TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder (*TiVo Service Fee Not Included)
Can't Live Without It
My family and I have had Tivo for 3 or 4 years.  We purchased the Sony 30 hour first, it had a problem after 2 years (it wouldn't call in for updates) and we sent it in for servicing, but Sony told me it could take 30 days to evaluate the problem, and I COULD NOT LIVE A DAY WITHOUT IT, so ... I bought the new 80 hour Tivo.  We opted for the Philips since the Sony had problems after 2 years anyway and the Philips was 50 bucks cheaper.  In fairness to our old Tivo, our family of 4 used it ALOT.  We love it so much we have spread the word:  I have since gotten my mother one, my sister has one, my mother in law and my sister in law.  Tivo owes me a commission!  And we ALL LOVE IT.  It's a little pricy after you pay for the lifetime programming service (twice) but it is the best present I ever bought myself.  By the way, the Sony was fixed for free and I traded it to my sister in law for another computer, so it's still going strong.  <br />Yes, the picture quality does deteriorate recording through Tivo, especially since we record everything on the slowest speed to get the most time, but for most TV it really doesn't matter to me.  If I want to save something to tape or DVD I record in High Quality which is pretty good.  Overall, the picture is good, the remote control functions are great, with lots of shortcuts that you can learn, and I've never regretted one cent I spent on either Tivo.<br />The sony remote I think had a better layout but it took very little time to adjust to the new remote, and we're all perfectly comfortable with the new one.  The extra 50 hours of recording time was a nice bonus for us too.<br />As far as number of hours you want-we tend to stock up on movies which take up a lot of space-10 movies at 2 hours each is already 20 hours of your hard drive space.  We also have shows recorded for 4 different tastes.  If you don't watch movies or you don't have that many people in the house, the smaller hard drive is sufficient for you.  Our family of 4 tends to keep the 80 hours pretty full, and we like it that way.  There's always something I want to watch on TV.  I don't have to watch commercials, our phone rings constantly and kids interrupt constantly, but my husband and I actually get to watch an entire show or movie.  With Tivo, life is good.<br />If you're buying this for someone who is technologically challenged, don't worry-it's totally user friendly-my 7 &amp; 10 year have it down, but more importantly my 75 year old mother &amp; mother in law have it down too (although I frequently have to program their shows for them).  It's VERY easy to program--I think they just don't want to do it.  Enjoy.