Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: My husband and I love our Sony TiVo. You don't miss anything with this. If you get a phone call or any interruption you just pause it and come back to it later. You can skip commercials, rewind, slow motion or fast forward. You can record your favorite shows or have TiVo automatically do it for you with the thumbs up button (you can turn the auto record off if you don't want TiVo to choose for you). It's much easier to record than a VCR. You bring up a list of tv shows and just click on the title and that's basically it! It takes a little time to set up but it's worth it. A couple of times the tv screen froze for a second. I'm not sure if it's the TiVo or if that how TiVo reacts to normal interferrence that happens sometimes but it's rare. You will have to suscribe to TiVo but if you choose the lifetime membership it's cheaper than paying on a month by month basis. You won't be sorry if you buy this. We love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect TiVo
Review: No problems -- ever. Easy to use and easy to upgrade and/or add larger hard drives.
I liked it so much I just bought another...the SVR-3000.
Hopefully, Sony will continue to make DVRs with the latest technology.
Rating: 
Summary: Tivo rocks, Sony is the worst company in the world!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Do not buy a Sony DVR!!! I've been on the phone for hours with 4 operators in India who have no idea what a DVR is. Yet, they work for Sony as technicians who are supposed to fix your DVR?!. Call a number, (nice) Indian operator who has no idea what you are talking about tries to help. She has no clue, so she gives you a new tele number to call. Next tech is just as clueless. I now go to buy ReplayTV because my friend loves his.
Rating:
Summary: I Love my TiVo!
Review: There's no other way to put it - I LOVE my Tivo! (Sony SVR-2000)
It has completely changed the way I watch TV and it means I can watch what I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it (and skip commercials)! While not recommended for everyone, I hacked my Tivo to be a total of 160 hours (two 80GB drives). I now have tens of shows available for watching whenever I feel like it. There's always something on! My non-technophile wife even said that she was getting addicted to Tivo (a tremendous two-thumbs up from her!). All in all, this ranks up there on my list of all-time coolest products ever. Strengths:
- Features of the service - time shifting of programs, pause/rewind/fast-forwarding of recorded and live programs
- Hard drive access is instant - no waiting for tapes to rewind
- Ability to create a video-on-demand system
- Strong support of user community - search for "Tivo Community" on the web for more information
- Hackable! Weaknesses:
- Can be slow to load some screens
- Best if you can split your TV signal to watch something else while Tivo is recording
- Basic recording level is coarse - I recommend Medium (about 20hrs of time on the SVR-2000)
Rating:
Summary: A time-shifter's dream
Review: First, about this Sony unit itself. I've owned one for well over a year now, and it has worked flawlessly. My only complaint (and the reason I knocked one star off this particular product's rating), echoing something another reviewer noted, is the design of the remote. It was not well-conceived or tested from an ergonomic standpoint; its fit in your hand doesn't feel natural and impedes using the buttons. Also, I must say I'm a little surprised the unit hasn't advanced technologically (more recording space, features?) since I bought mine, in the way that PCs constantly evolve. About TIVO: I could not imagine living without it. That's primarily because most of my TV watching involves time-shifting. Since TIVO is essentially recording things to a hard disk, you never have to worry about whether the right tape is in the VCR, whether it's cued up properly, or whether you'll accidentally record over something else. You can set it one time to always record your favorite daily/weekly/monthly shows, and they're there waiting for you, all listed by name in a nice menu. And the on-screen program guide is very handy (though sometimes just a little balky to navigate). The feature where it tries to learn what you like, then records programs without asking you first, isn't annoying and can be sort of fun. Just be aware that it's probably transmitting back information to somebody somewhere (most likely some marketing firm's computer database) about your viewing habits. The point (for a single professional like me, anyway) is that with TIVO, with a minimum of effort on your part, there can always be lots of things you like ready and waiting for you to watch when you get home.
