Sony SVR-2000 Digital Video Recorder
A Great Tool!
TivVo definitely enhances the television viewing experience.  No longer must one sit down and simply watch what is on, you can view what you like, when you like. TiVo is really a personal computer and it stores all data on an internal hard drive. Each night it dials in for program and channel updates. You tell it what to get and it does it! It will record one showing or the entire season of a show. So, after it starts working, it is generally full of the shows you like and you can watch them as you like.<br />The unit we received was well packaged and installed easily. The entire process for installation is a bit long as the unit dials in to get software and television listings for the first time. Subsequent updates are quick and seldom noticed. <br />The software is easy to navigate and understand. The documentation is adequate. We've needed to interact very little with support (TiVo) and found them to be friendly and useful. <br />The Processor seems a bit slow at times. When it is recording and one uses the remote (the only way to communicate with the box) there are occasional delays in all areas of the software, even those, such as accessing a show's details that do not require the database to reshuffle. Database reshuffling, such as when one reorders a lengthy Season Pass list can be excessive.  However, this is rarely done and it is the simple requests that go unanswered by the box that can be a tad annoying. <br />In reference to the complaints made by \\"An electronics fan from San Francisco, CA\\" regarding TiVo incorrectly selecting channels from the receiver (cable box), we ran into this as well. However, going through the cable box set up and carefully selecting a controller and speed alleviated this issue entirely. The cause of the problem in our case was my haste running through setup and selecting the cable box settings.<br />In reference to issues raised regarding recording one show and watching another that is currently broadcast, though it is true TiVohas no prevision for this, there are simple workarounds with cable switches and dual source televisions as most are today.<br />In reference to the remove, it is true that the buttons are arranged so that those for moving down a list or paging down a list are not near one another and some other slight annoyances. These are quickly forgotten as one gets used to the remote. It also lacks controls for most other components (VCR, Surround Sound, DVD . . .) so you'll still need to keep the other remotes on the table.<br />Despite the minor flaws, and what product does not have some, TiVo is a wonderful addition to our wall of electronic gizmos. It is highly recommended and gets a full complement of stars from me! The convenience of it is wonderful and it changes the way one watches TV entirely!