Philips DSR6000R DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo Service
Largely impressive
I bought this unit because of constant problems with a Sony DirecTV receiver that could not reliably record programs (the Sony units use an \\"IR blaster\\", a plastic wand that emulates a remote control, turning on the VCR when it's time to tape a show). I figured that if nothing else, the integrated TiVo would be able to fix that problem.<br />Obviously, it does, but there's much more. The ability to pause live TV doesn't sound like much until you actually do it. In fact, it's worth joining sports events 15 minutes late so you can blast through the commercials and gradually catch up with real-time.<br />This particular unit contains two satellite ports, and if properly connected can record two satellite programs at once (almost like having two DirecTV receivers). In fact, the unit can even replay one program from disk while recording two others from the satellite. The hitch is the \\"properly connected\\" caveat -- the lines in must either be the two lines from you dish (assuming a one-arm, dual LNB dish), or they must both come from a multi-switch. Depending on your home's wiring and the location of the receiver, dish, and multiswitch, this may not be possible. But if it is, you have a powerful TV organizing device.<br />While the DirecTV / TiVo integration is generally good, there are some maddening disconnects. When TiVo sees a program it thinks you'd like on a channel you don't get, it attempts to record it anyways. Also, navigation by \\"favorites\\" is not nearly as easy with this box as with some other DirecTV units (instead of having a \\"favorites\\" button on the remote that takes you to a list of your favorite channels and what's on them, you have to go to the master guide and change its display from \\"all channels\\" or \\"channels you get\\" to \\"favorites\\", and then undo this change when you next want to surf). Also, the unit is very slow to respond to the remote... I've seen channel changes take almost five seconds.<br />Still, the integration of the DirecTV and TiVo functionality is surely better than if you had separate boxes. If TiVo intrigues you and you have or are getting DirecTV, this is a pretty good way to go.<br />(four month update: since writing that review, this DirecTiVo has become an indispensible part of our household entertainment.  But I am concerned about the unit's quality.  In four months, we've had three serious errors.  For a day, both receivers were unable to receive programming on even-numbered transponders, wiping out about half our channels (including all local channels).  It mysteriously got better.  A month ago, receiver 2 cut out entirely... but was revived with a restart of the unit.  Last week, while watching a recorded program, the unit abruptly restarted itself and popped up the screen \\"A SEVERE ERROR HAS OCCURRED\\", telling us not to touch the unit for 24 hours while it tried to repair itself; the next morning it was fine.  So while none of these errors has been sufficiently catasrophic to warrant a return to the factory [heck, they probably wouldn't take it without an obvious defect], I am reducing my original score from 4 to 3 stars because unlike computers, consumer electronics are expected to be rock-solid stable and crash-proof, and this device simply isn't.)ionality is surely better than if you had separate boxes. If TiVo intrigues you and you have or are getting DirecTV, this is a pretty good way to go.<br />(four month update: since writing that review, this DirecTiVo has become an indispensible part of our household entertainment.  But I am concerned about the unit's quality.  In four months, we've had three serious errors.  For a day, both receivers were unable to receive programming on even-numbered transponders, wiping out about half our channels (including all local channels).  It mysteriously got better.  A month ago, receiver 2 cut out entirely... but was revived with a restart of the unit.  Last week, while watching a recorded program, the unit abruptly restarted itself and popped up the screen \\"A SEVERE ERROR HAS OCCURRED\\", telling us not to touch the unit for 24 hours while it tried to repair itself; the next morning it was fine.  So while none of these errors has been sufficiently catasrophic to warrant a return to the factory [heck, they probably wouldn't take it without an obvious defect], I am reducing my original score from 4 to 3 stars because unlike computers, consumer electronics are expected to be rock-solid stable and crash-proof, and this device simply isn't.)