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| Brand: TiVo
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (46)
Avg. Customer Rating:  205 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Hard Drive Size: 500
Shipping Weight (lbs): 15
Dimensions (in): 12.6 x 16.5 x 3.4
MPN: TCD652160
Model: TCD652160
UPC: 851342000742
EAN: 0893835000815
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Multi-room viewing, closed captions, same easy interface, and quick, easy installation make this DVR a gem January 26, 2008
22 out of 25 found this review helpful
Summation first, exposition last (if you want to wade through the wall of text, I promise to make it interesting, as best I can!):
1.A few users have complained about the DVR freezing up. I haven't had it long enough to speak to this issue, but some have complained that this is endemic with TiVo in general. Having had two Series 2 boxes for several years, and never a problem with either, I would say that any failure falls into the "acceptable failure percentage" of any product. Nothing is perfect. Even the best made cars malfunction, infrequently, five miles out of the lot.
2.That said, the TiVo dual tuner I bought a couple of years back didn't work. Neither did the three replacements they sent. Obviously, that was a poorly designed and released piece of hardware.
3.Read the material before the cable installer comes out. You'll want to have gone through the Guided Setup first. If you don't, you'll make the cable tech late for the rest of their appointments, and we all know how much we love it when the cable tech is late for *our* appointment.
4.Quick and easy pre-setup (before cable tech comes to install card).
5.Quick and easy cable card setup.
6.Multi-room viewing is immediate--all I did was plug in my TiVo wireless adapter, enter the encryption code during setup, and it recognized the box in the other room the first time I pulled up the "Now Playing" list.
7.It does a better job of providing closed captions than the cable box did (as I detail below, captioning is not available through the TV on the component or HDMI inputs). You can change the size, font, foreground and background color, and more. I wish there was a selection for a transparent background so that I could use yellow (I've found that yellow vs. white subtitles on DVDs are usually easier to read), but I'm not complaining. For the first time, I have *options* as to how I want to view the captions.
8.The "save to" function that one reviewer complained or wondered about isn't only for VHS, it's also for saving to DVD, if you have a DVD recorder. That reviewer wondered why this was an option, and I think the answer is obvious. If you're a Boston Red Sox fan, you might want to have all of their World Series games on DVD--or even VHS--for posterity. I know that I record certain sporting events. Others might choose movies.
9.There is a very, very small lag when returning to the "Now Playing" screen, but it has more to do with the TiVo interpreting/converting the incoming signal (480p, 780p, 1080i, 1080p). Really not a big deal, and hardly worth complaining about, although in a perfect world, there would be no lag.
10.Make sure to specifically request a multi-stream card (M-Card). The rep on the phone probably won't know what that is, so you may need to speak with a supervisor. My installer didn't know the difference between a single stream and multi-stream card, but luckily the card he had said M-Card in big, bold letters, so I knew what I was getting, even if he didn't know what he was installing. I didn't chalk that up to his incompetence, btw. Rather, inexperience. This is, to many people, brand new technology.
11. I like that the lights on the front tell us if one show is recording (one red light), if two are recording (two red lights), or if a show is transferring from one box to the other (one blue light). Native or Hybrid image selection is also displayed, along with the appropriate screen resolution. It's too small to see if you're sitting six feet away from the TV, but having that information available is helpful. It allowed me to troubleshoot the only problem I had with TiVo, and that was making the choice between Native or Hybrid, as the TV manual didn't provide me with the necessary information. Time and date would be nice, but as we kept our cable box for OnDemand functionality, and it displays the time, it's not a big issue.
12.My only real complaint is storage space. We'll have to pay close attention to any series that might have a "marathon run", like some of those ridiculous reality shows, and make sure that the Now Playing list is tidied up. There's only 20 hours of High Def recording space available. TiVo restricts our ability to expand by forcing us to use only one specific external storage unit made by Western Digital (that isn't, frustratingly, available on Amazon). Western Digital makes several of these units. Why limit your customers to one? I'm sure it's a support issue, to make their jobs easier, but choice would be nice.
