Rating: 
Summary: The cornerstone of my home theater
Review: I hate buying expensive products and I hate month-to-month costs. When I went out to buy my Tivo Series 2, I had to grit my teeth -- the box was expensive and the upfront cost of a lifetime subscription was expensive. There wasn't really a way to get a better deal, and that goes against my grain.In the end, the Tivo has been the best money I've ever spent. The "killer" features of Tivo, in my opinion, that aren't thoroughly discussed already:
- Wishlists, allowing saved searches of programming in the next couple of weeks by title, category (e.g. Sports/Tennis), actor, director, or using keywords, or some combinations of the above (e.g. Movies/Action and Jackie Chan).
- 30 second skip, which has to be enabled when you boot your Tivo up (yes, Tivo is essentially a computer). This allows bypassing of a commercial you might already have seen, or skipping of a part of a program you may not want to watch. Hitting it when a player is tackled in a football game gets you instantly to the next play, for example.
- Great menus. Tivo doesn't use one word menus or confusing Yes/No options. If you have a scheduling conflict when you select a new program to record, the menus will say "Record my newly selected program" or "Cancel this recording, record the old program as planned". Very technophobe friendly, when I show it off, people are amazed at how easy it is to pick up.
- "Hackability". Since Tivo is a computer, it is alterable. I have installed a larger hard disk in mine to extend the content it's capable of holding. Note: this voids your warranty, so unless you're handy with computers and don't mind being "on your own" for support, you may want to ignore this.
- A rabidly helpful and enthusiastic community, easily findable on the web. If you are having difficulties, there are users who have been where you are and can answer any questions: issues with the Tivo software, problems with the Tivo itself, plus they provide simple upgrade instructions.
- This model (60 hour series II) has several advantages: more processor and RAM (faster), USB ports which allow it to use the Internet instead of a phone line, and an excellent hard drive bracket inside it should you choose to upgrade your device yourself (which the 80 hour model does not, I'm told). One downside: it is not as flexible as the Series I with respect to software -- you can't make it web accessible or other similar features (no Linux prompt). Also, this model is really suited for a cable box; if you use DishNetwork or DirectTV, I'd recommend checking out the satellite Tivo models, first. They have nice features like recording two simultaneous streams and recording in Dolby 5.1 (the Series II listed here doesn't do it). Personally, I feel the speed of this box makes up for a lot of the experience, I'd buy it again. Does it change your habits? Entirely. I never channel surf anymore, although I sometimes (as a New York Times article put it) "Tivo snack". Once you have a bunch of programs recorded, you can hop from one to the other; catch twenty minutes of a movie, then watch ten minutes of extreme sports, then just a little of the old Batman TV show before going back to the movie. It's fun, and it saves time. A bad show or movie takes less than five minutes to identify, you delete it and move on. One downside, mentioned below, is the IR blasters that change your cable box channels. I had to fashion a "fort" out of cardboard over the front of my cable box so that it did not miskey channels. It's frustrating to find paid programming from channel 41 on what you thought was a sitcom on channel 410. The "fort" fixed it, though (ten minutes of work and free materials). This could also be fixed in software by allowing serial control of cable boxes. This is apparently something in the works. Tivo is truly extraordinary, a technological product geared for the discerning consumer. It is a new example of how traditional methods of content delivery are being slowly replaced by products that empower consumer choice and control. Although the PVR revolution is still in the early-adopter phase, it can and should take hold. There's no reason a leisure activity as low-impact as television watching should have to be rigidly scheduled. Well, OK, solved by a VCR -- but the Tivo takes the information age and packages the advantages for you. Think of it as a smart, huge VCR with nothing to eject or shelve. Recordings can be automatically scheduled, boring and annoying content can be skipped or hurried through, and its consistently improving suggestion engine hunts down programs you might never have known you'd like. You'll see your favorite shows as never before, see more good movies and generally enjoy the experience more. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Great product, but very noisy
Review: This is a very cool product, but it's extremely loud. The fan and hard drive combine to create a high-pitched whistling noise that we found impossible to live with 24 hours a day. We ended up returning ours.
