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| Date Reviewed: 01/26/2005 |
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Strengths: Easy to program
Lots of automatic options.
Weaknesses: You end up recording more because it's so easy to use.
Summary: This product really changes the way you deal with television. The programming options are awesome and every one is easy to use. "Now Playing" presents all your recordings in an easy to manage list and lets you skip though commercials, stop, resume, or save to VCR.
I used the instructions in the manual to switch to the faster TiVo guide layout. I also found some other useful tips --such as the 30-second skip to jump over commercials-- at the online TiVo Community forum.
 94% of People (17/18) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 05/30/2005 |
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 I took the plunge on a TiVo with this 40-hour unit ... Strengths: Easy to record series. No tapes. One remote for everything. Inexpensive. Rewind/FastForward live TV.
Weaknesses: Remote control has SLOW response w/ cable converter box. "40 hours" isn't real capacity unless you want very low quality video. No dual-tuner recording.
Summary: I took the plunge on a TiVo with this 40-hour unit to see what all the hype was all about. A friend of mine told me how it is so convenient and that she can't live without TiVo now. Well, after testing this unit for a month, I cannot comprehend the hype behind TiVo. To start, the setup of TiVo is a bit complicated with all the cables and the series of screens to update the TiVo with the service. True, the unit conveniently records series and other favorites with ease and lets you rewind/fastforward live TV. However, allowing TiVo to record recommended shows comes at a risk of being interrupted while you're watching TV and get a popup asking you to cancel the recording. Additionally, TiVo thinks I have strange taste in TV shows as it records some of the oddest shows on television.
Recording quality when used in Best Quality is very nice. I don't see any degradation of the video and certainly no skipping. The RW/FF buttons are convenient though they sometimes have a delay when switching back to play.
Another part about TiVo I really am not fond is the remote control compatibility with my Comcast cable box. The TiVo remote can change channels on the cable box but the response time is around 2 seconds! That's a bit annoying because if you aren't sure what you button you pressed, you have to wait 2 seconds to read the cable box's response! That's not acceptable.
Connecting the TiVo to a wireless network is a mystery to me. I've read many FAQ's online & visited the TiVo.com support pages but nothing is getting me out of this mess. According to the settings menu on TiVo, the wireless network is detected but cannot send/receive any data to TiVo servers. I should also note that finding compatible TiVo network adapters also requires heavy research before going out to buy one. It is not the easiest thing.
For the convenience of an up-to-date VCR, TiVo is great. Great quality and very convenient. For all the other features TiVo boasts, such as picking recommendations, compatibility w/ cable boxes and networking, this unit lacks. So if you spend the money for a TiVo, expect using it as mostly a timed-recorder than anything else. Also beware of the annoying popups when it starts recording while you're watching TV.
88% of People (14/16) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/30/2004 |
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Pro:
It can record all epsiodes of TV shows.
It ...
Strengths: records all epsiodes of TV shows, recommends TV shows to watch based on your rating to TV shows.
Weaknesses: No dual tuners, so you can't record 2 shows that have time conflict. Picture quality is not as good as TV, kinda of grainy. It can't adjust the recording couple minutes earlier or late automatically
Summary: Pro:
It can record all epsiodes of TV shows.
It recommends TV shows to watch based on your rating to TV shows, and automatically download them for you.
Con:
No dual tuners, so you can't record 2 shows that have time conflict.
Picture quality is not as good as TV, kinda of grainy.
Channel, like NBC, likes to start or end their shows couple earlier or later. Tivo can't adjust the recording couple minutes earlier or late automatically.
Must use at least "high quality" when recording, any lower is not acceptable, but it will reduce total recording hours from 40 to 18.
When using wireless networking, tivo supports 802.11b with WEP encryption only. If you use it, you must bring down your whole wifi network to WEP encryption.
I can't use tivo remote to control my Viewsonic N2700W LCD TV, it doesn't even know the existence of this TV model.
83% of People (19/23) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/02/2005 |
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Strengths: Totally changes the way you watch TV. Watch a 30 min program in 22 minutes. Easy to set up. Remote control well designed.
Weaknesses: Can be a bit noisy. The hard drive runs all the time. The first one I recieved from the store was loud. I exchanged it for another one and this one is very quiet.
