TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder

I found out about a TIVO several years ago. I was hesitant to get one because VCRs were so difficult to set the recordings on. TIVO has made it so simple to do. I don't miss anything I want to see on television anymore.

I've been using this for only 3 weeks so can't say much about long-term reliability. But functionally, I've been extremely happy with the unit. The FF function works like reviews I'd read - it automatically rewinds a little when you stop FF. With a little practice, it puts you right where you want to resume play. The box is in general reliable, much more so than my earlier Comcast box. I haven't seen any freezes and reboots that I've read about. One problem I've had though is the "HDMI Not Permitted" issue. Every now and then, the CP handshake with my TV fails and I just get this verbiage plastered on the screen. When it does this, you have to switch from HDMI to Component. Of course I don't want to do that. After a little googling I found that others who have had the same problem fixed it by unplugging (not turning off) and plugging the TV back in. This resets the HDMI CP handshake. That technique worked for me. I've had it happend three times so far. It's annoying but not as bad as some of the stuff I had to endure with the Comcast box.

I also like the Tivo Desktop software. It's nice to be able to archive recordings from the Tivo to your PC via your home network. The software isn't great but it does the job, and it's free.

I'm using this with a rabbit ear OTA antenna and it works great. Right now I'm getting both analog and digital channels which is sort of a pain because I have two channels for each station with the same exact programming (not counting all the little split off channels like 7.1, 7.2, 7.4...). I'll be happy when they cut the analog broadcast off in February 2009. But, I love being able to get PBS stations from all over So Cal. I have about 60 channels now!

I finally broke down and bought a TiVo after trying some DIY solutions. Although SageTV, BeyondTV, etc. do well enough for SD TV, I found trying to record HD episodes was really difficult. TiVo's user interface is pretty slick, and if you can get your cable guy to install the cablecards right after 2 or 3 tries, it's definitely worth the money, subscription and all, EXCEPT....there are now rumors floating around on the tech blogs that the is a auto-delete flag feature. That is to say, the recorded program will auto-delete itself after a certain period of time (in this case approximately 2-3 hours after it was recorded). Assuming this is for real, I would have to say that it is a real deal-breaker. The advantage of TiVo is supposed to be time-shifting. I would think that this kind of auto-deletion defeats that whole purpose.

I was not aware of all of the associated costs to fully use this product. So I cannot evaluate it fairly. I made a mistake in ordering it. I simply wanted to record HD TV shows, Nothing more.