TiVo TCD540080 Series 2 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder

Wow. I was convinced to buy this because of my friend, but I had no idea how fantastic the service was until I tried it. Now, I can't even watch tv without it. Pausing live tv is great, and so is the season pass option. Like a show? Just tell the tivo, and it will record all of that show regardless of channel or if there's a time change!

There's also cool little features as well; if you are watching a commercial on live tv for an upcoming television show, an option will come up to record it regardless.
I also love the option to put the shows on your psp. It's a great way to pass the time.

In conclusion, it's a must buy. A+ product!

This DVR works ok. But when it is recording, forget about changing channels. It is really really slow and takes like forever to even receive any remote clicks.
Broadband feature is nice; but USB doesn't come cheap. Its like [...].

I enjoyed this unit while I had it, but it broke within 6 months and Tivo was not particularly helpful in replacing it. As a result, I have switched to the DVR offered by my cable company.

The cable company's device (which shall remain nameless-this isn't a sales pitch) has four distinct advantages. First, the cable company service is cheaper and has not increased over time (Tivo's monthly just keeps going up). Second, dealing with two separate companies is an unnecessary hassle. Third, the cable co's hardware is simply better integrated. There is no modem, and (unlike the Tivo) there is no requirement that you attached goofy-looking IR emitters to your cable box. These especially annoyed me, since the only way I to do this (that I could figure out) was with packing tape. This left my entertainment center looking pretty third-world.

Fourth, DVRs -generally- are the touchiest electronic devices I have ever owned. I am now on my FOURTH unit in two years (1 Tivo and 3 units rented from the cable company). Tivo is apparently getting better about replacing broken units, but I found their customer service stodgy and unresponsive. In any event, I just don't like mailing parcels when I can avoid it. When my cable-company rented unit breaks, I just call them and they send out a tech with a new one.

In the end, I liked the Tivo, but I am happier now and I wouldn't go back. As cable companies continue to rent better hardware, I can't imagine how Tivo will compete. If I were them, I would be looking to buy some cable companies while my own product was still hot. You can't beat a state-sponsored monopoly.

I have owned this tivo since march and I have not had 1 problem. The 80 hours is MORE than enough recording time. Everyone in my family uses this and loves it. The difference between tivo and other dvr's is the software. It is so much better. You can schedule recording anywhere where there is internet access and you can transfer shows from your tivo to your laptop or handheld device.

I have been a DVR user through Cox Cable for approx. 1 yr, and have always been disappointed. I have kept my eye on Tivo for some time, and when my DVR box went out for the 2nd time, I decided it was time to try Tivo. I got a refurbished Series2 DVR that was free for signing a 1 yr commitment for $12.95 per month.

I received the Tivo only 2 days after I ordered, very impressive since I didn't pay to have it shipped that quickly. The setup was reasonably straight forward. I had heard so much about Tivo that I had very high expectations, and here are the problems I encountered that surprised me:

1) My first mistake was not recognizing that you have to get a Dual tuner unit to be able to record 2 seperate programs (DVR does this automatically). So I ordered the wrong unit. To be honest, I don't see how this service is very useful at all with only a single tuner, my family relies on dual tuners A LOT. I am shocked that Tivo even offers a single tuner system, to me it's like a tricycle compared to a 10 speed, a dual tuner is so much more useful.

2) I thought I would be able to hook up a wireless receiver to connect to my home network. No, you have to buy theirs for $40 to $50. Since I didn't know that, I had to rely on the phone line option. This really stinks, it is very very very slow. I spent 2 hrs trying to download one days programming, the system kept getting interuppted during download (yes I disabled call waiting).

3) When you use the online program guide, it covers up the entire screen. My Cox DVR puts the TV in upper right corner (approx. 1/4) asnd the rest of the screen lets you see the guide. We use this all of the time to see if there is anything better on, but that won't work so well with Tivo. Plus, scrolling up and down is painfully slow, the screen takes for ever to refresh.

4) Similarly to item 3 above, when you review recorded programs the show you are watching is turned off completely, you can only see the Tivo guide. Again, Cox DVR lets me look at my list and delete files etc.. all while my TV program stays visible in the upper right corner.

5) Remote wouldn't work with my 42" Akai plasma. I can't fault Tivo too much on this one, none of the universal remotes seem to work with this TV for some reason.


I did love some of the Tivo features and wish my Cox DVR had them:
1) Wishlist
2) Tivo Suggestions
3) Can access your Tivo through internet
4) View photo's through Tivo.

In the end my items # 3 and 4 were things I just couldn't get past, so I returned my Tivo. They were friendly and helpful and I really wanted to like this product, but in my opinion it's not able to compete with the speed and power of the Cable companies DVR.