TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder by TiVo
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List Price: Our Price: $139.99 You Save: $360.00 (72%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Receiver or Amplifier See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder
Digital camera Review: Delighted
Summary: 5 Stars
Like a lot of TiVo owners, we were disappointed watching the 480i output from our old Series 2 through our hot new 1080p HD set. We used to switch back and forth between the TiVo for recorded shows and a direct feed from the cable box for live HD viewing. With our new TiVo Series 3, that's history. So is the cable box, for that matter. The two integrated CableCards with dual tuners work seamlessly, jumping back and forth as needed between the two tuners so that we can watch one channel while another is recording, or record two different shows simultaneously. The picture quality is a quantum leap over the Series 2, even on standard definition channels, although to my eyes it appears slightly noisier than the straight cable box feed. And the bigger hard drive means plenty of room for those ginormous HD recordings. Not sure whether it's the new hardware, or all the recent TiVo service updates, but this box seems a bit less stable than our old Series 2, requiring occasional reboots to unfreeze it. But overall the TiVo Series 3 has become even more indispensable in our household than its predecessor.Digital camera Review: Disappointed - A crippled version of the TIVO I love.
Summary: 2 Stars
I have had TIVO since January 2000. The original TIVO was a really cool box. You could connect it to a satellite receiver, ANY satellite receiver, or a cable box and TIVO would control the device for all functions. Connect an antenna to TIVO for local channels and you have the best of all worlds including TIVO's fantastic program guide.
Enter the new Hi-Def Series 3 TIVO. It has only 2 inputs - antenna and cable. There is no way to connect a satellite receiver or FIOS box to the TIVO. You can watch/record local channels off the air or get a cable-card to use TIVO with digital cable tv. If you are on FIOS or satellite, TIVO is useless.
The 2-Tuners in the new TIVO are a real pain to use. I watch several local news programs from several stations every day while I cook and enjoy supper. When it is time for TIVO to change the channel, it is always done on the "other" tuner. Instead of being able to park the remote and have TIVO do the channel changes, I have to keep the remote with me to switch the tuners at the channel changes. Really a pain when I am in the kitchen cooking and my hands are not clean.
Instead of having one TIVO doing everything, I have to use several DVR's from different manufacturers and learn how to use each of the different systems.
I long for the days when TIVO controlled the whole system.
Digital camera Review: Easy as 1-2-3!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
WOW. I am a first time Tivo user. I did not own any other Tivos, but my friends have and they all ranted and raved about what a great invention it was! And now I agree with them. I am glad I went all out for the Tivo Series 3 because I believe HD broadcasting is the way to go.
Likes:
Remote is unlike any I have ever had. The ENTIRE THING lights up the moment you press any button and stays lit for a few seconds. No hassle button pressing, no guesswork here! Oh yeah, and it's pretty aesthetically pleasing.
Ease of use: If I put in a wishlist topic and ask it to record anything having that topic I can! I can also record an entire season if I want and if I select "First Run Only" it will only record new episodes and not repeats!
Easy to hook up. I was worried but I found out you don't need to be a Philadelphia lawyer to hook this thing up. Just plug in the HDMI, the power plug and the cable cards (must activate with cable co.)
Recording is crisp and clear. You cannot tell a live broadcast from a recorded show.
Records two shows at once!
Tivo website is helpful
I signed up for Tivo online and tested to see if I could add a show to record on the internet...and it registered on my Tivo To Do List the next day.
If purchased from certain places, lifetime subscription can be included with the Tivo box. That way, no monthly fees!
Dislikes:
The expensive price tag.
If recording two shows you cannot watch a third without stopping the recording of one of the shows.
The only problem I have now is that certain channels aren't showing, but that's a Comcast Cable Company problem. So, HORRAY to TIVO and BOOOOO to COMCAST CABLE!!!
Digital camera Review: Everything you expect from a TiVo!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had a TiVo series 2 for a couple years, so the upgrade to a HD TiVo wasn't too much of a concern. The only thing that I was concerned about going into this purchase was closed captioning in HD. Not every setup has closed captioning that works when viewing in HD, but this TiVo does. This was my biggest reason for upgrading.
The only small negative about my experience so far was the Cable Card installation. But that had nothing to do with the actual TiVo. It was just inexperience the cable company installers have with the cards. That will only get better, and it wasn't that tough to overcome anyway.
Digital camera Review: Everything you expect in a TIVO
Summary: 5 Stars
The TIVO series 3 is wonderful for HDTV. We are so happy to no longer have to use the horrible DVR that the cable company provided. The TIVO records faithfully, has great capacity, and has fantastically precise controls.