High Definition DVR – High Definition PVR

Review by N. Schweitzer:

After years of sticking to a single-tuner model (except for the DirecTv versions), Tivo has finally released a dual-tuner model. For the most part, the only difference between this model and previous Series 2 Tivos is the ability to record two channels at once.

The box keeps the look of the more recent series 2 Tivos, except for a black-accented faceplate. The connections in the rear are laid out largely the same as past versions, with the exception of an ethernet port that has been added for wired networking.

The software has minor changes, particularly slight modifications to the menu background images and the newer “tivo introduction skit” that appears when the tivo is powered on. The software and hardware work smoothly. There seems to be a faster processor included, as navigation through the menus is quick and smooth.

The dual-tuner functions work well. Having grown accustom to the single-tuner model, it took me some time to get used to the ability to change channels while recording (and that what is on screen is not necessarily what is being recorded). It was also pleasant to schedule 25 season passes without a single conflict-such is the benefit of being able to record two shows at once.

But the dual-tuner function needs some explanation. The people who benefit most from the DT function are those who have analog cable without a cable box (as I do). I simply plug in the coax cable into the tivo, and it is ready to go. (Note: there is only one coax input-the signal is split internally and sent to the dual tuners.) If you have a cable box or digital cable, things start to get a bit trickier. In fact, in order to use the dual-tuner feature, you MUST be able to receive at least some channels through an analog cable connection. This means that if you have purely digital cable that requires a digital cable box, you will NOT be able use the dual tuner functions, as there is only one connection allowed between the cable box and tivo. I suggest you go to tivo’s website and download the product manual for the DT tivo and read the part about connecting tivo to your cable. If it seems like too big of a hassle, you might want to wait for the series 3 tivos that will include cable-card technology (which allows you to use digital cable without the cable box).

One additional note, tivo has stopped supporting over-the-air antenna tuning with this model. If you hook up an antenna to tivo, it will only receive channels 2-13. Any broadcast channels above 13 will not be received.

And for those who are thinking of “upgrading” this tivo to a larger hard drive-the DT tivo is upgradeable in the same ways that past series 2 models were. I used the standard methods (which are published all over the internet) and replaced the 80GB hard drive with a 250GB one. Upgrading, however, voids your warranty (which is only 3 months anyway).

Overall, I am happy with the DT tivo, but that is in large part due to fact that I receive analog cable without a cable box. Many of you who have been using antennas, cable boxes or digital cable will likely be somewhat less satisfied with this model.

Review by C. Keeley:

When I received my new TiVo I rushed right in to install and play with my new “toy”. The instructions were clear and I followed them to the letter. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the second of the “dual-tuner” channels working. After many hours and much fiddling I gave up and called customer service. As it turned out my RF input was not working properly; however, I found out something extremely important. New laws require that all signals be digital beginning in 2009. Many providers are currently in the process of changing over now, and according to the customer service rep. the second channel of the “dual channel” system is analog only and therefore useless in the new digital environment. I was not made aware of this fact when I purchased the unit as it would have made a definite difference in my decision to purchase it.

Review by Easy-G:

I’ve been a TiVo owner since 2003 and this is their best TiVo to date. But it isn’t perfect. It’s a shame that the new HD user interface is still a work in progress. It is buggy and slow. You still have the option of using the old user interface, which is what I do. The processor in the TiVo Premiere is more powerful than the TiVo HD. But the extra processing power is mainly for the new user interface. It has the same recording abilities that the TiVo HD had with the exception of also supporting 1080p. It would have been nice if TiVo would have added a third tuner. Like the TiVo HD, the Premiere only supports cable TV and OTA antenna programming. The Premiere is almost an inch shorter than the HD and is more energy efficient. The main reason I bought the Premiere wasn’t to upgrade from my existing TiVo HD, but I wanted another TiVo for the kid’s playroom. If you already own a TiVo HD and you are looking to upgrade, you might want to save your money for the next TiVo series. If you don’t already have a TiVo or you don’t have an HD-capable TiVo for your HDTV, this is a great purchase. While the upgrades from the TiVo HD are lacking, it is still the best DVR on the market.

