TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, I need to inform you that all of my home television programming comes from an antenna on my roof. No cable or satellite whatsoever.
When the Series 3 debuted earlier this year, I contacted TiVo about recording two HD channels at the same time from an antenna and was told that would not occur. That one would be in HD and the other in standard definition. That, along with the price made me pass on this unit.
When the TiVo HD came along, I contacted TiVo again and was told by one technician that it WOULD record two HD shows and by another that it would not. With the cheaper price, I decided to give it a try and am glad that I did so.
I am happy to report that this unit will definitely record two high definition programs at the same time from an antenna. No splitters, amplifiers or other hardware. Just plug it into the Antenna connector on back of the box.
Setup and activation was easy. The most difficult part was figuring out the maze of cables behind my TV and Stereo amplifier, but that is hardly TiVo's fault. I already had it set up when I called to activate the box. When I got off the phone and turned it on, it was ready to download the Guide. Very hassle free.
The remote, while nothing fancy, has a good layout of buttons and is programmable so that it will turn my TV on and allow me to change its inputs while the volume and mute buttons control my amplifier. About the only other thing I need for it to do is actually turn the stereo on. But getting up once to turn on the stereo is a small price to pay for being able to record HD programs and pause live TV.
On some forums users have been reporting macro-blocking and pixelation when using some cable cards. I have no experience with that, but can report that I have not seen this problem using an antenna. In fact, I see no difference at all in the quality of the broadcast than I did when the signal went directly to my television.
After a bit over a week's use I have no complaints at all with the product or service and would recommend it to others.

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TiVo HD is a smart addition to any high-definition TV, combining the clarity of high definition with the smart, easy-to-use TiVo Service?. It works with any cable set-up. It connects to any home network, so you get access to the best of both broadcast and broadband content. It downloads the latest movies straight from the Internet to your living room. It can pause, rewind, and slow-motion your favorite moments with razor-sharp HD clarity. Plus, TiVo HD connects to virtually any cable service via CableCARDs1, so it replaces your existing cable box.
TiVo HD FeaturesSearch for HD movies and sports: With our intelligent search features, you can easily find a specific director, actor, player, or team among the world of both broadcast and broadband content. Prefer to see a movie in high definition? Do a WishListTM search and the TiVo service will automatically record the HD version and place it in your Now Playing List.
Record movies in HD: When recording with TiVo HD, you have the option of capturing shows in standard or high definition. Plus, when you play them back, you can easily pause or rewind HD instant replays without ever sacrificing their original razor-sharp HD resolution.
Download movies from the Internet: Don't see any great movies in your cable program guide? You can easily select a classic or new release from the world's largest movie library, order them with a click of your remote control, and have them downloaded directly to your TiVo box.
Access your music library with the remote: When you connect your TiVo DVR to your home network, your HDTV can connect right to millions of songs and playlists available over the Internet. You can now enjoy digital music on the best sound system in the house.
Schedule an HD premiere: With TiVo, you can do your TV scheduling from any computer when you are away from home. Log onto TiVo.com, click on a show, and you're done.

