Customer Reviews

TiVo R24004A 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

This product is great, i love TiVo, but I'm not going to concentrate on reviewing TiVo itself, rather this TiVo brand DRV. People need to understand that TiVo is really just a service and software, too often these reviews are filled with info on the service, which is fine, but doesn't help the reviewer make a decision on which DVR unit to buy.

Ok the first thing i want to do is dispel some of the complaints of other reviewers. For the reviewer who stated "However, I was disappointed in the picture quality. I record at Basic Quality so as to get the most hours of recording time", i would say that if you look at the different quality settings you will see that "Basic" is the lowest, so of course you are going to have the lowest quality. It doesn't really matter what the levels of quality are called, if you pick the lowest one, you're going to get the worst quality, try using a higher quality setting.

Next, for the reviewer who stated "This is a very cool product, but it's extremely loud. The fan and hard drive combine to create a high-pitched whistling noise that we found impossible to live with", I'm not sure what he/she is even talking about, it must have been a defective unit. Mine is silent, i really can't hear a thing. Now the manual clearly states that you shouldn't set the TiVo directly on top of another component, or put another component on it, as this maybe block ventilation. So if this person has created a "component sandwich" with their TiVo in the middle, maybe the fans are coming on frequently, I don't know, mine makes no noise.

One review states "Be sure to understand that not only do you need to buy the TiVo (the player) itself, but you also need to buy the sevice!", this is 100% false. You don't have to purchase any service at all. The service gives you access to the "Season Pass" feature where you can tell TiVo to record every showing of a certain show. But you can always set the TiVo up to do this manually, you do not have to purchase any service at all.

Another reviewer has this to say, "Another thing: no power switch. Again, for casual TV users, this is a waste of equipment lifespan & electricity." This is really quite nitpicky, if you turn the TiVo off, it cant make its dial-in call to get your updated schedule of shows, and it cant search for shows you might like based on your preferences. Besides that it doesn't use much power at all, and the only thing that would be getting any wear and tear are the hard drives and they sleep when they aren't in use. He also states "it's just a very expensive toy", um hello.... Of course it is, that's the fun of it.

Finally there is this complaint, "You need a credit card to activate the service. This is a real problem for those who do not have, or choose not to use, credit cards". Ok lets see, first of all you don't need to sign up for the service, and if you don't have a credit card I'm guessing you run into this problem all the time, it isn't just with TiVo...

This TiVo unit works as advertised, I cant really say anything else about it. One thing to realize is that, while this is an 80 hour unit, that really is only about 25 hours of recordings at the highest quality level. I know some of you are saying "25 hours is plenty", and you're right, but if you were looking at a unit with less recording time, remember that you only get about 30% of the total time at the best level. The only other problem I have with this is that recording a show while watching something else on live TV is impossible if you have a cable box for your TV. I have digital cable, and therefore I need a cable box, well you cant split a digital signal very easily and its then impossible to record on one channel and watch another. But it isn't that big a deal as one can still watch a recorded show and record another.

NOTICE: Most of this review relates to TiVo in general, not this specific hardware device, although they all pretty much work the same. I have a Sony SAT-T60 DIRECTV/TiVo combination receiver and a Hughes GXCEBOT DIRECTV/TiVo combination receiver. I've provided a few comments on these combo units because I highly recommend them if you are looking at buying a TiVo.

My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. In fact, we bought a second TiVo for the bedroom about six months after purchasing our first one. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for - drama (Law and Order or Boomtown), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving).

There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my FOUR FAVORITE things:
1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, will record a particular show EVERY time it's on or even all shows with a particular actor or subject,
2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of previously recorded shows and choose "Select" to play),
3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have. The TiVo Series2 product you are shopping for will only record one show at a time, but you CAN watch a previously recorded show while taping a show that is currently being broadcast.
4) Replay button - skips back 7 seconds, which comes in handy whenever you miss something that was said, or you want to go back and pause something so another person can see it. We probably use this button more than any other on the entire remote.