We use our TiVo with a large antenna in the attic and a per month Netflix subscription. We have more than enough to watch between the DVD’s we get in the mail, streaming Netflix to our TiVo from the Internet, and the 30+ digital channels we receive OTA. Actually, TiVo makes using an antenna acceptable for us. It records all the shows we like no matter when they are on and we watch them in our time. I was able to buy the TiVo Premiere and a lifetime subscription with the money we saved over the past year by dropping cable. TiVo also supports Internet video rentals from Amazon and Blockbuster, but we prefer using Netflix because it’s cheaper.

This TiVo can record up to 45 hours of HD programming. That sounds like a lot, but you’ll be surprised by how quickly it fills up. You can add an external drive Western Digital My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1S10000VN (Black) to add more recording space. The one big caveat with this method of adding recording space is you’ll lose all your recordings on the external drive and your TiVo if you decide to remove it later. The other option is to purchase the Premiere XL TiVo TCD748000 Premiere XL DVR (Black). It will allow you to record up to 150 hours of HD programming and comes with a backlit remote. I upgraded the internal hard drive in my TiVo HD myself and kept the original drive as a backup. I’m waiting to hear from others before I attempt to upgrade the internal hard drive in my TiVo Premiere. To date, no one knows if it can be done or not.

FYI: TiVo has a couple of specials going for existing TiVo users. You can either get 0 off the lifetime subscription for a new Premiere (if you already have a lifetime subscription) or receive a 20% discount off the Premiere itself (if you don’t have a lifetime subscription). I believe you must purchase your TiVo directly from TiVo to get the discounts. TiVo offers free shipping, but you’ll have to pay taxes on the hardware.

According to a TiVo press release, TiVo is coming out with a wireless N network adapter in May with a retail price of .99. They are also coming out with an optional slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote later this year. The remote will utilize a Bluetooth USB dongle that will plug into the back of your TiVo HD or Premiere.

Update 4/18/2010:

I did give the new interface another shot for a couple of days. I like where they are going with it, but as I said before it isn’t a finished product. It locked up on me twice while flipping through the menus. As others have mentioned, if you drill down into the menu system you will eventually end up in the old menu system. They have a new option to list Oscar winning films. So I select a movie and it says it’s available from Blockbuster. Cool, but I haven’t been a member of Blockbuster for years so I go back and configure my TiVo not to search Blockbuster (nice feature). I then go back to the list of Oscar winning films and it still shows the same movie. I select the movie again and this time it tells me it’s not available for me to watch. So why would I want to see a partial list of Oscar winning movies that currently aren’t available for me to watch on my TiVo?

For people who have rated the TiVo Premiere one or two stars because of the new user interface, well I can’t argue with them. Perhaps TiVo should have sold the Premiere with the old user interface enabled with the option of using the new beta user interface. I’m sure TiVo will push out updates in the future to fix the issues, but we’re not talking about a few minor bugs here. I think TiVo released the new user interface way too early.

I’ve been using my TiVo Premiere for 3 weeks now with the old user interface. I’ve had no issues with it and it’s as stable as my TiVo HD. However, I see little difference between my TiVo HD and my TiVo Premiere while using the old user interface. I would still rate the TiVo Premiere as 4 stars with the old user interface. But as I mentioned in my original review, it isn’t much of an upgrade from the TiVo HD. One thing that the Premiere has over the HD is the ability to run the new user interface (which isn’t ready for prime time).

Review by W. C. Morrison:

As a Tivo HD user, I pre ordered the Tivo Premiere on spec, and am unfortunately paying the price. This has almost no new features, period. The UI has been revamped, but once you get 2 or so menus deep, you almost always end up back at the old UI, which is a jarring and ugly experience. Even browsing web videos, youtube and netflix are all in the old Tivo HD format, further hammering home the nothing new here feeling. I would say about 35% of the UI has been revamped, the rest is being “worked on”. That statement comes up alot in discussions of this unit. I was excited about Pandora on the Tivo Premiere, however that is being “worked on”, expected in the 2nd half of 2010. I am told the lag the new interface has is being “worked on”, while it is a multi core processor, Tivo Premiere does not have it enabled. While switching between the old menus and new menu’s my tivo rebooted without notice, cutting off both programs. Oh yeah, did I mention it still only has 2 tuners. This unit does have alot of promise, but this is a glorified beta test unit. Having been a Tivo series 1 then a Tivo HD customer, I expected similar enhancements in a new generation. I cannot find one feature, even the new menu’s were available to Tivo HD units in a beta form. not one reason at all for a current Tivo HD customer to upgrade. Like I said, this unit has promise, but only time will tell. For now, I am not impressed, nor do I feel it was even remotely worth the money.

