Rating: 
Summary: cables really matter
Review: I had originally rated this unit very poorly. After becoming addicted to TIVO, my unit began having picture problems. We thought it was the TIVO unit. They said check the cables, I said which ones? I had never had a cable "go out." Finally we boxed it up to ship it off but were required to pay shipping and pre-pay in advance for repairs. We had only had it for 1 year and just over 2 months but had used it almost constantly, but I was still mad, so it sat boxed up waiting to be shipped for almost 2 months! I wanted a new one for mother's day but swore I wouldn't buy SONY. A regular reviewer on Amazon[.com] again said check the cables. I went to radio shack, bought new cables, took the unit out of the box and what do you know?! It works perfectly. This unit is only a 30 hour unit and that's recording on basic quality. you can't record HDTV to TIVO! I wish I had known, or I wouldn't have spent the money for an HDTV quite yet. The TIVO unit is great and I'm sorry I didn't try new cables sooner. I reccomend this unit 4 stars out of 5 due to the recording capacity. Otherwise, it's wonderful! Can't reccomend TIVO enough. Once you have it, you can't live without it! I HIGHLY reccomend buying the best cables and buy the extended warranty. It is upgradeable, just like any computer would be, just search TIVO online!
Rating: 
Summary: It died after one year
Review: At one year and 2 months of age, it died. I sure wish I'd bought the extended warranty. I'd reccomend that anyone buying any DVR buy a warranty. We used ours almost full time. Sony wanted us to pre-pay $...and pay to package it properly and ship it insured to the only place that could fix it. I can buy a new one for $... Plus, I have the inconvenience of shipping it and waiting. We LOVE TIVO and used it constantly. The remote started to wear out where some of the buttons didn't respond right away. Also, it didn't always change the channels properly all the time to record programs, which seems to be a common problem. So you might come home expecting your favorite show, press play to see it, only to see it didn't change channels and recorded the wrong show. I love TIVO and we are definitely addicted. I don't know why anyone would watch TV the regular way. We will buy another TIVO, but after our treatment by SONY, it won't be the SONY.
Rating:
Summary: Great concept but don't buy a Sony...
Review: We love our PVR in that we can watch shows whenever we like. However we have been very frustrated with Sony. Our PVR has had to be sent back twice in under a year, once for a bad modem and then less than a month after we got it back there was no audio. Sony's customer service has been absoultely horrible. The second time we got our unit back they threw away our original packaging that we had saved (just in case)and did not send the remote back with the unit. We call to complain and they really could not be bothered with our complaints. All in all, buy a PVR but avoid Sony--they seem to think that they have the corner on the electronics market so they do not have to worry about customer service.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo Service Great - Sony SVR-2000 Horrible
Review: The unit locks up frequently. Eventually, it won't reboot. Costs a fortune to repair. Better off buying another - but not a SONY brand.
Rating: 
Summary: You will never watch live TV again...
Review: This product has changed our lives. No longer are we slaves to the tube. We watch what we want, when we want. I suggest purchasing the lifetime subscription.
Rating:
Summary: sony service is horrible
Review: i cannot tell you how much of a hassle it is to get my tivo working! i am about to send another unit back to sony for the FOURTH time in 4 MONTHS. not only cant they fix or replace it, they are rude, irritating, full of needless red tape, and they NEVER call me back. I can honestly say that i HATE them. if the tivo works , great! fabulous product! but woe betide the one who needs service on it.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo will change your life
Review: All the hype about never watching TV the same is true. After a little bit of a learning curve, everyone I know who has Tivo (myself included) swear by it. Tivo's user interface is much easier to use than Replay TV. I initially had some trouble getting my Sony SVR-2000 unit to work with my AT&T Digital Box. I finally called Sony Technical Support, and was directed to use my IR Blaster and one of the channel settings. This resulted in better performance, but there are still times when the Tivo does not change the channel on the AT&T digital box and I miss a show. Also, the placement of the IR blasters is kind of ugly and awkward. I have also run out of space lots of times, so if you can afford it go for the higher models with more disk space. It's a Sony, though, so buy with confidence. Because of the glitches I have with my setup, I cannot give it a perfect 5 stars (although I would strongly recommend Tivo to anyone who was considering getting it)
Rating:
Summary: put a surge protector on the phone line leading to the unit
Review: and you may never have modem problems again. I wrote a review of this unit in December 2001; I won't rehash all of those details here. I write because our modem died again this past summer, right after a thunderstorm (just like it did last year). The similarity of circumstances made me realize that the thunderstorms probably had produced a power surge on the phone line that was connected to our unit, knocking out the modem each time. Now we have a surge protector [X] on the telephone line leading to our unit, and I have a feeling that our modem problems are a thing of the past.
I am really surprised to read all of the negative reviews about SONY; while having the modem fail was annoying, each time it did, SONY fixed our unit for free (even the last time, when it was no longer under warranty). Although owning this unit has not been hassle-free, SONY has been great about remedying any problems we have had with the unit, and we are always thrilled to have our unit back. We love having Tivo.
Rating:
Summary: Sony sucks-TIVO rules-a dicey combo
Review: I own three Sony Basic Boxes and the SVR-2000. All sony, all hooked up to the same dish through a 4way channelmaster. There is no length of complaints long enough to describe the woefule Sony unit. Its menus suck, there is no "favorites" capability so you have to troll through menu after menu if you do not remember the exact station number. You cant set up short cuts, in fact you cannot navigate as easily as you can with the basic units. You rarely if ever know if a pay per view is in letterbox on the TIVO/Sony, always on the Basic box. The unit randomly freezes, and loses the signal monthly. The basic boxes, never. And SONY has the absolute worst warranty & worst customer service on the Planet. If you anticipate speaking with a SONY or TIVO rep, plan an afternoon or evening. Since TIVO is a very worthwhile service however, I'd recommend another manufacturer as an alternative to having two such customer unfriendly companies to deal with. Stick with TIVO, Sell sony.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo Great! .....Sony is the pits
Review: I have owned this unit for over 2 years. I am addicted to Tivo. The problem is Sony. You must understand that these units rely heavely on a working modem. If you modem dies, you can no longer use the unit and you cannot just open the unit and put in a new modem. You MUST send it back to the manufacturer. After one year of ownership, my Sony modem failed. I had to send the unit back to Sony for [$$$] repair. Now, last week, my modem failed again. Sony is no help whatsoever. I am guessing that this is the reason that Tivo has started to manufacture the hardware themselves. As luck would have it. I just decided that I would never do without my Tivo so before the subscription rates went up a few months ago, I switched to the lifetime service for [$$$]. (now about [$$$]). Now I am faced with paying [$$$] again to repair the modem or buy a new unit. Sony has offered no explanation as to the cause of the modem problems and has basically said tough luck. Tivo has agreed to transfer my new membership to the new recorder if purchased from them but that is another [$$$]. I have already layed out [$$$] for the past two years of Tivo, I don't know that I am smart to sink anymore money into this investment. Look really hard at the manufacturer and warranties before buying a recorder. Maybe one procuct worth the extended warranties. I liked Tivo so much that I bought one for my parents 2 Christmas's ago. I bought them the lesser Phillips, due to cost, and they have never had a problem. I would buy the Tivo product if starting now. At least you have leverage with getting them to fix the unit so you can continue with their service. Bottom line: Tivo is Great! But pass on the Sony recorders...
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