TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
BEWARE!  DirecTv users MUST READ
We were quite excited to receive our Tivo, but it wasn't until AFTER we'd paid the &quot;lifetime fee&quot; on the machine that we discovered a MAJOR problem.  Apparently, our DirecTv box does not have a serial cable connection so we had to use the Infrared (IR) set up (basically two little prongs that stick out in front of the IR window on the DirecTv box to &quot;beam&quot; the signal--as opposed to it going directly through a serial cable connection between the two machines).  We have roughly a 70% margin of error (i.e., FAILURE RATE) in changing the channel.  We've used every troubleshooting tip suggested by Tivo, but none have improved the situation (including one that involves building a cardboard &quot;tent&quot; around the prongs--simply lovely for interior decorating.  When we received this gift (through Amazon), the combined DirecTv/Tivo machine was not available so we were not able to return the machine and &quot;upgrade&quot; (which we'd considered doing before we actually gave in and paid the $300 &quot;lifetime of the machine&quot; fee).  If you have DirecTV, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE unless you are SURE that you have the ability to connect via serial cable.  We look forward to one day seeing what is supposed to be so &quot;great&quot; about Tivo, but for now we are left wanting to go &quot;Office Space&quot; on our machine.  Hope you have better luck!