Review by William Kasting:

First, I need to inform you that all of my home television programming comes from an antenna on my roof. No cable or satellite whatsoever.

When the Series 3 debuted earlier this year, I contacted TiVo about recording two HD channels at the same time from an antenna and was told that would not occur. That one would be in HD and the other in standard definition. That, along with the price made me pass on this unit.

When the TiVo HD came along, I contacted TiVo again and was told by one technician that it WOULD record two HD shows and by another that it would not. With the cheaper price, I decided to give it a try and am glad that I did so.

I am happy to report that this unit will definitely record two high definition programs at the same time from an antenna. No splitters, amplifiers or other hardware. Just plug it into the Antenna connector on back of the box.

Setup and activation was easy. The most difficult part was figuring out the maze of cables behind my TV and Stereo amplifier, but that is hardly TiVo’s fault. I already had it set up when I called to activate the box. When I got off the phone and turned it on, it was ready to download the Guide. Very hassle free.

The remote, while nothing fancy, has a good layout of buttons and is programmable so that it will turn my TV on and allow me to change its inputs while the volume and mute buttons control my amplifier. About the only other thing I need for it to do is actually turn the stereo on. But getting up once to turn on the stereo is a small price to pay for being able to record HD programs and pause live TV.

On some forums users have been reporting macro-blocking and pixelation when using some cable cards. I have no experience with that, but can report that I have not seen this problem using an antenna. In fact, I see no difference at all in the quality of the broadcast than I did when the signal went directly to my television.

After a bit over a week’s use I have no complaints at all with the product or service and would recommend it to others.

Review by Daniel C. Hatfield:

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1OPZD59RUSO2 TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder: Complete, hands on video review of the new TiVo HD box. Includes set up, scheduling and recording programs, watching Live TV, broadband extras such as Rhapsody, and Amazon unbox. Brought to you by The Digital Lounge (www.TheDigitalLounge.com). Please rate and comment on this video. Your feedback is appreciated!

Review by TomK1:

This is finally a worthy successor to the Tivo Series 2. While there have been 2 previous HD Tivos before, their relative cost and the lack of available options for lifetime subscription made them unattractive financially compared with the cable company DVR. If you purchase directly from Tivo, there is a (…) lifetime subscription option to those with a previous lifetime subscription. That makes this a worthwhile deal, even if it takes about 30+ months to break even.

If you’ve not used a Tivo before, I would say it is head and shoulders above Comcast’s ugly, ill-conceived interface. If you’ve used Verizon, it will be a step up, but not nearly so dramatic. If you’ve used Tivo before, you’ll feel right at home. It’s basically the 8 year old Tivo interface that’s been spiced up here and there, with supporting links to Netflix & Blockbuster for streaming movies.

This Tivo requires an M-Series cable card if you’re not recording from an antenna. If you’re not sure, call your cable company to see if they support it. Verizon did struggle with this question, although eventually I found someone to confirm the Verizon cable card supports multi-stream. However, the Verizon tech they sent was helpful and had the job complete in about 15 minutes.

Although the Tivo supports resolutions up to 1080P, it is only available at 1080p/24, so if you have a slightly older set that only supports 1080p/60, you’ll have to drop back to 1080i. That isn’t spelled out anywhere on Tivo’s site, although it probably doesn’t make much of a difference.

This Tivo networks nicely with older Tivo’s allowing you to transfer video between them, although it’s not possible to transfer from an HD Tivo to a SD Tivo, although the reverse works nicely. You can also use the Tivo Desktop (a free download) to transfer to your PC. You can even save it to watch later or on your portable (Google “kmttg tivo”).

I won’t write a review of the Tivo interface. More people have done it better than I could, so Google for reviews. You should know, although the new menus are in high definition, once you get away from the primary menus, it drops back to the old 480/SD menus. The only reason I can tell is the screen on the TV flips a bit until it resyncs with the lower resolution.

This version of the Tivo has a backlit remote, although by default that isn’t turned on. It also supports separate volume and muting with an A/V receiver, although it doesn’t give you the ability to turn it on with your remote. My A/V receiver did not work with the codes provided, but a chat with Tivo pointed me to a page on their support site where you’ll find the new Tivo has a “learning” remote. That did the trick.

If you use Tivo’s Chat support, the agents are well-informed and patient.

