed decision. First, after Tivo made its initial dialup connection, it crashed. A green screen appeared on the TV announcing the crash and saying that if the system did not recover within 5 hours to call customer service. It took considerably longer than that, but eventually it did recover. Two days later, another crash occurred. Over time the crashes became less frequent and recovery time was faster. As far as I know, crashes no longer occur. (Perhaps Tivo downloaded patches to its drivers.) Crashes are very frustrating, because not only can you not record during them, but you can't even watch TV at all without disconnecting the Tivo from the cable. Television should not be subject to crashes. VCRs never do this. One reason I bought Tivo for my parents is that according to the hype, it is so easy to use that anyone can quickly learn and become comfortable with it. My parents are not very tech-savvy and never mastered the VCR that they have owned for over 10 years, so I thought Tivo would be an excellent solution for them. It's been a struggle, but they finally know how to use the basic features and are no longer angry with me for turning their television-viewing into such a stressful time. A seldom-mentioned fact is that Tivo does not give you the ability to watch live TV and record a separate program simultaneously (although you can watch an already recorded program while another is being recorded). So if you just want to turn on the TV and channel-surf, you won't be able to if Tivo is already in the middle of recording another program (unless you tell it to stop recording that program). Even more infuriating is when you are watching live TV, and in the middle of the program a message pops up saying that Tivo is about to beginning a scheduled recording, giving you a few seconds to decide whether you want to abandon what you are in the middle of watching or if you are willing to not do the recording. Sometimes this can be a very stressful dilemma, particularly if the scheduled recording was requested by another member of the household. My father was often not quick enough to tell it to cancel the recording, and as a result, recording would begin, and the program he was watching would suddenly disappear from the screen and he wouldn't know how to get it back. When this occurred during major sporting events, his level of stress was unprecedented. Tivo doesn't work well when shared by multiple members of a household. Besides the aforementioned problem of different viewers canceling each other's conflicting recording schedules or even deleting other people's yet-to-be-viewed programs to free up space on the drive, there is also the problem that the program recommendation feature becomes hilariously inept. It works something like this. Tivo keeps a database on their servers of what programs each Tivo records as well as viewer ratings, and then it looks for corelations. For example, 95% of people who watch program A and program B also record program C. So Tivo if you regularly watch both A and B, Tivo will recommend and record C for you. Of course if A and B are recorded by separate individuals, the correlation means nothing. If I record Spongebob and my father records Meet the Press, and 95% of people who record both also watch programs on the golf channel, that correlation is meaningless. Tivo has definitely made some weird choices. Also, there is an occasional stutter in which a program will freeze for a second or two. This is particularly pronounced when it is recording one program while displaying another. The problem is not serious, since it restarts where it left off with no gap in the sound (and you can always rewind). But it is moderately annoying to me and extremely disturbing to my parents. Also, if you choose to copy important programs to videocassettes, you would record all the stutters as well. One disadvantage of VCR programming that Tivo has yet to overcome is the problem of preempted programs. If a show is delayed by a sporting event or that crazy Bush fellow, Tivo will not know this. It will begin and end recording at the scheduled times. In other words, the system is still not foolproof. There will be times when the ending of your program is cut off. Perhaps now that Tivo is making the jump to broadband, it will have access to constant scheduling updates. Overall this is a very good product, and I do recommend it for most people. I chose to concentrate on the flaws in this review, since the advantages (which are quite significant) are detailed exhaustively in the other reviews. It definitely deserves all four stars, and future versions of Tivo will probably do much to remedy the current problems.
Rating:
Summary: I love my TiVo!