HOW HAS IT CHANGED OUR LIFE?
Let me just give you 3 examples:
FIRST, we watch TV on our time. We never worry about what time, or even what day something is on. We have TiVo recording about 20 different shows for us each week and we watch them at various times, depending on our schedule. It doesn't matter when I get home from work, whether I'm out of town, or what time the kids go to bed. Our shows are on when WE want to see them.
SECOND, we have a Season Pass for three kids shows (Sesame Street, Clifford, Teletubbies). Every day, it tapes the new one and deletes the one from yesterday. So, there is always a fresh show to put on for our kids when we need to get them out of our hair. No bulky video tapes, and none of the stories get old. They're seeing and learning something new every day.
FINALLY, we pause and replay shows all the time. Want to stop and get a drink? No problem-pause. Phone call? No problem-pause. What did she just whisper? Replay it. Who was that behind Julia Roberts at the Oscars? Replay it, then pause or slo-mo. Use TiVo for a month and you won't believe that you ever watched television without it.

We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit (if my review hasn't answered all your questions). But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too.

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A note regarding DIRECTV/TiVo units: First, it looks like the Justice Department is going to block the Echostar-DIRECTV merger. So, any fears that subscribers might have had about losing TiVo service to Echostar's technology are likely overblown now. I've also discovered that DIRECTV/TiVo combination units rarely hold the number of hours suggested. My Sony advertises "up to 35-hour recording capacity." In reality, the data density of the DIRECTV signal is variable and you will rarely have even 30 hours of capacity. I have been maxing out at around 23 hours before things get deleted involuntarily. You can control the recording quality on stand-alone units and therefore, you can tell exactly how much capacity you're using. Recording quality is not an option with the combo units, but you should assume that you will NOT be able to retain more than 22 to 25 hours of programming before shows must be deleted in order to make room for new recordings. This doesn't change my enthusiastic view on TiVo or the combo units one bit.

I hate buying expensive products and I hate month-to-month costs. When I went out to buy my Tivo Series 2, I had to grit my teeth -- the box was expensive and the upfront cost of a lifetime subscription was expensive. There wasn't really a way to get a better deal, and that goes against my grain.

In the end, the Tivo has been the best money I've ever spent.

The "killer" features of Tivo, in my opinion, that aren't thoroughly discussed already:
- Wishlists, allowing saved searches of programming in the next couple of weeks by title, category (e.g. Sports/Tennis), actor, director, or using keywords, or some combinations of the above (e.g. Movies/Action and Jackie Chan).
- 30 second skip, which has to be enabled when you boot your Tivo up (yes, Tivo is essentially a computer). This allows bypassing of a commercial you might already have seen, or skipping of a part of a program you may not want to watch. Hitting it when a player is tackled in a football game gets you instantly to the next play, for example.
- Great menus. Tivo doesn't use one word menus or confusing Yes/No options. If you have a scheduling conflict when you select a new program to record, the menus will say "Record my newly selected program" or "Cancel this recording, record the old program as planned". Very technophobe friendly, when I show it off, people are amazed at how easy it is to pick up.
- "Hackability". Since Tivo is a computer, it is alterable. I have installed a larger hard disk in mine to extend the content it's capable of holding. Note: this voids your warranty, so unless you're handy with computers and don't mind being "on your own" for support, you may want to ignore this.
- A rabidly helpful and enthusiastic community, easily findable on the web. If you are having difficulties, there are users who have been where you are and can answer any questions: issues with the Tivo software, problems with the Tivo itself, plus they provide simple upgrade instructions.
- This model (60 hour series II) has several advantages: more processor and RAM (faster), USB ports which allow it to use the Internet instead of a phone line, and an excellent hard drive bracket inside it should you choose to upgrade your device yourself (which the 80 hour model does not, I'm told). One downside: it is not as flexible as the Series I with respect to software -- you can't make it web accessible or other similar features (no Linux prompt). Also, this model is really suited for a cable box; if you use DishNetwork or DirectTV, I'd recommend checking out the satellite Tivo models, first. They have nice features like recording two simultaneous streams and recording in Dolby 5.1 (the Series II listed here doesn't do it). Personally, I feel the speed of this box makes up for a lot of the experience, I'd buy it again.