I’ve had one brief incident as I messed around with various menus where the HDMI lost sound sync with the TV. A quick resync through the A/V receiver got me back and running in a few seconds. Time will tell if that was a one-time glitch or a problem.

Previous Tivos have worked with Amazon video on demand (which works reasonably well). Now there are additional options to select high-def material, and you also have options to download from Blockbuster and Netflix. Keep in mind there is a charge for this type of on-demand movie, similar to what you’d expect from your cable company. However, this function is integrated beautifully into the overall search function. As an example, let’s say you’re interested in a program such as “Chuck”. As you search for the program, not only will it find the upcoming episodes on TV, but will also present you with the complete episode guide, giving you the options to either record from cable/antenna, or for shows that aren’t available you can download them to your Tivo to watch. That’s very clever and convenient.

Overall, it’s an expensive purchase, but Tivo does their best not to make you feel stupid for buying it.

Review by R. Kulesa:

After reading the negative review related to the need for a CableCard, I had to respond with how the product actually operates. I found the Company’s literature to be very straightforward in explaining what was required to operate the unit. The whole process worked really well for me. I had preordered the Premiere XL and it arrived on Monday, upon which I called Verizon for a CableCard. They arrived Tuesday morning and it took 10 minutes to install the card and download all the channel data. Done. Painless and works flawless. Verizon Fios folks currently charge a few bucks a month for the CableCard and did not charge me for the Tech to come over for the install.

The TiVo itself works great, exactly as outlined in the literature. The menus and search features are far easier to use for my family than any of the other company DVR’s I’ve used in the past. I do miss the Verizon on-demand, but being able to access my Netflix online, plus the other options from Amazon and Blockbuster makes up for it. Have already used free software available on the internet to transfer shows on the TiVo to my Mac, PC, and iPhone. Takes awhile to perform the transfer, but it’s many GB’s of data.

Love the auto-backlit remote and the onscreen menu’s are very slick. Great purchase, very happy with the unit so far. When activating with TiVo I did purchase the 3 year warranty, but the cost was offset by the Amazon On-Demand credit received when purchasing from Amazon.

Should note the unit does not have wireless capability, so if you don’t have the ability to plug the unit directly into an Ethernet port, make sure you get the wireless-N accessory when purchasing.

[UPDATE]

The Optical audio out port has stopped working. TiVo is replacing my unit and making it easy, but it is a little annoying that a unit less than 30 days old has this type of malfunction. Changing my rating down to 4-stars as a result.

Review by Mike:

If you’re too lazy to do more research aside from looking at this page, then you may be a bit surprised when you open the box. Here’s what you need to know:

1) This TiVo requires a CableCard. It does NOT work with your cable box. It in fact replaces your cable box, so things like On Demand won’t work anymore. Cable TV companies are required by the FCC to give you a CableCard on request, but they will likely charge fees for installation and for using the CableCard. It also (at least for me) can be a giant pain to get to a representative who can actually help you. I wasted hours trying to deal with my cable company. Also, try to get them to let you install it yourself, as it’s really, really easy and shouldn’t cost you twenty bucks to have someone else slide a card into a slot. Seriously, your blind, senile great-grandmother could do this.

2) The TiVo DOES have an Ethernet jack on the back along with the telephone jack. If you can use a wired network connection, then you don’t need to shell out extra for the wireless adapter. I’m now returning mine to Amazon for a refund.

3) Lifetime service (totally worth it in my opinion) now costs 9 up from 9, but you can get it for only 9 with a multi-service discount if you already have another TiVo. Even better, you can resell your TiVo in the future with the lifetime service and transfer the service to the new owner. You can’t do that with a monthly or yearly plan!

4) The remote is awful compared to the old remotes. Plus, they switched around the buttons! It also now uses 4 AAAs rather than 2 AAs. However, old remotes should work with this TiVo, too. (I haven’t bothered trying.)

Nonetheless, don’t let this scare you off. The TiVo HD XL is a really solid product, and TiVo is definitely still the king of DVRs. The XL is a bit pricey, but if you do the math, you’ll realize this is actually the best way to go. You really won’t save money or time by rolling your own or by buying the cheaper one and attaching an external hard drive.

Review by DaJoos:

By now the benefits of a DVR are well known, and most people reading this review know about the award-winning Tivo experience – I’ll not spend time describing how it all works (but trust me, it’s great! – you’ll come to hate it when forced to watch ‘live’ TV without Tivo). If my guess about your knowledge is wrong I’d advise going to the Tivo website and reading all about it.

