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TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder | 
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| Brand: TiVo
Category: CE
List Price: $599.99
Buy New: $461.20
You Save: $138.79 (23%)
New (18)
Avg. Customer Rating:  185 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 16.1
Dimensions (in): 13 x 17 x 3
MPN: TCD648250B
Model: TCD648250B
UPC: 851342000643
EAN: 0851342000643
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | The world's first THX-certified DVR, delivers the highest-quality home theater AV experience | | • | 300 hour recording capacity, twice as much as most cable alternatives; 25-35 hours of HD | | • | Easily connect to your home network with built-in Ethernet and USB ports | | • | Record 2 live digital cable channels at once, while watching a pre-recorded show | | • | TiVo service subscription required |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Record up to 300 hours of standard recording time or up to 32 in High Definition with this THX-certified digital video recorder that delivers high-quality, high-definition programming and allows you to record up to 2 live shows at once. Schedule recordings anywhere from tivo.com and the advanced TiVo broadband features, including digital photos, Internet radio, podcasts. The backlit programmable remote control is easy to configure to your TV.CableCARD technology to access your HD digital cable channelsSupports digital cable, analog cable, and ATSC terrestrial over-the-air digitalFull 1080i output over component or HDMIExtremely quiet boxUnrivaled Perfection
No other box comes close. Get the very-top-of-the-line sound, highest-quality picture, and the Emmy award-winning TiVo service all in one incredible digital cable-ready box. Provides Access to Your Digital Cable Programming
Add high-quality entertainment to your home theater without adding clutter. Receive your premium digital cable channels in their full native HD format with CableCARD decoders (available from your cable provider). The TiVo? Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder is also compatible with analog cable and over-the-air digital HD (ATSC). Provides an all-digital connection to your high-end display: HDMI for video, SP/DIF for audio. A True Home Theater Device, THX?-certified
It's not home theater without THX?-certification. The TiVo? Series3 HD box maintains all of the sharpness and detail found in the original broadcast-both in sound and picture-so you get the complete high-definition experience as it was intended. TiVo KidZone
TiVo is the only DVR that gives you total control over what your kids see on TV. With TiVo KidZone, you get to choose which shows your children can watch and record. TiVo KidZone provides a separate Now Playing list that displays only the shows you pre-approve for you children, keeping their shows separate from yo
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| Customer Reviews: Read 180 more reviews...
 Overjoyed to be back with TiVo! September 18, 2006
252 out of 261 found this review helpful
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 heaven after the inital setup hell. September 27, 2006
183 out of 189 found this review helpful
I've recently upgraded from the original TiVo to the new "Series3" HD TiVo. This review was written with the new Series3 out for less than one month, so some of the shortcomings listed below may have been addressed by the time you read this.
TiVo did a spectacular job with the hardware. The recorder can hold ~35 hours of HDTV or ~300 hours of non-HD programming, which is significantly more than cable company-provided DVRs. The Series3 can record two shows at once -- either OTA (connect an antenna to receive the networks) or cable via CableCards, and if you have a recent HDTV, the TiVo can output all the recording via HDMI (a pure digital connection between the TiVo and your HDTV). It also contains a host of less major upgrades (back lit remote, an OLED display, etc) that improve upon the famous TiVo experience.
I should point out that, at the time of writing, the Series3 is missing functionality that is available on older TiVos, such as ability to export shows to your PC, iPod, etc (TivoToGo), and the ability to view shows recorded on the Series3 on other TiVos in your house (Multi-room viewing). If these are important to you, you may want to delay your purchase until this functionality is added (currently, there is no guarantee they will be available). I rated the item as "4 stars" because of the missing functionality.
If you plan on viewing only OTA (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc via an antenna) programming, you can stop reading this review, since the rest of it deals with using TiVo with cable company supplied CableCards.
Most people who purchase a TiVo Series3 do so with the intention of using it with their cable service, and the only way to receive digital (non-basic) cable service on the Series3 is with the use of cable company-supplied CableCards. Unlike older TiVos, a cable box cannot be connected to the Series3. If you plan on using a Series3 with cable, be aware that getting and installing CableCards *can* be very difficult, and you may wish to check with your cable provider prior to purchasing the Series3. Some caveats, based on my experience with the second largest cable provider:
(1) The customer service agents flatly refused to provide CableCards for use in a TiVo. It required multiple calls and escalations to finally have a manager "approve" the install. You should note that cable companies are *required*, by law, to provide CableCards for compatible devices. Most cable companies charge a monthly fee (usually less than $2) for each CableCard.
(2) Some cable companies require a technician to "install" the cards on premises, which may cost you $35 - $45 for the install (again, check with your cable co). Unfortunately for me, the installer couldn't activate the cards. This also appears to be a frequent issue at the time of writing. Multiple calls later, I finally found a customer service agent who was able to activate both cards.
(3) With CableCards, you cannot receive OnDemand and Pay Per View events. You should also note that some cable companies are placing channels on "Switched Digital Video" (SDV). SDV channels are not compatible with the Series3, so check with your cable provider.
(4) Finally, if you subscribe to a cable package such a digital cable + broadband Internet, you cable price may not go down if you return your set-top box. In my case, the price would actually have *increased* since, without the cable box, since I would not be eligible for the package pricing. Needless to say, I kept the cable box.
Overall, I am satisfied with my Series3. The initial installation problems caused a couple of headaches, but once resolved, it has performed quite well. Some of cable company problem might become less frustrating once the cable co gains more experience with this product.