Does it change your habits? Entirely. I never channel surf anymore, although I sometimes (as a New York Times article put it) "Tivo snack". Once you have a bunch of programs recorded, you can hop from one to the other; catch twenty minutes of a movie, then watch ten minutes of extreme sports, then just a little of the old Batman TV show before going back to the movie. It's fun, and it saves time. A bad show or movie takes less than five minutes to identify, you delete it and move on.

One downside, mentioned below, is the IR blasters that change your cable box channels. I had to fashion a "fort" out of cardboard over the front of my cable box so that it did not miskey channels. It's frustrating to find paid programming from channel 41 on what you thought was a sitcom on channel 410. The "fort" fixed it, though (ten minutes of work and free materials). This could also be fixed in software by allowing serial control of cable boxes. This is apparently something in the works.

Tivo is truly extraordinary, a technological product geared for the discerning consumer. It is a new example of how traditional methods of content delivery are being slowly replaced by products that empower consumer choice and control. Although the PVR revolution is still in the early-adopter phase, it can and should take hold. There's no reason a leisure activity as low-impact as television watching should have to be rigidly scheduled. Well, OK, solved by a VCR -- but the Tivo takes the information age and packages the advantages for you. Think of it as a smart, huge VCR with nothing to eject or shelve. Recordings can be automatically scheduled, boring and annoying content can be skipped or hurried through, and its consistently improving suggestion engine hunts down programs you might never have known you'd like. You'll see your favorite shows as never before, see more good movies and generally enjoy the experience more.

...

TiVo is one of those items that once you have it, you'll never know how you did without it. Never worry about having a tape cued to tape your favorite shows. You can even watch a previously recorded show while another one is recording. Or, you can start watching a recorded show before it finishes. Wishlists will scan the program listings for titles, actors, directors, or subjects you're interested in. Season passes let you record all episodes of a show, regardless of when it's on.

You can pause and rewind live TV as well. While you're paused, TiVo is recording the show. You can either resume watching where you stopped, or fast-forward to the current broadcast. This is helpful in skipping commercials as well -- just start watching 10-15 minutes after the show starts broadcasting, and then fast-forward through the commercials.

Be aware that the TiVo service is a required item -- it won't function at all without it. A telephone line is required for the initial setup, but after that you can use an internet connection instead. The latest release (4.0) of the TiVo software supports wired and wireless ethernet adapters (seperate purchase; check TiVo's web site for compatible devices). New systems will automatically be upgraded to the latest software when they dial in.

Also new in 4.0 is the Home Media Option. This service ($.... one time fee for the first TiVo, $... for each addtional) allows you to share shows between TiVos if you have more than one. It also allows you to transfer pictures and MP3s to your TiVo from your PC. However, you can't view recorded shows on your PC.

HMO also allows you to schedule recordings via TiVo's web site, in case you're at work or out of town and realize there's a show you want to record.

TiVo will work with virtually all broadcast, cable, or satellite systems. For systems that require a cable box, TiVo has an IR blaster that emulates the box's remote control. That way, TiVo can set the channel for its recordings. If you have DirectTV service, you should consider the Hughes reciever with a built-in TiVo.

There is a wealth of information about TiVo on the internet, both for general use, and for the technical minded, how to upgrade the device.

Unless you already know, it is difficult to clearly explain just how terrific this item is. If you know someone with a DVR (digital video recorder), they probably have already encouraged you to purchase one. When I discuss TiVo with others, they often say, "I do not watch that much TV". A DVR allows you to watch TV on your schedule instead of the broadcaster's schedule and besides most people grossly underestimate their TV watching time. Just for a moment, set aside the many nifty features a DVR has and imagine sitting down and watching your shows when you want to. This is hard for most non-DVR owners to understand and fully appreciate. A DVR gives you tremendous freedom.

TiVo allows you to record any shows based on a wish list. This wish list can be an actor, director, subject or keyword. For example, my wife found a fondue set at a yard sale. I created a wish list for TiVo to automatically record shows that have "Fondue" in the description that are classified as "Cooking" shows. This task took about 2 minutes. This same method could be used to record sporting events with your favorite team. Telling the unit to perform tasks like this is done on the screen in large easy to read text with very easy to read instructions.