Summary: 2005-03-02 09:31:43 I never thought I would want one. Now that I have one, I don't think I c an go back to watching TV the old way. I used to flip channels to find something worth watching. Now I never have to do that again. Requires 12.95/ month Tivo service or $299.00 lifetime activation.
80% of People (8/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/13/2004 |
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Strengths: Extremely easy to use. Great price after rebate.
Weaknesses: Needs subscription fee. Only 40Gb of hard drive space.
Summary: I never considered getting a TiVO until a local store recently had it for free after a mail-in-rebate. Thinking it wouldn't hurt, I gave it a shot.
So far, I've been very satisfied with the TiVO Series2 40hour DVR. It's extremely easy to use. I also have an HTPC (home theater PC) that I built myself, and the TiVO definitely has a much easier interface. Whereas I was the only one who could really use the HTPC, even the wifey could use the TiVO with ease. Season pass gives you the option of recording all the episodes of a show, which is really great for me. Pretty useful if you like 2 shows that air at the same time.
It works pretty well with my standard TV. However, when hooked up to my HDTV, the image quality, as expected was not great. Just don't expect this unit to show stellar video quality on an HDTV.
On the downside, this particular unit only comes with a 40 Gb HDD, which has a maximum capacity of 40 hours of recordings, but really just 10 to 11 hours if set to high quality. But people have had pretty good success changing the hard drive to increase capacity.
You'll also have to pay a subscription fee ($299 lifetime or around $12 monthly). I think some of the other models (e.g. Toshiba SDH400) come with a free subscription, but those are pretty hard to find nowadays.
For the price I got it (free after rebate), it's a great deal. But even if you pay for it, it's still a pretty good product.
77% of People (23/30) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 07/24/2005 |
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Strengths: NA
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: This is a nice, basic tivo unit. It only has 40 hours, which is good for the basic tv viewer. You also have to pay the monthly tivo subscription fee, but there are enough special offers that usually make up for this. I have not had any problems with this unit, and I have used several tivos in the past.
75% of People (6/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/03/2005 |
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Strengths: Good price (with rebate). Flexiblity. Ease of use
Weaknesses: Subscription required for use. Hard drive always active. Not HD compatible.
Summary: I purchased this unit to because the DVD recorder I purchased kept failing to record. I purchased this unit off the TIVO website as a reconitioned unit for a reduced price. It is a good bargain and it carries the same warranty as a new unit. This unit will only store standard definition broadcasts so if your moving to High Definition (HD) consider a different device. Cable and satellite operators are offering products to handle HD. The TiVo service is really great. The Season Pass feature is handy for viewing your favorite episodes. The Wish List feature is handy for recording specific titles, actors, directors or key word searches.
70% of People (7/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/14/2004 |
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Strengths: Very easy to use,
Weaknesses: on screen menus are too small to read from a distance
Summary: Easy to use. Very easy to understand. Installlation was a breeze, except for the tivo is very sesitive to line noise for the program call during Guided setup. spent an hour and 15 min on phone with tivo customer support to try to get it fixed turns out you just have to keep trying until you get through. On screen menus are hard to read if you are not close to the TV. Other than the menus everything else is great. Thanks compusa.
53% of People (8/15) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/18/2005 |
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Strengths: What's not to love. Can be hooked up to a home network to make updates speedy. Lots and Lots of Features. Can transfer shows to other TiVo's in your house.
Weaknesses: Snaller hard drive, only 40 GB. Have to do inital setup with regular phone line, and cannot use network for first setup. Only a 90 day warranty?
Summary: So far so good. I have had this unit for a week now and I really love the features it offers over conventional T.V. Being about to pause and rewind live T.V. is a big plus. Being able to upload songs and picture from a local computer on your network. Relatively easy setup. But the coolest feature by far is the remote feature of being able to set up a recording from the internet anywhere in the world. I just used it for the first time tonight when I realized I forgot to set up the recorder to tape something after I went to work. It worked like a charm. Overall this is a great unit and TiVo is a great service. Hopefully it gets better and better. The only thing that worries me is that the unit only has a 90 day warranty....hmmmmm.
38% of People (3/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/17/2005 |
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Strengths: easy programming and buttons
Weaknesses: hard drive based unit which may fail, no easy
way to replace the hard drive
Summary: programming is so easy and quick with on screen
prompts and even sounds to let you know when
you have made a mistake. the unit will change
the way you watch programs on your tv as you
can now watch them whenever you wish on your
own time!
20% of People (1/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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