Rating:
Summary: Comments on previous review
Review: I've owned one of the Sony Tivo's for about two years and I love it. I was reading the reviews here and had to comment on one that said the remote was horrible and that Tivo was useless unless you could record one channel and watch another at the same time. First, the remote is the best remote I have ever used. The Sony Tivo remote has garnered almost universal praise from reviewers and I agree. It nestles in the palm so that your thumb falls right on top of the most frequent controls. Clearly the person who wrote that review doesn't like it, but that is not the experience of 99% of the people who have one. Secondly, I disagree strongly that the single tuner Tivo is usless because you can't record one channel and record another at the same time. I used mine that way for more than a year and it was still the best single piece of TV-watching technology I ever purchased. After I finally got a $5 signal splitter I now can record and watch at the same time it is a bit nicer. However, calling Tivo useless without this ability is absurd. I can't comment on Sony service for Tivo's because I have never had a single problem with mine. I plan on always having a Tivo and can't wait for the HDTV version due out later this year (2003). The inability to display or record HDTV is a big drawback with this unit.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo is incredible and this Sony Tivo Box is really slick.
Review: I purchased this exact box but one with DirectTV receiver built in...and it is truly amazing! Had heard from lots of folks talk about Tivo and that you had to have it, etc....but given the high price, didnt think it was worth it. I WAS WRONG. Tivo combined with DirectTV or another satellite offering is the way to go ... you can record any program or any payperview you order and watch it when you want. Recording (and then, importantly, quickly deleting or saving or, from time to time, removing certain saved stuff) is a snap. If you ever didnt record programs because operating the VCR was too complex, Tivo is a good solution for that alone...but the real power of this comes from your ability to record and keep a library of all programs or movies that ever were avail on your TV. One last thing, I love the 'Seasons Pass' feature -- you can tell Tivo to record the same program for you every week or every day or whenever it shows. For example, my family records '24' every tuesday night and then just watch it whenever we have time...and we also keep the entire series on Tivo so if we want to go back and watch some of the old episodes to patch it all together -- its a click away. Had no problems with this from a technical or operating perspective - its a great product and worth every dollar.
Rating:
Summary: It will change your life or at least your tv viewing!
Review: Tivo is one of the best products I have ever purchased. It's not only a great product but a life changing one. Before you think this is all hype, let me explain. By using a "season pass", you can record all episodes of your favorite shows automatically. So instead of recording shows each time, it does it for you. The result is that you have all your shows just waiting for you to watch when you come home. You get to spend more time watching what you like and there's no anxiety over missing a show. Because it records on a hard disk, there are no tapes to purchase or replace. I got purchased one without really understanding the benefits. Both my wife and I were blown away by this product. Once you get one, you'll never ever understand how you got by without it.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid the Sony SVR-2000!
Review: First let me say, the TiVo service is great! Best thing since color TV.
The Sony SVR-2000 is a piece of junk, and I'm not alone in that opinion. My SVR-2000 died after about 9 months - it would hang up then refuse to reboot. I called Sony tech support and (after waiting for hours on hold) they had me (repeatedly) cycle the power and reset the system, which did not help. Duh! They finally told me to send it back to Sony for repairs. It was still under warranty, but Sony charged me $92 for labor and shipping! When I got it back I discovered that Sony had replaced the hard drive and the motherboard. Mind you, the SVR-2000 only contains three components: the hard drive, the motherboard and the power supply. Sony did refund my $92 service charge, which seemed nice at the time. The warranty expired a month after Sony sent it back. Three months after they sent it back, it died again. I am NOT paying Sony to fix what is obviously a defective product. My SVR-2000 is now sitting in my office gathering dust. I paid for the lifetime TiVo subscription, so now I'm out around $400. I will never buy another Sony product!
I've read a lot of other reviews of the SVR-2000 (on other web sites) and a lot of them tell exactly the same story.
Rating:
Summary: TiVo changes the way you watchTV.
Review: Excellent product. Once I swapped out the ~9 hour (30gb) drive with the ~36 hour (120gb) drive and stored entered all of my seasons passes, I can now watch what I want when I want. I actually watch more TV in less time...no more commercials. Now, if only I could stick it in a closet and share the experience with everyone, in every room on every TV... well, maybe next year.
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