Exposition:
Our 46" Sony TV manufactured in 1995 and that survived a flood, and which I stubbornly held onto even though the picture quality left much to be desired, finally gave up the ghost a couple of months ago, so we used the Amazon gift cards we received for birthday and X-mas presents to buy the Samsung HLT5076S 50" UltraSlim 1080p DLP HDTV. We immediately fell in love with the picture--of course--but bemoaned that because we only had a Series 2 TiVo, that we wouldn't be able to get the full use of the television. That immediately led me to look at this TiVo DVR, but some of the reviews here scared me off, even the positive ones. Specifically, that there was no multi-room viewing, and the cable cards were giving people problems. Also, and most importantly, when I spoke to Comcast about the cable card that they were required to provide by law, I was informed on at least three separate occasions, by three different people, that the cards only allowed access up to channel 99. This seemed collusive, as well as counter-intuitive. Do they really make that much of a profit renting boxes? I would imagine that they spend a fair amount of money--if not a LOT of money--replacing, for free, boxes that are destined to either fail or become outdated as technology moves full speed of ahead, disregarding, it seems, the laws of physics. The cable card issue was also a concern that I had seen posted here on Amazon, and so I decided to wait.
Then on a lark, I called Comcast one last time to check into the functionality of the cable card. It just didn't make sense to me, for the reason I noted above. The representative I spoke to said that I could get all regular and high def channels (high def all being above channel 100), but that I couldn't get my premium channels, HBO or Showtime. Frustrated, I asked her to confirm this with a supervisor, and when she came back she said that ALL channels were available through the cable card with the exception of OnDemand. THAT made sense, as OnDemand is something offered specifically through Comcast.
And it sold me. I used the rest of our "account" to buy this DVR.
We had a few problems with HDTV, the biggest being that closed captioning was unavailable on any device hooked up through component or HDMI inputs. As I'm hearing impaired and rely heavily on captions, this was fairly disastrous. To think that we had spent so much "money" to take a step backwards...but then we found out that the cable box itself can provide closed captions, but better yet, when the TiVo was delivered, I thumbed through their manual and found that this TiVo box translates digital closed captions and transmits them to the component or HDMI inputs (which are really the only ones you want to use with HDTV). I was overjoyed.
When the Comcast tech arrived to install the cable card, I was sure that something would go wrong, because with so many different answers it seemed predestined. But nothing went wrong! The only cable cards they're using are the multi-stream cards (M-card) which allow the TiVo to function as a duel tuner. Within ten to twenty minutes, I was up and ready to go. Everything worked as advertised. Two shows recorded at the same time. I was able to watch one show while another was recording. Frankly, I'm not even sure that we need the other Series 2 in the bedroom, but we're keeping it because sometimes shows that *should* have digital captions don't. Most of these seem to be ABCs HD channel. (Shame on them!) So we're recording those shows in analog mode on the other DVR.
The closed captioning was just as good as the TV provides for the "lower-end" inputs, and it had all of the functionality of our old Series 2. We could even transfer shows from one box to the other, so ***multi-room viewing is absolutely possible***.
Ever single concern I had was alleviated, and I remain, as I have been for several years, an extremely satisfied TiVo customer (excepting the week I spent on phone with their tech help folks trying to make a dual tuner box work a couple of years back).
There is no DVR that comes close to TiVo. As any TiVo user knows, TiVo will search and find the programs you tell it to record, regardless of when they are on. So, if Law & Order is moved from Friday to Wednesday, you don't have to remember to tell the DVR that there has been a lineup change, which you do with Comcast's DVR, and other DVRs that I'm aware of. Either DirectTV or Dish is advertising a box that's better than TiVo, but I'll believe it when I see it.
 TiVo HD plagued with problems September 1, 2007
17 out of 49 found this review helpful
I have had a TiVo HD for two weeks. If your cable company uses scientific altantic equipment do not purchase a TiVo HD. You will have problems with the picture pixelating about every 20 seconds, its very annoying. Also TiVo HDs are very sensitive to poor week signal strengthh. If you use splitters there is a good change that you will not have enough signal strength to get a good picture.
