Tivo Series2 Digital TV Recorder: Do Not Even Consider Purchasing Unless.....

I was just not a believer in the amazing abilities of Tivo until recently. Part of the reason was that I just was not that into TV. I did not have any shows I had to see, nor did I have the urge to spend a month trying to figure out how to operate a new device.

Yet, I quickly became a convert over the past month or so. For one, I discovered that there were a few shows that I actually wanted to see and could not always catch. But mainly, we went away for a weekend and saw what Tivo can really do. I was quickly sold on the Tivo Series2 recorder.

THE SPECIFICS:

* 11.5" x 15" x 3" and eight pounds
* 40 hours of digital audio/video recording
* Two USB ports to connect digital cameras, MP3's, or CD
players
* Compatible with antenna, cable, digital cable,
satellite, and other combinations
* Three day advanced programming
* One touch recording
* Picture in picture
* Slow motion
* Pause for live TV
* Program information
* One year warranty for parts and 90 days for labor
* Tivo service fee is not included

WHAT I LIKE:

1. The ability to watch what I want when I want to watch it. My wife likes to watch her "gossip TV" shows after dinner and then the news. I prefer sports or business news and often head upstairs to work on the computer and watch my shows. The problem is that we do not have full cable on the third floor. Yes, I could easily have it added, but we just do not use it that much. Tivo provides the ability to record what I want to see and then the ability to play it back when I want to see it. In other words, I can watch the "Making of the Sports Illustrated Calendar" after she has gone to bed.

2. The unit really is very easy to set up. One of my fears had been the endless fiddling with cords and ports and the like. However, Tivo was very easy to set up. The directions were easy to read and follow and there is not much in the way of parts that need to be figured out. One complication, though not too bad, is when you try to hook up with a third party, or another device other than your TV.

3. Tivo is very easy to get up and running. So, you have it set up and now you wonder what in the world you have gotten yourself into. How will you ever navigate all of the instructions that suddenly appear on the screen? With Tivo it was pretty easy. The menus were intuitive and easy to follow. We did have to call the service line for one question and got a prompt and correct answer. I would guess that from the time we got Tivo out of the box until we were recording that less than an hour had passed. Hence, my pleasure with how easy and quick it was to get going.

4. I am thrilled with the ability to record up to 40 hours of video or audio. I will never use the entire 40 hours of time, but I will occasionally go ahead and record multiple shows or events during the week if I know that, for instance, we are going to have a snowy weekend. One thing to keep in mind is that the 40 hours of recording time is at the lowest quality recording. The other setting will bring less recording time. Who cares? I am left with more than 10 hours of recording time and will rarely, if ever, use that much. Additionally, the lower quality recordings are not all that bad.

5. No tapes or anything of the sort. Yes, Tivo records just like if you were saving something to your hard drive. Hallelujah! No more tapes to store! Suddenly you have quick access- especially when using the keyword search to find a program- to what you want to see without the hassle of a tape.

6. The remote is surprisingly devoid of millions of buttons. My guess is that it has fewer buttons than any remote you have seen in the past decade. Hence, it is pretty simple to use and figure out. A big plus as I am fighting a DVD remote right now that has too many functions and buttons.

7. You can pause live TV. Ok, now this, in addition to the recording abilities, is a reason to purchase Tivo. Say you are watching your favorite and the phone rings. Now you can take the call and not worry about missing a thing. Simply push the pause button and resume watching whenever you feel like it. Heck, you can even skip the commercials- to the delight of millions.

8. Pressed for time? Tivo is your savior. Why? Imagine being able to fit the shows you would usually watch into a much more compact period. If you skip the commercials, you will find that most half hour shows have about 22 minutes of programming. So, you can watch- for the most part- three of your favorite half hour shows in an hour. You never have to worry about making it home in time to see the final "Friends" episode or wonder about staying home in order to catch "The Simple Life". Simply let Tivo record the shows and then watch them when you feel like it while going ahead with the activities that you have to do at a certain time.

9. Ok, so you forgot to hit the pause button when you got up to hit the can and they just went through the booting of the geeks on "Average Joe". Your ex was one of the geeks and you are dying to see what he looked like when he got booted. Are you out of luck? No! Simply rewind if you miss something that you had to see or want to see again. This works great with reality shows and would be a wonderful thing for sports except that anything worth seeing twice, now gets shown 15 times.

10. The recorded picture and sound is wonderful. Of course, the higher you set the quality setting, the better the play back will be. The lowest level is not bad, but is noticeably worse than what you see with the best level. At the best level, you will never notice that the show is not live. The middle of the three levels is basically the same, but the lower level seems like you are viewing an eight year old TV. Not bad, but not what you are accustomed to.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE:

1. I have just two complaints with Tivo. The monthly service charges. You can remove them by paying $300.00 at set up, but the problem is that this means you are tied to the box that is sitting in front of you. In other words, if you want to upgrade to a newer Tivo in four years, you cannot do so. Hence, I would avoid this option and go with the monthly plan.

The monthly plan will run you $12.95. Ouch! Not cheap and especially not if you do not use Tivo all that often. Along with the monthly bill is the fact that you must use a connection of some sort. You can do this with a phone line, or high speed internet access. Hence, you are going to find that those bills may go up as well depending on what type of plans you have.

2. The worry that Tivo will be replaced before we can blink. Some of the cable operators are already providing the ability to do a lot of what Tivo does on their systems. Will the cable operators provide us with something that it too good to ignore in the near future?

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Tivo is a wonderful convenience feature that will make your TV viewing a lot more pleasureable. Imagine watching what you want, when you want and without commercials. Sounds appealing? Imagine the ability to pause and rewind live TV? All with a machine that is quite simple to set up and operate. How did we ever make do without Tivo?

I have quickly become a fan of Tivo. I am addicted to watching my shows on our "good" TV and watching them without the interruptions that so often occur in the early evening hours. I think Tivo is a great deal for the simple reason that it has made my life more convenient. I highly recommend it if you have a hectic schedule, multiple viewers and not enough TV's, or if you just want the latest high tech toy.