TiVo TCD540080 Series 2 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder

Despite the problems, TiVo has changed how I watch TV and my wife, very skeptical and tolerant of her 'geek' husband is also a total convert. If our TiVo dies, another one will be on order in 24 hours. We've had our TiVo for over 2 years and we wouldn't be without it.
Now let's get to the nitty gritty. We have one of the first of the Series 2 machines with a lifetime subscription and we did in fact have to exchange it early in it's life. Since then, we've had very few problems. Here they are.
The problems :
* The machine occasionally locks up and need to be rebooted. How often? Sometimes several times a week. Others, maybe less than once every few months.
* The machine occasionally reboots itself without warning. I'm still not sure if this is deliberate. It's never done it while recording or playing back a show, but it has done it while I was watching live TV, which is not necessarily detectable unless I'm time shifting. Things work great after the reboot, but it's a bit irritating if I'm time shifting live TV, which honestly is rare.
* Our first machine's hard drive died. We had decent service replacing the machine, however we did have to pay S&H. TiVo could certainly improve here, but the service WAS very acceptable.
The nits (design issues, IMO) :
* My favorite feature is turned off and hidden. This is setting the skip to 30 seconds. When watching live TV, hit select, play, select 30, select. This has to be reset every time you restart. I imagine this is not the default to prevent lawsuits from unhappy networks because I don't even watch their commercials sped up any more.
* I wish changing the channel didn't flush the 30 minute live TV buffer.
* I wish the buffer was 60 minutes.
The raves :
* My favorite feature. 30 second commerical skip (see above).
* I virtually never watch live TV any more. Channel surfing is DEAD in my household. My observation is that many people in other reviews complained about how slow the channel changing is. I guess this is true, even with the serial cable, but the whole point of the TiVo is to NOT have to change channels or watch live TV any longer.
Seriously, if you're intent on channel surfing, you won't get the point of a TiVo and it probably isn't for you. My father in law doesn't get our TiVo and it doesn't make sense for him or anyone else with a 30 second - 5 minute attention span. A DVR doesn't make sense for you at all. That doesn't denigrate your TV-watching style, it just means don't purchase a DVR.
If you're the sort who likes to change channels during the commcerical (I used to do that), TiVo doesn't make sense unless you change your habits. I have. I don't watch commercials either.
* I have managed to catch up on all my old TV series using season pass. This has been easy even when I'm not sure when the shows are because TiVo finds them on various channels and surfs to record them for me.
* Wishlists have turned up old hidden 2am gems that I like to watch occasionally. This is fun.. to catch on old movie or find a show with a favorite actor or topic.
* I thought at first that I had to watch everything my TiVo recorded. No way, that isn't the point. The point is to have a diverse set of wishlist items, season passes, and suggestions from selected from thumbs up and down information you input over time to always be able to watch if and when you decide to watch TV. That is empowering as I now choose what and when to watch.
* We're starting a family soon, and TiVo supports parental protection based on show ratings. We have it turned off right now, but when our children get old enough to hold a remote, that will be turned back on and customized to our preferences. That and we can skip commercials are powerful tools in our parental toolbox.
* You can network your TiVo and hook it up to your home network for updated TV listings via network instead of phone line and to play your family digital photo album on the TV as well as your collection of MP3's. If you have a stereo hooked up for movies, this is very nice.
* The user interface is pretty easy to use. Even install, while involving many steps is about as easy as one can make it given how many decisions must be made at the user's end (how did you hook it up? what kind of cable, satellite, etc? what channels do you get? and so on).
* You can hack your TiVo. There actually are some good reasons to do this.
1) It's cheap to add more hard disk space if you need it. I should do this soon.
2) Part of the process involves backing up the hard drive. If the hard drive in your TiVo dies, this means you have a backup and may be able to repair your current box (with a lifetime subscription in my case) instead of purchasing a new one.
3) Some people I know are also able to save video onto their computer and burn their own dvds. I considered this but decided against it for now because the quality isn't exciting, and the legality is questionable (although you can now purchase a TiVo/DVD burner combo that does the same thing).
Suggestions :
* Seriously consider hacking your TiVo once it's out of warantee at least to add your own warantee of a backup hard drive, even if you don't add hours to it. There are services that will do this for you if you pay them.
Alternatives :
* Replay - I haven't spent much time looking at Replay. Their approach has caused so many lawsuits, and they've been in and out of brankruptcy, I decided not to bother. People rave about it though.
* Ultimate TV - Microsofts offering. My brother-in-law enjoys his, but it's no longer available. What's out there still works and it seems to be a nice system.
* MythTV/FreeVo - these are free software systems that you can use to build your own computer into a TiVo live DVR that incorporate even more features like computer gaming and so on. I'm very interested as a software engineer and will probably build one (and have friends who have done so), but it's more of a hobbiest approach and you do have to constantly tinker to keep it running in excellent shape.
Final comments :
I love my TiVo. It has truly empowered me to watch what I want, when I want, and HOW I want. I don't watch commercials unless I really want to. TiVo suggestions have showed me that there really is worthwhile TV to watch (we watch a lot of FoodTV, Discovery, TLC, DIY, etc. type shows) available... more than I have time to watch. Thumbs up and thumbs down on various shows have really fine tuned what the TiVo records as a suggestion (only using available space).
It definitely has little quicks and problems. I could do without the occasional hangs and I'm always nervous that the hard drive might crash. TiVo probably could use better customer service although I have never had a problem. However, I use a lot of honey in my interactions with customer service people (I used to work in tech support) and almost always get better results than the irate grumpy people I know, even calling the same help lines.
The value has FAR exceeded the cost, IMO. Watching what I want when I want. Saving 15-20 minutes an hour and 7-10 minutes for half hour shows by skipping commercials is time I spend on other things. Watching more shows if I'm lazy, but more usually fixing up things around the house and getting projects done. Hopefully you will find the same, but at least you can make the decision informed in as much detail as I can give in this little space here.