Before purchasing, I did some research looking into several DVRs. I read the Amazon reviews for both ReplayTV and TiVo. I went to the web sites for each manufacturer and read discussion group postings. Both units are very similar and offer mostly the same features. Some things to consider when looking:

DVRs allow you to record shows on several quality levels (TiVo settings are basic, good, high, best). My 40hr unit is 40hrs on the 'basic' quality setting. If I recorded everything on the 'best' setting, my capacity would actually be about 13hrs. I have compared all of the quality levels and yes there is some difference. I only find the 'basic' setting is noticeably degraded so I use the 'good' setting at a minimum. I record certain shows on higher settings and others on lower settings. For example, I record cooking and stand-up comedy shows on a lower setting because the image quality means less to me; I record others such as nature shows on a higher setting as I want the image to be clean and sharp. I have had my unit for about six weeks and the one thing I did not consider was the temptation to park shows or movies on the unit with the intention to watch them on some rainy day. Storing shows on the unit takes up space. For this reason, I now wish I had gotten a larger unit.

I had a few problems setting up my TiVo. The TiVo must take control over your cable box (if you have one) to be able to change the channel. This is done with either a serial cable or infrared blasters. Not all cable boxes have serial cable inputs. Mine did but the TiVo said it could not 'talk' with the cable box using the serial port during setup. I called my cable company and they said their cable boxes are not compatible with the TiVo unit. I went online and read discussion group postings and the fanaticism associated with TiVo was quite evident. I found out many cable companies deliberately make it inconvenient to connect a DVR as they plan to come out with their own competing models in the next several years. Just be aware if you have any problems setting up the unit, call TiVo support for help instead of your cable company.

Again, unless you already have a DVR, it is difficult to entirely illustrate just how terrific they are. They give you tremendous freedom and control over your TV.

According to a 15-year audio install company, I was the 1st person to buy and install a Tivo in MN. I love the product. You will find you use it a lot more than you anticipate. That said beware of the liftime 1 time service fee verbage. Note it says{PRODUCT} lifetime. That means if you pay $249 ( like I did a few years back) and upgrade to a new box, ( I use it so much I upgraded to a 80 hour box) Your old lifetime subscription goes into the garbage with you old box. Yep - they want you to buy a new one with each new box you buy. That is pure BULL$H!+ in my view everyone should email them and tell them so. Also note that you can record it low res. down and dirty ( to save recording space) or, med high or super high quality. The hour recording they show is for the tacky down and dirty mode which you will use less and less the longer you use the unit. If you have a plasma TV or any kind of quality system, you'll want to record for top quality. Thus, don't make the mistake I did and buy a lower capacity hour unit thinking you'll never record more than what they advertise it at. . I found you need to take that hour time they advertise on the box and divide it by 4 to get the real capacity of your machine. Thus the 80 hour machine will allow you to record 20 hours in high quality playback before it asks you to start deleting previous recording requests. Note that as your space fills up the unit will start asking you to delete scheduled recordings to make room for any new additions you want to ad. I think you'll agree that this defeats the purpose of having a TIVO in the 1st place. Thus, buy the max machine (currently the 80 hour unit) if you buy one at all. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. IN conclusion, this unit is the coolest and most innovative invention in years. If you buy one you'll use if more than any electronics device you probably own. It's worth every dime and I never had 1 problem with my original machine in over 3 years. One last note. All others always compare themselves to Tivo and not vice versa. Think about it.. don't invest in a want-a-bee. This machine is dependable, has tons of cool features and is easier to use than heating up your morning coffee in the microwave.

