Philips HDR312 TiVo 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder
After the &quot;Gee Whiz&quot; 2
Further info that may be of interest:  I have received the replacement for my original unit who's modem failed in less than thirty days. Despite the fact that the unit failed in approx 2 weeks, Philips/Tivo per their stated  policy made me ship them the failled unit at my expense!  They generously  allowed that if I shipped it by UPS Next Day Air (60+ dollars) they would  send me the replacement by the same means.  They claim that they will ship  within two working days of receiving the faulty unit and they did so in my  case.<br />Something I've learned that isn't immediately obvious: Tivo  basically provides and updates the programming/operating software while  Philips and Sony manufacture units that use this programming. My experience  is with the Philips unit and I have no knowlege of the Sony unit(s).<br />It  looks as if Philips has some QA problems and for them to charge for the  cost of returning units that fail within the warranty period shows brass  one's beyond belief.<br />PS: For those that acclaim Panasonic for not  charging for their programming service, note that the price of the Philips  box + lifetime programming costs the same as the Panasonic box with  &quot;free&quot; programming.<br />Without regard to the apparent QA problem  with the Philips hardware, the Tivo/Philips combination rates 4.5 stars. If  one's unit fails and has to be returned at one's own expense and hassle it  is hard to think in terms of stars.<br />These people richly deserve the fall  off in sales they will no doubt experience. Will they get it back after  they fix their product and bring their customer service into the 21st  century?<br />Philips, what do you think?