TiVo TCD540040 Series2 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder
Very Disappointing Device
I think it's very interesting that this has become such a highly touted video toy. It's actually become a verb ... \\"I Tivo'd it.\\"  I bought my series 2 / 80 hour model two years ago, and have hated it from day one. I finally pulled the plug on it last week, and ordered a MOXI box from our local cable company.  <br /> <br />Here are a few of my complaints:  <br />- First, I'm using this with a plasma HDTV, Digital Cable, and a surround sound system.  <br />1. The setup is ridiculously complex when you're using it with the above components. The manual is useless, Best Buy's \\"Geek Squad\\" couldn't figure it out, and I ended up scouring online Blogs and discussion groups to come up with a jury-rigged setup. <br />2. It doesn't record in HD, meaning you need to have two different TV Inputs connected (and switch back and forth) to access the Tivo capabilities. This requires two splitters, which complicate the connectivity, and reduce the picture and sound quality.  <br />3. It also means there's no recording on the fly. You need to manually switch to a different input and program it to record. <br />4. The reliability has been horrendous, as far as depending on the device to record shows on the right channel at the right time. I've probably got about a 75% hit rate, meaning you can't depend on it to record things.  <br />5. Since it doesn't record HiDef, you need to program it to record the \\"non-HD\\" channels, and of course playback is then in non-HD mode when you want to watch your favorite shows.  Why buy an HDTV and pay for digital cable and the extra channels if you can't record something and have it played back in HD and stereo surround?   <br /> <br />When I called to cancel the service, they told me that they're coming out with a new model that will record in Hi-Def, but of course they won't give you credit for the $239 and two years of frustration you experienced with the old model.  <br /> <br />For regular TV and non-digital connectivity, it might be great. But ifyou've got digital cable, surround sound, and HDTV, it's definitely not.  <br /> <br />It's going on my company's bulletin board, and I'll sell it to anyone who's interested in it, and will of course provide a full disclosure that I think it's a lousy piece of video hardware.   <br /> <br />Didn't like it, wouldn't recommend it, never again.