Customer Reviews

Philips HDR112 Tivo Digital Video Recorder

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought the TiVo about a month ago, and it has been great. I have DirecTV with all of the movie channels. The installation went smoothly, but it did take 3+ hours. After TiVo connected and downloaded the channel information, it took about 3 hours to grind on doing whatever it does during install, indexing and what not. No user intervention was required for that part, so I just left and came back later, checking up on it every hour or so.

Daily operation is pretty darn easy. It's so nice to have a list of shows that you like stored on the hard disk ready to watch at your leisure. It also changes the way that you watch live TV. It's great to be able to pause the movie channels when the phone rings or the popcorn bag runs dry. I don't seem to use the instant replay much. The button on the remote is too small and unless you watch the TV with the remote poised on your hand, the reply button is not of much use.

The other two things that bother me in an otherwise outstanding product are: 1) You can tell it's hooked to a computer. From the FAQ I learned that it is a Linux box, I would be interested in what processor it is using because sometimes it can be slooow. Sometimes when I'm watching live TV, the onscreen guide will pause up to 15 seconds or more (sometimes over a minute). Most of the time this works fine. Hopefully this is a bug in their indexing system that they'll address soon. Sometimes the UI in other parts of the system are slow as well. Too bad they didn't cache the UI in RAM so it could be quicker. It's just like watching an over loaded Windows system page out for more RAM. And people thought Linux would be better. : )

2) Changing channels in live TV is slow. Especially if you revert to your DSS remote for pay-per-view. There is at least a one second lag time between the time that you press the button and the time that you see the response.

Other than that, I really love this box. My wife said to me the other night, "while I don't like to encourage you constant buying of gadgets, this one is great, it really works".

I'm also very curious as to how the upgrades are going to work. Hard disks keep getting cheaper, and it would be nice to take advantage of that.

-mike

I must admit I was skeptical of this new technology, but, after having Tivo for two months I can't ever think of going back to the old VCR days. It is a similar to the difference between the old 8mm movies and VCR tapes. Really.

What I like best is that I can watch TV without those annoying, time wasting commercials. I love to fly through them. All I do, is start watching every show I want to watch 15 minutes after Tivo starts to record it. I then zip through the commercials and am caught up with the show by the end of the show. Of course, if I wish to watch a recorded show, I can do the same thing. I now realize that we get about 40 minutes of net TV in an hour due to those commercials.

If you get that phone call in the middle of the best part of the show - no problem - just hit the pause button and get back to it after the phone call without missing one second of your program.

I record all my shows in the 14 hour mode. Quality is very acceptable for 99% of what I record.

The remote is very well designed. In a short time, you can "work it in the dark."

Ease and speed of setting up shows to record is second to none.

Sure, the initial setup took three to four hours, but, you only do that once, and it is easy to do. Most of that time it spends downloading the initial program guide for your area. Your actual part is about 20 minutes.

14 hour mode unit is the price performer. Imagine having 14 hours of TV to watch. Hard to do. This forces a "watch and dump" and you stay current, or, it autmatically erases oldest shows when it needs room.

What's the proof of my satisfaction?

I just ordered my second Tivo for my wife.

She is a "tape collector" and has about 100 old tapes that I know she will NEVER watch. I hope to break her of that habit.

By the way, those of you that paid $499 (last year's price) don't forget that some credit cards will refund price differences if they are within 60 days. My Amex did.

Also, since the hard drive in the unit runs 24 hours a day, extended service policy may be a good idea. You never turn the Tivo off. Or, at least buy it with a credit card that extends your warranty to match original warranty.

...that I don't know where to begin.

The UI is very well designed. It's obvious and intuitive how to navigate the menus. My only complaint is that I sometimes they err towards providing too many navigation and confirmation screens. While this makes each screen less intimidating, it does make navigation a bit more tedious. But this is really a minor complaint in an, overall, brilliantly designed interface.