 Know what you are getting into before jumping in! July 8, 2008
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
I had TiVo service from DirecTV several years ago (two of the black philips units) and loved it. I have also had two ReplayTV units and two Dish PVRs. My most recent set-up was Dish Network ViP 722 at my last house, and we just moved into a Verizon FiOS area. After reading horror stories about the Verizon DVR, and after taking a few years off from TiVo (...in part to block the memory and sting of the wasted money spent on "lifetime" service subscriptions....), I was very much looking forward to this TiVo HD! Because of my house-move and timing, I was also able to compare head-to-head, the Dish PVR, the Verizon PVR, and this TiVo unit. So here is my impressions of the good, the bad, and the ugly:
GOOD:
- Well-designed rear-panel with just about any connection scenario being possible except coax-digital (same for Dish and Verizon, not a big deal in the HDMI age....)
- It can record two programs and play a third (same for Dish and Verizon)
- Wireless USB Internet adapter works perfectly, even for the initial setup (this is unique, Dish has Ethernet and phone jacks; the Verizon box is inherently always connected to their network); the wireless adapter costs an extra $40
- Fan and Hard-Drive are VERY quiet and the unit doesn't get too hot
- The best TV guide information, the importance of this should not be minimized, TiVo by FAR has the best guide! (Dish guide is very-OK, the Verizon guide STINKS...horrible causing many missed or duplicate recordings)
BAD:
- Small Hard-Drive, only 20 hours of HD; need to buy a specific $170 500gb drive to use the expansion e-Sata port (BTW there is no technical reason for this, other HD TiVos support any external e-Sata drive)
- Need to unplug the box to turn it off (a quick call to customer service will educate you to not "trust" the menu item that restarts the TiVo)
- Menus are very "deep" for every-day use; getting to many options is not intuitive and information is not organized together that the user often needs to access at the same time
- Noticeable picture "wave" on some HD material (...before and after attenuation...I ended up not using any)
- Can not order "On-Demand" events
- Slow menus
- Momentary screen "grey-out" when using the "native resolution" option; the "native resolution" option will pass through the TV signal as broadcasted, which should be a "good" feature, but TiVo customer support readily admits it doesn't work consistently and ask you not use it and to choose a scaling option.
- There is a disarming "pop" sound when changing some high-definition channels
- The "TiVo Desktop application" to share videos, photos, etc from your computer is a poorly written resource hog, it is very hard to uninstall, and doesn't work very well.
- You can sign-up for TiVo service online, and manage your account online, but to cancel you need to call (and the call experience is horrible)
UGLY:
- Prominent advertising all over most screens, even in the sub-menus where TV show episodes are listed! This also actually makes the menus ugly and busy.
- Set-up is loony and unruly with the CableCards, and TiVo support is horrible (although the reps are very pleasant)
- TiVo monthly service-charges are about the same as Verizon for PVR, but the ~$250 for the TiVo unit is an additional expense, and for this extra cost, you get a lot of advertising!!! I know I've noted it a few times, but there really is a lot of advertising and it takes up Hard-Drive program space.
- Although TiVo customer support representatives are in the US-of-A and are very pleasant, the support service is not very good. (1) every-time you call you need to listen to a (I believe lengthy) condescending message to go to the TiVo website rather than calling support; BTW there is next to no useful information on their website. (2) No matter what option you choose via the phone voice-prompts, every-time you call you first need to speak to a "TiVo customer service" rep, who after a few minutes informs you that they must transfer you to the "TiVo High-Definition customer service" representatives; BTW, it seems "TiVo" and "TiVo-HD" support are two distinct organizations in different locations. (3) All of the customer service reps ask for a call-back number if the support-call is interrupted; I was disconnected several times when we needed to deviate from their standard support script, and I never received a call-back, and providing the case-number when I did call TiVo back myself didn't prevent having to go through the entire script again.