Instead I’ll mention why I paid the extra for the XL Tivo when there are other, cheaper options.

First off this is the fourth DVR I’ve used (fifth if you count the Tivo Series 2 I bought my parents years ago). My first was a 160-hour ReplayTV (no longer available), and I loved it. As you’d guess when you have 160 hours to play with you have a lot of options. I was first afraid I’d become a TV addict, recording and watching far more TV than I ever did before – and in the first month or so that was basically true. Over time, however, you find your habits change – I eventually grew tired of recording every show ever broadcast, and instead used the capacity to only record my favorite shows, but with multiple episodes. That is, if you have a ton of room you don’t have to watch ‘ER’ every Thursday at 10 – you can read a book instead until you’re tired, then just hit the sack. Only when you’re in the mood will you fire the DVR up, and you’ll find multiple episodes of your favorite shows to watch. I actually found I was watching less TV, or at least TV on fewer evenings, with the large capacity DVR – I’d broken the habit of sitting down in front of the boob tube at 8 to be fed by the networks (and waiting through their commercials).

Well when the HDTV switch came around and I started using the DVR from my cable company and it’s 15 hours of High Def capacity, I went from DVR bliss to recording-management he$$. I could not record much at all, and so instead I seemed to spend all my time massaging my recordings (recording repeats at a later time to free up space now) or, what was worse, finding myself trapped between watching a show when I wasn’t in the mood or finding it gone the next day. Also, obviously, I couldn’t record near as much a variety as before.

Now comes the Tivo HD XL, which gets us back in the 150 hour territory. Yes you can get a cheaper Tivo and then purchase an add-on 500GB ‘DVR Expander’(rumors of larger coming soon), or perhaps void your warranty, open the box, toss the old HD out and replace it with a third-party one – but after doing a number of hours/dollar calculations I found this XL was cheaper than a lot of solutions, didn’t void my warranty, and didn’t rely on hooking up yet another piece of equipment and cabling just to get me what comes out of the box with the Tivo HD XL.

My only cons, and these apply to all versions of the cable Tivo: 1) Requires a cable card (or two) and the inherent hassles that come with a cable ‘technician’ visit (mine went well, but many apparently don’t) and 2) Tivo has ads that don’t get in the way of the functionality (you don’t have to watch them) but which still annoys me. The first con is not Tivo’s ‘fault’ – the second is, and is why I don’t give the product a 5-star.

Review by Sean Harding:

When we purchased an HDTV earlier this year, we resigned ourselves to using the DVR provided by Comcast, our cable company. We knew we needed DVR functionality, and we weren’t content to watch only standard definition TV on our new set. So we bit the bullet and replaced our TiVo Series 2 with the Comcast-supplied DVR. I’m not going to review the Comcast DVR in depth here, but it’s safe to say that I’m overjoyed to be able to go back to a TiVo device for our main TV.

I’ve been using the TiVo Series 3 for only about three days, so these are initial impressions. Overall, it’s a huge improvement over the cable company DVR. It has the same awesome TiVo interface we knew and loved from our previous TiVos, but it’s been spruced up a bit for HD. It looks nice. The picture quality is excellent, and the TiVo Series 3 has a great variety of options for what video modes it sends to the TV.

I had absolutely no trouble getting the two Cable Cards working. I plugged them both in to the box at the appropriate point in Guided Setup, called Comcast to have them activated, and then finished Guided Setup. They’ve worked perfectly from the beginning, tuning both SD and HD channels, both premium and non-premium.

I stole the TiVo wireless adapter from my Series 2 for the Series 3, and it worked seamlessly. I plugged it in before guided setup, and the TiVo used it for its connection from the beginning.

The only real problem I’ve experienced is that I’ve had a few very short audio dropouts. These last for less than a second, and seem to be related to load or resource constraints on the TiVo. For example, on the day I experienced this, I could clearly trigger it by scrolling around in the program guide. Making the box work harder had an obvious correlation to the audio dropouts. However, when I wasn’t using the guide, the dropouts were very infrequent, and I haven’t experienced them since that day. I don’t find this to be a severe bug, but it’s obviously something I’d like to see fixed. As it is, it’s far less frequent and much less disruptive than the problems I had with my Comcast DVR.