The features are explained well enough in the Amazon comparison guide and elsewhere. I'll just say that they work as advertised and are extremely cool! TV serves my schedule instead of the opposite.

The quality in the best mode (the one used for viewing and pausing live TV) is nearly indistinguishable from the source. If you have a really big screen and high end audio equipment you may notice the difference. I find it fine for general TV viewing though I do bypass it for PPV movies. I generally use the medium (second lowest out of four) quality setting when recording. It's a lot better than VHS but is a noticable dropoff from the original.

My biggest complaint is the box's sluggishness in changing channels and responding to user commands. It takes about a second to change channels and, sometimes, several seconds to go between menu/guide screens.

There are two misperceptions I constantly see in user and professional reviews regarding TiVo vs. ReplayTV. First, ReplayTV's service isn't really free. They just build it into the base cost of the unit. When factoring in lifetime service from TiVo, the prices have remained comparable between the two products. TiVo was a cheaper when the products were first introduced and now ReplayTV is cheaper. But they're in the same ballpark.

The second misconception regards TiVo's automatic suggestions that are based on user preferences. Where's the negative in this? If you don't like it you can turn it off and it'll never record anything you don't explicitely ask it to record. But what's the harm? If there's extra space on the drive why not use it? It'll never take space away from the programs you've asked it to record. It's hard enough to sift through and find quality programming to watch. I'll take any suggestions I can get. The biggest problem with TV is too little quality programming at the time I want to watch. The box is just trying to fill itself with stuff I might want to watch. And sometimes it works. The other day I came home and TiVo had recorded The Truman Show. This is a movie I like but wouldn't have thought to mark for recording. It was nice to have a good movie waiting for me when I wanted to watch it.

Every time I turn on the TV it's like I have a little surprise waiting for me when I check what the TiVo's recorded for me. I like the serendipity of channel surfing - of finding something I wasn't expecting. That's why I like the TiVo's suggestions in addition to it allowing me to specify exactly what I want to record.

I haven't used a ReplayTV. It's probably an excellent product, too, but the number of technical complaints is troubling. TiVo seems to have a higher satisfaction/lower complaint ratio. And TiVo's usage model is more to my liking.

The new "digital VCR" is a big step forward for TV. I only watch 2-3 shows a week, if that. Tivo lets me record these reliably, watch them in a very easy manner, and sadly has sucked me into watching even more TV.

There are some merits to both Tivo and ReplayTV. But I will say that for anyone who is not technical, Tivo is a hands-down winner. Very clean and easy interface. And, techincal thought I am, I prefer Tivo as well. My friends with ReplayTV agree that their relatives will prefer Tivo.

I wish Amazom had the 30-hour unit for sale, and I am sure they will, but I have to buy a Christmas gift and can't wait. Amazon is listed as a 30-hour unit seller by the Tivo website, but Amazon customer support doesn't know when it will become available.

Tivo has promised an upgrade plan for 14-hour units but the plan is not in place and has no pricing yet. They should correct this, it has been the one sore point in an otherwise exemplary pre and post-sales support ssytem. I am sure it is due to the rush to get 30-hour units into the hands of new customers during the holiday rush.

Philips has done a great job listening to customers. I think they will continue to improve this unit, most of which can be done with software downloads in the middle of the night. Support is very good, and the system works well.

I bought TIVO after seeing the infomercial on DirecTV.

I had the satellite and cable subscriptions and was somewhat upset because I was always doing something when a program came on at its scheduled time.

Now TIVO grabs the shows for me and I watch when it is convenient for me. This is a simple to use product. Perfect for someone who likes the VCR but hates buying and storing all those tapes.

The user interface is easy to grasp.

It is a little on the expensive side -- but my free time is valuable too - and this product gives me so much time back.

You won't be unhappy that you bought this.