The two big issues I had were:
(1) getting the TiVo box to recognize I had service and an account (TiVo shut me off after 7 days saying I didn't have an account, although online and the customer-support reps showed I was indeed active) and
(2) getting the CableCards working properly is brutal (to their credit, Verizon was willing to put the time in to get the TiVo to work, it just took several trips and several many-hour calls to get SD and HD picture content to work at the same time, and we never got both CableCards to say "subscribed" at the same time)
I went through most of the online TiVo forums and printed out the latest and greatest install tips, tricks and details.
{{Tangentially, if you go down the treacherous TiVo-HD path...make sure (a) the cable installer installs one CableCard at a time [they will want to do both at the same time....], (b) the "Host-ID" and "Data-Value" must be input into the cable-system [installer needs to make a specific additional call for this] and check the TiVo "Conditional Access" screen to make sure, (c) reboot and re-do guided set-up a few times, and (d), [perhaps only for Verizon], you may need to use an attenuator to lower the input signal for a good picture, check the Diagnostic screen for "RS Uncorrected" errors.}}
To put some context on the TiVo support issues, they were not helpful and they were consistently inconsistent. For example, one rep told me to unplug and re-plug-in the unit twice within an hour and then force an Internet connection twice in that exact sequence to fix some issues I was having, another rep told me to unplug the unit for at least two hours and then force two Internet connections, but made a point to say "never unplug twice without connecting to the Internet in-between". Another rep told me unplug the unit and use a can of compressed air to clean where the power-cord goes in, then do two guided set-ups and let the unit connect to the Internet automatically at night. I started to think I was on candid-camera, and they were going to ask me to perform some type of sacrifice or only connect to the Internet when I was facing the north-pole ..... I think you get the idea, but that is what I mean by inconsistent and not helpful, and very frustrating!
For those interested in some comparisons of the Dish PVR, the Verizon PVR, and this TiVo unit:
Picture Quality: (1) Dish ViP722 is by far the best for High-Definition content, and everything looks good, (2) Verizon has the most consistent looking picture and sound, and (3) as noted above the TiVo sometimes had a HD "wave" appearance, SD was identical to the Verizon PVR, and TiVo had "grey-out" when changing channels using native resolution.
Sound Quality: (1)Dish and (2) Verizon have perfect sound, and (3) the TiVo was usually the same perfect sound but sometimes made a loud "pop" when changing channels.
Menus/Options: (1) Dish menus are functional and allow you to set some slack-time before or after shows so you do not miss the end, (2) Verizon menus are serviceable but have no slack-time options and the default behavior is often different than most PVRs, and (3) the TiVo menus have ads all over them and are unnecessarily complicated; TiVo has slack-time options, but they didn't work well for me (as evidence, look at on-line forums and news stories for the countless folks who missed the winner on the American-Idol finale this year, and previous years....)
Capacity: (1) Dish has 55 hours of HD and 350 hours of SD, both (2) Verizon and (3) TiVo have 160GB internal drives giving about 20 hours of HD and 180 hours of SD
Expandable Storage: (1) Dish can use any external Hard-Drive [need to call Dish to activate for one-time $5], (2) Verizon has no expansion options yet, and (3) TiVo requires a specific $170 MyDVR 500gb to expand.
Multi-Room: (1)Dish, (2) Verizon both have real multi-room built in and they work out of the box without additional set-up. The Verizon multi-room's quality is exactly the same from any Verizon box in the house, The Dish quality is not nearly as good at other TVs in the house as the PVR, but does not require a converter box, just a cable-ready TV tuned to channel 67. In my opinion the (3) TiVo HD does not have much multi-room functionality because you have to have another TiVo box to watch shows recorded on another TV (in addition to the "TiVo Desktop application" being horrible, the application will not give you PVR recordings to another room, it is for get content to and from your computer). The TiVo ad-ware implies great content flexibility, but the bottom-line is if you have one TiVo DVR, you can only watch recordings on the TV it is hooked-up to, the Verizon and Dish let you watch your one DVR's recordings on any connected TV without any wiring hassles (they piggyback on the same one coax that goes to the TV already).
Remote: (1)Dish, (2) Verizon, and (3) the TiVo are all fine although you need to "hack" TiVo to have 30-second skip capability; all are "universal remote" compatible.
