Toshiba SD-H400 Combination Progressive-Scan DVD Player and TiVo Digital Media Server
This is a fabulous product
When my new VCR decided to stop recording properly after a few months, I decided to try a DVR.  I chose this product since I have limited space in my TV stand and because of the free Tivo basic service.  Within a day or two, I was wondering why I hadn't gotten a Tivo sooner. <br />There are a lot of great features.  The ability to pause and rewind live TV makes TV watching so much more convenient.  I no longer have to worry about missing parts of a show.  The DVR is easy to program, and I can watch something I've already recorded while it records something else. I was able to pick which channels I watch from my cable line-up, so the program guide won't display information on channels I don't like.  The program guide is also a lot nicer than the one from my cable box since it shows what's on now as well as the upcoming shows on whatever channel I have highlighted. Since the DVD player is built in, I was able to go from needing three remotes to work my DVD player, TV, and cable box, to only needing one to control everything (although I do still need to use the cable remote to access my cable company's On Demand features). <br />There is some fan noise, but it's only about as loud as the fan on my computer.  I only notice it when the tv is turned off.  <br />I was disappointed to find that I had to subscribe to Tivo Plus in order to get the rebate offered by Tivo.  I had not intended to even try the free trial version of Plus since I did not want to get sucked into paying a monthly fee.  Of course now that I've tried Plus, I don't know if I want to do without it.  The season pass feature is cool, but what I really love is Tivo Suggestions.  As long as there is space to record, Tivo will automatically record programs it thinks I might like.  With Tivo Plus, I'll never have to worry about having nothing to watch.