TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
The cornerstone of my home theater
I hate buying expensive products and I hate month-to-month costs.  When I went out to buy my Tivo Series 2, I had to grit my teeth -- the box was expensive and the upfront cost of a lifetime subscription was expensive.  There wasn't really a way to get a better deal, and that goes against my grain.<br />In the end, the Tivo has been the best money I've ever spent.  <br />The \\"killer\\" features of Tivo, in my opinion, that aren't thoroughly discussed already:<BR>- Wishlists, allowing saved searches of programming in the next couple of weeks by title, category (e.g. Sports/Tennis), actor, director, or using keywords, or some combinations of the above (e.g. Movies/Action and Jackie Chan).<BR>- 30 second skip, which has to be enabled when you boot your Tivo up (yes, Tivo is essentially a computer). This allows bypassing of a commercial you might already have seen, or skipping of a part of a program you may not want to watch. Hitting it when a player is tackled in a football game gets you instantly to the next play, for example.<BR>- Great menus. Tivo doesn't use one word menus or confusing Yes/No options. If you have a scheduling conflict when you select a new program to record, the menus will say \\"Record my newly selected program\\" or \\"Cancel this recording, record the old program as planned\\". Very technophobe friendly, when I show it off, people are amazed at how easy it is to pick up.<BR>- \\"Hackability\\". Since Tivo is a computer, it is alterable. I have installed a larger hard disk in mine to extend the content it's capable of holding. Note: this voids your warranty, so unless you're handy with computers and don't mind being \\"on your own\\" for support, you may want to ignore this.<BR>- A rabidly helpful and enthusiastic community, easily findable on the web. If you are having difficulties, there are users who have been where you are and can answer any questions: issues with the Tivo software, problems with the Tivo itself, plus they provide simple upgrade instructions.<BR>- This model (60 hour series II) has several advantages: more processor and RAM (faster), USB ports which allow it to use the Internet instead of a phone line, and an excellent hard drive bracket inside it should you choose to upgrade your device yourself (which the 80 hour model does not, I'm told). One downside: it is not as flexible as the Series I with respect to software -- you can't make it web accessible or other similar features (no Linux prompt). Also, this model is really suited for a cable box; if you use DishNetwork or DirectTV, I'd recommend checking out the satellite Tivo models, first.  They have nice features like recording two simultaneous streams and recording in Dolby 5.1 (the Series II listed here doesn't do it).  Personally, I feel the speed of this box makes up for a lot of the experience, I'd buy it again.<br />Does it change your habits? Entirely. I never channel surf anymore, although I sometimes (as a New York Times article put it) \\"Tivo snack\\". Once you have a bunch of programs recorded, you can hop from one to the other; catch twenty minutes of a movie, then watch ten minutes of extreme sports, then just a little of the old Batman TV show before going back to the movie.  It's fun, and it saves time.  A bad show or movie takes less than five minutes to identify, you delete it and move on.<br />One downside, mentioned below, is the IR blasters that change your cable box channels. I had to fashion a \\"fort\\" out of cardboard over the front of my cable box so that it did not miskey channels. It's frustrating to find paid programming from channel 41 on what you thought was a sitcom on channel 410. The \\"fort\\" fixed it, though (ten minutes of work and free materials).  This could also be fixed in software by allowing serial control of cable boxes. This is apparently something in the works.<br />Tivo is truly extraordinary, a technological product geared for the discerning consumer. It is a new example of how traditional methods of content delivery are being slowly replaced by products that empower consumer choice and control. Although the PVR revolution is still in the early-adopter phase, it can and should take hold. There's no reason a leisure activity as low-impact as television watching should have to be rigidly scheduled. Well, OK, solved by a VCR -- but the Tivo takes the information age and packages the advantages for you. Think of it as a smart, huge VCR with nothing to eject or shelve.  Recordings can be automatically scheduled, boring and annoying content can be skipped or hurried through, and its consistently improving suggestion engine hunts down programs you might never have known you'd like.  You'll see your favorite shows as never before, see more good movies and generally enjoy the experience more.<br />...