Rating: 
Summary: Good product...but a bit steep learning curve
Review: All the other reviews talk about how this will change your life, and, for the most part, they're true. You will find yourself free to watch whatever you want whenever you want for very little effort (well, plus a the monthly fee). However, it is not quite perfect. Given the unit is drop dead simple to set up (nice clear labels on the inputs/outputs...good visual instructions on what to do..ect) unless you had a less modern cable box/satellite hook up. In this case, you need to put these infrared emitters in front of your cable box/satellite hook up to be able to use the Tivo (it uses these emitters to change the channels). In my case it took a bit of fine tuning to get this correct. Once I got it hooked up, I was surprised that you really can't use it immediately...It has to phone to Tivo central for about 20 minutes and then it needs to format hard drive or something (it basically says, come back in 10 hours). Then you need to program the channels you do or do not to be available (but you can select to program all channels very easily)...I found this an extra bonus since you can use your Tivo as your main viewing device and just select the channels you really want to be available...so now instead of having to click through 160 channels, most of which I don't care at all about, I can now flip through just the 40 or so I know I like...and you can still access the unprogrammed channels by punching in the actual channel number instead of using the channel up/down button. But my biggest problem is the remote. It just sucks. Given the Tivo has no buttons on the unit and is operated only through the remote, and Tivo is set up on the premise that you will be using it as your primary TV interface, this is a serious issue. The remote is long and relatively thin...so there are actually very few buttons near where you grap the remote, so either you need to shift your grip or use two hands. Tivo needs to look at some Samsung remotes to get a good idea of what remote should be. My thumb was aching after the 30 minute button fest I did setting up my channels and programming choices. Also the 60 hour measurement is at the lowest resolution setting, and if you have a digital TV, this is really going to look bad (it looks not great on analog TVs, but its not so obvious)...So if you like a good picture, you only going to have 18-28 hours of recording time. Also on the remote, Tivo caved to all the advertiser complaints and removed the 30 second skip button...so now you have to fast forward through ads instead of not seeing them at all. Nice to see paying a fairly steep monthly fee gets you that kind of service and customer care. Other than that, my only other problem is that it has a hard time picking out repeats of certain type shows. It is smart enough not to record the same episode of "Enterprise" in a given month because the show has some title listing information attached to it and Tivo can figure out which episode are repeates and which are not. For shows like "the daily show", which don't have any title listings, you either have to program each episode you want or it will record that day's show four times or it will record it once a month, depending on how you've worked your settings. Tivo needs a option that says something like "only record this once every 24 hours" and this problem would be fixed. So it is a great item, but it will take you a bit of time to set it up and actually start using it.
Rating:
Summary: Picture Quality Lower Than Before
Review: Already the proud owner of 3 TiVo personal vido recorders I was very excited to buy the new Series2. However, I was disappointed in the picture quality. I record at Basic Quality so as to get the most hours of recording time and found that the TiVo Series2 60-hr picture quality was not nearly as good as the previous Philips 60-hr machine. Pixellation was constantly a problem and the overall picture was grainier, so I finally returned the Series2 and bought another Philips. Unfortunately, Philips has discontinued their 60-hr model. If you aren't used to the better quality, or if you record at a higher quality level, you might not notice the difference, but it was very apparent to me. Quite disappointing, since I was expecting a quality improvement in the newer model.
Rating:
Summary: TiVo is the bomb, baby!
Review: Do you like TV, but never seem to have enough time? TiVo is for you. It's revolutionized our family's TV life. We pause live TV all the time, especially if the phone rings. Then you can catch up by fast-forwarding through the commercials. We almost never watch shows on their regular nights because we can watch them later without commercial interuptions. The season pass feature is fantastic because you will NEVER miss a show again. If you wished you had a program guide, but have basic cable, TiVo creates one for you. I love voting on programs and then seeing what TiVo has chosen for me while I'm asleep or away. Setup was incredibly easy. My only complaint is that I wish it was a local phone call for the TiVo to make it's nightly update. The nearest number is about 15 miles away, and just outside my local calling area. Other than that, it's been worth every single penny. TV lovers rejoice!
Rating:
Summary: The Dogs Bollocks
Review: This is so easy - browse click and watch the best.
