Philips HDR312 TiVo 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder
Making satellite TV almost too easy
TIVO will increase the number of hours you spend watching TV.  Using the Showcases you now can choose from all those programs you never knew existed and you'll never miss an episode of shows you already know about, like E.R.   The Showcase feature is great and lets you zero in on upcoming programming  on the channels you want without sifting through a lot of repetitive junk  in the unabridged listings.  <br />We have a home theater/satellite system and  universal remote that my wife never used by herself because she felt it was  too complicated.  With TIVO, it's so much simpler she uses it all the time.   Even if you have a unified remote already, you'll end up using the TIVO  remote because it lets you mute the audio/stereo, turn on the TV and change  channels and alternate between satellite and broadcast/cable without  flipping modes on the remote.  Very cool, but they should change the shape  of the remote so you can't pick it up upside down so easily.  <br />Record  quality is great -- way better than a VCR.  The only minor glitches I've  had are that for one or two of my season passes it records the same  episodes multiple times, although most season passes work correctly.  Also,  the channel lineup wasn't completely up to date right away when DirecTV  switched over to broadcasting local channels.  The other minor complaint I  have is that there should be a commercial zapper that instantly goes  forward 30 seconds or 1 minute like they do for reverse, rather than make  you watch for the end of the commercial break.  <br />Other than that, it has  worked flawlessly.  When I show it to someone who comes over, their jaw  drops when they realize what the technology can now do.  The only drawback  of TIVO is now I spend way more time watching TV.  Beware of couch  potato-itis if you buy this unit -- you'll be hooked. And so will others in  your family, so be prepared to negotiate who gets to watch the TIVO.