We bought our TiVo last year and we love it!! We are no longer slaves to TV programming, we never miss a show and it's really easy to use. You can't imagine how often I rewind a segment and watch it over again in case I miss a word or caption. You will never hassle with taping via a VCR again, no more hunting for a blank tape. I can't praise this product enough!! We're buying a TiVo for my husband's parents who can't handle a VCR, so that should tell you the skill level - it's easy. TiVo really comes in handy when there's nothing on to watch - you just check your list of shows saved and go from there. We like the "season pass" option to tape our regular shows we never want to miss. This is one electronic item you will never have buyer's remorse about. Go ahead, buy the unlimited service contract. It's worth it. And 60 hours is plenty - we're good about cleaning out the space once we've watched something. If you get a Sony machine, you can ONLY download to a Sony VCR if you want to save something on tape. That was an unpleasant surprise for us.

I bought a TIVO when they first came out and had nothing but trouble. The machine didn't record properly and power would go off and on. Customer service was not satisfactory, as others on this board have indicated.

Frustrated, I switched to Brighthouse. They supply the equipment. Customer service is terrific and the machine works much better. I can record 5 programs with up to 200 hours of recording time.

Tivo may have been first, but are they the best? Answer: NO!!!

TiVo has become one of my absolute favorite pieces of equipment. There's just no going back once you learn all the ways it can change television. Watching shows at any time, never worrying about when and where they come on is incredible.

Say for example you want to watch some movie you know is coming on next week. You simply enter the name of that movie into TiVo and it will find when and where it's on. Just tell TiVo to record it, and it'll check and make sure it doesn't conflict with anything else. If it does conflict, You can overwrite the old recording or simply have TiVo look for another showing. Then TiVo saves it for later viewing.

Or say you want to record a series. Again, simply search by title but this time get a "season pass". You can then set TiVo to record every single episode no matter when it airs, or just the new episodes. You'll never have to worry about missing an episode again. The programming is simply amazing.

With TiVo, you control what and when you watch. Depending on the storage of your unit, programs could be stored from days to weeks before needing to be cleared. You're in complete control over the TV for a change. You'll never have to watch another commercial again if you get used letting TiVo record everything you watch. And really, there's no reason not to. TiVo will never slip up and miss a recording.

Soon you'll forget that your favorite show comes on at 7:00pm on sundays. You won't really care, because you'll know that when you feel like watching it, TiVo will have it ready for you. You'll almost completely stop watching live TV. If you do still want live TV though, TiVo offers plenty. From rewinding, to pausing, program listings, information, ratings, a ton of options.

TiVo also keeps a constant back-buffer of the live feed from the channel you're currently watching that runs 30 minutes. So, at any time during the program you could rewind up to a full 30 minutes. You could also pause for a full half hour. One really sweet benefit of this back-buffer is recording the start of shows late. If you're 15 minutes into a movie and decide that you just aren't going to be able to sit down and watch it, hit the record button and TiVo will not only start recording from that point, but also take everything it has from the back-buffer. You can actually save from the start of programs after they've already started up to 30 minutes ago.

One of the less hyped but still cool features of TiVo is the TiVolution Magazine that comes free and is updated constantly. This isn't some sort of lame E-zine but a listing of movies and other programs coming on this week. So for example you can click "action" and see just about every single action movie coming on this week, on every single channel. This is actually incredibly handy, because you'll be able to record great old movies on channels like TNN that play these movies all the time. Since you don't have to worry about when they come on and you can skip all the commercials, you won't care in the least that it's on a cable network. Just the other day I used this to watch The Hunt for Red October. Without the TiVo listings, I would have had no idea it was playing at all.

TiVo has more features than I could list here. It can be set to do just about anything to the TV you can possibly think up, and you'll never look back once you get started. I can't recommend this product enough, I really can't. Even if you don't watch much TV, TiVo is still perfect for you. The little TV you do watch can now be ad free and viewed any time you feel like watching it. Not to mention you never have to think about when your favorite shows come on again, just sit back and let TiVo take care of it. If your schedule has you far too busy to watch daytime TV, now it doesn't matter at all. Tuesday's daytime TV can easily be viewed on Saturday night.

The video quality and sound quality is every bit as good as the original, it's just plain incredible. Full surround sound as deep and rich as your speakers can possibly handle. You won't lost a single hint of quality even on just the medium setting. In fact, the medium setting is so perfect I never bother with the high and highest recording qualities.

