Rating: 
Summary: Nice for gadget fiends
Review: The TiVo machine works as advertised. Being able to record and play at the same time is the key advantage over VCRs.There are a few drawbacks. Channel surfing is quite slow as the TiVo box needs to send 4 keys (3 digit channel plus enter) through the IR link. It will not just send "Channel Up" or "Channel Down" even if the channel numbers are consecutive (which is usually the case). There is no way to alter the inter-digit delay to have TiVo send the keys faster. Also, setting up "season passes" is sometimes cumbersome, since a single conflict will cause a M-F scheduled recording to fail. (You have to schedule each day manually if there is a conflict) Be careful when pausing live TV, because changing channels will erase the 30 minute live buffer. It's easy to do this accidentally. It would make more sense to have the live buffer follow channel changes. I had to experiment to get the correct channel lineup. My cable system was not listed under my zip code, but another local zip code worked. Overall, it's a nice way to make sure there's always a good show queued up to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: nobody ever talks about the best features!
Review: This is a must have especially with young kids or if you are not around often.. First and formost, Kids: Have a small child that knows you can pause a video tape but doesn't understand how you can't pause the tv? now you can. You can rate shows (good and bad in 3 steps either way) and this unit not only recommends other shows, it'll automatically record programs it think you might like! You can quicky see in 1 screen the stuff you asked for and the stuff it got for you. You can start watching a program before its done recording. No more missing the first 20 minutes or waiting until its finished to watch! Not only does it have a default record quality, but you can select it for every recorded show. Theres no reason to record a talk show at best quality and you would never record an action movie at the worst. you don't need to compromise any recording. And you can tell it how long save the recorded items! It helps you manage the storage very well without even trying. I would say I get a good 20 hours without compromising the quality. I thought I had a great onscreen tv guide with my cable company. Since this unit nightly transfers the guide, EVERY show has a rating and a description. You know what te rating is the second you change channels, you know the program name, the channel name and the time the show is on (not to mention the current time). I didn't like the monthly fee but now that I see how its better than your cable company, its no big deal. Oh and you can search by name to record stuff. Great for finding those shows you know exist but never home to catch when they are. If you never know when you are going to be home next, you need this product. If you have friends over for sports shows.. you need this. If you keep getting phone calls and never get to watch your favorite program, you need this. Oh and have to take the dog out? pause the show and return where you leftoff later!
Rating:
Summary: TiVo-AWESOME
Review: We have both TiVo and Replay. TiVo has it hands down for reliability and ease of use. Replay, on the other hand has some recording options (like a VCR) which are needed in TiVo to access channels not in the directory.
Rating:
Summary: Never watch live TV again!
Review: Some thought HDTV would change the world of TV but promise that is still left unfulfilled. I would argue that personalized TV, not higher definition, is really what will change the TV medium in the future. Why waste time being forced to watch what you have no interest in? Do you really want to see that ad with the guy going through the car wash in a tent in higher definition or would you rather just skip it altogether? Like the Replay, TiVo is one of the first electronic devices that delivers on this promise. This is unlike any other component you have in your AV system and is lightyears of different from a cable/satellite control box since this is an actual computer, running a real OS, with a real hard drive. What does this mean to you? High quality recording, recommendations, personalized settings, automatically receive new features. The configuration of the TiVo box was incredibly straightforward and easy so that even the most non-technical person you know can set it up. The only problem with setting up the TiVo is figuring out how to wire it up to all your other components. For the average consumer this won't be a problem since their setup is relatively standard and covered in the manual. However if you have TV, VCR, cable box, DVD, AV Receiver, etc. you will need to spend some time thinking about how to best run the wires. The initial configuration takes about 20 minutes of your time and then it dials into TiVo to get your channel lineup and program guide. This is a short, one-time call that is followed by a 1 to 2 hour initial indexing of all the information to make it easy for you to find things. The time it takes to index is based upon the number of channels your TV/cable/satellite system supports so if you actually only use a small set of channels then the indexing is much faster. I almost never watch live TV anymore as I usually just pick something that the TiVo has already recorded. At Best Quality there is no visual degredation of the signal by running the signal through the box even when watching live TV. The benefits of pausing, rewinding, etc. are just too good to miss out on. If you are trying to watch live TV you do pay a penalty of being about a second behind the actual broadcast...but who really cares about such a small time delay? The TiVo will automatically record shows it thinks you will like. I have had mixed success with this. It has recorded some interesting shows for me. It has also recorded shows that it previously recorded and I explicitly deleted. Of course you can always negatively rate the show instead of deleting so it doesn't show up again but how that impacts your overall TiVo recommendations is unknown. There is no guide that comes with the TiVo that tells you how to make optimal use of the thumbs up/thumbs down feature. You can give a show up to 3 thumbs up or thumbs down so you do have flexability but it is unclear what the difference between 1 thumbs up and two thumbs up are. The recommendations can certainly be improved but I think with more people using the service that these will only get better over time. Another downside is that the interaction with Digital cable box is less than satisfactory. You change channels on TiVo and not all IR commands are received by cable box. This is mostly not TiVo's fault since the cable box does not properly queue IR commands. However TiVo should allow you to specify IR delays in some sort of advanced menu. On the good side all the problems I have with the TiVo can be corrected by them through future software releases. The TiVo company has been great at responding to customers and focusing on solving the problems that gives the biggest win to the consumer. All in all this is a really solid product for being an early entrant into personal TV technology. Even at this point I don't think I could live without the TiVo. Even though I don't watch much TV is has saved me significant time since I can fast forward through anything that is slow, boring, or advertistements and I don't have to worry about rushing home to watch shows in real time.