At the time of this writing, a few features have not yet been enabled on the Series 3. This may or may not be a big deal to you:

1. TiVo To Go (transfer shows to and from your computer). I never used this on my Series 2, so its absence doesn’t concern me at all.

2. Multi-room Viewing (transfer shows between TiVo boxes over the network). I’d like to have this, but it’s not crucial for me.

3. Storage expansion via the ESATA port (attach an external SATA hard drive). For me, this is another “nice to have” feature, and certainly not a showstopper.

TiVo claims that these features will be added in a future release. At this time, it sounds like the ESATA port is less in doubt than the other two features. However, if any of these features is a dealbreaker for you, it would probably be wise to wait until it’s actually shipped before you buy a Series 3. There’s no guarantee as to when, or even if, these will actually happen. I’m personally ok with that, but you’ll have to make your own decision.

I’m extremely happy with the TiVo Series 3. Yes, it’s expensive. But to me, it was well worth the cost to get rid of the cable company DVR. To put it in perspective, it costs a lot less than most HDTVs, and in my mind the improvement it brings to the television wathching experience is on par with what HDTV brings.

Review by F1 Nut:

I’ve recently upgraded from the original TiVo to the new “Series3″ HD TiVo. This review was written with the new Series3 out for less than one month, so some of the shortcomings listed below may have been addressed by the time you read this.

TiVo did a spectacular job with the hardware. The recorder can hold ~35 hours of HDTV or ~300 hours of non-HD programming, which is significantly more than cable company-provided DVRs. The Series3 can record two shows at once — either OTA (connect an antenna to receive the networks) or cable via CableCards, and if you have a recent HDTV, the TiVo can output all the recording via HDMI (a pure digital connection between the TiVo and your HDTV). It also contains a host of less major upgrades (back lit remote, an OLED display, etc) that improve upon the famous TiVo experience.

I should point out that, at the time of writing, the Series3 is missing functionality that is available on older TiVos, such as ability to export shows to your PC, iPod, etc (TivoToGo), and the ability to view shows recorded on the Series3 on other TiVos in your house (Multi-room viewing). If these are important to you, you may want to delay your purchase until this functionality is added (currently, there is no guarantee they will be available). I rated the item as “4 stars” because of the missing functionality.

If you plan on viewing only OTA (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc via an antenna) programming, you can stop reading this review, since the rest of it deals with using TiVo with cable company supplied CableCards.

Most people who purchase a TiVo Series3 do so with the intention of using it with their cable service, and the only way to receive digital (non-basic) cable service on the Series3 is with the use of cable company-supplied CableCards. Unlike older TiVos, a cable box cannot be connected to the Series3. If you plan on using a Series3 with cable, be aware that getting and installing CableCards *can* be very difficult, and you may wish to check with your cable provider prior to purchasing the Series3. Some caveats, based on my experience with the second largest cable provider:

(1) The customer service agents flatly refused to provide CableCards for use in a TiVo. It required multiple calls and escalations to finally have a manager “approve” the install. You should note that cable companies are *required*, by law, to provide CableCards for compatible devices. Most cable companies charge a monthly fee (usually less than ) for each CableCard.

(2) Some cable companies require a technician to “install” the cards on premises, which may cost you – for the install (again, check with your cable co). Unfortunately for me, the installer couldn’t activate the cards. This also appears to be a frequent issue at the time of writing. Multiple calls later, I finally found a customer service agent who was able to activate both cards.

(3) With CableCards, you cannot receive OnDemand and Pay Per View events. You should also note that some cable companies are placing channels on “Switched Digital Video” (SDV). SDV channels are not compatible with the Series3, so check with your cable provider.

(4) Finally, if you subscribe to a cable package such a digital cable + broadband Internet, you cable price may not go down if you return your set-top box. In my case, the price would actually have *increased* since, without the cable box, since I would not be eligible for the package pricing. Needless to say, I kept the cable box.

Overall, I am satisfied with my Series3. The initial installation problems caused a couple of headaches, but once resolved, it has performed quite well. Some of cable company problem might become less frustrating once the cable co gains more experience with this product.

Review by CP:

I’ve been using this unit for a couple days now, and so far I have to say I’m very pleased.

Before purchasing this, I was using a satellite receiver with a dual TiVo DVR built into it. I loved how simple it was and I was kind of unsure about switching over to cable with a separate TiVo unit, but the ability to connect it to my PC is what ultimately drew me in (more on that later though).

