Philips DSR7000 Combination TiVo/DIRECTV Satellite Receiver

I've had 6 Tivos but up until now, they have all been freestanding (TiVo1 and TiVo2) units. I switched to satellite about a year ago and was thrilled to find that DirecTV was offering Tivos.....Until I brought mine home. What they DON'T tell you is that DirecTV TiVo is designed and built for DirecTV only. It DOES NOT record cable or over the air broadcasts, it DOES NOT support networking (a fantastic feature for getting your schedule via Internet and sharing shows between multiple TiVos in a household) and, because it doesn't support networking, it also doesn't support the Home Media Option (which allows you to stream audio and images from your PC to your TiVo). It also doesn't support web based scheduling requests or the soon to be released TiVo-to-Go. These are all features that are central to the TiVo culture and I'm amazed that DirecTV has crippled their version of the TiVo service. I'd happily pay out the few bucks a month to add a DirecTV unit to my TiVo subscription, but DirecTV doesn't allow for it.

The long and short of it is that this is not a fully enabled TiVo and there isn't much you can do about it. If you just want a PVR with a nice interface, this is probably it. But if you want TiVO, as in ALL of TiVo, then skip these direcTV units, buy a regular TiVo and hook it up to you current satellite receiver. Not only can you record over-the-air or cable this way, but you get every one of the TiVo functions that the folks at TiVo have thoughtfully built into thier units.

Well, at first this product was great. Dual receivers worked with my multi-switch and i was able to watch one show while recording another.

For some reason, one of the satellite lines in keeps dropping. The hookups are good and the signal strength continues to show all of the same strengths as the working tuner (they are shown on the screen side by side). However, on a daily basis - I have to reset the receiver (without adjusting any wires) or continue to try reacquiring the information on both inputs.

I really do like the other features of the unit having had a Sony TIVO unit that also had some common flaws. The comment about the slow screens and transitions is accurate. The response of the unit is a little slow and from what I understand, this feature is improved with more expensive units having faster (ie. more expensive) processors.

For the price, I think I paid $79 for the unit while signing a 12-month contract, (my DirecTV contract had already expired) this would be a great unit.

This is the fourth DirecTV receiver in the house (since it is dual - it is really the fourth and fifth receiver with the dual switch purchased from Radio Shack). If the second line didn't drop periodically and regularly - this would be five stars at the current price point.

this box is awesome, but why is it $599 here. does it have somethign that the $99 one i just bought doesn't.

The concept of integrating DirecTV twin tuners with digital recording capabilities is brilliant, and the user friendliness of these machines is quite good considering the sophisticated technology. But I've only been able to experience it for about six hours before the units fail. Hard drives malfunction, tuners go out; I'm waiting for my third unit. My father has had three bad Philips DSR 7000 before giving up & buying a Hughes unit that has functioned for some time now. The warranty is terrible; 90 days and you have to pay the shipping. Philips should not have put their name on these machines, which all appear identical (RCA, Hughes, Philips) from the same joynt mfr. in Mexico. Mine came from the Philips Employee Store & I'm loyal, but this is pathetic.

I'm not sure what the other reviewer is complaining about when saying that the TiVo isn't picking up channels and is unreliable.
No problems here, I get everything.
Also, YOU CANT TELL WHEN ITS ON THE SECOND TUNER. The integration between the 2 tuners is seemless, you watch tv and record on seperate channels, thats all you know.
The quality is EXACTLY the same as you get on regular directv... no complaints there... ZERO loss of quality on recordings and live tv.
This thing is fantastic, you program in what channels you receive and dont' receive, and it won't suggest shows or anything on the channels you don't receive, wonderful. After a couple weeks of using this, you learn all the tricks to finding great things, when watching tv.. you rate the shows you are watching by pressing a thumbs up or thumbs down on your control, then when you want, you can simply go to TiVo Suggestions and it will suggest shows and like shows to either watch live or record for your convenience. I have tons of Season Passes that TiVo records for me whenever my shows come on, FANTASTIC!!!
Another trick, I always start football games 30 minutes after they start, that way you can fastforward commercials and halftime... then by the end of the game you skipped the commercials and halftime and are caught up to real-time to see the finish. FANTASTIC.
And guys, the system will auto-record whenever you are watching live tv (and only stores it temporarily until you change channels)... this is AWESOME, that means when you are just leisurely watching a show, and miss something, you can just rewind without having to have hit record earlier.
And the ability to control your own instant replays during football games makes this unit worth every cent in gold.. i pause and rewind all the time.
And folks, PLEASE don't waste your money on "the latest receivers" this one has all the options, for almost nothing, if you want more space, just search the internet, you can easily put a 120 gig hard drive in it like I did for $60 more and get 120 hours of recording.
And for the slow menu problems, thats answered on the system, if you press "page up" or "page down" on the remote, it makes it real quick and easy to browse the guide.
In conclusion, this is the BEST TiVo deal you can find, don't waste money on anything else, no problems at all with the unit. FANTASTIC!!!!