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TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been a TiVo owner since 2003 and this is their best TiVo to date. But it isn't perfect. It's a shame that the new HD user interface is still a work in progress. It is buggy and slow. You still have the option of using the old user interface, which is what I do. The processor in the TiVo Premiere is more powerful than the TiVo HD. But the extra processing power is mainly for the new user interface. It has the same recording abilities that the TiVo HD had with the exception of also supporting 1080p. It would have been nice if TiVo would have added a third tuner. Like the TiVo HD, the Premiere only supports cable TV and OTA antenna programming. The Premiere is almost an inch shorter than the HD and is more energy efficient. The main reason I bought the Premiere wasn't to upgrade from my existing TiVo HD, but I wanted another TiVo for the kid's playroom. If you already own a TiVo HD and you are looking to upgrade, you might want to save your money for the next TiVo series. If you don't already have a TiVo or you don't have an HD-capable TiVo for your HDTV, this is a great purchase. While the upgrades from the TiVo HD are lacking, it is still the best DVR on the market.
We use our TiVo with a large antenna in the attic and a $9 per month Netflix subscription. We have more than enough to watch between the DVD's we get in the mail, streaming Netflix to our TiVo from the Internet, and the 30+ digital channels we receive OTA. Actually, TiVo makes using an antenna acceptable for us. It records all the shows we like no matter when they are on and we watch them in our time. I was able to buy the TiVo Premiere and a lifetime subscription with the money we saved over the past year by dropping cable. TiVo also supports Internet video rentals from Amazon and Blockbuster, but we prefer using Netflix because it's cheaper.
This TiVo can record up to 45 hours of HD programming. That sounds like a lot, but you'll be surprised by how quickly it fills up. You can add an external drive Western Digital My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1S10000VN (Black) to add more recording space. The one big caveat with this method of adding recording space is you'll lose all your recordings on the external drive and your TiVo if you decide to remove it later. The other option is to purchase the Premiere XL TiVo TCD748000 Premiere XL DVR (Black). It will allow you to record up to 150 hours of HD programming and comes with a backlit remote. I upgraded the internal hard drive in my TiVo HD myself and kept the original drive as a backup. I'm waiting to hear from others before I attempt to upgrade the internal hard drive in my TiVo Premiere. To date, no one knows if it can be done or not.
FYI: TiVo has a couple of specials going for existing TiVo users. You can either get $200 off the lifetime subscription for a new Premiere (if you already have a lifetime subscription) or receive a 20% discount off the Premiere itself (if you don't have a lifetime subscription). I believe you must purchase your TiVo directly from TiVo to get the discounts. TiVo offers free shipping, but you'll have to pay taxes on the hardware.
According to a TiVo press release, TiVo is coming out with a wireless N network adapter in May with a retail price of $89.99. They are also coming out with an optional slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote later this year. The remote will utilize a Bluetooth USB dongle that will plug into the back of your TiVo HD or Premiere.
Update 4/18/2010:
I did give the new interface another shot for a couple of days. I like where they are going with it, but as I said before it isn't a finished product. It locked up on me twice while flipping through the menus. As others have mentioned, if you drill down into the menu system you will eventually end up in the old menu system. They have a new option to list Oscar winning films. So I select a movie and it says it's available from Blockbuster. Cool, but I haven't been a member of Blockbuster for years so I go back and configure my TiVo not to search Blockbuster (nice feature). I then go back to the list of Oscar winning films and it still shows the same movie. I select the movie again and this time it tells me it's not available for me to watch. So why would I want to see a partial list of Oscar winning movies that currently aren't available for me to watch on my TiVo?
For people who have rated the TiVo Premiere one or two stars because of the new user interface, well I can't argue with them. Perhaps TiVo should have sold the Premiere with the old user interface enabled with the option of using the new beta user interface. I'm sure TiVo will push out updates in the future to fix the issues, but we're not talking about a few minor bugs here. I think TiVo released the new user interface way too early.
I've been using my TiVo Premiere for 3 weeks now with the old user interface. I've had no issues with it and it's as stable as my TiVo HD. However, I see little difference between my TiVo HD and my TiVo Premiere while using the old user interface. I would still rate the TiVo Premiere as 4 stars with the old user interface. But as I mentioned in my original review, it isn't much of an upgrade from the TiVo HD. One thing that the Premiere has over the HD is the ability to run the new user interface (which isn't ready for prime time).

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Tivo Feature and Bullets TiVo® Premiere is more than a DVR. It’s your cable box, movie box, web box, music box, all-in-one, easy-to-use box. It brings broadcast together to give you even more entertainment options. With TiVo Premiere you have an entire universe of on-demand movies, TV shows, web videos, and music at your command – all in one place, all just a few clicks away.
Key Features
· Save up to 45hours of HD programming (320gig hard drive)
· Access the world’s largest library of videos on demand: movies, TV shows, music videos, web videos and more
· Find your favorite shows at once while watching a third
· Schedule recordings remotely and take them with you on your laptop or mobile device
· Control live television with pause, rewind slow-mo and instant replay
· Full HD support, including 1080p and 1080i HD formats
· Connects to your cable service and replaces your cable box
· Works with cable and antenna; does not support satellite
· What’s in the box: TiVo Premiere DVR, TiVo programmable remote control, Quick Start guide, manual, HDMI cable, composite cable, phone cord, 4 AAA batteries

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