TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Your TV viewing *will* change - for the better
I have had my TiVo for approximately two weeks. I cannot imagine being without it and am already contemplating the purchase of a second.<br />The 60 hour system has room for two hard drives (HDs), but ships with one 60GB. The HD is a standard computer version, preconfigured with a customized version of Linux and custom TiVo software. The 60 hour holds approximately 62 hours of shows on Basic quality (more about that in a minute) using v3.0 of the TiVo software (after subscribing, your system will be updated to the latest version of the software during one of the nightly calls). There are four quality levels - Best, High, Medium, and Basic. The Basic level provides 62 hours, while Best is about 17 hours. For most shows, Medium or High quality is sufficient. If the signal is ultra-clean (no static) and you can stand a little pixelation, Basic would suffice.<br />After a simple guided setup, where TiVo downloads information about where to call each night (you have several thousand phone numbers to choose from - in most places it will be a local call) it then downloads two weeks of guide data. The guide data is the key to TiVo's excellent features - Season Passes, Wishlists, searching, and more. After four to eight hours while the guide data is indexed, your TiVo is fully operational. (During indexing, you can still pause and rewind live TV.)<br />Some of the key features:<br />- Pausing live TV: Press the pause button while watching your favorite show, then go get a snack or take the dog for a walk - do whatever, for up to 30 minutes. When you return, simply press play to pick up right where you left off.<br />- Catch *every* episode of your favorite show: Set up a Season Pass for a show, and TiVo will automatically find and record every episode of it (or only first-run episodes, your choice), even if the show changes timeslots, days, or channels.<br />- Record a timeslot manually: Use a manual Season Pass to automatically record a certain block at the same time every day, once a week, or just Monday through Friday.<br />- Just record one show: Find a show using the Title, Channel, or Timeslot searches and record a single episode with two button presses.<br />- Account for early (or late) shows: Does your favorite show always start a minute early? Or are you trying to catch the end of the Oscars? Tell TiVo to record up to 10 minutes before a show's scheduled start time, or for up to three hours after the scheduled end time.<br />- Record a show while watching another: Check in with &quot;Now Showing&quot; (a list of the shows that have been recorded on your TiVo) to watch one show while TiVo records another in the background. Or watch the beginning of a show while TiVo records the end!<br />- Find a show, even if you don't know its' name: Set up a wishlist for a title, actor, or director, and TiVo will go about recording everything it can find with your criteria. Even try a more advanced wishlist - set up a Title wishlist for &quot;Friends Yeti&quot; to catch the episode where Ross moves in with Emily.<br />- Find shows that you didn't know existed: Have TiVo find and record suggestions based on your Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down ratings of shows that you watch or record.<br />TiVos are also relatively easily upgradable. Since the TiVo service relies on a serial number embedded in the CPU, upgrading your TiVo won't cancel your service (though it *will* void the 90 day warranty). Many sites provide HDs that are &quot;pre-blessed&quot; (the term for readying an HD to be used in a TiVo) for quick installation. You can also buy an HD off the shelf and follow instructions posted online to upgrade. The original 60 hour Series 2 units had room for two hard drives - newer 60 hour Series 2 units will have the single-drive architecture of the rest of the TiVo line.<br />Overall, TiVo will change the way you watch TV, for the better. Skip ads, record with a single click, or catch every episode of a show. You can offload shows to tape at any timeto free up space, or keep shows indefinitely. A great gift for mom or dad who can't program their VCR!e, or keep shows indefinitely. A great gift for mom or dad who can't program their VCR!