Toshiba SD-H400 Combination Progressive-Scan DVD Player and TiVo Digital Media Server
Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome!
Okay, there's a lot of ignorance about this machine in these reviews, so I feel the need to comment.  This is my second Tivo, and I am an avowed audio-phile.  Do I own $10K worth of AV equipment?  No, but then, I do know that you don't have to buy the priciest product from the priciest brand to experience exceptional quality.<br />First, this is not a simple \\"home video\\" compnonent.  It is actually a Small Form Factor (SFF) Linux computer, with hard-drive, modem, processor, and RAM.  Hence, it does have a fan, as do all computers except that one model of Apple G3 (or was it 4?).  As such, it does not ever \\"power off\\" completely (nor do most \\"home video\\" components).  It will often run in the middle of the night, for 2 reasons: first, it is recording shows based on the \\"Tivo Recommends\\" function; second, it will generally make its daily call in the middle of the night when you are unlikely to need to use the phone.  If you don't want it to be whirring its drives in the middle of the night, turn off the Tivo Recommends feature and you will free yourself from all but about 30 minutes of activity.  You can also upgrade to a LAN or WLAN connection to make those daily calls all the faster.  Or, like I do, put it in a glass doored entertainment center.  I barely hear mine in the dead of night, and it certainly doesn't keep me up in the next room.  If you are OCD, maybe you should consider no Tivo at all: they all do it!<br />As for a noisy DVD player: huh?  Even with the glass doors open I can't hear the player running during DVD playback.  I'm not sure what some people want from a player, I guess.  I mean, a silent tray?  Or maybe a DVD drive that can change tracks on the disc (like when it accesses the menu) without repositioning the laser?  I mean, come on.  That's just silly.<br />Also, the LAN features on this model do indeed work wonderfully, but no, not right out of the box: you are REQUIRED to make at least one initial phone call.  This model registers itself for the Tivo Basic service and downloads the operating system's most recent updates.  Please also note that since October, when the review concerning \\"wireless and broadband not ready for prime time\\" was posted, Tivo has corrected the compatibility problems with the Linksys WUSB11.  You could also use the WUSB12, or several models from Dlink and Netgear that are known to work appropriately. (...)  It is a pain that you need to buy an adapter, but I imagine that this model with native WiFi or ethernet would cost an additional $50-$100: less than the price of the adapter, so its probably a wash.  But note: if you don't know how to set up a wireless or wired home network, or don't already have one, well, at best you're going to need help with using the Tivo on a LAN.  It's still a computer, and you still need to manually adjust some settings.  Just get your techy neighbor/son/daughter/nephew/cousin to help.  Please also note that you do not need to get the Home Media Otion upgrade in order to put the unit on your LAN and take advantage of your broadband internet connection.  That is only for sharing information between Tivos and computers on the LAN.<br />Which brings us to money.  Yes, its expensive.  But there are considerations you need to make.  First, if you're like me, you already own at least one DVD player.  Which you will no longer need.  There's a great website for getting rid of high quality, used items.  It rhymes with \\"see-bay.\\"  So there's a little less out of pocket. (...)  And lastly, once you cancel that Premium service and rely on the basic service, you are saving yourself $155 a year in subscription fees over other Tivo devices.  This is indeed the only model of Tivo currently available that offers free service.  You can't use other Series2 Tivo's without service anymore, as you could with Series1 DVRs.  So if you want Tivo, and you want to buy new, you've got to pay - manual recording is no longer supported.  Unless you buy this Toshiba!<br />Next, picture quality.  I have noticed no loss in picture quality at all for live TV since I got this unit, on a 35 inch CRT television.  If you follow the correct setup instructions (mine is connected separately to a VCR and AV receiver) and use quality cables, your experience should be no different.  I also find that, while the Best Quality setting is indistinguishable from live TV, the High Quality setting is more than clear enough for my needs, and gives the unit 35+ hours of total useable space (as opposed to 24+ using the Best setting).<br />I really, really, really recommend this unit if you're in the market for Tivo.  If you're \\"just curious,\\" maybe give it a shot.  Personally, its the best value out there.