TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Was there life before TiVo?
First of all, TiVo isn't perfect.  So why five stars?  Because it's one of those devices (microwave, PC, air conditioner) that really becomes ingrained in the way you function.  I can't rate customer service, because I haven't had any major problems.  The device itself has had a glitch or two, and it required me to re-work my home theater setup.  But at the end of the day, I'd suffer immensely without TiVo.<br />No more setting the timer on the VCR (I'd rather go to the dentist than do that!)  No more watching to clock to make sure I don't miss Alias.  No more flopping down in front of the TV and finding that, with a zillion cable channels, there's just nothing on.  With TiVo, I can see what I want to see when I'm ready, and there's always something I've got on a wishlist or season pass that I can watch when I need an hour of \\"down time.\\"<br />Admittedly, I wish that the TiVo engineers had designed in the ability to flip between TiVo TV and regular, non-TiVo TV... like a bypass or something.  Kind of like the way you can switch between TV and VCR, even though the VCR is still recording.  That would resolve a chief complaint of many people:  that you can watch one recorded program while recording another, but you can't watch live TV while recording a different program.  My fix... I have TiVo hooked up to Input 1 on the TV, and straight cable hooked up to Input 2.  So I can watch one thing while TiVo records another.  Or, if TiVo interrupts my show to start recording something, I can just switch to Input 2 and watch straight TV.  That'll work for those of you who don't require a converter.  Won't help for digital, though.<br />I also wish TiVo would offer a release that would allow users to connect to their PC via the USB port and \\"burn down\\" recorded shows to a DVD burner.  It would be nice to archive shows on something other than videocassette.<br />My only technical problem was that, occasionally, a recorded show would start getting jumpy, the sound would go out, and the screen would get odd bands or blocks on it.  Frankly, I never found out if it was TiVo or the cable system... it always happened on the same channel.  I permanently saved a show that happened on, and it hasn't happened since.  Probably a bad sector on the hard drive.  Oh well, I'd rather just leave that program saved forever and sacrifice 30 mins of my recording time than mess with trying to change drives or units.  <br />All in all, definitely worth the investment, and worth the short investment of time to get the hang of it.  Just be careful...  once you can watch TV when you want, how you want, and can always have interesting programming at your fingertips, you just might find yourself watching a lot more TV!