Cost: (1) Dish is cheapest and has most HD [for just TV], (2) Verizon is $15.95 a month for PVR [though you can usually get a $12.95 monthly special], (3) TiVo is $12.95 per month, BUT has advertising all over it and you need to pay $250 for the box and $40 more if you want/need the wireless Internet adapter.
I ended up keeping the Verizon PVR because Verizon FiOS Internet is exponentially faster and more reliable than the competition in my area and the cost for Internet-only is prohibitive without a TV bundle. Also, I am renting a single-family home, and the owner said "no dishes" in the lease (so no Dish).
I sincerely wish good luck all those who venture into TiVo-land, hopefully this manifesto was somewhat informative (and still visible on Amazon), and maybe TiVo will get their act together someday! I think TiVo needs to partner with more cable and/or some satellite companies, and/or pre-load pre-set-up boxes to take the hassle out of installation, they need to fix their customer support (but keep it in the US....just give their staff the tools and information to be successful), work on quality control, and focus on prospective customers, not just existing TiVo fan-club members!
Tivo HD is beautiful September 4, 2007
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
Just hooked up a new HD Tivo, and so far it's great. I'm using it on plain ATSC antenna connection. My Series 2 Tivo wasn't very great with just an antenna, it got the snowy SD picture I get out here in the country, then compressed it. Not pretty.
The Tivo HD good:
-Beautiful picture quality, looks as good watching through my TV.
-Same easy setup and software.
-Tivo HD's ATSC tuner seems better than my Samsung 42" plasma's tuner, it got a channel my plasma couldn't.
-2 Tuners, that is VERY nice.
-The TV volume control didn't work well on my S2, you had to keep hitting the volume to affect any change. The Tivo HD volume control of my TV works great.
-More pretty lights to look at than the 3 on the S2.
-Has a pretty nice channel tuning signal strength screen
-The aspect ratio management seems better than that my TV provides. For some reason my TV won't let me zoom on letterboxed 16:9 semi-HD programming.
The bad:
-I read non-Tivo adapters don't work and my old USB wireless adapter really didn't work. Gotta shell out for the Tivo one. So for now I had to string a phone cord across the kitchen and living room.
-Interface seems slow at times.
-Channel setup was awkward. Tivo asked my ZIP code and city, then loaded a default channel list. Most were channels I couldn't receive. Then I had Tivo scan for channels and it told me it found 21 channels. Well it didn't deselect the not found channels from the list. So I unselected all channels from the list and scanned again, it still didn't select the found channels on the channel list. Weird.
Update March 2008: TivoHD is still working great. Upgraded the hard drive. 20HD hours was just getting too restrictive when I don't watch TV every day to keep up. Original hard drive was 160GB Western Digital SATA, new hard drive was a hand-me-down 320GB WD, so now I have double the space. To do this you have to remove the hard drive from the TivoHD and mount it and the new drive to a Windows PC. I used $12 SATA->USB convertors from NewEgg. Then use a program called WinMFS to copy it to another hard drive. You can choose to copy just the TIvo system or the Tivo System and previously recorded programs. If you copy the programs it takes a couple hours when the drives are hooked up via USB.
Then put the new drive in your Tivo and you're off. I'm keeping the original Tivo drive intact in case I ever need it.
[...]
Does not deliver... January 26, 2008
14 out of 22 found this review helpful
From its technical specifications, this appears to be a great addition to a home theater. In reality it is a device that is dreadfully slow to boot, freezes frequently, and requires nearly daily resets. The guide is well designed and laid out, most of the interface is relatively intuitive. But all of this "usability" is worthless when the machine is locked up and records two hours of blank screen instead of the movie you asked it to record. Review the technical forums on TiVo's website, you'll find that TiVo just isn't responding to the numerous customers who are having similar problems. If you should buy this box and need to contact them, they seem to just guess at possible causes, and keep in mind that unless your box goes bad within the first 90 days you will be paying for repairs. I regret having purchased the TiVo HD and hope that if this company releases any more products they will be better tested and prepared before being released to market. I am very disappointed.
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