Review: NOTICE: Most of this review relates to TiVo in general, not this specific hardware device, although they all pretty much work the same. I have a Sony SAT-T60 DIRECTV/TiVo combination receiver and a Hughes GXCEBOT DIRECTV/TiVo combination receiver. I've provided a few comments on these combo units because I highly recommend them if you are looking at buying a TiVo. My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. In fact, we bought a second TiVo for the bedroom about six months after purchasing our first one. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for - drama (Law and Order or Boomtown), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving). There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my FOUR FAVORITE things:
1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, will record a particular show EVERY time it's on or even all shows with a particular actor or subject,
2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of previously recorded shows and choose "Select" to play),
3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have. The TiVo Series2 product you are shopping for will only record one show at a time, but you CAN watch a previously recorded show while taping a show that is currently being broadcast.
4) Replay button - skips back 7 seconds, which comes in handy whenever you miss something that was said, or you want to go back and pause something so another person can see it. We probably use this button more than any other on the entire remote. HOW HAS IT CHANGED OUR LIFE?
Let me just give you 3 examples:
FIRST, we watch TV on our time. We never worry about what time, or even what day something is on. We have TiVo recording about 20 different shows for us each week and we watch them at various times, depending on our schedule. It doesn't matter when I get home from work, whether I'm out of town, or what time the kids go to bed. Our shows are on when WE want to see them.
SECOND, we have a Season Pass for three kids shows (Sesame Street, Clifford, Teletubbies). Every day, it tapes the new one and deletes the one from yesterday. So, there is always a fresh show to put on for our kids when we need to get them out of our hair. No bulky video tapes, and none of the stories get old. They're seeing and learning something new every day.
FINALLY, we pause and replay shows all the time. Want to stop and get a drink? No problem-pause. Phone call? No problem-pause. What did she just whisper? Replay it. Who was that behind Julia Roberts at the Oscars? Replay it, then pause or slo-mo. Use TiVo for a month and you won't believe that you ever watched television without it. We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). I also wouldn't worry about the periodic stories regarding "violations of privacy" - TiVo does aggregate viewing habits for research and advertising purposes, but does so anonymously. I have always found TiVo to be very considerate and protective of its loyal customers and much of its research along these lines is done to enhance the TiVo experience. The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit (if my review hasn't answered all your questions). But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A note regarding DIRECTV/TiVo units: I've discovered that DIRECTV/TiVo combination units rarely hold the number of hours suggested. My Sony advertises "up to 35-hour recording capacity." In reality, the data density of the DIRECTV signal is variable and you will rarely have even 30 hours of capacity. I have been maxing out at around 23 hours before things get deleted involuntarily. You can control the recording quality on stand-alone units (like this Series2 you are shopping for) and therefore, you can tell exactly how much capacity you're using. Recording quality is not an option with the combo units, but you should assume that you will NOT be able to retain more than 22 to 25 hours of programming before shows must be deleted in order to make room for new recordings. This doesn't change my enthusiastic view on TiVo or the combo units one bit.
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY A TIVO PRODUCT!
Review: After 6 weeks of use, our Tivo unit is DEAD. The hard drive crashed and cannot be repaired. After spending an hour on the phone (a call which I had to pay for, the toll free number is not for anyone with a Series 2 unit -- ridiculous!) with a very rude representative, we were told we have to send the unit back AT OUR EXPENSE and wait weeks for them to send us a new one. We asked if they could just send the new one right away since we just bought this 6 weeks ago and it shouldn't be broken, and the rep said, and I quote "You can do two things. You can keep a broken unit or do this my way." Okay, so to sum up: the unit is broken, unrepairable after 6 weeks. Their customer service has NO toll-free number. We were on hold for over a half an hour. Then we spoke to an extremely rude rep. Now we have to ship our useless unit AT OUR COST and wait for them to receive it before they'll send a new one. Terrible product and even worse customer service. BEWARE!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great concept but terrible execution
Review: I have had my Tivo for about a year and I have had problems with the screen freezing and skipping. I loved it and think the concept is great but only if it would be dependable. If you go to the tivo community website which has a link from tivo.com, you will see that there are hundreds of people with the same problem. I have done the same things that people have suggested; unplug the unit for 2 minutes; replace the disk; I'm now at the point that the new disk worked great for a few months but just got stuck staying at the screen that says "Tivo starting up" which makes it unusable.
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