TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Simply Amazing
This technology is simply amazing.  When I first heard my friends rave about it, I never really bought into the whole DVR craze.  I was wrong not have considered it then.<br />I got this unit as a gift and admittedly wouldn't have made the purchase on my own.  After all, at $299 + the service fee (either one time $250 or a monthly fee of about $14), it is not a cheap item to own.  Which is why it makes a great gift.  <br />Knowing what I know now, I would have shelled out the cash myself.  The unit and the technology is fantastic.  I honestly believe the jump from VCR to TIVO is greater than the jump from VHS to DVD in terms of impact to the owner's lifestyle. <br />TIVO let's you do so many things and makes managing your TV watching a breeze.  I hihgly recommend it for people who don't have the ability to sit down at prime-time for enjoyable entertainment. The nicest thing about it is that you when you actually have time to watch TV, you can look in your TIVO in-box (called \\"now playing on tivo\\") and you'll have a whole assortment of TV shows to pick from.<br />No more flipping around to find something to watch.  We don't even watch live TV anymore because there is more than enough on TIVO to make us happy.<br />Buy this for a friend, loved one, or yourself.  It is the coolest gift they'll get.