Finally! But some important things to know before you buy... October 1, 2006
89 out of 90 found this review helpful
Let me be clear: no other DVR from a cable company can come close to the TiVo experience. TiVo has gotten so many of the fine details right that it's worth every penny of the extra cost.
PROS (especially when compared to cable company DVRs):
-- It could not be easier to find and schedule recordings of your favorite shows. DVR's from the cable company make the process soooooo much more complicated.
-- You can schedule your recordings online from anywhere you have an internet connection. I use this feature all the time -- more than I expected.
-- The television guide is better than any other guide you can find anywhere else. It doesn't get any better. Period.
-- It is so much easier to forward through shows. When you fast forward, it even knows to rewind a few seconds so you don't miss any part of the program. Small detail, but what a difference it makes.
-- The TiVo remote is so comfortable and easy to use. No other remote comes close.
-- You can stream music and videos to your TiVo, so no need to buy a separate multimedia network device. When you have people over, you can leave the tv on and show great pictures or artwork. Very cool.
WHAT'S NEW:
Compared to Tivo Series2, here is what is new:
-- Accepts cable cards, so you can ditch you cable box.
-- Dual tuners so you can watch and record two shows at once.
-- The new remote has backlighting and is a "learning remote"
-- Nice new look that is sleek sitting near the tv.
-- Has a front display that shows the time and other info. You can turn this off if you want.
-- You can hook the TiVo directly into your network with ethernet... no adapter necessary. Or you can use a wireless USB router.
CONS:
While I'm still giving TiVo 5 stars since it does all the important things perfectly, it is important to know that there are some features not available yet, even though they are on earlier TiVo's:
-- You cannot transfer tv shows to your computer or laptop. I use this feature all the time with my old TiVo since it's great for traveling with your favorite shows
-- Kidszone is not available (a great feature if you have kids in the house)
-- Ability to transfer shows between TiVo's.
What to know about CableCards:
-- My cable company had never seen a TiVo Series3, so they were a little confused. Hopefully that will change over time.
-- Cablecards are not terribly common yet and the technology isn't flawless. It took three long visits from my cable company to get the cable cards working. But the problem was NOT TiVo's fault.
-- With the cable cards, you probably won't need your cable box. Since cable cards usually cost a lot less to rent each month, you can save $10 to $15 per month. It makes the cost of TiVo service a little easier to rationalize. ;-)
-- Cable cards do not work if you want to rent movies through your cable company. This is something cable companies are working on, but it could be a while.
 Cost & Service makes this device a Deal Breaker. February 8, 2007
79 out of 106 found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that I have been a loyal TIVO customer since Series 1 and have loved the box. I have since bought two additional series 2 boxes. I have always had good luck with TIVO and the intuitive interface is unmatched. Sadly, the new series 3 HD has pushed me away as a customer. I have owned 3 boxes and bought the lifetime subscription on each. TIVO has done away with the lifetime subscription so there is now no avoiding a monthly fee. This box is $800.00 and the features are a welcome and long overdue improvement. They offered a swap of my lifetime service from series 2 to series 3 (for a limited time) for an additional $200.00. That brings my grand total to $1000.00.
A Comcast DVR is $5.00 dollars a month. I can pay that amount for 13 years before I reach just the cost of a Series 3 box, not including a Tivo subscription wich currently lies at $20.00 per month for a year committment, or $13.00 for a three year committment. At the best case scenario the equivelent period with Tivo costs you an additional $2,028.00 in subscription fees alone. $5.00 a month goes a long way when you factor in all the costs. It begs the question, is the Tivo series 3 thousands of dollars better than my Comcast DVR. It's better, but is it thousands of dollars better. I would have to say a resounding NO. Especially since they have decreased functionality from the Series 2 (Tivo 2 Go, Room to Room Transfers).
Comcast just announced that the TIVO operating system will soon be available on their DVR's with a simple download. Even if the cost for the TIVO operating system is more you have a much better deal on your hands. Do the math, TIVO series 3 just doesn't add up.
Tivo Series 3 kicks anything else out there... September 18, 2006
32 out of 35 found this review helpful
I currently had been using 2 DVR's supplied from Adelphia/Comcast and also have 2 Tivo Series 2 units with the lifetime membership. I had purchased the Tivo's since just about the launch of the original Tivo, and reason for both was that cable company didn't offer a HD unit and before that not even a DVR. That being said, I purchased a Tivo Series 3 and ordered 2 cable cards from my cable company for my Tivo Series 3 Unit, the cable guy came in today and installed the cable cards in my Tivo Series 3. (Unfortunately my cable company will not allow me to pick them up myself, because they are very easy to install) Once the cable cards were installed and I ran the setup, the Tivo worked flawlessly, I called Tivo to activate the service on my series 3 unit and they mentioned that they were running a $195 promotion to transfer my lifetime membership from one of my series 2 to my new Tivo Series 3 unit and also they allowed my old Tivo Series 2 to continue working for 1 year. I also purchased the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter, which is far superior to anything else out there. I had the linksys brand wireless adapter and the Tivo brand has better range, easier setup etc. So if you have a wireless network, spend the money and purchase the Tivo Brand Wireless Network adapter.
The bottom line is that the Tivo Series 3 is awesome, especially compared to what the cable company had to offer, the reason for the 4 stars was because of the $799 price, I think its a little high, but I am sure over time it will probably drop in price, but I love it anyway..If you can afford it, go get !!!
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