TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Warning - Tivo quality control problems
I hate to write this.  The Tivo service is great.  Living without it is hard to imagine.  But I have now had 2 Tivo Series 2s break in the last 14 months.  This is an unacceptably high failure rate.  And Tivo's return/exchange policies are weighted heavily against the consumer.  The first time it cost $99 to replace with a refurbished unit.  This time Tivo wants $149 to replace (again with a refurbished unit that only carries a 30 day warranty).  Both times the problem appears to be the hard drive - once the entire unit just went haywire.  This time the unit downloads program data but fails to load it properly into the unit's database.  After 4 hours worth of calls to Tivo tech support both times, the engineering department decided the unit had to be replaced.  Just a heads up to prospective buyers.  I am going to purchase a 3rd party replacement drive (at least it carries a 6 month warranty) and keep my fingers crossed.  Good luck if you purchase one - I hope you have better luck!