I had got so fed up with TV - commercials, difficult to find programs, odd hours - this solves all of those problems, the program info/detail is way better than I get with my digital cable making decision making easier. This has really allowed me to enjoy TV - what I want - when I want it. One smnall gripe - I'd like to be able to watch one channel while watching another. This will competely change you TV experience for the better
Rating:
Summary: Best home electronic device I ever bought
Review: This is a great machine. Buy it I tell you! I am so happy I did. I was reluctant at first but my wife convinced me to go for it. I am so sold now. I have survivor and CSI on "Season Passes" (along with about 30 other shows I like) and they just show up on my Tivo week after week. It is such a pleasure to watch and super triple fast forward throught stuff you don't want to see (wink, wink). I don't know how I got along without this device before. Basic Quality is good enough for most shows. I can't watch Live TV anymore because I keep trying to triple fast forward and I can't! I save so much time with this device, plus I don't have to worry about getting home from work exactly on time to see my favorite shows. I can work late now :-( Well maybe that is the downside. It was easier to setup then I thought it would be. Everything I need was in the box and it gave really good examples. Just took an hour or so. It's a quiet machine. You can't hear it unless you get your ear right up to it. I'm telling you this is a great product. I can't be happier.
Rating:
Summary: Change Your Life
Review: I know it sounds corny and like a commercial, but this product WILL change your life. TIVO will record shows just like a VCR, but it will store them digitally and allow you to bring them up any time you want. Tivo will also record your favorite series with a feature called Season Pass. So if you love a certain show or many certain shows it will always record them for you, even if the network changes their time slot. YOU WATCH THE SHOWS YOU LIKE WHEN YOU WANT. My schedule is all over the place so i used to only catch my favorite shows when i got the chance, now whenever i get home there is a plethora of stuff that i can watch when i want. Get this and you will never regret it.
P.S. It also pauses live TV which is very cool and impresses the heck out of your friends
Rating:
Summary: You Must Own this Machine!
Review: Tivo is incredible. There is ALWAYS something good on TV now. You can setup "Season Passes" to your favorite shows and it records all of them automatically. It's like magic .. shows are just there everyday when I turn on my TV. I don't know how I got along with out it. I can't watch live TV anymore because I can't fast forward past the commercials if it's live. I pretty much only watch recorded stuff now. I even record the news. You can pause or replay live stuff too because it automatically record 30 minutes or so of whatever you are watching. I recorded my wifes exersize tapes on to it so it would be easy for her to exersize with out having to deal with VHS tapes. It's great. She just picks the right show from the recorded list and off she goes. No finding the tape, putting it in, queing it up. She saves about 5 minutes a day like this. I love Conan O'Brien but he is on so late. Now I watch him on my time .. not the network schedule. I watch him during my breakfast to get a good laugh in the morning. You can't believe how much this improves my additude in the morning. This is the future of TV folks. I love travel shows featuring exotic islands ... they were always on when I couldn't see them ... I am seeing them now, baby! If you work, you have to have this thing. No more getting home at a certain time to see your shows. Now you can work late and now worry! :-( Don't worry if you want to take a walk or go somewhere. Your TV time is now your time and you can quickly zip past the commericals. I am watching hour shows in 40 minutes or less. If time is money then this thing is gold .. it saves so much time. When I turn on my TV now, I can't believe the amount of entertainment it has waiting for me. My wife talked me into getting this thing ... I was skeptical at the time. Now I am it's biggest fan. I even thought about taking it with me on a recent trip because I had a bunch of good shows Tivoed on it, but decided against taking it. I hear that a lot of stars take theirs on trips with them. If it was going to be a long trip ... I would take it. This is the greatest invention since TV itself. Like I said before, "YOU MUST OWN THIS MACHINE." I predict this will be one of the biggest sellers for this holiday season.
Rating:
Summary: Good Tivo!
Review: I snickered when my boyfriend brought home a Tivo for the house thinking it would sit unused and be just another gadget. Was I ever wrong. Now, I don't think I could live without it. A slight exaggeration, but it's become relied upon. It records shows we usually watch if we're not home if we program it to, or if we've given a show a thumbs up. Tivo will record shows it thinks we'll like - and many we do. I will actually praise Tivo aloud as if it were a member of the family - "Good Tivo!" when it's recorded something I liked. The channel and show guide feature beats any I've seen and we can scroll ahead days to see what's on, and search for shows by name to record in the future. If you purchase a Tivo, you won't regret it.
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