TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Beware of misleading info others have posted here
The main point I want to make about TIVO, and I believe this also applies to ReplayTV as well, is you DO need to pay for a subscription for this device to work. Many people are saying you can forgo the monthly subscription and use TIVO like a VCR and record things manually. This was true with the ealier model series 1 TIVOs, but the series 2 TIVOs will not record without an active subscription. So do not buy a new model TIVO unless you are getting the pay per month or the one time lifetime subscription.<br />TIVO would get 5 stars from me if it offered a cheaper subscription rate. A $300 lifetime charge or a $13 monthly charge is way over inflated for simply connecting to a database for an hour to download what amounts to a small patch. It may be worth the cost, but the cost cannot be justified. If you are going to get this however, consider two things-<br />1.Lifetime subscription only applies to machine purchased, so in effect for most, lifetime will be about 5 years or less, depending how soon you want the next big toy. However, lifetime subscriptions are transferable, and make the resell price pretty near the buy price if you resell this thing several years down the road. Just check some auctions and look at the selling prices for old models with the lifetime subscription thrown in.<br />2.Month to month makes sense if your getting this machine to use maybe less than a year or two, till your cable or satellite company provides the service and then you plan to throw out the used machine rather than sell it. Or, it can be good as a one month test to see if it is something you'd want to shell out $300 for a lifetime or if you want to gamble the lifetime prices might fall far enough in the near future to justify paying month to month over a period of time before switching over.<br />TIVOs competition ReplayTV just recently sold very inexpensive units with a free 3 year subscription and 99 cents a month after that 3 years, but now they also switched over to TIVOs price scale. Both services are good, with Replay having some extra functionality and TIVO being easier to use.<br />The best buy will come from buying a used TIVO or ReplayTV that already has a paid lifetime subscription, though these tend to still sell over $300, even the old models.<br />Another option for those who are good with computers and have a computer next to their TV is a TV video card with a bundled remote control and some tweaking using free software. You can basically simulate TIVO functionality with little money and no service fee, but it is not as easy as using TIVO.<br />Also more and more companies, besides direct TV, are starting to bundle these types of devices into their packages, usually with a smaller initial and monthly cost than TIVO.<br />Another thing to consider, as far as buying the actual hardware itself is you can upgrade TIVA and ReplayTV boxes using a standard IDE hard drive. Many of these units have an empty slot for a second drive and the mod itself is not too difficult if your good with computers and don't mind voiding the warranty. Each gig of HD equals about an hour on the lowest resolution setting, though most of you would be using the mid resolutions for a decent picture and the highest resolution for HDTV on a plasma or LCD TV which cut down the advertised record times.<br />TIVO is still probably the best option for the casual user right now, unless your using direct TV, so if your looking to buy right at the time of this writing, TIVO isn't a bad choice, but keep in mind many new options seem to be coming thru 2004.