Wayne Schulz

Having used both a TiVo and their only competitor (ReplayTV) I decided to buy a TiVo. TiVo's software, remote control, picture quality, features, and customer service all leave ReplayTV in the dust. I've owned my TiVo for close to six months and have nothing but love for the little guy.

One major thing that isn't obvious from the puzzlingly Replay-centric guide service. You can buy a lifetime subscription for $199 at sign-up. Note that the TiVo is about $200 less than the ReplayTV unit, making them equal after that charge. TiVo lets you decide if you want to pay up front for guide service, or month-by-month. ReplayTV, in effect, rolls that cost into their unit and doesn't let you choose.

That is only one example of mis(sed)information on the Amazon.com guide. Be sure to check around the Web for comparison pages that are more even handed.

I think you'll discover that the vast majority of users find TiVo to be the better product.

IMHO - TIVO's a great 1st generation product. Well worth the$$. To clear up a few misconceptions:

1) Yes, TIVO does charge fortheir guide service. HOWEVER, you don't HAVE to use it to be able to record stuff in "timer mode". Also, all you need to do to get the TRUE cost is add the lifetime subscription cost to the cost of the unit or DirecTV subscribers . If you look at the total costs that way, TIVO and Replay wind up costing about the same.

2) TIVO's "suggestions" are just that - you can turn them off (in which case it will NEVER record them) or leave 'em on. If you read TIVO's privacy statement, you'll see that TIVO NEVER sends this stuff to anyone - there's no "big brother" here.

As far as actual usage goes - we've had ours about a month. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't yet show PPV channels from DirecTV in the guide (easy to work around). I use it to record all of the shows I care about on Season Passes, and then spend one nite/week as a "TV Nite" I'm actually thinking about turning suggestions back on, to let it pick up things I might have otherwise missed.

I thought these reviews were from Tivo employees until I bought my own tivo. It is as fantastic as these reviews state! Works like a charm, cures Tv surfing for good, and may make you a couch potato. Has s-video connections, hooks to the data port on rca directv units to control the satellite, never misses a show. This is the future of tv viewing, here now. I have had a great experience with this Tivo 14hr unit. Even in the lowest recording quality, tv looks great. I record 99% in low quality with no problems. And 14 hours is really fine for time, otheriwse I would NEVER have the time to watch all I recorded in a days span. The advanced tv listings is worth the $10 a month in it self, or you can switch to a lifetime plan anytime for $200. And now the 14 hour Tivo units are everywhere for $399 with a $100 rebate for current, or new directv users. With the rebates, a Tivo unit for $299 is a better choice than a vcr. Tivo comes with hords of hookup cables and solves the "no local channels" issue for small satellite users by allowing the satellite channels and local channels from an antenna or cable tv service to be intergrated into one, in the Tivo tv listings and taping. If your reading these reviews and thinking of buying, BUY! You WILL NOT regret it! And with the rebates, and a 30-day money back from tivo, your the winner. But you wont want to return this. Drawbacks are few. One is a looong setup proceedure when you first hookup tivo, as it downloads tv first time tv listings and sorts them all. Also, it can become slow and pokey in responce to the remote, but snaps out of it shortly. Ive seen this mostly when going through listings while the unit is recording a program at the same time. And the remotes pause button and play button should of been switched, and the thumbs up/down button should be much smaller and located at the bottom of the remote where the enter and clear are located. Thats it! Just picky drawbacks that are a pleasure to put up with for the convience of using the Tivo. You'll LOVE it! I didnt think I would, and I do. Iam just glad I went and got one, and as other reviews state here, " I wouldnt give it up for anything"...

I bought mine about three and a half months ago. Even my fiance, who groaned when I brought it home and told me she wanted no part of having more technology in the house, uses it regularly to record her favorite shows like Ally McBeal and ER. The following is my own Top 10 (in no particular order) favorite features:

1. Pause Live TV: That's it. Just push pause and it'll pause up to a half-hour's worth of live TV. Great for answering the phone! And when you take it off pause, you can fast forward through the commercials until you catch up to the live broadcast!