TiVo is a wonderful company who is highly supportive of it's customers and will do everything they can to make sure TiVo users are pampered beyond belief. They send free stuff, they release firmware upgrades with new features, and never once since I've owned my TiVo have they put down my now older series one 14hr unit. (Series two units go up to 80 hours now.) They have never once made it sound like my unit is worse than any other unit or outdated. There's absolutely nothing to dislike about this company.

TiVo has become one of my favorite companies and one of my favorite electronics. I just can't say enough good things about it. TiVo absolutely changes TV. You really must see it for yourself.

- Rirath_com

Like other reviewers I once considered TiVo to be a "glorified" VCR that instead of recording on tapes, digitally recorded onto a hard drive. However my eyes were opened dramatically when two years ago I moved to the DC area and met some people who not only used TiVo, but wondered how they had survived without one for so long.
That was 2002 and I picked up my first TiVo just last Saturday (two years later to the day). Just three days later I am also left wondering not only how did I manage to get by so long without a TiVo, but also what took me so long?
I always thought I never watched enough television to warrant purchasing a digital video recorder. I would watch and marvel at some of the features that a TiVo offers, but calculate that my viewing habits of DVDs and `Buffy the Vampire Slayer' hardly warranted the investment.
The fact is that TiVo not only allows you to make television fit into your schedule (instead of the other way around), but it also opens your eyes to other shows that you may have never come across without the features included in a TiVo. It's far, far more than just a glorified VCR. To compare a VCR to a TiVo is akin to comparing an abacus to a modern PC. TiVo really does revolutionize the way you watch television.
Features like Wishlists, two types of guides, TiVo suggestions, season passes and a number of other features make it an invaluable tool..
For example, with a VCR you can only record from the moment you decide to record something. With TiVo it is constantly recording so if you are 15 minutes or so into a show and you think "This is cool, maybe I should record the whole thing" then you can record from the start.
Alternatively if you come into the room and the show has already started then you can rewind the television and watch the show from the start.
One feature I really like is the Wishlist. TiVo calls in every week to get updated schedules for all your channels for the next two weeks. Therefore you can do searches for shows with a certain actor (e.g. Pierce Brosnan) and it will come up with all the TV shows and movies etc with that actor in it. There are also searches for directors and keywords etc etc....I already have about five or six wishlists saved.
Season Pass is VERY cool. Say you love the show ALIAS. Well you can tell TiVo to record every episode of ALIAS and it will store that information and record every episode of ALIAS that it finds until you cancel the season pass. Of course you don't want it recording repeats so there is a setting where you tell the TiVo to only record first-run episodes.
Say for example that ALIAS is on a Sunday and then repeated on Wednesdays (hypothetically speaking), the TiVo will know it recorded that same episode on Sunday so will not record it on the Wednesday. You see the TiVo has detailed information on each episode of every show on television (as well as movies etc) [that you can of course view through the different guides].
Of course you may have some shows on Season Pass that clash (on at the same time). Not a problem for TiVo. You prioritize the shows in order of importance. For example I have ALIAS higher that STARGATE: ATLANTIS. So, if there is a clash then the TiVo will record the ALIAS episode.
You can of course search manually for shows/movies etc through different genres.
Of course there are different types of onscreen guides that you can use that are similar to the types of onscreen guides that satellite and digital cable provide.
But there's more. You can pause, rewind and fast forward live TV (very cool). Say the phone rings in the middle of a show you are watching on TV. Just hit pause and the TV screen pauses at that point. Then when you get off the phone hit play and you can start watching from the point at which you paused it.
You can also set shows to record from your office. You are sitting in your office and a colleague tells you about a show that sounds interesting, but it starts before you get home. Simple, sign onto the TiVo website and you can schedule your TiVo back at your house to record that television show.
One feature I particularly like is the ability to watch a recorded show while TiVo records a different show. This is so particularly great because you never have to deal with commercials EVER AGAIN! By the time you have watched the show you were viewing you can switch to the show in progress and fast forward through all the commercial breaks - while the show is still being broadcast!
TiVo is simply put the best investment I have ever made. No more flipping through channels trying to find something interesting to watch. I only watch what I want to watch and when I want to watch it.