TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Buy it and then relax
This purchase will change how you watch TV.  My friends told me that and I did not believe them, but I now know what they mean.  Recording and watching what you want to see is incredible simple.  Type in the name of the show, decide if you want just new shows or replays, and let Tivo do the work.<br />There are a few obstacles to get going that you have to get past, but nothing worth fretting over.  The biggest is that you'll need a phone line to plug Tivo in to.  We did not have one close by, so I had to purchase a wireless modem jack (runs around[cost] ).  Note: not a wireless phone jack, a modem jack; there is a difference in the quality of the phone signal and it will only work with a wireless modem jack.  You'll also have to connect the cables, although if you can handle connecting a VCR you can handle the same for Tivo.<br />Once you do that you'll follow a guideed setup procedure.  It takes longer than you'll want to wait, but you only have to do it once.  Finally you'll need to sign up for the Tivo subscription service to download your TV schedule.  You can choose between the monthly service or lifetime.  I went with the lifetime subscription since it breaks even after a bit of a year and a half.  Decide for yourself, and read the fine print.<br />Once its up and running you'll find many major improvements over a VCR.  Record one show while you play another.  Enjoy up to 80 hours of recording time.  No rewinding to find the start of a program.  Programming that is much easier smarter - it even tells you if you have a conflict between program requests and proposes how to resolve it!