Rating: 
Summary: Tivo is always on, turns me off!
Review: I'm sorry to say that I would not recomend this product. I was very exicted to get my Tivo but four days after the two hour set up, my Tivo died. Tivo was great about replacing it, but even my second one seems to crash a lot. I am not a computer expert but mabye one reason is because the Tivo unit is always on. I was so surprised to see that there was not even a power button on the unit. Mabye because it does get a chance to rest is why I have problems with my Tivo. I think I will put the Tivo in the Kids room and try another brand.
Rating:
Summary: TOO COOL
Review: I was going to wait to buy the 30 hour TIVO. But I just could not stand it. And I am glad I did not wait. I have direct tv and it interfaces easily with a data cable. Installation was simple though lengthy. Plan on about 3 hours of setup of which 20 minutes must be attended. The menus are easy to navigate and the thing NEVER crashes (unlike Windows). Resolution is pretty good at the 18 hr capacity unless you watch alot of sports then the 14 hr capacity is fine. Drawbacks: Setup takes a while. Sometimes the wait for the Tv menu listing can take a while, minor problem. Must leave your DSS box powered up all the time to record. Great product, price will drop some more soon and Sony is coming out with one also in April or May. Get this and never watch junk TV again.
Rating:
Summary: great but here's what you should know
Review: I love Tivo! It is a wonderful product and for the most part, delivers as promised. Unfortunately, I have had a series of problems with my receiver. Software problems occurred almost immediately. Through a number of conversations with TIVO and Phillips personnel, I received relief. Within three months of buying the product, the hard drive died. Again, the people at Tivo were wonderful, if not a bit bureaucratic (I had to speak with a series of people). What I would not accept, and you shouldn't either, is a rebuilt product! In fact, the warranty states they have the right to give you a rebuilt machine, in the first 90 days after your purchase. After that time period, they have the right to charge you for labor. This warranty is good for one year; at which time you are on your own. This is one lousy warranty! Tivo is a product without moving parts. Being an enclosed box, the consumer cannot touch or manipulate the machine. Therefore, if something goes wrong with Tivo, it is not the fault of the consumer! I hope the decision makers at Phillips read this review and change their warranty. The next generation of people who want to buy this fine product deserve a fair warranty. The people at Tivo and Phillips have been great to deal with. Their warranty should be as good as their people!
Rating:
Summary: TIVO wil change your life
Review: Until you own a TIVO, you will not understand how this machine will change your life: - being able pause live tv on command means that trips to the bathroom, to take the dog out, to grab a snack, or answer the phone no longer interupts watching tv - there is always something on becuase your favorite shows are automatically recorded while you're at work or sleeping overnight We can no longer enjoy watching tv on our upstairs tv that doesn't have TIVO. You have to own it to beleive it. It will change your life.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo is awesome!
Review: I've been a consumer electronics junkie for years, but I've never made a purchase that comes anywhere close to making me as happy as my TiVo. I bought mine and set it up with my Direct TV with no trouble at all. It took about four hours to do the complete install but only about 20-30 minutes of this required me to be there. If you buy one, try to set it up as early in the day as possible so you won't have the agonizing wait overnight to try it out. Setting up recordings, watching shows, pausing, etc. are all incredibly easy but very powerful. This is not a dumbed down product, but it is EXTREMELY well thought out, which makes it an absolute pleasure to use. It is so refreshing to see a consumer electronics maker actually think about how people really use their product before releasing it! People have raved about the intuitive nature of the product and its remote control, and they are correct. This is the only remote I've seen that has this many features but can be easily operated without looking at it. In under two days I had it mastered and could do it blindfolded... Recording quality is very good, particularly on the high setting, but medium is just fine for nearly all everyday recording, even on a big screen TV. The only thing I don't like about my TiVo is that I'm watching a LOT more TV than I thought I ever would...oh well, at least I'm saving time not watching commercials ever again...that alone is worth the price...
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Set-Up Assistance!
Review: I ordered and received my 30 hour TIVO from Amazon.com last week. I have a home theatre system, with all components (CD, DVD, Phono, Digital Cable Box, & VCR) connected through a Yamaha top-of-the-line A/V receiver. As none of the example set-ups in the TIVO manual remotely matched mine, and despite the fact that normally I'm pretty good at this type of thing, after about three hours of complete failure, I was positively stumped. I finally had to call TIVO's customer care support. And this is where I am SO very impressed! I was absolutely blown away when the TIVO representative stayed ON the phone for over an hour with me as I crawled behind my entertainment center with a flashlight and my cordless phone, with various cables in my teeth! ;-) She walked me through every step and with persistence and effort on both our parts, finally we got everything hooked up and "talking to" each other. I've never experienced customer service like this before on anything I've ever bought. Amazing! And as for the TIVO and how it is working now - great and I love it! Only thing I didn't like was the fact TIVO/Philips have truly overlooked the customer's with home entertainment systems, calling a set up like mine, "advanced" - from what I can tell more and more consumers are going to the "advanced" systems so it would be good to see TIVO include hookup examples for "advanced" systems in their future product manuals.
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