2. Point and Click Recording: See a show you want to record? Just click on it and tell TiVo to record it once or every time it comes on. If the time it's supposed to come on changes, TiVo will automatically correct for it and record it at the new time!

3. Live Rewind and Instant Replay: Miss something? Just hit instant replay for a quick jump back 8 seconds or hit rewind and go back up to a half-hour!

4. the "Live TV Guide": a transparent screen that you can bring up while your watching TV to see what else is on the channels you receive for up to two weeks from then. Get names of the shows and descriptions of the episodes!

5. TiVo's Suggestions: Give shows up to three "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down" to tell it how much you like or don't like it. TiVo will record shows that it thinks you might like when it doesn't have anything else to do. (you can turn this feature on or off as you prefer!)

6. Software Updates: During the time I've owned it, TiVo has updated the software during one of the nightly calls to add a bunch of new features and plans to continue to provide this service so that your TiVo never becomes obsolete.

7. Price: The cost for the service is about $10 a month, $100 a year and $199 for a lifetime subscription. The price of TiVo with lifetime subscription comes out to the same $699 that ReplayTV is asking for their box and it's "Free" service.

8. TiVolution Magazine: There's even an area in the menu where they put together different themes of shows coming up so you can see things you might not have known where going to be broadcast. Some recent themes included "Spotlight on Michael J. Fox" and "Just for Kids!"

9. Different Recording Levels: you have four recording levels to choose from (I think ReplayTV has three). Basic gives you 14 or so hours of recording and Best gives you a couple hours of recording. Medium (just above basic) is great for most everything and will give you about 9 hours of recording time. You might want to use the next one up (about 6 hrs. recording time) for action shows like sporting events.

10. Great Customer Service: The staff at Tivo has always been extremely pleasant and helpful with any questions I had. I've talked to them by phone (they have an 800 number) and by e-mail. They also encourage customers to send them suggestions for future software updates! What features would you like to see added? Send them an e-mail and let them know! Isn't that nice?

Anyhow - I'm not saying that ReplayTV is bad. I haven't even tried one personally, although I've read a number of reviews from people who said the TV listings weren't always up to date or that the remote was a little hard to use (TiVo's remote is great!). My experience with TiVo has been top notch - I strongly recommend this as a purchase to anyone who is interested. Be warned: Now that I know TiVo will have things I want to watch ready for me when I want to watch them, I do find myself watching more TV! But at least I don't have to set up my schedule around my favorite programs - they'll be there when I can fit some TV time into my schedule!

Tivo has revolutionized my tv watching in the two months we have had this device. The machine setup itself was simple to follow. However, it took my engineer tv watching daughter and me a day to think through the options of hookup with a single tv monitor, a cable box and a vcr. we can simultaneously record different channels on tivo and the vcr, we can select to watch tivo live or playback or vcr.

The very strong features not in order of preference are the (1) ease of surfing for current live program with program summaries displayed, (2) searching for program names in future for recording. (3) the season pass feature for recording all episodes of a given series, with automatic change when certain episodes change time for local programming needs, i.e. CBS Sunday morning on the west coast changes from week to week in football season (4) ability to watch a program from the beginning while it is continuing to record the completion of the program, i.e. the evening news, I get home about 5:45 and can watch from the beginning and skip stories not interesting to me.

Also good is TiVo "suggestions", which I wouldn't have recorded in the first place, but having recorded available, I can choose to view or not. ease of deletion, a mere click. My tv watching is broadened because of this feature.

controlled viewing of playback is an excellent feature. we can pause a playback, do other things and come back to the place we left off. to review something near the end is excellent, skip to end and then back scan.

Sports recording is a mild disappointment because of the limited recording time at the high level of resolution necessary for comfortable watching. IF i don't have other cultural programs on storage waiting to be seen, it is good. higher disk capacity would be better.

all in all an excellent device for tv watching computer nerds.