TiVo TCD649080 Series2 80-Hour Dual-Tuner Digital Video Recorder

After years of sticking to a single-tuner model (except for the DirecTv versions), Tivo has finally released a dual-tuner model. For the most part, the only difference between this model and previous Series 2 Tivos is the ability to record two channels at once.
The box keeps the look of the more recent series 2 Tivos, except for a black-accented faceplate. The connections in the rear are laid out largely the same as past versions, with the exception of an ethernet port that has been added for wired networking.
The software has minor changes, particularly slight modifications to the menu background images and the newer "tivo introduction skit" that appears when the tivo is powered on. The software and hardware work smoothly. There seems to be a faster processor included, as navigation through the menus is quick and smooth.
The dual-tuner functions work well. Having grown accustom to the single-tuner model, it took me some time to get used to the ability to change channels while recording (and that what is on screen is not necessarily what is being recorded). It was also pleasant to schedule 25 season passes without a single conflict-such is the benefit of being able to record two shows at once.
But the dual-tuner function needs some explanation. The people who benefit most from the DT function are those who have analog cable without a cable box (as I do). I simply plug in the coax cable into the tivo, and it is ready to go. (Note: there is only one coax input-the signal is split internally and sent to the dual tuners.) If you have a cable box or digital cable, things start to get a bit trickier. In fact, in order to use the dual-tuner feature, you MUST be able to receive at least some channels through an analog cable connection. This means that if you have purely digital cable that requires a digital cable box, you will NOT be able use the dual tuner functions, as there is only one connection allowed between the cable box and tivo. I suggest you go to tivo's website and download the product manual for the DT tivo and read the part about connecting tivo to your cable. If it seems like too big of a hassle, you might want to wait for the series 3 tivos that will include cable-card technology (which allows you to use digital cable without the cable box).
One additional note, tivo has stopped supporting over-the-air antenna tuning with this model. If you hook up an antenna to tivo, it will only receive channels 2-13. Any broadcast channels above 13 will not be received.
And for those who are thinking of "upgrading" this tivo to a larger hard drive-the DT tivo is upgradeable in the same ways that past series 2 models were. I used the standard methods (which are published all over the internet) and replaced the 80GB hard drive with a 250GB one. Upgrading, however, voids your warranty (which is only 3 months anyway).
Overall, I am happy with the DT tivo, but that is in large part due to fact that I receive analog cable without a cable box. Many of you who have been using antennas, cable boxes or digital cable will likely be somewhat less satisfied with this model.

TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder

When we purchased an HDTV earlier this year, we resigned ourselves to using the DVR provided by Comcast, our cable company. We knew we needed DVR functionality, and we weren't content to watch only standard definition TV on our new set. So we bit the bullet and replaced our TiVo Series 2 with the Comcast-supplied DVR. I'm not going to review the Comcast DVR in depth here, but it's safe to say that I'm overjoyed to be able to go back to a TiVo device for our main TV.
I've been using the TiVo Series 3 for only about three days, so these are initial impressions. Overall, it's a huge improvement over the cable company DVR. It has the same awesome TiVo interface we knew and loved from our previous TiVos, but it's been spruced up a bit for HD. It looks nice. The picture quality is excellent, and the TiVo Series 3 has a great variety of options for what video modes it sends to the TV.
I had absolutely no trouble getting the two Cable Cards working. I plugged them both in to the box at the appropriate point in Guided Setup, called Comcast to have them activated, and then finished Guided Setup. They've worked perfectly from the beginning, tuning both SD and HD channels, both premium and non-premium.
I stole the TiVo wireless adapter from my Series 2 for the Series 3, and it worked seamlessly. I plugged it in before guided setup, and the TiVo used it for its connection from the beginning.
The only real problem I've experienced is that I've had a few very short audio dropouts. These last for less than a second, and seem to be related to load or resource constraints on the TiVo. For example, on the day I experienced this, I could clearly trigger it by scrolling around in the program guide. Making the box work harder had an obvious correlation to the audio dropouts. However, when I wasn't using the guide, the dropouts were very infrequent, and I haven't experienced them since that day. I don't find this to be a severe bug, but it's obviously something I'd like to see fixed. As it is, it's far less frequent and much less disruptive than the problems I had with my Comcast DVR.
At the time of this writing, a few features have not yet been enabled on the Series 3. This may or may not be a big deal to you:
1. TiVo To Go (transfer shows to and from your computer). I never used this on my Series 2, so its absence doesn't concern me at all.
2. Multi-room Viewing (transfer shows between TiVo boxes over the network). I'd like to have this, but it's not crucial for me.
3. Storage expansion via the ESATA port (attach an external SATA hard drive). For me, this is another "nice to have" feature, and certainly not a showstopper.
TiVo claims that these features will be added in a future release. At this time, it sounds like the ESATA port is less in doubt than the other two features. However, if any of these features is a dealbreaker for you, it would probably be wise to wait until it's actually shipped before you buy a Series 3. There's no guarantee as to when, or even if, these will actually happen. I'm personally ok with that, but you'll have to make your own decision.
I'm extremely happy with the TiVo Series 3. Yes, it's expensive. But to me, it was well worth the cost to get rid of the cable company DVR. To put it in perspective, it costs a lot less than most HDTVs, and in my mind the improvement it brings to the television wathching experience is on par with what HDTV brings.

TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder

Initially there were some known issues such as macroblocking/pixelation on digital channels (particularly channels showing HD content) with cablecards, but TiVo worked quickly to release two revisions to the TiVo HD software already and 98% of the issues have been resolved. My only complaints about the TiVo HD:
1.) Internal HDD only records 20 hours of HD content. It is equipped with an eSATA port, but as of now it is not enabled on the THD. (The Series3 HD has the eSATA port enabled, TiVo expects to enable it later in the year, possibly at the same time as a TiVo-branded eSATA HDD) 20 hours is ok if all you're recording is a day's worth of shows and watching through them daily, but I sometimes go up to a week without being able to watch shows, and if you record a few movies in HD, it fills up quick. Also on season passes the minimum you can set for programs to keep is 5, with the smaller hard drive it'd be nice if you could set it to 1 for things like news broadcasts (to set it to record daily and just delete yesterdays if you didn't get to it when it records todays)
2.) No built-in WiFi. I know the story is the same as Microsoft's "technology changes so quickly so adding in a wireless-g compliant adapter would limit it if a wireless-n standard comes along." but come on now, I hate having to add a bunch of items to the box, I'd rather it be built in.
3.) Basic remote. The Series3 comes with a glow remote and this one does not. You can buy a white or black one from TiVo for $50, but it is the newest TiVo DVR, they could include the better glow remote.
4.) No TiVo-To-Go or Multiple room viewing. Not so important on the MRV for me since I sold my Series2 to help pay for my THD, but I can see how this bothers people with 3-4 TiVos. I can appreciate that HD content is much larger and would probably take forever to transfer and take an enormous amount of hard drive space, but I liked transfering recordings to my laptop and taking them to my girlfriend's place who doesn't have cable or TV reception and catch her up on CSI etc. Rumor says it'll be enabled eventually, and I can at least appreciate that they put it on the back burner to fix release issues like the pixelation/cablecard issues.
5.) Menus, searching for programs, scheduling recordings, etc all do take a little longer than on my Series2. I'm hoping this goes away with a software fix soon. Hitting the 'record' button takes 10-15 seconds to start recording the show. (even though it still caches 30 mins of live recording and it does keep all of it, but one would think it could process the request faster)
6.) For the cost of TiVo service, one would think the software would have been completely release-worthy. On some of the forums, people have been complaining of issues with cablecards etc for a month and I think the least TiVo could do is give a few months free service to anyone who buys a TiVo HD so we don't feel like we're paying full price to be beta testers. Also, since it is a monthly fee, I don't think we should be subject to any sort of menu advertising. The guide is still ad-free, but in the menu, there is still a selection that can be any number of things (right now it is an option to learn more about the TiVo HD, but I've seen it be an ad for GM trucks etc) and one time when a program finished and it brought up the screen to choose between deleting the program or keeping it, there was a 3rd option to learn more about some program sponsor. This was one of the things that pissed me off about cable companies cable boxes.
All in all, despite the quirks, the picture is amazing and I'm glad I get to have HD content on my TiVo. I work swing shift and always miss all the good prime time shows and once I got an HDTV, the only show on in HD when I get home is Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and now when I get home I get to see all of my favorite shows in HD and commercial free. Life is easy again. Now if only I could add a 750GB eSATA drive, I can go back to storing large quantities of programs I may never get to watching. :) Nobody even comes close to TiVo, and the cable company's DVRs are all lousy.

TiVo AG0100 Wireless G USB Network Adapter for TiVo Series2 & Series3 DVRs

Experience was as follows:
1 ) Plugged unit into TIVO USB port.
2 ) Went to TIVO network setup menu.
3 ) Network immediately recognized.
4 ) Clicked on network name.
5 ) Entered WEP password using alpha-numeric alternative.
6 ) Network link established.
7 ) Used on-screen signal strength to reposition Adapter and router antenna.
8 ) Connected to Tivo service.
Good product. Recommended.