Toshiba RD-XS34 DVD Recorder with 160-GB Hard Drive
Toshiba and TV Guide dropped the ball on this one
I purchased the RD-XS32 for my parents last December and was impressed with its capabilities and functionality.  So I thought I'd buy the updated version, the RD-XS34 for myself.  Huge mistake as many reviewers have already stated.    If you are thinking of purchasing this product, do your homework beforehand:  1) Call your cable/satellite provider and ask if they have a deal with TV Guide to allow their signal to come through their system.      If they don't you'll be purchasing a $500 boat anchor because you cannot set up timer recordings without the TV Guide system.  A huge oversight on the part of Toshiba.  A huge oversight on the part of TV Guide for not informing Toshiba about this little detail.  Toshiba will be getting a lot of these units returned because they didn't inform their customers about TV Guide's limited support.    2) Read other reviews about the reliability of the TV Guide system.  This is not the only other unit that has TV Guide and many people have reported some really annoying bugs, such as losing entire program guides and channel preferences, plus recording memory.    3) If your cable company has support for TV Guide and you're willing to risk having some headaches, this unit may be for you.      4) On the other hand, regardless of the TV Guide system, as other reviewers have reported, the fan on this thing is loud and stays on all the time!  Turn the unit off, and the fan still runs!    The older RD-XS32 was almost a rock star.  Why Toshiba completely got rid of the manual recording features of that unit on the RD-XS34 is beyond my comprehension.  Why there is no way to turn off the TV Guide features on the XS34 is also mind boggling, especially when dealing with the very new, not well-tested TV Guide system.    I returned the unit and will not purchase a unit with TV Guide unless they work out the bugs on it and provide a way to download their program information without having to use cable, satellite or telephone.  I think TIVO decided to eventually go the LAN route. Maybe TV Guide will in the future.      I will also be hesitant to buy a Toshiba product in the future and you should be too.  For the time being, JVC has a unit without TV Guide and you can still pick up the Pioneer DVR-520H without TV Guide.  They lack the coolness factor of the on-screen program guide a la TIVO or a working TV Guide, but having used the older Pioneer DVR-510H, I know the system works well without hassle.    My one star rating should be zero but there is no option for that.  If the unit had the option of manual timer recording, the star rating might be closer to a four based on my experiences with the XS32, but since I couldn't test any of that, the unit was a $500 boat anchor.    Update: One month after I called Toshiba techincal support (returning the product a week after my call), TV Guide support called to help.  Wow!  How responsive TV Guide is.  If you have a problem with TV Guide, they'll get back to you in a month!  No, really, avoid this product.