Here is a summary of my review, if you would like more detailed thoughts feel free to read on. I’ll try not to bore you too much. If you just want the bottom line, feel free to bypass my wall of text and skip down to the last section, Overall Satisfaction.

Packaging :: A+

Activation :: B-

Plan Pricing :: B+

Setup :: A+

TiVo Experience :: A

Customer Service :: A-

PC Connectivity :: A

Overall Satisfaction :: A+

Packaging (aka: Can I split a splitter?) :: A+

So I received the unit and opened it up, and for starters I was pretty impressed at the organization of the packaging. The basic installation poster was very easy to follow, the cables and items necessary for setup were neatly organized into separate bags, clearly labeled and such, it was nice to not have to suffer through any confusing instructions. One thing to note, the packaging contents does not list that it comes with a standard coaxial cable splitter (to use for the dual tuner), but it does. I bought one before I received the TiVo in preparation and didn’t need it, don’t make the same mistake I did!

Activation (aka: Deja Vu) :: B-

I went online to activate the TiVo service through their website and ran into my first problem. The website would accept my TiVo number (step 1) and ask my personal information (step 2), I’d click “next” and it would go right back to asking for my TiVo number (step 1!). I tried a couple of times to activate it over the internet but it would not work, so I had to call the phone number (talk to a real person, OH NO!). Upon calling, the wait time was a little longer than I would have liked, but once I got to an associate the process was very simple and took very little time. They activated my TiVo and set me up with my pricing plan which brings me to…

Activation (aka: Deja Vu) :: B-

…Just kidding.

Plan Pricing (aka: Where’d my money go?) :: B+

The only gripe I have about the pricing is that it’s a little more than what I was paying before. Still, it seems like the standalone TiVo is more robust and so I’ll put up the extra money for it. I won’t get into the numbers though, because I think that’s against the guidelines here.

Setup (aka: The TiVo bone’s connected to the cable bone) :: A+

As I stated earlier, the basic setup poster that comes with the TiVo is very easy to follow. Setup for me was easy, but I was also coming from a very similar setup and am somewhat savvy about this sort of thing. My wife, being not so savvy, may have had a harder time, but I’m not convinced it would have been impossible for her. All you really have to do is hook up the TiVo in between your cable signal (basic and/or from the cable box) and your TV (or VCR if you want to be able to tape stuff from your TiVo).

TiVo Experience (aka: What … he …. say?) :: A (overall)

So, everything’s all set, I turn everything on, everything seems to be working! After looking around for a few minutes, I notice two things that are off…

1) The clock is wrong.

2) The sound is cutting in and out.

After checking all connections and determining that the sound issue is most likely something within the TiVo, I call customer service… (Oh No!! Another real person!!) …we’ll get back to my TiVo experience in a moment…

Customer Service (aka: Crappy hold music…) :: A-

I call up customer service and again have to wait a long time to talk to someone. Once they get on the phone though, I get to talk to a very pleasant and helpful person. They quickly determine that the time issue is only related to the daylight saving time change and will fix itself after updating the TiVo (Go to Messages & Settings > Setting > Phone & Network > Connect; note: you may have to, as in my case, do this multiple times as it may need to install multiple updates. When you go back in there, keep an eye on the upper left where it tells you the status of the last connection, it may say “Pending Restart” in which case you will need to restart the TiVo to apply the update. To restart the TiVo go to Messages & Settings > Restart or Reset System > Restart the DVR). They also suggest that the audio problem may just require a restart of the TiVo system to fix. I restarted the system and the audio problem went away completely, so I’m not sure what was going on there. They did make a record of the problem and he was very reassuring that if I ever experienced the problem again they would exchange the TiVo unit right away. With my two problems fixed (updates and restarting took care of them both, keep that in mind if you experience similar problems), I go back to my TiVo Experience…

TiVo Experience – Part Deux

So back to my experience with my now fully operational, correct time telling, solid audio pumping TiVo. It takes me a while to go through and change all my settings (favorite channels, TV guide display, make a couple of season passes, etc.). Having come from a satellite receiver with TiVo built in, I feel right at home, although I do notice a few differences.

1) There’s no button to go directly into your Now Playing list on my new TiVo remote (there was on my satellite TiVo remote), the quickest way is to press the TiVo button on top twice in a row… not a big deal, but I was so used to that button… I sure will miss it…

2) The channel changing for channels only available through the cable box has a delay to it. And here is a very important point to note. **** If at all possible, do not use the IR connector to change your cable box’s channels. **** I received a cable box without a serial port on the back and brought it in to my cable service provider and requested to trade it for one that did. They were happy to do so, and I would suggest you try the same if possible. I’ve had experience with my father’s TiVo using the IR changer and it was awful (He’d miss shows that he scheduled to record because the darn thing wouldn’t work. We tried everything to get it to work right but it never did.). The Serial connection is so much more reliable, and changing a channel that is part of your basic cable is instant. But when the TiVo has to go to the cable box, it takes about 1-2 seconds to actually get there. Not too bad, but noticeable to someone coming from a system that instantly changed to any channel.

Another interesting thing to note, at one point I was moving around all the menus, making selections, changing stuff, and realized that I had grabbed my old satellite TiVo remote by mistake. I had been using it for the past 10-20 minutes without ever realizing! And it WORKED without a hitch! So if you don’t like the stock remote, I’m sure there’s an option out there that may accommodate you.

PC Connectivity (aka: I can finally watch “The Office” in my cubicle at my office!) :: A

So that brings me to the main reason I switched my system over in the first place. Connecting this thing to my PC. I opted for the TiVo branded wireless adapter, as I already have a wireless router in my home. It had no problem seeing my home network, and after putting in my network’s password (SECURE YOUR WIRELESS NETWORKS PEOPLE!!!!), it’s off and running. I download and install TiVo Desktop (available at their website) onto my PC and suddenly I’m able to see all the recordings that are on my TiVo from my computer, and can also see all my music and photos that are on my PC from the TiVo! I can get Podcasts and the weather and even movie tickets right from my TiVo. I can copy TiVo shows over to my PSP and iPod (that requires you upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus for a one-time fee of .95), it’s a beautiful thing! I immediately start to transfer over a recording of Scrubs and… nothing… the wireless connection is interrupted. I never did get it working, I’m not sure if the issue was with my router or the wireless adapter, but I ended up just running an ethernet cable from my TiVo to my router and it works fine now. Some day I might try to get the wireless connection working again, but oh well. Something to keep in mind though if you decide to go wireless, you may want to be sure to invest in a good router and adapter.

Overall Satisfaction (aka: THIS is what TV was meant to be!) :: A+

So this is what it all boils down to. After getting everything setup and running, I have to say I’m extremely pleased with it all. I, personally, am happy with the decision to move over from my satellite receiver with TiVo built in, to a standalone TiVo unit. To summarize the important things:

Positives

++ 180 hours of recording time, very nice

++ Dual-tuners (and I tried my best to mess them up, recording different shows, changing channels while something else was recording, they worked like a charm despite what I did to try to mess them up!)

++ What you can do with your PC is excellent

++ Season Passes, pausing live TV, fast-forwarding through commercials, instant replay… If you don’t have these things you’re really missing out!

Negatives

— Couldn’t the monthly prices be a little lower? (Just a little??)

— TiVo: either cut down the time people wait on hold when they call you, or get better music!

— Wireless connectivity of the TiVo to the PC was problematic

Tips for buyers:

> You don’t need a coaxial splitter. It doesn’t list that one’s included, but it is.

> Make sure to update your TiVo after hooking it up (Messages & Settings > Setting > Phone & Network > Connect), keeping in mind you may need to do this multiple times and may need to restart after certain updates.

> Restarting your TiVo may fix some problems, it seems to have fixed my audio problem.

> Try not to use the IR channel changing method. Use the Serial cable if possible. You may be able to exchange your cable box with your provider for one that has a serial port on the back, well worth the effort.

Review by SeaKeithRUn:

My Toshiba TiVo had video and audio input ports on the front that I used to plug my video camera into. This allowed me to upload home videos onto the TiVo and record them onto DVD. Unfortunately this TiVo device is having intermittent problems so I purchased the TiVo TCD649180 Series2 180 Hour Dual Tuner Digital Video Recorder.

The TiVo TCD649180 does not allow any input directly from external devices. I expect this is because TiVo now sells a video editing service called One True Media that requires you to upload your videos to the services web site which is the launching place for editing and sharing (and I assume saving to DVD but am not certain).

I returned the unit because of the inability to put my own videos on the TiVo for recording to DVD. If you use your TiVo for this type of activity you may want to rethink purchasing this device.